Edit- The decision was made LAST January. The person that forwarded me the interaction said it took place a couple of months ago.
Politics or internal decisions???
In December, just before both the holidays and the seasonal gathering of sporting-goods dealers and group buyers who get together to write orders for the new year, Nikon’s North American office delivered stunning news: It was walking away from the riflescope market.
Dealers were told they could sell through their current inventories of Buckmaster, ProStaff, and BLACK scopes, but they shouldn’t write new orders, and they shouldn’t expect inventories to be replenished.
Full article, HERE.
I went on the website and they no longer show ANY rifle scopes, nor can you search for them. And no users guides were showing up (if you could access that part of the site).
So, they are walking away from a high profit line of merchandise, and, according to some information, they are no longer honoring warranties either…
h/t BJ for the following- I can’t vouch for this, but based on the article and website, very possible…
Buyer Beware!!! This happened recently and we are putting the word out to all gun/scope owners…. We purchased a Nikon scope for our rifle from a local reputable gun store, and paid $200+ for it. It came w/ a lifetime warranty, so all seemed good and we were happy with it. Used it a handful of times at the range, had fun and no problems. Then the O-ring began slipping, so we called Nikon and they were helpful and told us to package it up and send the scope in, and their technicians would take a look at it and let us know what they found and repair it. Sent it in, received the email about 10 days later that they would fix the issue (simple O-ring replacement) and service/clean it and send it back. Then, a few days later, got a 2nd email stating they no longer repair and sell Nikon scopes, and they could only give us a $99 voucher for their online store. We were shocked! But, out of curiosity went on their website and guess what??? NO SCOPES OF ANY KIND! They had other equipment, but no scopes. So, my husband called their C.S. dept. and the gal was pleasant, but said they were no longer servicing or repairing scopes. He reminded her there was a lifetime warranty on it, but she said there was nothing she could do. So, he told her we’d like it sent back to us, please ship it back. She informed him that shipping it back was not possible, as the scope had already been sent to “Texas” and we would not be getting it back. Again, we were in shock that they would confiscate our scope, and literally STEAL IT FROM US, and assume ownership and take away OUR RIGHT to getting it back and finding a private repairman to fix it. My husband was able to get a paper check sent to us, rather than an online voucher. So, we went to the gun store we’d purchased the scope from, and they had NO CLUE this was happening! They were disgusted and contacted their Nikon sales rep, and were told this was Nikon’s new policy and there was nothing he could do about it. The store owner said they would NOT be carrying anymore Nikon products, but not sure if they’ll sell their remaining Nikon scopes. The gun store is working with us on replacing our scope when they get more inventory in, and trust, it will NOT be a NIKON! Big Lesson Learned!!! If you have Nikon scopes, and they need serviced or repaired, DO NOT SEND THEM TO NIKON! Even if they’re still under warranty, you WILL NOT GET THEM BACK!
I’ve got two of Nikon’s scopes on a couple of .22s, guess I better to look at my Loopy catalog and see what I can replace them with… sigh…
Nikon are no longer the company they used to be. My first SLR was an FM my father bought me in the early 80s. That thing is still bomb-proof. The later models became more plastic and less reliable with software glitches remaining unresolved. Shame how a reputable company destroys itself.
I thought I had read in American Rifleman a couple months aggo that they were getting out of the “crowed” riflescope market.
But not honoring warranty or confiscating scopes?
Outrageous.
Sounds more politically than economically market driven.
I am skeptical that the woman quoted is the final arbiter of the refusal to send back the scope. That is illegal and opens Nikon to significant lawsuits. Your friend should go up the chain of command on this one.
Bad- I never went down the Nikon route… I bought Canons! 🙂
Ed- Concur
Hereso- I don’t know what they are doing, but I do agree it is potentially a lawsuit. However, a lawsuit over a couple of hundred dollar scope is…not affordable.
“However, a lawsuit over a couple of hundred dollar scope is…not affordable.”
That, my friend is why they invented the class action lawsuit.
Canon for my cameras. Buris for my optics. They are a ten minute drive from my apartment. Their quality matches anyone, IMO.
I’m the naive guy here.
Bought a Leupold scope for my .308.
Good, bad, or indifferent?
In my opinion, you can’t go too far wrong with a Leupold.
One wonders if Nikon pulled out of the market last year because of the increase of SJW attacks on companies. The scope market was a small but significant portion of their business, but if the SJWs attacked the overall company, then their mainstay of photo equipment would be gone, too.
Or, they were being male reproductive members.
Or both.
Sucks if the story is true. If I had a Nikon scope, instead of the cheap garbage from Walmart (don’t judge me, even Walmart garbage is expensive to me) I’d at least call Nikon to find out what their current stand on warranty repairs are.
Though we aren’t as ‘good’ as the left going half-cocked or no-cocked in attacks on companies (like the recent attack on Baen Books due to their on-line boards- see the latest Monster Hunter Nation entry) we have been known to stampede over false information or information taken out of context.
Research. Then be offended if it’s true.
Would one of you Nikon scope owners call and find out and then REPORT BACK?
Stuart- EXCELLENT point! I hadn’t thought about that approach.
WSF- That works!
GB- I like Loopies! I have…5 of them, I think.
Beans- Honestly, I think that was part of it. If the damn snow ever quits and we get back to normal, I’ll check with my gunstore.
Not disputing the article, but I today (2/17/21) looked on Amazon and Nikon scopes are still available. The one I picked at random – the Prostaff P3 Predator Hunter – states under product details that it is not discontinued.
https://www.amazon.com/Nikon-Prostaff-Predator-Hunter-Riflescope/dp/B07FLZJZYR/ref=sr_1_2?crid=270RIVCKC2KMX&dchild=1&keywords=nikon%2Brifle%2Bscope&qid=1613616656&sprefix=nikon%2Brifl%2Caps%2C167&sr=8-2&th=1
I bought a Nikon digital Camera about 15 years ago, when digital cameras first started taking off. Cost over a grand.
Now, I had NEVER used a nikon camera before, BUT when I was in college I worked at a camera store and was a amateur photographer. Everyone always talked about how great the nikon cameras were, etc. (I preferred pentax and canon)
I took less than a thousand pictures with that Nikon before it broke and that was the end of that. I will -never- buy a nikon product again. I always thought they were more reputation than actual quality back when I sold them, but the ‘pros’ all told me I was ‘wrong’. Now I know better. Want quality optical electronics? Canon is where I put my money.
I had good experience with Nikon’s warranty work when they replaced a pair of 15 year old roof prism binoculars that had a bad focus wheel. They sent me a brand new pair instead of fixing the old pair. Lifetime warranty applied.
I will not buy anything from them now, if this is how they treat scope customers.
1) If the warranty repair center was across state lines, that’s a federal case, and that person should swear out a theft complaint with the local FBI. They do not have a reputation for taking slamdunk federal felonies lightly, nor with much sense of humor.
2) If Nikon has done that more than once, that’s a future class action, and a criminal conspiracy. That’s now a federal civil and criminal case.
Nikon will end up paying the damages, penalties, and both sets of lawyers, many many times, before this is over.
You want to drop a product line, well and good. But you cannot dishonor a lifetime warranty, nor confiscate property by fiat. That goes by the quaint title of theft. Doing it under the guise of warranty service is also fraud.
Sounds like Nikon wants to put a few hundred lawyers’ kids through college over the next decade or so.
Thanks for the heads up.
Our distributor (for Germany) informed us that Nikon does no longer sell scopes.
It was sometimes last year.
Natchezs Shooter Supply is having a sale on scopes right now.
http://www.natchezss.com
I have sent two scopes in for warranty work. The first was a cheap 3-9×42 Simmons I had on a 30-06 over 35 years ago. They upgraded me to their top of the line scope, a 3-12×48 TV view. The second one was a Buris Red Dot. I got a new one back with a $50 voucher on another Buris. Both failed in the first 90 days.