Subscriber Discussion

Hikvision Pricing - ADI Vs. Amazon

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Jason Neubauer
Nov 08, 2015
IPVMU Certified

So i was putting together a quote tonight with ADI and used Amazon to double check a part number and saw decent discrepancy in pricing. Do people get better pricing at ADI than what i am about to publish:

DS-7608 - 8CH/2TB NVR --- ADI 511.99 / AMAZON 409.89 (326.99 + 82.99 WD Purple Drive)

DS-2CD2332 - Dome Camera --- ADI 179.99 (Sale Price) / AMAZON 125.99

Damn, that is some extra profit dollars.

JP
Josh Penfold
Nov 08, 2015

From my experience ADI is the most expense place to source products. Their benefit to my understanding is local branches and counter help. You can usually find the items lower priced retail as the channels for cctv are so sideways everyone is going omnichannel and selling to retail direct.

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Jason Neubauer
Nov 08, 2015
IPVMU Certified

So where is everyone buying their hikvision products?

UI
Undisclosed Integrator #1
Nov 08, 2015

I buy from ADI. I looked at Amazon, and did notice a few models were cheaper, but some were extremely over priced, compared to ADI. Also a lot of the model numbers were wrong, which kind of scared me. Like a 1.3MP outdoor dome would be I don't know, let's say $150 from ADI, and then $300 on Amazon, but then the 1080p model would be $200 something at ADI, and $150 on Amazon, with a slightly different model number (but regardless the same specs).

I don't buy a lot of products, only when I do some jobs on the side.

(1)
BS
Bob Schenck
Nov 08, 2015
IPVMU Certified

You could try Synnex. The pricing is not quite as cheap as your Amazon DVR link but cheaper than ADI. I know when I buy from a Hikvision approved distributor that it is a full USA model with warranty and support. In addition to being a retailer, Amazon is a storefront for a lot of 3rd party sellers. I'd guess a fair amount of 3rd party Amazon sellers are bringing in Chinese domestic market product.

Take a look at this page for reviews on Amazon for a Hikvision NVR(excerpts below)

on April 3, 2015
Was not a Hikvsion unit and only had 4 ports instead of the 8 advertised. Returned item.
on August 24, 2015
The item that comes IS NOT Hikvision. Beware!

No where does the product description say this is NOT a Hikvision. Think very hard before putting an anonymous product on your secure network. I am not putting anything with an unknown provenance on mine - especially from China.

Obviously this is going back.

on March 6, 2015
90 days old and the power supply just died! Amazon is not an authorized seller so no warranty. Don't buy this if you expect it to last. If you like wasting money then go ahead.
JH
John Honovich
Nov 08, 2015
IPVM

You can buy that dome from eBay for even less, just ~$100.

However, I am not recommending it.

I've asked Hikvision for official comment but, in general, as Bob S mentions above, the risk are not getting any warranty, not getting any support and possibly getting a Chinese version / firmware. You'll notice on some Amazon reviews, feedback like "Product is gray market. A recent firmware upgrade caused the camera to be inoperable. The upgrade needed to make the camera work the company that made the camera won't support."

Related: Buying Hikvision Chinese Versions Vs USA Ones.

This does raise the question: Why does Hikvision not stop this? Amazon lists who these sellers are and some of them are clearly quite large, not just a guy in his basement selling a few extra cameras.

BG
Bob Germain
Nov 08, 2015

Jason- any purchase of Hikvision product from Amazon is from an unauthorized source. Most resellers are getting China version product and using modified firmware to enable English menus. As was posted below, upgrades to these products may make them inoperable. Hikvision USA does not support any product that is not sold thru our authorized channels. Each unit is traced to the source to whom it was sold and actions are taken in China against those sources. This is an ongoing effort. Also, model numbers are changing in China to further differentiate the domestic and international markets.

Disclosure- Hikvision Employee

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U
Undisclosed #2
Nov 13, 2015
IPVMU Certified

Hikvision USA does not support any product that is not sold thru our authorized channels.

What are the official options for an end-user who unwittingly buys gray Hik, and then has that supplier disappear, as they often will?

I can see why no warranty or anything costing Hik $ would be objectionable, as we do not know under what assumptions the product was originally sold under.

But, is there really no firmware or documentation support in this case?

After all, Hik sold them to someone authorized to begin with, right?

And that someone would have had access to Hik firmware and docs, I assume.

So if Hik has been paid for that support, why deny it to the person who ultimately paid for it?

JH
John Honovich
Nov 13, 2015
IPVM

Do you mean gray Chinese language firmware or gray English / 5.3 firmware?

U
Undisclosed #2
Nov 13, 2015
IPVMU Certified

I mean ANY official Hikvision firmware in any language that works on that camera. Why not?

JH
John Honovich
Nov 13, 2015
IPVM

My understanding is that one of the reasons the Chinese products are sold cheaper is that they do not include 'overseas' warranty and support. If so, why would Hikvision honor something that is not including to begin with?

U
Undisclosed #2
Nov 13, 2015
IPVMU Certified

Like I said the warranty or anything that actually costs Hik $ is understandable to deny.

I'm just talking docs and firmware here, nothing but passive support. And nothing that the original authorized buyer from Hik wasn't wouldn't be getting.

JH
John Honovich
Nov 13, 2015
IPVM

By definition, English firmware is not part of the Chinese product. Maybe, as Hikvision says, they need to have distinct part numbers which makes it clearer what does not come with English firmware.

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Jason Neubauer
Nov 09, 2015
IPVMU Certified

I am not trying to beat a dead horse.... so i get a quote from local ADI branch and they have way different model numbers that what the Hikvision website or Amazon uses. Is this the same trick that Best Buy uses for price matching - "we will match the price of the same model number" and the model number ends in some crap so they can use the technicality of it????

DS-2CD2332I equals TR32F2

DS-2CD2132 equals OD2132F2

BG
Bob Germain
Nov 10, 2015

Jason- Since Hikvision model numbers exceed what ADI's system accepts, those are shorthand order codes that fit their system and add lens size information as well.

Bob (Hikvision)

(1)
U
Undisclosed #2
Nov 10, 2015
IPVMU Certified

Internal part#'s are nothing new, but are you saying that their system doesn't even have the capacity to show a 12-digit manufacturers part# on a quote?

How do they do x-refs?

BG
Bob Germain
Nov 10, 2015

Their system has both part numbers. I do not know what they can or can't show on a quote.

U
Undisclosed #2
Nov 10, 2015
IPVMU Certified

Agreed.

IMHO, something is fishy for a distributor not to show actual mfr part#s on a quote.

UM
Undisclosed Manufacturer #3
Nov 10, 2015

A Hikvision price list has a Hikvision part number column and a Hikvision model number column.

The Hikvision part number OD2132F2 is the Hikvision model number DS-2CD2132F-I.

I agree, the quote should come back to you in terms you are familiar with/asked for--or explain these types of details.

PJ
Paul Jakowski
Nov 13, 2015
IPVMU Certified

During last Canasa show in Toronto every second booth had Hikvision cameras with their names. I believe some are authorized to sell in North America but some are not.Can Hikvision list all authorized vendors? These cameras have distinctive model numbers but function exactly the same as Hikvision models.They are a little cheaper but not half price as Amazon cameras. I would hope Hikvision should be able to pursue legal actions again gray market if they don't want them sold here.Maybe they really don't care? After all at the end money goes to the same packet.I would be interested to hear from Hikvision on this.

U
Undisclosed #2
Nov 13, 2015
IPVMU Certified

During last Canasa show in Toronto every second booth had Hikvision cameras with their names...

If they don't say Hik, they are not Hik. ;)

(1)
PJ
Paul Jakowski
Nov 14, 2015
IPVMU Certified

Not true, sometimes I get non branded cameras with Hik branded rings and operation and GUI is EXACTLY the same except Hikvision name is gone. Also those DVRS register as Hikvision DVRS on Hik-DDNS,.

(1)
U
Undisclosed #2
Nov 14, 2015
IPVMU Certified

Not true,

Paul, you are right, sorry I was being facetious. ;)

You asked:

During last Canasa show in Toronto every second booth had Hikvision cameras with their names. I believe some are authorized to sell in North America but some are not. Can Hikvision list all authorized vendors?

Here's the list of resellers authorized to sell product branded as Hikvision in the U.S.A.

My point was only that you might not find those relabelers on the list.

That's because there is NO authorized list of Hikvision OEM's. Because neither Hikvision nor the OEM has any reason to reveal publicly these relationships.

Hikvision is very concerned with who and where people are selling branded Hikvision product, less so for OEM product.

IMHO, as far as Hik is concerned, if it says XYZ, it's a XYZ camera.

That's what I was trying to say.

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