Official Leica dealers price gouging?

[Doug]

...The 11874 was the prior model that I believe had a list price of $4495.00. ...

I am not being critical considering that i paid 4K for a 11874 last April since I wanted a 35 Lux. At the time I thought that the lens was priced to high but made the purchase. I definitely would not be laying out the $4999.00 for the used lens currently being offered. When I bought mine it was online for a while so I am sure there were others who would not spend the $4k on a used lens. We all know our own limits when we are willing to make a purchase for a used or new lens...

Times have indeed changed and prices up... Back in early 2009 B&H listed the 35 Summilux ASPH at $4195 with a $300 mail-in rebate, bringing it down to $3895. Anti-gouging? Maybe sales were slow. Decent opportunity, anyway. 🙂

FWIW, I later sent this lens to DAG along with several others for coding and focus check for digital M. He said, "Adjusted focus and checked. Basically, all your Leitz lenses were out of focus & by adjusting the focus, I was able to improve all of them."

 

[gdi]

I think we can blame only the consumers for these ridiculous prices - when people snatch up $4000 lenses ( I.e., cheap! LOL!) for $7000, what else can be expected? Of course there are some dealers who find ways to gouge in these conditions. I can remember a few years ago one dealer was snatching every Noctilux on eBay, I presume to try to corner the market. If they kept those $3000-4500 lenses till recently they are making quite a profit. Others will raise the prices of anything that is discontinued, quite the opposite of most products.

It is discouraging when you want to buy something, but I agree that there is nothing immoral or illegal with doing it. Of course there is nothing immoral or illegal about remembering who the opportunists are when the market shifts back to the buyers, as it eventually will.

 

[David Murphy]

Extraordinarily high prices are not necessarily bad in the long run, they sometimes spur other manufacturers to compete at lower prices. In any event I can't sympathize with someone buying brand new Leica equipment and complaining about price markups. It's wonderful gear, but one can make the same great photos with cameras and lenses costing 10X less if that is the goal!

 

[Joeys61]

From KEH.com 08.30.11

50 F1.2 NOCTILUX (48) #11820 35MM RANGEFINDER MANUAL FOCUS STANDARD ANGLE LENS

GRADE BGN
$15,249.00

 

[Beemermark]

I'm not objecting in any way...I do find it interesting to see dealers break agreements or find sneaky work-arounds.

Agreements with who?

Is Leica with holding news lenses to drive up dealer inventory prices?

Last time I looked no one was forcing me to buy anything (except Obama Health Insurance - couldn't resist that one).

 

[Roger Hicks]

Agreements with who?

Is Leica with holding news lenses to drive up dealer inventory prices?

Last time I looked no one was forcing me to buy anything (except Obama Health Insurance - couldn't resist that one).

Well, apart from roads, street lighting, education, driving licence (if you want to drive), policing, courts, prisons, defence of the realm. A few minor things like that.

"Taxes are the price we pay for a civilized society."

Cheers,

R.

 

[jsrockit]

From the federal trade commission:

Q: One of my suppliers marks its products with a Manufacturer Suggested Retail Price (MSRP). Do I have to charge this price?

A: The key word is "suggested." A dealer is free to set the retail price of the products it sells. A dealer can set the price at the MSRP or at a different price, as long as the dealer comes to that decision on its own. However, the manufacturer can decide not to use distributors that do not adhere to its MSRP.

 

[raid]

I simply saw (in Shutterbug) that prices were identical for many items. I had been comparing all prices for camera items for several years then, and it was my hobby to price things. I could quickly give people a good estimate of current market value for any camera or lens.