Good News And Bad News -Big Price Drop in Australia

[thrice]

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As I said before, price is one thing availability is another.

 

Agreed Erl, this is the only reason I still have a pre-order locally.

[teaboynz]

Hi All, My name is Greg Bramwell, I own Photo & Video in Christchurch, and have been a long term Leica dealer. I have all of the same issues as the Aus Leica dealers, and would love to sell you all cameras but would prefer it if you could possibly buy locally over there, especially if the price is right and delivery improves. We have 11 orders, and have expectations that 9 of them are 'real'. One, or two, of your forum members have ordered cameras off me. I can send the cameras to Aus without the NZ GST, this is how our 'Duty Free' works. It is a shame, but often your customs do not collect the GST at your end. This is extremely unfair to Aussie dealers, and if at all possible you should try and support your local dealers. I would like to think my clients are doing the same.

I will keep you informed of our deliveries so there is no guessing.

 

I hope you all get your cameras soon.

 

Best wishes,

 

Greg.

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[rick_dykstra]

Hi All, My name is Greg Bramwell, <snip>

 

I hope you all get your cameras soon.

 

Best wishes,

 

Greg.

 

Welcome aboard Greg. Thanks for providing the supplier's perspective at this interesting Leica time. We all hope we get our cameras soon too!

 

Rick.

 

Earth to Hoppy - how's yours going?

Edited November 11, 2009 by rick_dykstra

[hoppyman]

According to Adeal here in Oz, they did indeed receive 10 black cameras early November. I know where at least one of them now is in sunny Queensland

Currently they are waiting for an update in the next few days on their next shipment.

 

My two favourite lenses, the 50 Summilux ASPH. and the APO 75 Summicron ASPH. were both calibrated in Solms for me when I got my M8 upgraded. So they are my known perfectly adjusted standards for critical focus. I'm thrilled but not surprised that each gives stunningly sharp images wide open and in close on my M9.

[rick_dykstra]

I'm thrilled but not surprised that each gives stunningly sharp images wide open and in close on my M9.

 

That is a good result! But as you say - as expected. Do tell if any of these pics are up for viewing. Not all can look at their own M9 pics.

[cheewai_m6]

in brisbane, or qld, there are 2 leica dealers. photo continental (who are great) and kayell qld who i've never dealt with at all with anything. continental has had 1 m9 delivered and 1 person their waiting list only (since september). kayell on the other hand, will not disclose how many have been delivered and how many of their waiting list.

 

kayell made it 'sound' like they have a huge waiting list and that everyone wants to get one, it's their 'most in demanded' camera they also said they 'have quite a few backorders'. now how many actual orders or deliveries they have, i got no idea about.

 

i can't really believe that continental will have had 2 enquiries/sales since september, while kayell will have many more. continental is quite very popular shop and they are very good. maybe brisbane doesn't have a high demand for the m9. anyone from qld/brisbane have more news?

 

continental says they want 30% deposit and have no information of when delivery will happen. kayell says they're not expecting any deliveries till early 2010.

[rob_x2004]

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in brisbane at photo continental.

 

Is the chrome R8 still sitting pride of place in that big glass centre display stand in the new megastore? It was about ten(?) years genuinely mint (untouched by human hands) last time I went in there in about 2006. They sure shift a lot of Leica gear up there.

[cheewai_m6]

Is the chrome R8 still sitting pride of place in that big glass centre display stand in the new megastore? It was about ten(?) years genuinely mint (untouched by human hands) last time I went in there in about 2006. They sure shift a lot of Leica gear up there.

 

LOL the r8 hasn't been there for a long time. there was a black one there a few years back, quite a few years back. but no, the chrome one isn't there. there was an m8, and an m7 there not too long ago. there's an m8 (8.2??) there now. the store has gone through quite a few new layouts since 2006, for a while there, they kept rearranging every few months. the leica cabinet sits in the corner instead of proudly in the open now. so sad.

[hoppyman]

in brisbane, or qld, there are 2 leica dealers. photo continental (who are great) and kayell qld who i've never dealt with at all with anything. continental has had 1 m9 delivered and 1 person their waiting list only (since september). kayell on the other hand, will not disclose how many have been delivered and how many of their waiting list.

 

kayell made it 'sound' like they have a huge waiting list and that everyone wants to get one, it's their 'most in demanded' camera they also said they 'have quite a few backorders'. now how many actual orders or deliveries they have, i got no idea about.

 

i can't really believe that continental will have had 2 enquiries/sales since september, while kayell will have many more. continental is quite very popular shop and they are very good. maybe brisbane doesn't have a high demand for the m9. anyone from qld/brisbane have more news?

 

continental says they want 30% deposit and have no information of when delivery will happen. kayell says they're not expecting any deliveries till early 2010.

 

What is it that you would like to know? I deal with both shops and my M9 was ordered from and delivered by Kayell Queensland. That should tell you my recommendation for a Qld Leica dealer. Absolutely I regard both shops as trustworthy and genuine. Kayell is more in the nature of a specialised pro dealer whereas PC is a more general camera dealer across the range and is also in the scrapbooking business too. Their mini lab by the way still does excellent E6 processing. Both dealerships have delivered one M9 each from the most recent set. PC matched the advertised price from Kayell (still the lowest I have seen in Australia). Kayell certainly has back orders (like everyone else I guess)!

No Australian dealer can legitimately promise you a delivery date for an M9 right now since the distributor doesn't yet know when their next shipment will arrive nor how many cameras currently. The last ten cameras to arrive early this month all went, one per dealership, towards first day orders and those are not all filled as yet, across the country.

In my opinion it is reasonable for dealers to ask for a deposit. That is your personal choice of course. If you are not on a list with a deposit somewhere, again in my opinion you are unlikely to receive a camera in the near future. By all accounts that applies around the world.

Pick a dealer, put some money down to show that you are serious and hang on. It is worth the wait

[cheewai_m6]

oh, i was just wondering how brisbane is going in the context of other places around the world in terms of demand and also delivery of the m9. when i decide what to do, i will pick a dealer and go with them, but i am interested in what's going on in my own city when i hear about the delays in other countries that's all.

[thrice]

I can't recommend Kayell strongly enough. Real Leica enthusiasts with a focus on customer service, rare to find a store that is willing to go the extra mile for you without knowing if you're spending $20 or $9000.

[thrice]

certainly cheaper than the used ones went for on ebay, good on you for resisting the urge to totally gouge for it.

[hoppyman]

For Aussie users, here a a couple of update points.

One M9 sold this week on the bay from a dealer at about $500 more than my local dealer's price. Amazing.

After a check with the distributor today my dealer tells me that there is no new information on the next local delivery for the M9.

The SUMMILUX-M 50 ASPH is back ordered nationally as seems to be the case elsewhere. Stock expected in February. (No way I'd part with mine even for a large profit)

The announced price increases for M lenses in the US of A wef January are not expected to apply to Australian stock.

[cheewai_m6]

For Aussie users, here a a couple of update points.

One M9 sold this week on the bay from a dealer at about $500 more than my local dealer's price. Amazing.

After a check with the distributor today my dealer tells me that there is no new information on the next local delivery for the M9.

The SUMMILUX-M 50 ASPH is back ordered nationally as seems to be the case elsewhere. Stock expected in February. (No way I'd part with mine even for a large profit)

The announced price increases for M lenses in the US of A wef January are not expected to apply to Australian stock.

 

you wouldn't happen to have any news about m9's coming to australia or brisbane would you?

[hoppyman]

Just what I said there. On 17 Dec my dealer spoke to the distributor (getting a lens price for me). Adeal had no new information on when the next M9 shipment will arrive. Kayell has back orders (with deposits) I don't know about PC. One Lismore dealer got one and sold it on eBay this week.

[eddale]

There is a shipment coming on Monday - if it clears customs it might just squeak into stores on xmas eve. I imagine these are all allotted to preorders from the 10th of September.

 

Sadly today makes 101 days of waiting for those of us who ordered on the first day

[rick_dykstra]

Sadly today makes 101 days of waiting for those of us who ordered on the first day

 

Geepers!!

 

Living in this great southern land of ours has some costs. One of them is being about as far away from Europe as you can get, while still qualifying as an Earthling.

 

I've put the first 100+ on the map, over Adeal. Perhaps I should slap a whole bunch of them there. Nah - they'll be hassling Solms as best they can (Merry Christmas to Mark and Maree).

 

Fingers crossed for M9s in Santa's sleigh over Oz.

[hoppyman]

Well our faithful rep is on holidays from Monday until the end of January. Very likely like most businesses they will shut down from Christmas for a number of days.

Let's hope there are pleasant New Year outcomes for all of the Aussie faithful. Keep fingers crossed and focused on the goal.

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[rick_dykstra]

That's a nice looking bit of leather Hoppy. Is that a Luigi? What else can I see? A Thumbs-Up? And a Softie?

 

I wonder how many accessories can be fit to an M9 at the same time?

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Hallo,

Look here: Leica M

[hoppyman]

Yeah it's all pimped up, I guess. All stuff that I find very helpful though. A well used half case from Luigi that was on my M8 for 18 months or so plus one of his wrist straps. The 'aged brown' really mellows down beautifully. I've always used Tom A's soft releases. Combined with the M9 soft release now.

I just got the Thumbs Up recently. It makes a big difference. It seems like there's a new model every month. I got one of the newer ergonomic ones. Its a firm fit on the camera which is fine, but its cold shoe is so tight I cant't get plastic footed viewfinders to go on there at all.

Actually the most important addition to the M9 there is out of focus. That's the amazing SUMMILUX 50 ASPH. That and its 75 SUMMICRON brother is superb on this camera. Solms calibrated them for me when I had my M8 upgraded and the accuracy is superb on this camera too. This shot with my 75 on an M8.2, shot by my Leica dealer ;-)

ps I forgot the 1.4 focus magnifier on the back sometimes

Edited December 20, 2009 by hoppyman