Best Place to Buy M9 in Tokyo?

[nestacio]

Hi team,

I'm currently traveling in Asia for two months and will be in Tokyo for a week, so I'm thinking about picking up an M9 there for ideally less than buying it locally. Not sure whether it's cheaper to pick up an M9 abroad vs. the US (where I live) but I'd be interested in getting one under warranty if the price was right.

1) Where is the best place to find Leica at a good price in Tokyo?

2) Has anyone bought a Leica in Japan and had it shipped to the US? I'm wary about bringing it through via luggage check-in; it may end up in my carry-on but I'm already hefting a 5D2 and two zooms plus other gear so it's crowded (might still squeeze it in though).

Thanks guys,
Neil

 

[jonmanjiro]

Japan is not the place to find cheap new Leicas.

That said, you could try Leica Japan in the Ginza or MAP Camera in Shinjuku.

 

[Lss]

1) Where is the best place to find Leica at a good price in Tokyo?

I don't think there is such a place. Availability of Leica gear seemed quite good when I was there, but the prices for new gear were just scary.

 

[iwaki]

Japan is not the place to find cheap new Leicas.

That said, you could try Leica Japan in the Ginza or MAP Camera in Shinjuku.

Map Camera has M9 in stock for sure. With the Yen at the moment, it's not really cheap though....

 

[RobVinc]

Think about Seoul

Think about Seoul

As the other posters before already said, Japan is not the cheapest for buying camera-gear at the moment.

I would recommend, if possible, to check if the prices are better in Korea.
For used equipment they are, but for new gear i am not sure...

Greetings f rom Yokohama,
Rob

 

[jonmanjiro]

Greetings f rom Yokohama,
Rob

Greetings from Yokohama from me too 🙂
Jon

 

[nestacio]

Thank you so much guys. I'll be in Seoul at the end of November so Korea is a great suggestion.

It makes sense that the cost of Leica in Japan will be prohibitive given that it's Japan we're talking about. 😱 Still, since the M9 seems to be hard to get in the US (depending on how long one is willing to wait) maybe the premium price for getting one in Japan reflects the opportunity cost of getting it sooner rather than later. I'm thinking the used market could be more forgiving than buying new; I'm also looking for an M8.2 as well since the M9 is unlikely to be found used this soon after release. Then again, if you can buy gold vintage Leicas in Japan, used prices are likely to be similarly high.

Regardless, it will be fun looking at the various options; thank you for the suggestions to look in the Ginza and at Map Camera in Shinjuku. Once I'm actually playing around with an M9 I'll try my best to resist the impulse to buy. "In stock" is so much more tempting than "Currently back-ordered".

For you guys that actually live in Japan, I'm jealous. Not really of the cost of living, but the fact you're in a camera-friendly culture with access to lots of good stuff, both new and classic.

Regards,
Neil

 

[splitimageview]

I know a US dealer with M9 in stock at less than retail.

 

[nestacio]

Brief update: after checking new and used prices, the US seemed like a better place to get my M9; I picked up a new one at Kurland in NYC. Note I did visit Map Camera and ended up getting the 50 cron and 35 cron asph. They have a great selection of used gear, the 35 lux asph tempted me mightily but I found the cron much sharper after much in-store testing.

The price for an M9 at Map Camera came out to over $8K USD which was still more than buying in the US and having it shipped to Asia, incuding import tax and accounting for the duty-free benefit of a US passport in Japan (I did get both crons duty-free which was a plus).