Feedback on grey market/imported lens

I am currently waiting for a Nikon lens to become available. The B&H website states the lens is temporary unavailable but it does have the grey market/imported lens. If I understand the article on the B&H site
http://www.bhphotovideo.com/find/HelpCenter/USGrey.jsp the only difference would be the potential 5 years of warranty from Nikon (if you send the warranty card in within 10 days of purchase) versus 1 year of warranty from B&H.
I was curious about this and any other considerations that I missed?

Thanks for any feedback.
Regards,
Jim

I bought a Canon 500 F4 from B&H that was imported and have not had any issues in 5 years. However, I think there is a difference between Nikon and Canon. I think Canon will repair out of warranty at the going cost, but I have heard that Nikon USA will not repair a "grey market" item at any time even if you pay.

If the policy has changed perhaps some Nikon users can chime in.

Ask B&H .... they will tell you or call Nikon for sure
I thought they will repair lenses for a cost .... but not the bodies

From what I have seen, Nikon "ferociously" protects its domestic authorized vendor network. They will not repair non-domestic product purchased domestically, ie gray market goods. They will, however, repair product legitimately purchased elsewhere, provided a purchase receipt accompanies the repair request.

Nikon has been known to withhold proprietary tools, repair instructions, parts etc to strongly discourage independent repair shops from attempting to repair gray market stuff.

Nikon's policy seems to fall apart when you legitimately purchase a used piece of foreign-origin equipment, without an original receipt. Technically, they will not repair it, but I have not heard of them refusing a repair under such circumstances - I also don't know of a circumstance where it has been put to the test.

It stinks, but its what you have to live with if you like Nikon gear. This has been in place since the 60s when I purchased my first Nikon F, although the price difference between domestic and gray market was greater in those days, so one could save as much as 20% off the price of domestic gear.

I think Nikon is the only company who has this problem. On the Nikon Canada Web site they state that they will not repair a piece of Nikon equipment that is bought elsewhere. I suppose it is the same in the US and other countries too.

http://www.nikon.ca/en/GreyMarket.aspx

Cheers,

Bernie
http://www.flickr.com/photos/berniemonette

I think Nikon is the only company who has this problem. On the Nikon Canada Web site they state that they will not repair a piece of Nikon equipment that is bought elsewhere. I suppose it is the same in the US and other countries too.

http://www.nikon.ca/en/GreyMarket.aspx

Cheers,

Bernie
http://www.flickr.com/photos/berniemonette

I did go to NikonUSA website and they did state they would not service grey market items even at a fee based service. This is something I did not know about.
Thanks for the feedback and comments.
Jim

Pipping in late here but greay market is a bad idea for Nikon users. They will not repair anything that is grey market. If you ever decide or if you already are an Nikon Professional Services member they will ban you for life as a member if you buy grey market. The NPS membership is hard to get but the perks are wonderful. Your always at the front of the line for repairs and most repairs as a NPS member are 5 days total from sending to getting the gear back. You also have access to loaner gear and get to see and hear about new products first.