Nikon tax?

[Drunkard #1]

Tell me about it. I lost my USB cable for charger the camera and lo and behold it uses a propriety USB connector (UC6). R400 for a stupid USB cable. I eventually found one for R360...yeah, fsck Nikon's prices!

WiFi dongle for my D3200 - R1095! And it doesn't work with Android 5! I think the D810's WiFi is over R10 000.

I bought it in the USA for $40.

Are they trying to chase customers to Canon.

 

[Bryn]

The real question is why people still buy Nikon in this country.

 

[Hamster]

The real question is why people still buy Nikon in this country.

Because the cameras are awesome

 

[Drunkard #1]

The real question is why people still buy Nikon in this country.

We're tied in because of our investment in lenses. When I started, my F80 cost R1500 and my 70-200 was under R12 000. Those were the good old days, when Pro Digital sold Nikon lenses for less than Adorama. Now it's time to flog the Nikon kit and replace it with Canon - the way Nikon prices it's new stuff, I'll probably make a profit selling my old stuff.

 

[Kayoss]

Was looking at prices in Australia:

Canon 100-400 mk ii

Aus - R24 800 ($2700)
SA - R23 140 (Outdoorphoto)

Nikon 80-400 ED VR

Aus - R21 400 ($2300)
SA - R42 180 (Outdoorphoto)

It's absolutely ridiculous! Canon vs Nikon debates are irrelevant in SA. It may be Apples vs Apples overseas, but that is not the case here, they aren't even comparable. I would even consider importing Nikon lenses to resell here just to take advantage of their greed. The duties on lenses are 0% in SA. So all you pay is 14% VAT and shipping. On top of that, you could probably claim back the 10% GST from Aus. Plus I already have an importer's license for photographic equipment.

The only issue is that Foto Distributors (who hold the rights for Nikon in SA) seem to go hard at anyone that dares to do this. This is all because, according to their CEO, “Grey-product importing has a negative impact on our country’s economy, as well as on job creation in South Africa”.

http://www.pix-online.com/nikon-in-south-africa-wins-landmark-case-against-grey-goods-importer/

Yup, it's in the consumer's best interests that they continue to rip us all off. They're pricing their entry level gear as best they can, so as to lock consumers into the Nikon ecosystem, and then absolutely rip these loyal customers off wherever they can. You can sell all your Nikon gear in the secondhand market, replace it with the brand new Canon equivalents, and still save money.

Also (and I think this needs to be said), kudos to Canon SA for giving us such competitive pricing!

EDIT: The huge price disparity is also the reason that there is so much more second hand Canon gear available. This is a huge bonus (for me at least) when buying into a system.

 

[mic_y]

Was looking at prices in Australia:

Canon 100-400 mk ii

Aus - R24 800 ($2700)
SA - R23 140 (Outdoorphoto)

Nikon 80-400 ED VR

Aus - R21 400 ($2300)
SA - R42 180 (Outdoorphoto)

It's absolutely ridiculous! Canon vs Nikon debates are irrelevant in SA. It may be Apples vs Apples overseas, but that is not the case here, they aren't even comparable. I would even consider importing Nikon lenses to resell here just to take advantage of their greed. The duties on lenses are 0% in SA. So all you pay is 14% VAT and shipping. On top of that, you could probably claim back the 10% GST from Aus. Plus I already have an importer's license for photographic equipment.

The only issue is that Foto Distributors (who hold the rights for Nikon in SA) seem to go hard at anyone that dares to do this. This is all because, according to their CEO, “Grey-product importing has a negative impact on our country’s economy, as well as on job creation in South Africa”.

http://www.pix-online.com/nikon-in-south-africa-wins-landmark-case-against-grey-goods-importer/

Yup, it's in the consumer's best interests that they continue to rip us all off. They're pricing their entry level gear as best they can, so as to lock consumers into the Nikon ecosystem, and then absolutely rip these loyal customers off wherever they can. You can sell all your Nikon gear in the secondhand market, replace it with the brand new Canon equivalents, and still save money.

Also (and I think this needs to be said), kudos to Canon SA for giving us such competitive pricing!

EDIT: The huge price disparity is also the reason that there is so much more second hand Canon gear available. This is a huge bonus (for me at least) when buying into a system.

Someone has to pay for that fancy building that Nikon has in Midrand

Premium Brand's excuse will obviously be that they provide a much better level of service than Canon in SA (which I will have to partly agree with), but this service is not free by any means. We pay out of our A$$ for it every time we buy something from them.

 

[fvdbergh]

Someone has to pay for that fancy building that Nikon has in Midrand

Premium Brand's excuse will obviously be that they provide a much better level of service than Canon in SA (which I will have to partly agree with), but this service is not free by any means. We pay out of our A$$ for it every time we buy something from them.

... and of course the operating costs of their service department. Since Nikon lenses are supposed to carry an international warranty, Foto Distributors are fuelling a self-fulfilling prophecy: the higher the SA mark-up on Nikon lenses, the more people will import the lenses directly, which leads to them having to service lenses on which they did not skim a margin.

It goes against the grain in the SA business mentality to sell more at a lower price.

 

[bwana]

... and of course the operating costs of their service department. Since Nikon lenses are supposed to carry an international warranty, Foto Distributors are fuelling a self-fulfilling prophecy: the higher the SA mark-up on Nikon lenses, the more people will import the lenses directly, which leads to them having to service lenses on which they did not skim a margin.

It goes against the grain in the SA business mentality to sell more at a lower price.

I've yet to have a lens, or camera, fail during the warranty period… then again I shoot Canon.

 

[Kayoss]

... and of course the operating costs of their service department. Since Nikon lenses are supposed to carry an international warranty, Foto Distributors are fuelling a self-fulfilling prophecy: the higher the SA mark-up on Nikon lenses, the more people will import the lenses directly, which leads to them having to service lenses on which they did not skim a margin.

It goes against the grain in the SA business mentality to sell more at a lower price.

Nope. Apparently they will not even look at your lens if you bought it overseas (probably to prevent this very thing from happening). Foto Distributors may have the rights to distribute Nikon products in SA, but they are not Nikon. They only offer a warranty on the goods they sell, so they do not conform to Nikon's "Global" warranty. They're very strict on this from what I've heard!

Again, this is just what I've heard. I've also heard that Nikon lenses are built like tanks, so you could probably save so much money by purchasing all your lenses overseas, that by the time you actually need to make use of that warranty, you would've saved enough to purchase several replacement lenses (or to simply ship your lens back to the country you got it from, in order to have it repaired).

 

[fvdbergh]

I've yet to have a lens, or camera, fail during the warranty period… then again I shoot Canon.

Ouch!
Guess I walked right into that one ...

 

[fvdbergh]

Nope. Apparently they will not even look at your lens if you bought it overseas (probably to prevent this very thing from happening).

Most disturbing news, then.
All the better that I prefer to buy third party lenses

I've also heard that Nikon lenses are built like tanks, so you could probably save so much money by purchasing all your lenses overseas ...

Not to sure about that. I have a 1977 Nikkor lens that definitely has that level of build quality, but all my other Nikkor lenses are consumer grade (except maybe 70-300 mm which is borderline), and their build quality is what I would describe as "adequate", rather than "robust".

I recall that Roger Cicala (lensrentals.com) made some comments regarding failure rates of various lenses; I think the conclusion was that both Canon and Nikon have some lemons, but that no clear trend is apparent.

 

[mic_y]

Nope. Apparently they will not even look at your lens if you bought it overseas (probably to prevent this very thing from happening). Foto Distributors may have the rights to distribute Nikon products in SA, but they are not Nikon. They only offer a warranty on the goods they sell, so they do not conform to Nikon's "Global" warranty. They're very strict on this from what I've heard!

Again, this is just what I've heard. I've also heard that Nikon lenses are built like tanks, so you could probably save so much money by purchasing all your lenses overseas, that by the time you actually need to make use of that warranty, you would've saved enough to purchase several replacement lenses (or to simply ship your lens back to the country you got it from, in order to have it repaired).

*Disclaimer - this is heresay, second hand knowledge and I am in no way responsible if any of this turns out to be false* The distribution rights to Nikon in SA owned by Premium Brands/Premium Distribution is a full service license. Premium Brands has to repair a lens with an international warranty, under warranty. If you are a resident here, they may request proof from you that all customs and duties for the import of the lens were paid. I have heard of international photographers who had gear break while in SA use Premium Brands service center with full NPS protection (they were given loan units for all gear being repaired by the service center).

This is one of the advantages of owning Nikon in SA. Their professional service packages are much more comprehensive than the CPS services as there is no official Canon representation in the country, whereas Premium Brands acts on Nikon's behalf in SA.

Nikon bodies do not carry an international warranty, and would therefore not form part of this, so if your imported body dies here, you will have to pay for repairs, even if the body was imported legally, all customs and duties were paid, etc.

 

[Swa]

It's absolutely ridiculous! Canon vs Nikon debates are irrelevant in SA. It may be Apples vs Apples overseas, but that is not the case here, they aren't even comparable. I would even consider importing Nikon lenses to resell here just to take advantage of their greed. The duties on lenses are 0% in SA. So all you pay is 14% VAT and shipping. On top of that, you could probably claim back the 10% GST from Aus. Plus I already have an importer's license for photographic equipment.

You could probably claim back the 14% VAT as well.

 

[Kayoss]

You could probably claim back the 14% VAT as well.

This is true! But I will have to pay the VAT on any item sold as well. So there will be a small difference..

Anyone keen to start selling some imported Nikon lenses with me?