So there I was on Friday in the Leica shop ...

HenningW said:
That doesn't make a lot of sense. Serial numbers are well over 4,000,000 by now, and although not all serial numbers have had actual lenses attached to them most have. Leica has been making lenses for 80 years, approx and at present make as many or more per year than during much of that time. In any case, that averages out to 50,000 per year which seems reasonable. I would not be surprised if their present output is twice that per year. 1,700 has to either have the decimal displace by two orders or be the production of some specific lower volume model.

Henning
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That's what the bloke in the shop told me: one thousand sevend hundred lenses a month. I thought it a remarkably low figure and can make no further comment on it.
 
AndySig said:
That's what the bloke in the shop told me: one thousand sevend hundred lenses a month. I thought it a remarkably low figure and can make no further comment on it.
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True, but it's 12x larger than the 1700/year mentioned in post #1 :D
 
Roger Hicks said:
Further thought: WHY should I sell something cheap to someone I don't know? Sure, I may sell cheap to a friend or acquaintance, but then again, I've had 'friends' buy cheap (or even accept gifts) and then sell on immediately, at a profit.

If there's a going price, there's a going price. Is that greed? Hard to see how.

Cheers,

R.
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Well, Roger, I guess we just see things differently... No problem with that since we're all entitled to our own opinion. :)

As far as giving your friends a good deal and them turning around and selling whatever it was for a profit, that's pretty low. I wouldn't want to be friends with people like that.
 
Gid said:
It does seem that in some specific niches (generally luxury goods) there is more disposable income than available product, so prices rise. That is just how it is and no amount of bemoaning the fact will change that. Only when supply increases either through more production or because the latest fad has passed will prices move downwards. I can wait ;)
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For some reason, this reminds me of the recent real estate bubble. But the difference is I don't think Leica can go anywhere but up. They branded themselves as a luxury brand, so charging less is not an option. Any photographer out there now that doesn't have their "set" of lenses can forget about buying in the future if they're not willing to pay for the current used and new prices. And even if they could increase supply, they wouldn't for the reason you stated. :(
 
It's cheaper now to buy retail from a reputable dealer than to buy used. That being said, it's a great time to buy M-hexanons....
 
Thee would need to be a large expensive production capacity increase for what might possibly be a bubble. Training people also takes time, years.

Then labor laws do not them discharge employees easily.
They are going to do just what they are doing, 1700 or whatever is the correct number and no more.

Possibly in the past , they made more. But not the recent past.
 
Roger Hicks said:
You can't rob someone who is willing to pay the price: he always has the option to walk away from the deal.

Cheers,

R.
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Walk away?

I'll consider that option next time the current food prices in Australian supermarkets make me feel like gagging!

The law of the planet seems to have become peel as much money from your fellow man as is possiible for a high demand or essential item ... and Leica are in there boots and all!
 
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