I asked Hikvison to check a serial number for me, and here is their response,

[dennisoates]

Hello Dennis,

Amazon is not an authorized reseller; anything purchased on their website will not receive any factory warranty or support. Hikvision sells through distribution only, you may follow the link below where you can locate a list of our authorized distributors or you can reach out to the sales representative in your area. If you provide me with the state you are located in, I can then point you in the right direction. Please let me know if you have any further questions.

http://overseas.hikvision.com/us/distributionPartner.aspx?c_kind=43&c_kind2=45&c_kind3=56

Best Regards,

 

[vegas]

Yea, they sort of have horrible customer service in my opinion. If an international camera was bought from a US company, the warranty and support should be available. Now with Amazon however, most of those sold are by third party sellers, which most are in China.

 

[alastairstevenson]

Interestingly, Amovision (China) have recently become a Hikvision OEM partner.
Amovision cameras were one of the brands I bought a few 720p cameras from after a gap being turned off IP cameras by buying a Foscam and seeing pink grass. The Amovision cameras were good, and their new range is pretty good too, but less well-developed than Hikvision's.
Some info here: http://www.amovision.com/Service/Download/Catalogue/Hikvision_OEM_Flyer_2015.html

 

[Samee]

I'm in the UK and purchased my set from Amazon UK, contacted support because I have having a few issues and was told the same. It's pretty stupid what they say. I'm sure Amazon have purchased it from one of their distributors, obviously to sell on. So it does not make sense how they can say this.

 

[Del Boy]

Amazon UK (marketplace) or Amazon UK direct? First one - understandable. Last one - shocking!

 

[Samee]

Amazon UK (marketplace) or Amazon UK direct? First one - understandable. Last one - shocking!

I told them it was from Amazon uk direct not from 3rd party merchant seller on there.

 

[whoslooking]

The problem we have in the UK is trade only, sells to anyone so company's like ADI will take an order from an Electrical company like Edmondson they will happily sell to anyone who walks in the door. I received a flyer for 40% off Hikvision and the prices were still over £120+vat for a 2032. I did laugh.

 

[Del Boy]

40% off and yet £144, yikes that is crazy!
@Samee, Hikvision support is rubbish compared to here anyway.

 

[n0fx]

I called them up and same problem. I bought mine from Nelly's and they won't give me support either for any "grey market" items. It's horseshit, bought the unit from a US seller. If their documentation didn't suck, it wouldn't be calling them. What a horrible company.

 

[fmflex]

I called them up and same problem. I bought mine from Nelly's and they won't give me support either for any "grey market" items. It's horseshit, bought the unit from a US seller. If their documentation didn't suck, it wouldn't be calling them. What a horrible company.

Why not contact Nellys? From that others have said they stand by what they sell and have good support to boot.

 

[Razer]

For what it is worth I would never expect to get good support from a camera manufacturer in general. I used to try and ask questions of ACTi and Vivotek and even Axis and quickly learned it was a total waste of my time. I'd never even expect a budget camera vendor to provide support at all to an end user. This is why companies like Hikvision do NOT want to sell directly to a consumer, there is a monstrous support overhead. If I'm them do I want to provide support to 30-100 proven distributors, or do I want to support 3,374 people a month emailing and calling in non stop? I know if it was my company which I'd chose!

I do not blame them, and if they could provide direct end user support to every single person that wanted it our camera costs would double or triple real quick. I'll take the support of the forum anytime over any of the manufacturers support. I've never contacted Hikvison and I will never try as they have better things to do than worry about me lol.

 

[fenderman]

I called them up and same problem. I bought mine from Nelly's and they won't give me support either for any "grey market" items. It's horseshit, bought the unit from a US seller. If their documentation didn't suck, it wouldn't be calling them. What a horrible company.

I think razer laid it out perfectly. Hikvision has no obligation to you at all. The location of the vendor is irrelevant. You need to buy from an authorized distributor, most of which will not sell to end users like yourself (for basically the same reason hikvision does not).
Contact Nelly's if you have an issue, they will take care of you. Nelly's provides their own support and warranty.