That sinking Dollar feeling again! M9 prices?

[eleskin]

Well, here we go again with the Dollar tanking, Gold rising, oil up, etc,,,

I really miss the days before the Euro (so do the people in Portugal).

I hope Leica can sell in this economy. I am waiting until next year for my M9. Maybe prices will moderate, production will go up, and there will be no issues with the camera itself.

 

[Thardy]

So what is the change in the US price?

 

[Roger Hicks]

Hard to avoid political issues here.

There's an unpopular and probably uwinnable war in Afghanistan (no-one has ever won a war in Afghanistan yet -- check your history), and considerable antipathy to the idea that the richest and most powerful country in the world might be able to afford health care for all its citizens.

When this passes -- and it will -- the dollar will be seen as grievously undervalued. Right now, at $1.46 to 1€, as against $1.29 a few months ago (>10% devaluation) and better than $0.90 at the dollar's peak (>60% devaluation), no wonder European goods cost a lot in the USA.

EDIT: Why are Levis 501s so damn' expensive outside the USA?

Cheers,

R.

 

[Traut]

Leica should move production to the US.

 

[Pickett Wilson]

Yeah, but who would buy a Leica stamped "Made in the USA"? :bang:

 

[eavis]

The trade -- if you could pay your debts -- was to take out a huge home equity loan in 2006 and blow it all on Leica equipment, which in dollar terms is worth far more today. Some bright spark should construct a Leica Gear Index in dollars and track this LGI against gold. I bet it'd outperform.

 

[jack palmer]

Yeah, but who would buy a Leica stamped "Made in the USA"? :bang:

I would in a heart beat😀

 

[sooner]

Funny how even with a sinking dollar the U.S. keeps running record deficits and trade imbalances. I can't help wonder if the dollar's value is less a direct result of economic policies and more a function of how certain countries (notably China) choose to prop up or undermine the dollar as the "fiat" currency of international trade. In any event, I suspect a Leica is a good hedge against inflation, except possibly for the M8 in the short term.

 

[Pickett Wilson]

Cameras in general are terrible investments financially.

 

[Roger Hicks]

Cameras in general are terrible investments financially.

In general, in the short term, absolutely.

Buying the right product at the right time, second hand, they can be very good in the longer term. Thambar, Noctilux, tri-lens turret, VIFUR, VISUR, VORSA/VOTRA, and plenty more.

Cheers,

R.

 

[nightfly]

I would think if you are spending 7 grand for a camera, you are not too price sensitive to currency shifts. It's not like you could afford 7 grand but $7500 would be a deal breaker.

 

[sooner]

Unfortunately many if not most economic truisms only work in hindsight. If I had packed up a bunch of boxes of unopened Star Wars figures from 1978 and called it an "investment," people would have laughed me out of the room. But those toys would have made me rich 20-some years later.

 

[bwcolor]

Jimmy Carter days are soon to revisit us. Inflation will certainly make the M10 pricing a challenge.

Of course, this assumes that the Germans/Europe adopt more conservative fiscal policies vs. present U.S. money policy.

 

[nightfly]

I would bet you'd make more in the most conservative of investments than in cameras, baseball cards or action figures.

People like to collect things for some reason and then justify it as an investment. There's nothing wrong with it, but pretending it makes financial sense is a farce.

 

[Keith]

Leica should move production to the US.

I have no respect for companies that set up shop in third world economies! 😀

 

[gfspencer]

In the early 80's I was stationed in Germany. The dollar was worth four Marks. We could eat dinner at a nice restaurant in town for less than it cost to eat at Whata' Burger on post. Those were the days. 🙁

The really sad thing is that I was less than 25 miles from the Leica factory . . . and didn't know what a Leica was. :bang:

 

[ampguy]

hmm

hmm

Well in the '80s, Russia was probably going to if it weren't for Charlie Wilson, according to the movie...

Hard to avoid political issues here.

There's an unpopular and probably uwinnable war in Afghanistan (no-one has ever won a war in Afghanistan yet -- check your history), and considerable antipathy to the idea that the richest and most powerful country in the world might be able to afford health care for all its citizens.

When this passes -- and it will -- the dollar will be seen as grievously undervalued. Right now, at $1.46 to 1€, as against $1.29 a few months ago (>10% devaluation) and better than $0.90 at the dollar's peak (>60% devaluation), no wonder European goods cost a lot in the USA.

EDIT: Why are Levis 501s so damn' expensive outside the USA?

Cheers,

R.

 

[raid]

Maybe moving Leica to Ukraine or Russia is an option?
Would you buy a $1000 M9-Russar?

 

[Tom Niblick]

Yeah, but who would buy a Leica stamped "Made in the USA"? :bang:

I think that it would depend where in the US. Silicon Valley, Oregon, Washington and a few places in the South West and New England could turn up some dedicated professionals with enough pride to make a great product. It takes people who don't have "its good enough" in their vocabulary.
There are still a few of those left. I had a crew of them in my old studio in Santa Fe, New Mexico. Here in Hawaii, I'm lucky if they show up for work.

Germans have the concept of perfection engraved in their souls. Americans have the concept of innovation engraved in their psyche.

So yes, I believe Americans could develop and build a camera that not only would be of the same quality as a Leica but would surpass it in most ways. Once the camera was successful, the CEO would exercise his stock option and retire a billionaire at 45. The CFO would take over and lay-off the highest paid (and best) workers to bring up the bottom line and raise the stock price (so he could exercise his stock option). Then the workers would unionize. Then the remaining quality oriented workers would quit, not wanting to be part of the workers vs management mentality. Knowing this the CFO (now CEO) would sell his shares and look elsewhere for his next hit. The next CEO, probably an executive from Pepsi, would take the whole operation to Malaysia and the camera would become "American Crap" but Wall Street types would label it a success story since several people made their fortunes killing this camera.

You gotta love this place.

Tom

PS: For the record, my BetterLight scan back is made in the USA and it is a great piece of gear as are my North Light HID banks. So it can be done.

 

[Ronald M]

Superb Tom.