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Nikon D800 Pre-Orders Sold Out at Amazon

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The initial batch of Nikon D800 and D800 pre-orders appear to already be sold out at Amazon.com. The online retail giant posted pre-order pages for Nikon’s hot new $3,000 DSLR just yesterday. Those who took a day to decide if they were going to pull the trigger are already out of luck.

We don’t know exactly how many Nikon D800 and D800E units Amazon plans to ship on launch day, but it’s likely a significant number. Whatever that number is it’s not enough to satisfy the hoards of Nikon photographers waiting to get a piece of its 36.3 megapixel glory.

As of early this morning, Amazon shoppers could pre-order the Nikon D800 and D800 from this Amazon.com page. Sometime between then and now, Amazon switched out the pre-order option for an email notification option. Instead of being able to slap down a credit card and reserve a Nikon D800 for pre-order, all shoppers can do now is sign up for a newsletter or add the camera to their wish list.

The following note on the page is the same as it was when D800 pre-orders were available:

Note on Availability: This item is in high demand and supplies from the manufacturer are limited. Its availability will fluctuate, and if the item is not currently in stock, we cannot guarantee that we will receive additional quantities in a timely manner. We will not charge your credit card until we ship the product.

Amazon arguably has the most advanced online store and inventory management systems in the online shopping world. There have been plenty of stories of other online retailers, including Best Buy, of overselling hot items and not delivering them on time.

Of course professional and enthusiast Nikon shooters will be able to purchase the D800 at some point, but they may not be able to get one on launch day or for months afterwards, depending on how demand for the camera shapes up. Nikon rarely releases new professional-grade cameras. It announced the Nikon D4 at CES 2012, but its been more than three years since the company introduced the Nikon D700, a camera that’s of similar stature and price to the D800. Some Nikon fans have waited for years for the D700 followup to be released since the older camera cannot shoot video and the full-frame Nikons that cost significantly more.

Since new phones, tablets and computers are released so often that’s it’s nearly impossible to keep up, buyers will sometimes switch allegiance to a new gadget if it takes a few days or weeks to get ahold of one of them. That’s not the case with cameras like the Nikon D800 and its predecessors. DSLR buyers that don’t get in on the initial pre-order wave can sometimes be forced to deal with waiting lists that can stretch on for weeks or months. Brick and mortar camera shops are sometimes relegated to a handful of the latest models until demand tapers down.

Amazon.com isn’t the only place to pre-order a Nikon D800, but many camera geeks (myself included) pre-order from Amazon since they seem to receive a large number of early units from Nikon and other major camera manufacturers. B&H Photo and Adorama are still taking pre-orders, but I’m not sure if they’re simply adding to a wait list or selling their initial allocations of D800s.

The Nikon D800 is capable of shooting cinema-quality movies and taking stunning photos. You can view Nikon’s official D800 video sample above and learn more about the D800 video sample here. Of course most D800 buyers will be buying the camera for its photo prowess. You can see several Nikon D800 photo samples here.

12 Comments

12 Comments

  1. Anonymous

    02/08/2012 at 5:27 pm

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    02/09/2012 at 3:18 am

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  4. Henry Posner

    02/09/2012 at 8:46 am

    “B&H Photo and … are
    still taking pre-orders, but I’m not sure if they’re simply adding to a
    wait list or selling their initial allocations of D800s.”

    Since no retailer can be certain how many will actually arrive with Nikon’s first shipment, there’s an element of uncertainty as there always is with a high-demand newly announced product. We’re taking pre-orders, not adding to a wait list and intend to fulfill each order we receive in the order we receive them as speedily as circumstances (and Nikon’s deliveries) permit.


    Henry Posner
    B&H Photo-Video

    • Ken Rockwell

      02/09/2012 at 9:41 am

      That sounds like a wait list to me. Amazon seems to know what their initial allocation would be, otherwise, how could they determine when to stop taking pre-orders. The Amazon approach sounds better to me, rather than having people wait for 4-5 months or whatever “as circumstances (and Nkon’s deliveries) permit.” 

      • scott

        02/13/2012 at 10:51 pm

        I pre-ordered my D800 from Amazon an hour or so after their presale began. Just got an email notification that the expected ship date is Jan 2013. WTF? Anyone else getting notifications from Amazon?

        • Andrew Bearman

          02/13/2012 at 10:59 pm

          Got the same note after ordering 1st day possible. I guess we missed the first boatload.

      • Eric G

        02/14/2012 at 12:47 am

        I also pre-ordered my D800 and D800E from Amazon almost as soon as the presage began (7 am EST on Feb 7).   Received the two email notifications,  the expected ship date is Jan 2 2013 for the D800E and Jan 4-8 for the D800.   :-(

  5. Henry Posner

    02/09/2012 at 9:44 am

    I’m in no position to know what Amazon knew or knows, but I do know this:
    No matter what a vendor promises a retailer, no one can be certain until the merchandise is delivered. I think everyone’s experience with the Asus Transformer Prime has firmly established that.

    Henry Posner
    B&H Photo-Video

    • Ryan Posner

      02/09/2012 at 5:40 pm

      I have been contemplating getting this camera as I bought the D7000 last year. Henry are you a sign that I should get this since you share the same name is my grandfather? :)

    • Thom Hogan

      02/12/2012 at 5:28 pm

      Personally, I am a fan of B&H as they are one of my favorite retailers for this type of equipment. I got on the B&H “waiting list” I would say about 20-seconds after they opened up for pre-order of the Nikon D800. I hope that I get mine as soon as they arrive off the slow boat from Sendai, Japan on or about March 18th. If not, I’m going to the B&H docks in Brooklyn, NY to await my Nikon D800. Amazon is no slouch for sure, but Ritz Camera is a bit iffy … B&H is the way to go – they haven’t let me down yet, so we’ll see what happens with this highly anticipated and awaited NIkon D800.

  6. Chris Gale

    02/10/2012 at 8:09 pm

    This camera is on the upgrade list, but I don’t need it right now. If I was semi-pro, I would already have it on preorder.

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