Best Leica Dealer in London?

[rob_w]

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I have seen this topic discussed in bits and pieces on the forum but never thoroughly. A recent experience has made me question whether I am getting the service I expect from the Leica dealer I have been using for many years. I don't want to say who that is yet because I would like to know what others have found first, and whether my expectations are reasonable.

 

Here is the list of London Leica Dealers from the Leica website:

 

Richard Caplan

Jacobs Digital Photo & Video

Kingsley Photographic

R G Lewis Limited

Selfridges

Harrods

Red Dot Cameras

 

To which we could add the Leica store in Mayfair and arguably the online retailers accessible from London such as Ffordes and Robert White. So my question is: which of these is the best Leica dealer in London according to forum members?

 

Thanks

 

Robert

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[Marty]

In London I have received excellent service and attention from Red Dot Cameras and the Mayfair store.

 

Have you ruled out the possibility that perhaps you are expecting too much, or your dealer is just being reasonable? If you have, what is keeping you from going elsewhere?

[rob_w]

Hi Marty

You may well be right. That is why I thought I would solicit some feedback before naming names, perhaps unfairly.

 

I guess it also depends on what your critieria are for a 'good dealer' --

• range of stock
  
• subject knowledge
  
• price
  
• service
  
• personal attention
  
• help resolving problems
  
• supports this forum with advertising
  
• etc
  

Cheers

 

Robert

[arminw]

The question we have to ask is whether there is a dealer at all one can call the best? Living in london one really is spoilt with choice when it comes to buying leica equipment, and shopping around will give you the best deal if there is one . After care is another story! With the leica products I own I never had to worry about that and all my equipment works fine, so no trip to Solms or Milton Keynes so far touch wood. I personally go and buy from Ivan at the red dot camera store. Very nice man to deal with, and always helpful .

[gabriel]

Ivan Cooper at Red Dot Cameras (near the City of London) deals in Leica and nothing else, and offers a comprehensive range of services including part exchange, outright purchase or commission sale of your surplus Leica equipment. Their pricing of used equipment is very realistic

His stocks of new equipment are comprehensive and apart from Ffordes has one of the best stocks of used equipment in the UK.

One is served by knowledgable staff.. I have been dealing with Ivor for over 10 years.

 

Many of the other dealers mentioned do not deal with or reluctantly deal with used equipment, the Leica shop in Mayfair does not deal in used equipment but sometimes has ex-demo items at reduced prices but with full guarentees as new.

 

Aperture in Central London started as a Coffee shop with a small photo corner in the basement and is now a photoshop witha coffee corner. They a sell wide range of equipment butl only secondhand Leica (they are not an official Leica dealer) and have a very fast moving stock of competitivly priced used Leica..

 

Outside of London you have Robert White in Poole on the Soutrh Coast who is very well regarded but really sells new Leica with virtually no used stock.

 

Ffordes in the very far north of Scotland (about 700 kilometers from London) are another well regarded Leica dealer who have very comprehensive secondhand stocks.

.

Both of the above serve lot of very satisfied international customers and are both official Leica dealers.

[delander †]

I have had very courteous and helpful service from Richard Caplan although I have not bought any big items from them. I have bought from both Ffordes and Robert White with no problems at all. I recently bought my M9 from London Camera Exchange, although not the London store.

 

I must admit to being price sensitive, I dont like haggling so I tend to look for a good advertised price.

 

It seems that quite a few forum members, particularly London based buy from Red Dot.

 

Jeff

[earleygallery]

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I don't recall ever seeing much Leica stuff in Selfridges or Harrods, maybe a Dlux at most.

 

Red Dot, Caplans and RG Lewis are all dealers I have visited and/or bought from and wouldn't hesitate in using any of them. Red Dot are very proactive in supporting this forum and donated the first prize for the recent One Challenge.

 

There is also a Leica dealer where I live in Croydon who I've bought from over the years.

Edited December 1, 2009 by earleygallery

[bill]

The problem with this, as with many a similar thread, is that "best" is in this context, subjective.

 

Best for what?

 

We all have different needs and expectations from dealers. Beyond the obvious "base level customer service" (courteous, prompt, responsive, etc) it gets complicated.

 

Best new stockist? Best secondhand stock? Keenest prices? Best relationship with Leica? Best for accessories? Comfiest sofas?

 

As has already been said, we are fortunate to have a good "spread" (although I struggle with the concept of the estimable ffordes being described as a "London dealer" - by that token all the ones in between should be too )

 

Personally I have had good experiences in most of those mentioned, together with LCE on The Strand. My main Leica supplier, however, is LCE in Guildford - and that's only 29 miles from London

 

Regards,

 

Bill

[marknorton]

Ivor at Red Dot gets my vote - he reserved an M9 for me from his initial shipment without me even asking.

[farnz]

'Pound for pound' Red Dot without a doubt imho. But the others are very good too.

 

Pete.

[Michael-IIIf]

Ivor gets my vote too.

 

You see Ivor, those pints you kindly bought me weren't in vain!

 

Seriously, I've bought my M6, 35 'Cron, D2 and M8 from the man and can highly recommend him.

[jrh68uk]

Yep, I've said it before and I'll say it again: Ivor - and let's not forget Elaine - at Red Dot get my vote. I'm long overdue a visit but my 4 month old son is delaying my M9 purchase

[wattsy]

Len at RG Lewis gets my vote. His shop is what I imagine a 1950s shoe shop would have been like and it's all the better for it. The others are all a bit pretentious in their own way ("where the elite meet and greet", "eat, breathe and sleep Leica", etc.).