Nikon refurbished - poor quality, buyer beware

Based on numerous instances of positive feedback about Nikon refurbished products online, I decided to go with this option, and ordered a D5100 kit from Adorama. Adorama order came very promptly with no problems, however what I found inside of the package was very disappointing.

The camera came in a "Nikon Reconditioned" box, which described the product as a camera that was reconditioned by Nikon USA at their factory. The kit came with all of the standard accessories, a lens and the camera body in a cardboard box and the bag. The lens was not packaged particularly well, just wrapped in some plastic and bubble wrap, and was banging around the box.

When I opened the camera I was amazed at the poor condition it was in. First, the camera appears to be used rather heavily. The plastic finish on the back of the display is rubbed off, leaving a thumb sized discolored spot. Upon closer examination, I noticed that the camera was probably smashed. The swivel by which the display is attached to the body is dented and cracked. It looks like somebody made a very poor attempt to fix it, but it still simply looks bad. Needless to say I am very disappointed by the quality of the product sold by Nikon and Adorama. A refurbished item with damage such as on this one should be expected from a shady ebay dealer, not from a large retailer like Adorama or company like Nikon.

I tried to call Adorama today, but they were closed. I will probably be returning it and I sure hope they will at least pay for shipping this thing back to them.

The most disappointing thing is that I actually needed this camera for a trip next week, now it looks like I will be stuck with my old D50 with barely functioning auto focus.

That is most definitely not refurbished, but used. Refurbished should look no different than brand new
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D7000
50mm 1.8D
18-105mm
55-200mm
10-24mm
http://www.flickr.com/photos/finalimpact

false advertising from Adorama?

this is the item that was ordered: advertised as "Refurbished by Nikon USA"

http://www.adorama.com/INKD5100KR.html

I wouldn't be accepting it...I wouldn't buy used gear that had a crack in the corner like that. I am sure they'll replace it though, just a matter of timing for your trip though.
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Herby

a refurbished camera should have anything broken or worn replaced so the camera looks new
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Nikon D5100...Canon SX230HS...Panasonic FZ48/TZ6
Hi from England

i certainly will not keep this camera. In fact, I have not even tried to turn it on yet.

Going to contact adorama tomorrow to see what they can do for me.

They aren't going to be open tomorrow...they're like B&H and are closed on Sat.
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Herby

Sorry to hear that, I got my D3100 refurbished from Adorama and it looked brand new out of the box and have not noted any issues over the 4 months I have had it. I feel fairly confident Adorama will replace it but I guess refurbished does carry a risk of variable quality (but so does buying new sometimes).

-Glen

not really as they should have had checks etc, more than a new cam off the line does

Glen78 said:

Sorry to hear that, I got my D3100 refurbished from Adorama and it looked brand new out of the box and have not noted any issues over the 4 months I have had it. I feel fairly confident Adorama will replace it but I guess refurbished does carry a risk of variable quality (but so does buying new sometimes).

-Glen

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Nikon D5100...Canon SX230HS...Panasonic FZ48/TZ6
Hi from England

Somethings wrong, you received a used beat up camera, definitely not refurbished.
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'I don't necessarily believe everything I say'!

Definitely send it back and please follow up here with your experience.

I would grade a cracked camera "ugly".

hi zent call them and send it back that's the problem with movable screens the
twisting and they get damaged never like that option too much too go wrong

when purchasing refurb stuff try calling them first and describe what you want it in almost mint condition and no marks on it yes they may send you another in return

good luck my friend bought a refurb d90 from cometa camera works perfectly and no marks on it ok hope i helped gjr

I've been looking to upgrade my D 80 eventually. I've noticed that the difference in price between a refurb D700 and a new one is not really that much. I think the warranty and brand new camera would be worth paying the extra.
By the way, I have had very good luck with Adorama.

Sorry for your bad experience. I would send it back, or expect a substantial partial refund if the camera works properly and you want to keep it. This is definitely not what I would expect from a refurbished camera.

That said, I don't think you will have a problem with Adorama doing the right thing by you. I had to return a used lens I bought from them, and there were no questions asked, and no hassle at all - very pleasant return process. They did email a return shipping label on their dime.

I would call first thing Monday and see what they offer. If the camera works, and they offer a partial refund, you may still have a camera for your trip. Just a thought.

Good luck.

I will see what adorama can do for me, however the process will be complicated by the fact that I will be out of town traveling for next week and a half. Right now I am leaning towards sending it back, and getting a non refurbished one from somewhere else. I will definately not be keeping a smashed camera. Who knows what other mechanical components are damaged inside, considering how poor the housing "refurbishment" was. A local store has canon t2i on clearance so I just might pick one of those up. It's cheaper than the refurb 5100 but I am worried I might be getting an inferior camera.

In any case I will be sure to follow up here on my experience and what adorama does from their end.

Adorama usually has excellent service, there is a very good chance they will go out of their way to make it up to you once you tell them about this error.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Refurbishment_%28electronics%29

Yours is definitely at the lower end of refurbished quality, and unacceptable if the hinge is loose.
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D5000 - Nikkor AF-S DX 18-105mm F/3.5-5.6G ED VR - Nikkor AF-S 50mm f/1.4 G - Nikkor AF-S 70-300mm VR - Canon PowerShot S95 - Canon PowerShot S3

I agree with the others; this is not a refurb, and should be returned. The good news is that Adorama will make you happy, they have very good customer service. Email Helen Oster if you get any run-around, she is the customer service ambassador for Adorama and is very helpful.

Cheers
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--Wyatt
http://photos.digitalcave.ca
All images (c) unless otherwise specified, please ask me before editing.

zenit55 said:

i certainly will not keep this camera. In fact, I have not even tried to turn it on yet.

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No reason not to. I'd at least try taking one photo using a formatted memory card, formatted before placing it in the D5100 and removing any files or folders using a card reader if you formatted it using another camera, just to see what JPEG file number is created by the supposedly "new" D5100. I could make it show 0001, but people can be careless even if they know how to do it.

zenit55 said:

Going to contact adorama tomorrow to see what they can do for me.

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If they're smart, they'll overnight another D5100 to you. I buy a fair amount of camera gear from Adorama (still) but you do have to be careful. I bought a used Nikon DSLR from them a couple of years ago, and it wouldn't recognize any lens that I'd put on it. So much for the thoroughness of the evaluation they did to assign it a used camera quality rating. They did quickly replace it with another in good working order, no questions asked.

I have bought a Nikon refurbished D3000 and 18-105 lens, (not from Adorama). Both looked and operated as new. Your camera is obviously in badly used condition, not refurbished condition. Something is not right with Adorama. Why do I say this? Because I bought a new lens from Adorama about three years ago and it arrived in a new box, but the lens was obviously badly misused condition . It was physically dirty and unusable due to very poor optics. I suspect the lens had been immersed in water at some point. I have never even seen a used lens in such bad shape before! How did this beat up lens get into a new box? You tell me, because Adorama would not. I did finally get a refund, once I found an Adorama employee who was fluent in the English language. I only buy from B&H now.

• Jon