Used Leica lenses - price dropping?

[Eastgreenlander]

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Its a good time to make entry to Leica M as used prices are really dropping on lenses. But no so good for those changing their lens setup. Anybody having a though time selling their leica lens?

[UliWer]

I am not sure whether you just want to make a statement, or whether you want to ask a question.

 

If you are interested in the development of prices, looking into the "buy and sell" market of this forum might give you an idea.

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[pedaes]

Its a good time to make entry to Leica M as used prices are really dropping on lenses.

 

What is your evidence for this statement? Can't say it is a trend I recognise in my part of the world - and I think we are very much in a global market.

[wda]

I try not to sell my Leica lenses and have only sold two in my entire lifetime of Leica ownership. Even theoretically displaced lenses, that is those I have upgraded, continue to serve a purpose with their unique rendering.

[Guido]

Its a good time to make entry to Leica M as used prices are really dropping on lenses.

Wishful thinking

[TomB_tx]

I try not to sell my Leica lenses and have only sold two in my entire lifetime of Leica ownership. Even theoretically displaced lenses, that is those I have upgraded, continue to serve a purpose with their unique rendering.

That's two more than I've sold in 50 years! Never sold a Leica body either - but don't buy every new model that comes out either - maybe every 10-15 years.

[Mr_Jones]

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I'd tend to agree, at least in the private market. I've put it down to people having to wait for a new body (M) and saving money or dumping un-used lens on the market to provide funds for the M. The highly sought after lenses don't seem to have dropped much but 50mm crons etc do seem to be changing hands quite cheaply on ebay. The 90mm 2 pre-asph seemed to drop a bit but the 2.8 seems to be in vogue.

 

Certainly not a big year for price increases in Leica lens from my view. Mind you gold has had a terrible year so far, if that is any indication of the purchasing power of cash increasing. Can't tell why though as there is so much extra money in circulation it's only the stock market soaking it up that's saving us from pushing it around in wheelbarrows!

[Paul J]

18 months ago I bought a near mint 75mm Summilux for £2K. For the last 6 months, maybe, I've not seen one under £3K.

[Mr_Jones]

The 75 Summilux is definitely one of the hot ones at the moment. Lovely lens for portraits, always catches my eye it's so lifelike with gorgeous bokeh.

[250swb]

It is true that some Leica prices bounce along the bottom all the time, as with the most common lenses such as the 50mm Summicron. But generally the price ranges are up, not down. Don't confuse Summer lethargy in the market with overall enthusiasm. A good regular lens sold in the winter will make more than in the summer, but some are always up, like the 28mm Summicron, and some have come up in price through intelligent research, like the 90mm Elmarit M.

 

Steve

[StephenPatterson]

In Hong Kong every lens except the 50 APO is available for hundreds to thousands off MSRP. The reason for this is simple, dealers around the world are dumping inventory for quick cash and many of these lenses are ending up in Asia. The best prices are available to cash buyers but even still substantial discounts are not hard to find.

 

A friend recently purchased a new Noctilux for 70000HKD, which works out to $9032 USD. A new 50 Summilux ASPH can be bought for 24,500 HKD or $3162 USD. These are not demo or used lenses, but new in the box with all paperwork. Even the Leica authorized dealers in Hong Kong now offer customers a choice between HK Goods and Grey Market goods, the only difference being the warranty, but since the local warranty offers no advantage many are happy to pocket the savings and go with the Leica International Warranty.

 

Obviously these much lower new prices have had a corresponding effect on used prices, especially for models currently in production. Older lenses have held up better.

[philipus]

I agree that prices, at least for some lenses, have dropped a bit in the last year or so, even here in Europe. The 50 Summilux Asph is a good example. Remember when it was really hard to come by in late 2011, early 2012 or thereabouts? These days it can quite often be found in excellent condition for 2500-2800€ which is quite a lot less than before.

[wattsy]

But generally the price ranges are up, not down. Don't confuse Summer lethargy in the market with overall enthusiasm.

 

... but some are always up, like the 28mm Summicron,

 

I suppose it depends upon what historical benchmark you are using but lens prices are currently very soft and, apart from the new 50 APO, lenses are available used for substantial discounts to the RRP new price. In the buy & sell forum there is an as-new 35 Summilux FLE for under £3000 (RRP currently £3800) which appears to have been available for a while. I sold a slightly marked version of this lens for £4000 (ex. vat) in March 2012 (in the Summer of 2011, the going rate for this lens reached $8000/£5000 ex. vat at one point). As for the 28 Summicron, you'd do very well to get anywhere near £2000 for a mint example in the current market and this is a lens that now retails for £2995.

 

There are no doubt many reasons for this, not least of which is the state of most economies, but I don't believe it has much to do with "Summer lethargy" (in my experience, it is easier to sell photo gear in the Spring and Summer months than it is in once the Winter nights have drawn in).

[keithlaban.co.uk]

New lenses in short supply = higher used prices.

New lenses in plentiful supply = lower used prices.

[wattsy]

New lenses in short supply = higher used prices.

New lenses in plentiful supply = lower used prices.

 

Yes, Leica stated somewhere that are making twice as many lenses as they did two years ago and, I seem to recall, will be making three times as many in the near future.

[MarkP]

Good that I bought my lenses for lifelong use, not for investment.

Edited August 12, 2013 by MarkP

[StephenPatterson]

Yes, Leica stated somewhere that are making twice as many lenses as they did two years ago and, I seem to recall, will be making three times as many in the near future.

 

And who is going to be buying all these new lenses? With everything (except the new 50 APO) now in stock does Leica believe that increasing lens production another 50% is needed? I somehow have a feeling that my fellow Chinese were the target of much of this increased production, and I do believe that the slow roll out of the M240 has had an effect on new lens sales, but I'm not sure that the demand can even begin to keep up with the supply. Luxury spending in China is much softer than last year (i.e. before Xi Jinping came to office) and there is much more oversight occurring on waste and excess spending. Far from over but nothing like the old days.

 

The last time I saw venture capitalists push an optics company like this was in 1999 when Joe Messner and Wind Point Partners took Bushnell on a whirlwind growth spree that had them building and spending at a fevered pitch...right up until the sale to the next group.

[jdlaing]

And who is going to be buying all these new lenses? With everything (except the new 50 APO) now in stock does Leica believe that increasing lens production another 50% is needed? I somehow have a feeling that my fellow Chinese were the target of much of this increased production, and I do believe that the slow roll out of the M240 has had an effect on new lens sales, but I'm not sure that the demand can even begin to keep up with the supply. Luxury spending in China is much softer than last year (i.e. before Xi Jinping came to office) and there is much more oversight occurring on waste and excess spending. Far from over but nothing like the old days.

 

The last time I saw venture capitalists push an optics company like this was in 1999 when Joe Messner and Wind Point Partners took Bushnell on a whirlwind growth spree that had them building and spending at a fevered pitch...right up until the sale to the next group.

 

Who's going to buy them?

 

Everybody that wants to use the finest lenses on all the plastic fantastic NEX, Fuji, and other cameras that moans and groans and whines about the price of M bodies for one reason or another.

[Peter H]

Its a good time to make entry to Leica M as used prices are really dropping on lenses. .........

 

Here's what I don't understand:

 

If prices are falling, why is it a good time to buy?

 

If they really are falling, and money is a consideration, isn't it better to wait until they've fallen further? Unless, perhaps, you think they've fallen as far as they're going to fall. In which case, it wouldn't be true to say prices are falling.

 

 

 

So. Buy if you can afford to and want to. Otherwise, don't.

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[Phil U]

I'm thinking of risking far more money than I can afford to cover in speculating on the future price of used Leica lenses. Any chance of a forum bail out on cataclysmic losses incurred by my irresponsible behavior? I'd give you my word to be more cautious in the future, or at least until you'd all forgotten about the last time it happened.

 

Needless to say, if I make an obscene amount of profit on my speculation then that will remain all mine - after all, it was I that took the risk and so it's only fair that I keep the reward.