Does an M4-P at £600 equal M$-P?

[Doctor Zero]

In an effort to not do work I was browsing the freebay (!) site and came across this:
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Leica-M4-P-Ch...ryZ15234QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem
The pictures make it look gorgeous! However - £600 starting bid (that's about $1050) is a lot of money. Or is it?

It does come with the VCII meter. Then again, no mention of CLA. And is "it's a collector's item" a term borrowed from estate agent-speak to mean it looks pretty but is a dud? Any thoughts? What would be a good price for a chrome M4-P? What probably doesn't help is that it's a european (okay, okay, UK 🙄 ) sale.

Oh well. Maybe this is a good point in time to go and do some work after all and forget about it. Must... not... give... in... to... GAS...!

Doctor Zero

 

[FrankS]

I think it's a perfectly reasonable price for a mint M4-P. Unfortunately, that's not a BIN price, just the beginning of auction price.

 

[Kim Coxon]

It is perhaps a tad on the high side. I could only find black M4-P's on the usual dealer sites. They are around the £600 mark but that is in used condition without box meter etc. I would expect £750- £800 in this condition from ffordes, Ace or one of the other out of London stores but that would give you a 6 or 12 month warranty.

Kim

 

[Ronald M]

I would rather have this than a used M6 for the same money.

There is a good chance that is gummed up and needs a clean.

To me anything over $50 is too high for flea bay.

 

[FrankS]

With this camera, you are paying a premium for its mint condition. I wouldn't buy a mint camera if I were going to use it, and so far that is the only reason I've ever bought a camera.

 

[George S.]

I always understood (because Rogliatti says so in his books, does anyone know if he was wrong...?) that all M4-Ps were black, except for the 1983 commemoratives that were chrome, but they are supposed to be serial numbered from #1 to #500 in 5 batches, each with a letter L-E-I-C-A.

 

[George S.]

With this camera, you are paying a premium for its mint condition. I wouldn't buy a mint camera if I were going to use it, and so far that is the only reason I've ever bought a camera.

I nominate Frank for the post of "Official RFF Zen Master"... 🙂

 

[Frank Granovski]

Doctor Zero, the camera looks like a good one to bid on. It has 3 things going for it:

1) it's pristine
2) it's made in Canada
3) it's local

 

[Kim Coxon]

Start price has been dropped to £500. That would be a very good price if you could get it.

 

[ClaremontPhoto]

But there's an RFF guy selling a good sounding M4-P today right here for £750.

 

[Kim Coxon]

I thought it was $750. In any case, a UK buy would alleviate any customs charges which with handling fees, VAT on shipping etc can easily increase the price 20%

 

[ClaremontPhoto]

Yes, of course $750. Say £430 plus duty, tax and shipping.

 

[Doctor Zero]

Thanks people I appreciate your thoughts. Seems the price isn't that unreasonable then. Still, I agree with Frank: I would be buying it to use it so paying extra for it to look prettier seems silly. The fact that it's so clean also suggests it's been sitting in a box for ever, which doesn't sound good for a mechanical camera.

I'll be crossing the pond in the not too distant future and I may well end up moving there in a year or so, so I might just hold out. Which reminds me - anyone know any good camera shops in the Boston (MA) area?

Doctor Zero