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30% Discount is True Per My Dealer


skimmel

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My dealer, who has always been very reliable, just contacted me to let me know that they received a fax from Leica that the 30% rebate is true: "The camera must have been recieved already or pre-paid in full by Dec 31st. The lens purchase will be available through Leica directly."

 

Assuming this is true, here's my question: How much more does Leica sell lenses directly than, say, B&H (my dealer is usually very close on price to them for Leica stuff)? That is, what is the actual savings one can expect with a 30% discount from Leica vs. buying from B&H directly?

 

Thanks.

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I am very curious as to how they are going to handle customs duties, which you the buyer will be responsible for. Since they are shipping out of the country there should be no VAT on the purchase, which is currently 16% in Germany but due to increase to 19% in January. The price of a 50mm F1.0 lens is $4286 with 16%, so the base price is $3694. Seventy percent of this is 2586. Now I do not know what customs duties are, but let us assume 10%. This comes to 2845. BH sells the lens for 3895. This is still a savings of more than $1000. What, however, happens when the lens you receive is defective, as sometimes happens. I would be willing to bet the dealers, who have been cut out of the loop, will not exactly want to be overly helpful.

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I have a question that no one seems to be able to answer especially with regards to the new Tri-Elmar ... is this 30% discount on the current price 3895 US$ or the inflated price which is supposed to be effective from next month?

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The memo that I saw says this:

 

"As a personal gesture, the CEO of Leica Camera AG will compensate every eligible customer in the form of a voucher worth 30% off the suggested retail price in their respective country ($1200 maximum) towards the purchase of a new Leica lens."

 

 

It does say "suggested retail price in their respective country" which I guess is pretty much right at the B&H price, no? Not the gray market price, I'd guess. Buying the lens from Germany (for us in the US) might also trigger some sort of customs issue - I've had to pay some customs fees through UPS on expensive items I've purchased from EU countries before.

 

I don't know what this would mean for EU pricing with the VAT.

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I'm in the US. Does that help?

 

Indeed, in as much as it helps those also in the US. I on the other hand am in the UK, otherwise known by some as Treasure Island. I am 3 days into a wait for Leica UK to answer my questions as to whether or not a lens discount deal applies here or not. So far ; not even an acknowledgement of my E-mail and the questions it contained. Maybe they are pouting because I suggested that the M8 launch was a bodge, their Public Relations are a continuing disaster, and the company is guilty of corporate arrogance.

 

The Christmas break is racing towards us and I, and no doubt many other UK customers are unable to plan our budgets until Leica give us the required information. Maybe they are waiting for January 1st 2007 to make the announcement that the offer closed the preceding day?

 

I wish I could find a customer base I could be so pathetic with!

 

..................Chris

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This goes on and on and on .. and people just do not get it.

The 30% rebate will be given in a person to person way as a compensation/ a nice gesture .............therefore it will never be anounced officialy ..... it was never meant to trigger advance payment from people who want some kind of rebate .... this are two fundamental different things!!

So that's probably the reason Leica does not answer your mail...... they do not want you to pay to get a rebate. But people who payed for some reason or got the M8 get a compensation.

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"suggested retail price" is about 10% higher than the "minimum advertised price" that almost all dealers use. in the noctilux example, the map is $3,895; if you often buy on leica discount days you save about 10% off map, so the noctilux is about $3,500. srp is actually closer to $4,250, so with the 30% discount (max $1,200) you're going to pay about $3,050, or about 13% less than normal. and your dealer gets cut out and you probably, as speculated above, have to deal with solms for service. a deal? yes, and nice to have. 30%? no.

 

john

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Whatever it is, Han ... here's a chance to take the advantage ... what I want to know is quite simple ... because there's a across the board Leica price hike starting from January ... so if it's 30% off 3900 US then I "may be" interested, but if it's 30% off 5000 US then let it go h$!! ... :D

 

Mind you, now there are US dealer adding 600 US on top for used M lenses in light of the price inflation soon. :)

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This goes on and on and on .. and people just do not get it.... But people who payed for some reason or got the M8 get a compensation.

 

This goes on and on and on .. and (some) people just do not get it. The past participle of "to pay" is "paid", not "payed", as in "I have already paid for my Leica M8".

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Leica will be able to ship to the US and other countries outside the EU exclusive of VAT and you will pay whatever import duty and sales tax is due. None of this "Gift, no commercial value" nonsense. For buyers in the EU, the fact that you have paid VAT in Germany means you will not have to pay VAT on import to your own country, providing the item is for your personal use.

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This goes on and on and on .. and people just do not get it.

The 30% rebate will be given in a person to person way as a compensation/ a nice gesture .............therefore it will never be anounced officialy ..... it was never meant to trigger advance payment from people who want some kind of rebate .... this are two fundamental different things!!

So that's probably the reason Leica does not answer your mail...... they do not want you to pay to get a rebate. But people who payed for some reason or got the M8 get a compensation.

 

So you surmise, or should I say guess. You are presuming Leica's intentions, I and those CUSTOMERS around the world who you assert are 'people who just do not get it' simply want to know from Leica what their much gossiped policy actually is.

 

Keeping Dealers and customers in the dark about the [still] speculated lens rebate issue is dumb. The customer base is mostly on Leica's side but the fiasco of their recent Public Relations has haemorrhaged good will, it seems self evident to me that taking control of the rebate story is undeniably in Leica's interest. You may differ in your opinion of course, but it is my assertion that my still being on a waiting list for an M8 does not make me a second class customer.

 

........Chris

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Your best interests are served by paying in full for your M8 before the end of the year.

 

I agree Leica's bumbling has been a fiasco and I told Leica UK's MD as much. His response was that I Just Don't Understand. Nor, presumably, will he when he finds himself out of a job.

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Whatever it is, Han ... here's a chance to take the advantage ... what I want to know is quite simple ... because there's a across the board Leica price hike starting from January ... so if it's 30% off 3900 US then I "may be" interested, but if it's 30% off 5000 US then let it go h$!! ... :D

 

Mind you, now there are US dealer adding 600 US on top for used M lenses in light of the price inflation soon. :)

I already have too many lenses Simon ...... so i wished there was no 30% offer ... now i have to be brave and resist the temptation and save me 70% on something i do not need at all :D

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This goes on and on and on .. and (some) people just do not get it. The past participle of "to pay" is "paid", not "payed", as in "I have already paid for my Leica M8".

 

The guy is from the Netherlands, for crying out loud. How's your Flemish?

 

OTH, I read on another forum that Leica couldn't fill any of the orders for 50 M8s at a dealer's in the US. So, I don't think there will be many M8s shipped before Dec. 31st. Therefore, the only way to get the rebate will be to pay in full, and then wait for your camera. For how long?

 

If Leica wanted only the earlly buyers, who had to return their M8s to have the banding and blobbing fixed, and the firmware updated, to benefit from the rebate, they could have either set a deadline like Nov. 30th,, or publish a list of the serial numbers of those early M8s. As it is now, they are still enticing later buyers to pay in full without receiving the camera. Today is Dec. 13th, so the more it goes, the more it seems.

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