Buying at Solms store

[kleinfel@alaska.net]

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I will be in Germany around Christmas. (From the US -- Alaska.) Does it make any sense for me to buy an M9 at the Leica store in Solms? At the Leica gallery in Frankfurt? How much higher will the price be than in the U.S.? How much will customs charge me to get it back into the U.S.? It it likely to be available, unlike the U.S.?

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[jaapv]

If you can put up an innocent face and put the box in your checked luggage you will be able to fool the USA customs In Europe you can file for VAT return upon export to the USA, making a difference of 20%. The store in Frankfurt is by no means the only shop where you can buy Leica gear in germany. there are many dealers. the Leica Store at Solms will charge you exactly the same as any other Leica dealer, but will stock anything that is currently available. However, other shops may have gear in stock that is sold out in Solms. You would be wise to order beforehand after some Internet research and pick it up when you are on the spot.

[stunsworth]

More to the point, will they have any M9s for sale?

[jaapv]

Well, if the OP orders now, they will have at Christmas I suppose.

[richam]

Be sure to get the VAT refund form completed when you make your purchase. Any dealer should be able to help you with this. You will be able to recover the VAT at the airport when you leave provided you have a flight out of the EU. And forget the Solms store -- new equipment at full retail prices and not worth a shopping visit if you can find what you want elsewhere.

[jaapv]

I suppose you are not aware that Leica opened a completely new store at the Solms plant recently?

 

Leica Camera AG - Leica Plant Germany

[richam]

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I suppose you are not aware that Leica opened a completely new store at the Solms plant recently?

 

Leica Camera AG - Leica Plant Germany

 

Jaap, I was thinking about my 2004 visit to the factory. If the facility has changed significantly, I stand corrected on this.

[jaapv]

I haven't seen the new store yet, but initial reports by those that have are favorable.

[roydonian]

If you can put up an innocent face and put the box in your checked luggage you will be able to fool the USA customs

 

To the best of my knowledge, all checked baggage on flights to and from the USA must either be left unlocked or be fitted with TSA-openable locks, so that TSA inspectors can rummage through your stuff. By now, I’d imagine every airport baggage thief will have a copy of the master key for opening the TSA-approved locks. So I’d hate to think what the chances would be of an M9 in checked baggage still being there at the other end.

 

Best regards,

 

Doug

[jaapv]

The box in the checked luggage (or just bin it in Germany, depending if you are planning on selling it on one point or not), and the camera in your camera bag in your cabin luggage..... You will want to take a photograph of your wife chewing her way through the unappetizing mess they give as a meal, don't you ?

[wattsy]

No need to be sneaky. Digital still cameras don't attract duty (WTO agreement) so you may as well take it openly through US customs.

[ianman]

The box in the checked luggage (or just bin it in Germany, depending if you are planning on selling it on one point or not), and the camera in your camera bag in your cabin luggage..... You will want to take a photograph of your wife chewing her way through the unappetizing mess they give as a meal, don't you ?

 

When I buy goods in the US that are subject to VAT and import duty in Europe, I snailmail myself all the (flattened) boxes and paperwork I may want to keep before leaving the US.

 

Ian

[xjr]

Provided you can find an M9,buy a cheap photo bag, put the M9 and whatever comes with it in it,package the M9 box in another bigger brown box and mail it to yourself in Alaska. You enter the USA with the old bag and with all the Leica stuff in it and you might get lucky !...

[thompsonkirk]

Hey about that new Solms store, do they sell Factory Seconds?

 

Kirk

[kleinfel@alaska.net]

Thanks, everybody.

 

Going to Solms is kind of cool regardless, though I got great service at the store in Frankfurt last time I was there.

 

With the 20% off on the VAT refund, it sounds like it will be competitive with the U.S., if I don;t have to [ay customs on still digital cameras. My inclination would be to take it as hand luggage and pay what I owe, ideally nothing.

[adli]

To the best of my knowledge, all checked baggage on flights to and from the USA must either be left unlocked or be fitted with TSA-openable locks, so that TSA inspectors can rummage through your stuff. By now, I’d imagine every airport baggage thief will have a copy of the master key for opening the TSA-approved locks. So I’d hate to think what the chances would be of an M9 in checked baggage still being there at the other end.

 

Best regards,

 

Doug

 

If you want tax refund, you have to show the item at the tax refund office on the airport. In some airports the tax refund office is inside the security area, which means you have to have carry the item as hand luggage.

[hector_jorge]

If you want tax refund, you have to show the item at the tax refund office on the airport. In some airports the tax refund office is inside the security area, which means you have to have carry the item as hand luggage.

 

Remember that you will need enough time because the clerks at the tax refund office aren`t very fast workers, at least in the Frankfurt Airport. Sometimes I prefer to lost the tax and not my flight, when I saw all the people standing in line in front of the counter.