Question as to Leica MP used prices

[nelly]

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I had been looking for a used MP and wondered if anyone had a indicator on prices.

I had heard there were a few issues with some early MP's

your advice is appreciated.

[Nerosurgeon]

I have been studying the secondary market for MPs as well, but not really that interested in heavily used MPs. I have been on ebay to bid on MPs with anywhere from 3-10 rolls of films used through them, to zero rolls of films to NIB or demos. From what I have seen, around Feb/March, lightly used MPs were selling for $2800-3300. Since summertime, I have seen people asking $3000 for used and around $3600-4000 for very lightly used or NIB MPs. Both black paint and chrome were around the same price. I was heavy into bidding for a 8 rolls shot black paint MP sn 300xxx from an ebayer in Oklahoma which ended bidding at $3300! I also missed a black paint 0.72 from a local Chicago ebayer who wanted $3000 and I low-balled him at $2700 and it ultimately sold for $3100. I should have bought the Chicago one, it had about 8 rolls through it as well and the ebayer invited me to examine the camera before bidding but would not go below $3000. This was in the winter when prices were $2400-2800.

 

 

Currently, I am looking for a black paint 0.72 model and I was hoping to pay about $3000 but I am seriously consider going up a few hundred dollars. I know of a new-old-stock NIB 0.58 chrome model at an authorized dealer in Chicago with sn 295xxx, so it's a good few years old but never used and not displayed, just sitting in its double box in the stock room with a sticker of $3600 (the dealer said he never raised the price and is willing to sell it for its old price of $3600!). There was a black paint MP out of Georgia which was on ebay for three runs with a buy-it-now price of $4300 and it dropped to $3999 and sold over the weekend for that price. There is now a black paint demo out of Michigan for $3650 on ebay, but it does not come with box or papers (which I really really want).

 

Good luck with your hunt! PM me if you want info on the chrome 0.58. I have no invested interest in that camera other than the fact that it tempts me and I know I want a BP.

[nelly]

Thanks for the detailed reply.

I too would prefer a black paint 0.72 MP. All my lenses are black and chrome is great but I like how the black paint cameras brass over the years and this purchase will be for the long haul. I do have a black M6 ttl which I will sell if I do manage to find an MP at a good price.

No rush here and good to get an indicator on prices, I think $3000 will be my limit too.

[bbbonthemoon]

with current halt of MP production prices will probably go up

[andybarton]

Mint MPs go for around £2,500 in the UK. You lose about £1,000 as soon as you leave the shop.

 

They haven't been below £2,000 for years.

 

$3,000 is £1,875 at today's prices. Pick up a bargain while you can, guys.

[wattsy]

A London dealer has a mint black MP for sale at £2200. Strikes me as a decent deal in the current market.

[andybarton]

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In which case you lose about 1/3 of the cost of a new one as soon as your card transaction has completed.

 

And some people talk of an "investment" in their Leicas. About as good an investment as my BP shares...

[wattsy]

I don't think that particular MP will hang around for long at that price but you are right that a new MP is not much of an investment (at least in the short term). Good job they are so nice to use.

[mafoofan]

Considering that M3s maintain steady prices at a steep discount to new Leicas, I don't see why MPs would ever make a good monetary investment. They may retain a certain amount of base value, which is what is happening with the M3s, but I don't see them escalating in price unless Leica stops production of film cameras entirely (which, to be fair, is all but bound to happen at some point).

[nelly]

Thanks for all the input.

I think I may be far better off just updating to the MP finder on my current M6ttl and give up my search for a used MP.

Prices seem much higher than I expected and as has been mentioned in the replies above; will probably not be a good monetary investment.

[NB23]

But what is this "investment" nonsense talk?

Your hobby is supposed to cost you money and bring you pleasure in life.

You migh reconsider the photography place in your life if you're mistaking it for Stocks.

[nelly]

By investment I mean my money may be better spent on lenses rather than an MP

And photography is not just a hobby for me ....thankyou!

[masjah]

But what is this "investment" nonsense talk?

Your hobby is supposed to cost you money and bring you pleasure in life.

You migh reconsider the photography place in your life if you're mistaking it for Stocks.

 

That's a little bit harsh. Suppose that the money you are prepared to burn on your hobby was limited, and less that the cost of your desired equipment. Then a consideration of its residual capital value might be very relevant indeed. In some cases I can justify the expense by regarding the cost of my hobby as the depreciation on my equipment, and not its actual cost. That is to say, when I drop dead, my estate could realise the residual value.

[NB23]

I'm sorry to sound harsh. It's not on purpose as I tend to write as I speak, friendly and freely.

[sblitz]

if money is an issue, then buy a leica trading at fully depreciated prices, such as an m3 or m2. the photos taken will be equal to the task of an mp, after all it is the film and the lens that counts. if you want to pay up because you like the look/feel/etc of an mp in your hands and you think it makes you a better photographer, fine. but then accept that you are paying extra to fulfill that physic need. on the other hand, if you are a collector and looking for something that is the camera equivalent of an ounce of gold, i suggest buying lenses. the uses are broader (digital and film cameras) and depreciate hardly at all. personally i believe the value of the camera is between the ears of the photographer -- the rest is stuff we all convince ourselves is real (myself included).

[IkarusJohn]

I found a chrome MP online in Feb - it had 10 rolls of film through it. Made in 2005 - it is in perfect condition.

 

It was for sale with a 35 Summicron ASPH for about USD 4,000. I sold the lens for a bit over $2,100, leaving me with a lovely film camera for about USD 1,900. I was lucky, I guess, but if you look around deals like this come up from time to time.

 

I see film as fading out. I bought the MP because I love the look and feel of it; it has a meter; it takes my lenses; and I have a very strong nostalgic feeling for it. I won't sell it or replace it. I probably won't use it that much, but when I want to take some B&W film photos, it's there.

 

I suspect that MPs are unlikely to come down that much in price. I would never have considered one if I had not bought an M9 and acquired a collection of lenses. As the digital M camera improves and more camera options become available (M10 and the intermediate EVIL camera taking AF/M/R lenses), demand for M lenses will increase, and people will look to acquire a film M much as I have done. Not for most of their photography, but to have the option and for the nostalgia of it.

 

I have 4 rolls of Tri-X on my desk, and a bottle of developer stock in the cupboard I'll need to use in the next coupe of months ...

 

Cheers

John

[pico]

[...]That is to say, when I drop dead, my estate could realise the residual value.

 

I hope so, but I have seen too many estates in which a whole lot of some kind is sold at dreadful discounts. Families in mourning often make poor decisions. My late Father-In-Law collected Belgian Browning shotguns all his adult life, most of them custom engraved, and the whole lot but three went at once to a professional dealer at a price I'd consider immoral if I were not a fatalist. (One went to his son, and the best to my darling Molly - the one that was well worn, dinged and dented. He used it in the field when Molly as a child went out to hunt with him, and the other was so precious that he had a special note to sell it for no less than a fortune - which it did.)

 

Similarly, about 20 years ago a pawn shop in town got three boxed M3 systems from an estate an hour before I visited. I offered him $300 for the lot of three. He accepted meaning he got them a lot cheaper. I dashed to a money machine and came back but he had already checked their value and shouted at me, "You were about to rip me off!". No deal.

 

This month I am making an inventory, directed by an attorney's form, for everything worth some money so that does not happen should I predecease Molly, but I hope to sell it all before then.

 

Best of luck.

[masjah]

I hope so, but I have seen too many estates in which a whole lot of some kind is sold at dreadful discounts. Families in mourning often make poor decisions. My late Father-In-Law collected Belgian Browning shotguns all his adult life, most of them custom engraved, and the whole lot but three went at once to a professional dealer at a price I'd consider immoral if I were not a fatalist. (One went to his son, and the best to my darling Molly - the one that was well worn, dinged and dented. He used it in the field when Molly as a child went out to hunt with him, and the other was so precious that he had a special note to sell it for no less than a fortune - which it did.)

 

Similarly, about 20 years ago a pawn shop in town got three boxed M3 systems from an estate an hour before I visited. I offered him $300 for the lot of three. He accepted meaning he got them a lot cheaper. I dashed to a money machine and came back but he had already checked their value and shouted at me, "You were about to rip me off!". No deal.

 

This month I am making an inventory, directed by an attorney's form, for everything worth some money so that does not happen should I predecease Molly, but I hope to sell it all before then.

 

Best of luck.

 

I entirely agree! I've already instructed my offspring where to sell my gear, and to drip feed it into the market!