Nikon - refurbished lens

[Tom Godley]

I need to replace a 18-200 VR II lens for an upcoming trip - had a spat of lens bad luck this past year :(

I see factory refurbished units available for substantially less - wondering if anyone has experience with Nikon refurbished products. I would also be open to a used one -- but they look to be about the same price as a refurbished one?

[Sean Troy]

If you go refurbished or used, go through B&H Photo. Their process of checking over refurbs and used are very through. Either way you go, you will most likely get a good deal on a lens that is fine.

[David G Baker]

I agree with Sean T 100%. B&H Photo has an excellent reputation and I would not hesitate to purchase a refurbished lens or camera from them.

[Lee Bidwell]

Hey Tom. I just purchased a D5000 and kit lens refurbished from Adorama. Other than a blown LED on the battery charger, which was replaced by Adorama, I'm not having any problems at all.

Lee

[Helen Oster]

Hey Tom. I just purchased a D5000 and kit lens refurbished from Adorama. Other than a blown LED on the battery charger, which was replaced by Adorama, I'm not having any problems at all.

Lee


Delighted to hear it, Lee!


I'm often asked what is the difference between used and refurbished units - as Tom notes above, sometimes there is little difference in price!
The used items we hold in stock can be ex-store demo models, or may been purchased from members of the public, cleaned and if necessarry serviced and / or repaired at an authorized service center.


Refurbished items on the other hand, are delivered to us directly by the manufacturer who has carried out the refurbishment therefore they have all been restored to the exact manufacturer specifications.

All refurbished units sold by Adorama Camera are factory refurbished by the manufacturer, eg, by Nikon themselves; they can have simply been pulled from the production line if something appears faulty, or if it hasn't passed the final inspection. Most of the time it is a very minor issue that needs correcting, nevertheless, once it is pulled from the normal flow of production, it gets flagged as a refurbished model, so you may get a unit straight from the factory that has never been used.

A refurb may also be an ex-store demo, possibly used in field tests or sales displays, or it may have been ordered in error and returned to the retailer (who can't then sell it as 'new' so it has to be sent back to the manufacturer for refurbishment).

All refurbished items will have been checked over by the manufacturer by hand, inspected very thoroughly, diagnosed, and calibrated by experienced technicians, and could therefore turn out to be more dependable than a new item - which will only have been checked by a process of systematic quality control protocol (ie by random sampling as it comes off the conveyor belt).

All Nikonrefurbs sold by Adorama come with a 90-day return-to-manufacturer warranty.
In addition, Refurbs come into us with the firmware updates and latest fixes which were carried out at whatever stage it was at when we took delivery.

As to the individual history of a single item, the honest answer is we have no way of knowing. Refurbished equipment is not like new inventory; the manufacturers contact us when they have a batch to sell, and the availability is unpredictable.



However, if you were to ask my personal opinion on whether the equipment that Adorama offers as refurbished is typically less than a year old, based on the regularity with which we receive batches, I'd be inclined to think it is all relatively new.


I hope this is helpful, but I'm always delighted to answer email questions or to provide after-sales support.

[Dave Gaul]

I bought a refurb Nikon 55-200VR lens from adorama for LOML's D40 and it has performed flawlessly ever since.. bought in Feb or March 2010... For pretty cheap I also got the 7 year extended warranty...

The D40 itself was a refurb, along with the 18-55 it came with, from adorama also.. well over a year now and they perform perfectly!

[Helen Oster]

I bought a refurb Nikon 55-200VR lens from adorama for LOML's D40 and it has performed flawlessly ever since.. bought in Feb or March 2010... For pretty cheap I also got the 7 year extended warranty...

The D40 itself was a refurb, along with the 18-55 it came with, from adorama also.. well over a year now and they perform perfectly!

Thanks for the feedback - very much appreciated. :) But if you ever need advice or after-sales support with an order from Adorama in the future, you know how to find me!

[Tom Godley]

Others have also recommend the Nikon refurbished version of this lens over buying new. Some examples exhibit "lens creep" and the feeling is that those gone over separately by a technician are less likely to have the problem.

Mine was fine -- It is a fantastic lens to take on a safari.

Unfortunately, I need to replace a pair of Nikon binoculars also :(

[Bryan Morgan]

I need to replace a 18-200 VR II lens for an upcoming trip - had a spat of lens bad luck this past year :(

I see factory refurbished units available for substantially less - wondering if anyone has experience with Nikon refurbished products. I would also be open to a used one -- but they look to be about the same price as a refurbished one?


My friend dropped his Nikon DSLR and broke the lens. He sent it back for repair but they told him it would just cost a little more to buy a refurb so that's what he did. He never complains about it and uses it to make money with photography as a small side business.