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A Tale of the three Leica Q's


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I write this story as a penance.

I am not a photographer, maybe an enthusiast at best, but I am a spoiled brat. Impatient to the hilt and well off.

I like nice mechanical things. Like watches. Old cameras. Leica's. I always felt that an M would be way too expensive and pretentious to own, since I am really no photographer.

I liked the Digilux 2, bought one, the X, bought one, the XV, bought one. You get the picture. The Digilux 2 was the only one thet I loved and used most. I am one of those who likes to have a built in view finder ( Yeah, I got the Fuji X100 and then 100s ). When the Q came along I thought that it will be the one.

Of course I preordered one from Leica of Miami on the 10th, but when it turned to that I am not among the first 11 of that particular store, I got restless and impatient. After all I have to have it, right here, right now. So I was nosing around the Net and foud thet Meister Camera in Berlin had one, so I bought it right away ( for EU price, with VAT and shipping to US ). I was told I will have it on June 24th. I called Leica Miami to cancel my preorder.  And then the package got lost in Köln, Germany. No way to find it. Two days later FedEx called and admitted that the package is lost. I emailed Meister Camera for refund and they wrote back to be patient. But I am not. 

I made a new preorder, this time with Camera West. In the meantime I saw Fumfie advertising that they have the camera in stock, for 4999 only. I went ahead and bought one, just to be told the next day that they actually do not have the camera in stock. So I cancelled that order.

Then on Tuesday Camera West called that they will have a camera for me on Wednesday. I went ahead with them.

So today early morning FedEx came by and delivered a package. When I looked at the shipper address it was from Meister Camera in Berlin. As soon I brought the camera in my home, the shipping department at Fumfie called me that I have a camera coming to me on Friday. And of course the Q from Camera West arrived by 11AM today.

I called Shawn at Camera West and fessed up to him. He was kind to accept my return, so I shipped back the camera this afternoon. I will return the Fumfy package as soon as it arrives and keep the Q from Berlin.

The moral of the story: I had it coming, I deserved it. My Higher Power snubbed my nose. I paid about a thousand dollars for my stupidity.

Denes

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+ of course you are unashamedly brash.. I hope you can wait for the camera to produce the image after pushing the shutter!  :wacko:

Sell the others on EEEBey' make a fortune to add to your already huge stash... Good Luck.. ;)

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The losers with these types of actions are dealers…many of them... and their loyal customers.  No wonder dealers typically refuse to give details on wait lists and times….they have no clue whether those on the list are serious or just playing the odds with multiple lists or sources.

 

Jeff

Edited by Jeff S
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Make it a business and feed the market :)

 

As to Jeff: I got my Q a couple of days after it was presented at the local store, just because some customer changed his mind. So - I don't feel as a loser here. There is no perfect world. Money is the widely accepted means of driving prioritisation and allocation. Hopefully not for everyone and in all circumstances.

 

Cheers

Ivo

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Many dealers take a non-refundable 10% deposit for a place on their waiting lists.

Not any dealers I would deal with. I find that a very unpleasant practice which makes me take my business elsewhere immediately.

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It's a good story, and it's better to pay a little tax and shipping to have it early than having to pay someone a premium price.

With the way the currencies goes up and down and Leica try to adjust it, you some time better not speculate too much in where you could have gotten where for what price. I looked at the 28mm Summilux which is actually less in Europe now than int he US (when you look at the base price without VAT/GST/TAX).

 

Next time you buy in Europe, bring your passport and they fill out a paper you get signed when you leave Europe. Then you mail it back to the store and they will transfer you the VAT/GST/TAX. 

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I am often considered incredibly impatient, but you, my friend take it to an all new level. I hope the catch was as exciting as the hunt. Been there with watches and finally realized it was all about the chase (for me).

 

One thing I don't understand is why Fumfie shipped you a camera after you can canceled the order. 

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One thing I don't understand is why Fumfie shipped you a camera after you can canceled the order. 

Fumfi is one of the shadiest online company I ever dealt with. 

Located in Brooklyn, they are the "overcharge" front for B&H.

After I cancelled the order they were waiting a "little" to process the refund to my credit card. When I called my card company, and they contacted Fumfy they decided to send a camera instead of the refund. 

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