Nikon Users - Heads Up

[schrodingerscat]

Greetings -

I've received what is one of the most disturbing letters from any company in my 30 or so years as an independent camera service tech.

Nikon will no longer provide parts to anyone other than authorised Nikon repair shops. This is going to drive up the cost to the customer, as well as increase the turn around time. There is no way they are going to be able to handle the increased load on their already inadequate contract repair system when several hundred techs suddenly stop repairing their products. And these days virtually every repair requires parts. Another unforeseen byproduct will be an increase in shoddy repairs due to people trying to kludge a repair that needs a part to be done correctly. And with any reduction of competition, those left will jack their prices to what the market will bear. We have already seen this with Nikon parts due to the situation in Thailand. A part that was $27 from Nikon directly, and backordered, was recently available from third parties for $50- $80.

One of their lame reasons for this swindle was that us poor independents were just not capable of working on their 'complicated' cameras. While Nikons are no more 'complicated' than any other digital camera, they are more of a pain on several levels. Despite this, many thousands of successful repairs have been  accomplished by independents. And to give you an idea of Nikon's corporate culture, a couple of years ago I had politely asked a Nikon sales rep why Nikon was seemingly working against independent service shops. He replied with that same 'not qualified' response and then literally told me to "go to hell".

If you use Nikon, my advice is to turn the equipment as soon as the warranty is up, and if you're a working pro join NPS. Fasten your seatbelts, it's going to be a bumpy ride.

[BernardLanguillier]

Nikon will no longer provide parts to anyone other than authorised Nikon repair shops.

What does it take to be an authorized Nikon repair shop?

Cheers,
Bernard

[mac_paolo]

What does it take to be an authorized Nikon repair shop?

Let me guess: to pay a fee?  

[OldRoy]

Let me guess: to pay a fee?  

Complicity.
Roy

[schrodingerscat]

Money, and lots of it. You not only have to anualy subscribe to their technical manuals and service software for each camera model(now roughly 17), lenses(65), and flashes(5), you also have to purchase all test equipment and setup jigs, which can run into the tens of thousands of dollars for each line. You are also required to keep in stock all parts they deem necessary, including each color part for all cameras that come in different colors. Once a camera has been out for awhile and no longer comes in for frequent repairs, this leaves you with a large inventory of dead stock. You are also required to take in warranty repairs, for which you are poorly compensated.

Most techs I know who have been authorized quit long ago. You have to have a large operation to recoup the expenses. I know a medium sized shop who's Nikon parts tab for last year was $35k. I'm a one man shop and my parts total for last year was about $10k. We are both independent, so having to spend another $30-$40 thousand a year to be authorized Nikon is a non starter.

[uaiomex]

OCCUPY NIKON!   

Eduardo

[eteam]

Have you considered collaborating with other independent shops to act together, and share the overhead costs among several of you?

Please correct my interpretation of this turn of events:

• Individuals and non-authorised repair shops may no longer purchase parts and service manuals directly from Nikon, but can still purchase such items through authorised Nikon repair shops.
• Non-authorised repair shops will no longer be reimbursed for warranty work.
• There is no Nikon-backed implicit or explicit warranty backing repairs done by non-authorised repair shops.

Do I have this right?

[schrodingerscat]

Have you considered collaborating with other independent shops to act together, and share the overhead costs among several of you?

Please correct my interpretation of this turn of events:

• Individuals and non-authorised repair shops may no longer purchase parts and service manuals directly from Nikon, but can still purchase such items through authorised Nikon repair shops.
• Non-authorised repair shops will no longer be reimbursed for warranty work.
• There is no Nikon-backed implicit or explicit warranty backing repairs done by non-authorised repair shops.

Do I have this right?

I belong to SPT(Society of Photo Technologists), a trade organization that is primarily for technical help, but has battled the dragons on our behalf occasionally. However, we are relatively few in number and don't have the resources to get into protracted legal tussles with corporate behemoths. Our best hope is that their customer base will start storming the gates with pitchforks and torches. If this comes to pass, Nikon will have a lot of unhappy users on their hands.

The policy doesn't come into full compliance for about 5 months. The killer is the backordered parts clause, which is that all BOs turn into a pumpkin at midnight. They already have a massive backorder problem due to moving most  manufacturing to Thailand, and have to rebuild their factories and replace the destroyed stock in the warehouses. In the meantime, all they have to do now is BO future orders and wait for the clock to wind down.

We'll see if the authorized shops will be willing, or able, to share. If they do, probably at a hefty markup. If Nikon holds tight on the authorized only rule, this also means dealers and the public will not be able to buy parts.

Only authorized facilities do warranty work. No unauthorized shop can claim warranty work. And when you send your item to Nikon directly, it usually goes to a contract authorized facility. Probably less than 10% is done in house.

We've had some feedback from outside the US, and it seems this may be a Nikon USA only policy change.