Leica testdrive, but not in Holland

[Alberti]

Advertisement (gone after registration)

Leica offers us "to take part in the exclusive Leica M test drive".

The mail gives the link for a 'dealer locator'. Unfortunately it does give dealers but no participants (boutiques, as indicated on the map in Holland: the closest participant in the Leica M testdrive for me being Lille or Aachen.

It's a test drive then with a big hurdle. Why are Dutch dealers not interested in this type of outlets? They drive customers out of the country this way (I have bought in France and Germany ..) . Or they drive us mad. (Not really, I might get a favorable response from my local dealer in testing the camera but when I am offered a real testdrive I expect a bit more than just a few shots in the shop.

[DigitalHeMan]

I noticed the same thing as well, and plan to drop a response to Leica to ask them why. I know in the past Nivo Schweitzer had a loaner that you could borrow for a whole weekend to try out, but that was some years ago and I'm not sure if they still offer that. I'm sure also Henny Hoogeveen would allow a known customer to take a body out of their shop for a test drive round LIsse, although I have never asked. But it is a shame that again Dutch dealers are not involved in this - iirc it was the same when they had the XVario test drive last year.

 

I wonder if the fault lies with the dealers or Leica, or whether it is actually a lack of interest and focus from the distributor?

[Advertisement]

The Leica Q3 is available for pre-order at B&H Photo Video and Adorama

[Alberti]

FOKA allows me to take a few pictures, but a loan?

 

But being able to plan a purchase, consider upgrading or not, choosing an M or MM, being considerate and deliberate, means taking a different approach. [Compare this camera with a car.] The boutiques allows that. Allow establishing a relationship. [i must say I bought my camera in an impulse.]

 

The shop margin must be good enough for making a boutique somewhere. And Holland must have a good market size as well. But here we don't have the Peter Stuyvesant mentality anymore, I'm afraid. It is thinking global but acting very very local overhere.

[Guest]

...

 

Don't worry about, my local dealer - or maybe just one of his still uninformed clerks - also did not know about this action, even though his shop is highlighted in the dealer directory of Leica.

After all, he has an M-240 for loaning, for which I hopefully might get an appointment.

But will be such actions not always started when the shelves must be cleared for the next model?

[sanyasi]

Leica may be drawing a sharp distinction between different types of dealers. The loaner may be available from Leica stores like the ones in New York, Washington D.C. or other official stores around the world. It could be that the loaner program is not available through camera dealers that handle Leica, but just as dealers with a variety of brands rather than as official stores.

[wda]

I thought the dealer M trial programme showed that stock must be universally available now or has been for some time. Many dealers in the UK have been offering this service before the Leica announcement. I see no reason why any Leica dealer should be excluded from this exercise.

[tobey bilek]

Advertisement (gone after registration)

Slightly off topic, but Leica had one week trials in the 1980`s. It was relatively secret, but it existed. I was a customer of the Largest Leica dealers in the USA at the time and that was how I knew it existed.

 

They also had corporate events where local shops could invite their customers. Fred Maroon did a fantastic one in Chicago. Look him up, he is famous. Show was probably similar to what Walther Benser did a few decades before.

 

The events were how Leica generated a customer base. Today they seem to be appealing to the soccer mom crowd while hoping she will move up.

 

It would be interesting to see if they are generating new customers or just selling to to the older ones. I can tell the R customers are gone and I am still bleeding from that. Someone in Japan got a lot of nice stuff.

 

There used to be Leica days where the rep would come to the dealer and do demos. Sometimes small repairs. But the big thing was 10% off on everything.

If you lived in Chicago, you could call a dealer in New York and have something shipped with discount if he was having a Leica day.

 

I met my rep once when he was selling the M8. The Next time was when Tamarkin opened in Chicago.

[DigitalHeMan]

The shop margin must be good enough for making a boutique somewhere. And Holland must have a good market size as well. But here we don't have the Peter Stuyvesant mentality anymore, I'm afraid. It is thinking global but acting very very local overhere.

 

 

Henny Hoogeveen in Lisse is an official Leica Boutique. http://Http://www.leicaboutiquelisse.nl. I always get treated very well when I visit, and I feel they value both my business and the relationship I am building.

[k_g_wolf ✝]

They started this when LEICA was still LEITZ. Selected dealers received a number of

test cameras/ gear which could be loaned by their customers. Some shops asked for a small

handling charge if I remember correctly, normally it was sufficient to present your ID-card

to get registered and you received the item of interest.

 

You could use the camera/ lens/ bino for a day or two, even for a weekend and I ended up

buying most of the things later on which I had borrowed. All in all a very bad idea, moneywise.

 

 

Best

GEORG

[jaapv]

Leica may be drawing a sharp distinction between different types of dealers. The loaner may be available from Leica stores like the ones in New York, Washington D.C. or other official stores around the world. It could be that the loaner program is not available through camera dealers that handle Leica, but just as dealers with a variety of brands rather than as official stores.

Well, the OP is complaining about the Netherlands, which has a number of large dealers and a Leica Boutique Store or whatever they call it.

[bocaburger]

One of the perks of membership in the LHSA is at biannual meetings they have a Leica rep on hand to loan out cameras and lenses each day for shooting. That's how I had a chance to test-drive an M240.

[Jon Warwick]

David is right, from what I've understood this has been going on in the UK for several months (I think it was c. £ 80 for 48 hours test drive, refundable if you subsequently purchased the M240. Not sure if that is now what is being promoted though). I passed on the idea of this test drive, given I think I was naturally fully responsible for its insurance, and given I could get all the test shots I wanted by simply going to Leica Mayfair. I must have tried out the M240 and MM on 6 or more occasions there, with my 50mm Summicron, their 50mm Lux and their 50mm APO, and then got many Lambda 50x10 inch test strips done at a pro lab.

 

I recently bought a new M240 and it was a very well-informed purchase, so I guess the process worked well on both sides.... the only (potentially expensive!) downside of the excellent service that you get at Leica Mayfair is that I now know just how good the MM and 50mm APO also are!

Edited July 31, 2014 by Jon Warwick

[NZDavid]

No test drive in New Zealand either. The closest is Australia. Rather disappointing. At least in Europe dealers are not very far apart, not thousands of miles!

[philipus]

I also received this but thought two NL dealers do participate. Or am I missing something?

philip

 

Welcome, dear visitor! As registered member you'd see an image here…

Simply register for free here – We are always happy to welcome new members!

[jcraf]

I test drove mine for 12 months. Then sold it.

[DigitalHeMan]

I also received this but thought two NL dealers do participate. Or am I missing something?

 

philip

 

 

 

[ATTACH]449595[/ATTACH]

 

 

They weren't there when they first sent the mail out. Maybe the web team was a little bit behind the communications team

[Alberti]

Maybe it's time for a visit to Amsterdam the coming months and spend a day in walking around there and encourage myself to get hooked.

[DigitalHeMan]

Maybe it's time for a visit to Amsterdam the coming months and spend a day in walking around there and encourage myself to get hooked.

 

 

Let me know when you plan to do so and I will join you

[Alberti]

Simon,

that's a good idea. I'll PM you when I get the plans on my horizon!

albert

[Advertisement]

Hallo,

Look here: Interesting Leica gear

[rramesh]

I noticed that in Hong Kong, Leica offers a trade up from the M9 to the M. Is this only confined to Schmidt in Hong Kong or will this be extended to other markets?