Dealer won't show you his M9

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Bluedog2212

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Title intended to get a response. My leica dealer has two M9s new in the box, the latest ($8000) version, but does not put them in his display case because some buyers won't buy one that has been handled, i.e. touched!

Is this a reality in Leicaland? Has the emperor actually got a camera, and we can't see it??
 
No. I tried some before I bought mine and had never a problem getting a M9-P or M9 into my hands. Your response should be, that no brain-sane customer would buy a $8000 camera without handle it before.
 
no brain-sane customer would buy a $8000 camera
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There, for me it sounds better like that. Until I could afford an $8,000 camera, and I hope we all get there some day, that is my story.
 
Well, being unsightly and often a far cry from sartorially resplendent, I wouldn't show me an M9 in a showroom, either.

Handled vicariously, the M9 is even more delightful, GAS being what it is.
 
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I went to a dealer once that had an x1 in stock right after they came out and were somewhat rare. It was in a display case and I asked if I could look at it and the response was to the effect of "If you give me your kidney in collateral I would let you hold it with white gloves on." He then went on a diatribe about how all Leicas are overpriced for what they are, etc. etc. I still don't understand why he was dealing Leicas if he had such an aversion to them but oh well. The strangest part though, was that he had DSLRs in stock that were just as pricey as the x1 that probably wouldn't have been a problem looking at. It was quite a weird experience.
 
I don't see why the dealer should pander to tyre kickers. And after all, what will handling an M9 before you buy it achieve, surely you don't need to handle it to decide on whether or not to purchase it? But maybe I am different to everybody else. I went into my dealer, he put the brown box on the counter, I gave him my credit card, and walked out (with a camera that had no finger prints or nose grease on it from anybody else).

Steve
 
I may be only me that not so lucky in purchasing Leica products. In this recent years I bought over 10 pieces of Leica products and 2 of them was out of calibration and needed to send back. So I think it a good idea to purchase with the dealer that allow to try then pay.
 
250swb said:
I don't see why the dealer should pander to tyre kickers. And after all, what will handling an M9 before you buy it achieve, surely you don't need to handle it to decide on whether or not to purchase it? But maybe I am different to everybody else. I went into my dealer, he put the brown box on the counter, I gave him my credit card, and walked out (with a camera that had no finger prints or nose grease on it from anybody else).

Steve
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Agreed, if you are in the market for one you pretty much know you want one and don't need or want to play in a shop with it. The only time I look at cameras in a shop is if they are second hand and I want to check they are ok.
john
 
I bought a lens from a dealer and I knew it had been handled as soon as I opened the box. Yes, it bothered me. Not enough to return it but enough that I probably won't go back. And I went out of my way to go there instead of buying from B&H since they both had it for the same price.

I understand a small dealer can't afford a display copy and one to keep in stock. But in that case they should just keep them on the shelf.
 
250swb said:
I don't see why the dealer should pander to tyre kickers. And after all, what will handling an M9 before you buy it achieve, surely you don't need to handle it to decide on whether or not to purchase it? But maybe I am different to everybody else. I went into my dealer, he put the brown box on the counter, I gave him my credit card, and walked out (with a camera that had no finger prints or nose grease on it from anybody else).

Steve
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Ridicules!
Pander to tyre kickers?! Experienced sellers of any product know that, some folks are only infected by desire for a product by picking it up and handling it. M9, BMW, Playstation, iPad, tomatoes, Russian brides...... you get the idea.
 
With new lenses, signs of use (while still being "like new" - disheveled packaging for instance) would bother me. Probably because I know a lot of people who will try 2-3 lenses to cherry pick the best one... and obviously this one wasn't!
 
viboons said:
I may be only me that not so lucky in purchasing Leica products. In this recent years I bought over 10 pieces of Leica products and 2 of them was out of calibration and needed to send back. So I think it a good idea to purchase with the dealer that allow to try then pay.
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Buy it. Open the box, try it. If there is something wrong with it, get a refund, exchange it, let the store handle sending it back for calibration or whatever...
 
Many moons ago, I lived in SE Asia and would visit People's Park -a Chinese shopping mall in Singapore. When you wanted to see a camera, the shopkeeper would scream: "No look"! "You buy"?!
 
I remember when the M8 came out and my dealer gave me the same line. For me, the only reason to try one is to make certain my lenses focus correctly before purchasing the camera as sometimes focus adjustment with a particular lens or camera-lens combination might require tweaking. I understand the small dealers frustration as well as the buyer's when dropping 8K on a camera. Trying a body before buying was never an issue several years ago when buying an M6 for about 1K because it was "only" 1K. To try a body, try a bigger Leica dealer like Tamarkin or B&H in NY or go if the have a "Leica day" when a Leica rep is there.
 
My dealer in Luxembourg is super cool (Lecuit); he lends me any Leica I want, sometimes for a complete week.
Some I buy, some I don't, like the M9 :( Just didn't like it.
However I do buy lenses occasionally for my wife.
 
Moriturii said:
No brain-sane customer would buy an M9-P period.
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What about rich people to whom the cost of an M9-P may as well be the cost of a pizza?

I don't want an M9-P, but I appreciate that we're all different and what's right for some people, is not right for others.

Is it crazy to buy a car for the same price as an M9-P? The Leica will hold it's value better.
 
We must always remember that a dealer is a privately owned business. The owner invested money out of his own pocket to start it. He puts money into his pocket from his good decisions. He takes money out of his pocket to pay for his bad ones.

So each dealer can run their business the way they want. And we, as consumers, can decide if we want to shop there or not.
 
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