Need help checking authenticity

jpedrick

Hi, I have a D3200 and I recently purchased a D750 on Amazon. My sale was for a new American made model. When it arrived it was not in the box for the camera and the manual was missing. I believe this is also not an American box as there was a bunch of Chinese writing on it. I actually think they tried to ship me a refurbished model. How do I go about investigating this? If it's refurbished would the shutter count be cleared? Is there a way to search with the model number?

bruto

A new US model should come in a Nikon USA box, with the corresponding USA warranty card, instructions, and the rest. The Nikon USA box is gold and quite distinctive. I am not aware of any reputable retailer breaking up USA kits, which is often done with gray market merchandise, and I'm not sure it's even permitted by Nikon USA.

I do not know where USA units are sent for refurbishing. The D750 has had a couple of recalls, and it's possible that a recalled model might come back in a different box, but I don't know.

If you do a google search I think you can find a web site at which you can enter a serial number to see if your camera is or was affected by recalls, and it might also identify where it is from. Cameras recalled for the initial problem of flare caused by a mis-placed AF sensor will have a black dot inside the tripod mount to signify that the recall was performed. I don't know what, if any, additional mark was made for the later shutter recall.

I don't know whether there's a way to search by serial number for cameras. The serial number for lenses has US as leading characters. Nikon used to have a code for serial numbers on cameras, but it appears it is no longer done, or at least no longer possible to identify at a glance.

As for shutter count, I would guess that the shutter count was not reset for the AF sensor recall, but if the shutter was replaced, I think it would be. Various programs including the free file reader Irfanview can read the shutter count in EXIF info.

In any case, I guess it's up to you to decide how good the camera looks and how much you saved from that vendor, but I'd be hesitant to accept it if it is not as represented. If the purchase was made through Amazon, there might be some remedy from them, or at least a way to get further information. If it was a US model with the shutter recall done, then perhaps it's a good deal, but it should have been made clear.

jpedrick

I did finally find out that it was in fact as I suspected a Chinese model. I am beyond irritated. Thank you so much for your help.

Haggis

http://www.techradar.com/news/photography-video-capture/cameras/is-your-dslr-a-fake-nikon-issues-a-fresh-counterfeit-warning-1291244

http://petapixel.com/2015/08/14/i-bought-a-fake-nikon-dslr-my-experience-with-gray-market-imports/

jpedrick

Thanks for the info. Just as a warning, due to where I live, I'm limited on availability of camera stores, so I decided to take the Amazon route. I specifically checked to make sure that it did not state that it was an international model. It came, and it was, and I of course was angry. I contacted Amazon with no help. I contacted the seller. The seller tried to bait and switch me into paying more and bully me into dropping my claim with Amazon. When I asked about the return and IF I did pay more money for the American model what the process would be. I was told to ship the item back with NO documentation and to include my credit card information in the return. Yeah right!!! Lesson learned.

bruto

I am sorry to hear this, and disappointed in Amazon. I do realize they have different levels of vendor participation and such, but had thought any Amazon retailer was expected to adhere to some minimum standard. If you have some documentation that your order was for a US model, and the item shipped was misrepresented, I think you should at least try contacting Amazon again with a strong complaint against the vendor. Unfortunately, though, it is not at all uncommon for equipment not specifically stated as US to be gray market, and if no representation was made, you're probably out of luck.

Of course, now that you have the camera, it still just might be fine, and if there's no remedy, you could do a lot worse. The D750 is thought by many to be one of the best cameras Nikon ever made, and very high on the "bang for buck" scale. I believe also that certain of the recall issues that have plagued some D750's have been addressed for both US and non US models, though most never had the problems anyway.

You can download the instruction manual PDF from Nikon USA.

So, good luck with the D750, and I hope it works well.

Haggis

There are some bad people out there, pity you met one.
Good luck, is it a D750?