richfx Posted March 4, 2010 Share #1 Posted March 4, 2010 Advertisement (gone after registration) Has anyone noticed the pricing differential for Leica gear in the UK when purchased with US dollars (and no VAT or UK tax is payable when exporting to the US)? As an example, a new 50mm Summilux ASPH costs $2,917.78 at Robert White Photographic at today's exchange rate of 1.5079 GBP / USD. That represents only 78.965 % of Leica's $3,695 US MAP price for this lens - a whopping 21.035% discount versus US MAP pricing. The list goes on and on. Of course shipping costs must usually be added, but they are fairly nominal for small insured packages across the Pond, and one must generally pay for shipping and insurance for such equipment in the US as well (I know I have). Quite the arbitrage opportunity because of the greenback's recent substantial strengthening against the Pound (and Euro). Rich Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Advertisement Posted March 4, 2010 Posted March 4, 2010 Hi richfx, Take a look here Leica UK Versus US Pricing. I'm sure you'll find what you were looking for!
andybarton Posted March 4, 2010 Share #2 Posted March 4, 2010 This situation occurred last year too, when hundreds of Leica goods werebeing shipped to the US from the UK Stock levels are no better here though, so whether you can buy what you want is the real issue. I'd wait a little while as I think that the £ has a way to go yet... Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
peter_n Posted March 4, 2010 Share #3 Posted March 4, 2010 The savings can be quite dramatic depending on sales and exchange rate. I bought a new dSLR a bit over a year ago from Ffordes for 31% of the NYC discount store price at the time. The only downside was I had to get a US power cord for the brick, $5 on eBay... Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
ho_co Posted March 6, 2010 Share #4 Posted March 6, 2010 Customer walks into camera store and asks, "What do you get for the Razzmatazz III?" Dealer answers, "Two hundred ninety-nine." Customer says, "That's too high. Your competitor down the street sells them for two hundred forty-nine, but he's out of them." Dealer: "Now, that's high. When I'm out, my price is only one ninety-nine." Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.