Shanghait Posted August 30, 2011 Share #1 Posted August 30, 2011 Advertisement (gone after registration) Perhaps you can blame China for Leica shortages I live here in Shanghai where there is a zero shortage of lens. A lot of lenses are bought overseas and then sold here in China where the Leicamen here are not as price sensitive as other Leicamen. That being said, there are bargains to be had too. I travel internationally very frequently and always make it a point to find stores that carry Leica. I must say Shanghai might be the place with the best selection.....if you are willing to pay. The store I frequent the most looks like a dive, but has every possible lens you want. I was able to choose from 3 copies of Nocti's a few months ago. ( the remaining two were sold that day ) 35 Lux IIs, 21 Lux, 24 Lux...all in stock, but turn over quickly. Ive become familiar with the shop's owner and he told me that his dive has sold 18 Titanium m9 kits. Unreal. There is a downside. I would be very reluctant to buy used lenses. Ive seen them disassemble several lenses in a not so clean environment to clear dust. Using a sharpie to cover up paint chips is the norm. Its mandatory to build a relationship with the shops so that they don't try and take you for a ride. Hong Kong has typically been a decent place to find lenses, but these days the prices are even higher than China, and you have to hunt for them at shops scattered across the town. Here in Shanghai, there are about a dozen shops all in one mall. I went to an "authorized" Leica shop in Kowloon last month and was quoted 180,000 HKD for a noctilux. ( about 23,000 USD ) Offensive. I also went back to Tin Sheung which has been "ok" in the past, and talked to a salesmen I was not familiar with. When I asked what lenses he had in stock he replied "Today is your lucky day, I have a used 90 Cron for 6000 USD )......Im not one for playing the slimy bargaining game, and when salesmen pull these stunts I usually just walk. I come across this more in HK than I do anywhere else. Some recent prices for reference in Shanghai: M9-P ( I just picked one up for 7850.00 USD yesterday ) Noctilux: $12, 800 ( not that bad all things considered ) 35 Lux II: $7950.00 ( Pricy ! ) 21 and 24 Lux $8100.00 USD I hope Leica does meet their capacity goals in 2012. However, Im still not sure doubling output would put much of a dent in the availability of lenses seeing how wildly popular Leica is in China and the rest of the world. Very nice problems to have. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Advertisement Posted August 30, 2011 Posted August 30, 2011 Hi Shanghait, Take a look here Leica in China. I'm sure you'll find what you were looking for!
minichamp Posted August 30, 2011 Share #2 Posted August 30, 2011 Just curious, where did you get your M9-P in Shanghai for $7850 usd? any bargaining involved? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shanghait Posted August 30, 2011 Author Share #3 Posted August 30, 2011 Just curious, where did you get your M9-P in Shanghai for $7850 usd? any bargaining involved? At the camera mall on Luban Lu and Xietu Lu. 4th floor. Not much bargaining because Ive bought so much stuff there. Building a relationship with the shop owners is key. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
ddbg Posted August 30, 2011 Share #4 Posted August 30, 2011 I agree, all the lens are allocated in Asia Pacific area. Nothing around here in Canada or USA. I searched high and low yet still can't get a hold of a 35mm Lux v2. I finally got my brother to get it in Hong Kong but it's not cheap. I had to pay CAD7K. On Ebay, a few posting from Hong Kong asking for CAD 8K+. Don't even talk about the Noctilux .95 going for $14K+ unreal. Can't any stock in North America. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
wilfredo Posted August 31, 2011 Share #5 Posted August 31, 2011 Sounds like the valley between a super rich minority, and the working person in China is getting deeper and deeper... Our local economy here in the U.S. needs help, shop at home. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
earleygallery Posted September 2, 2011 Share #6 Posted September 2, 2011 Ive become familiar with the shop's owner and he told me that his dive has sold 18 Titanium m9 kits. Unreal. I wish them the very best of luck with that! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
swamiji Posted September 5, 2011 Share #7 Posted September 5, 2011 Advertisement (gone after registration) The Leica world in China is bizarre to say the least, How about a Telyt 400 f5 with Visoflex for the same price as a M9? I live in western China, I have found many leica shops, and regular shops who carry Leica. It seems if you don't have a Leica on display (no matter what the price or model) you are not a quality shop. The Leica specialty shops are all knockoff's of the official Leica shops. None of them are official, it's all Grey Market. With mark ups from 2 to 10 times the market value. However other than a few used lenses, about the only lenses that are readily available are the Summarits, at only twice the list price. I have seen a few used lenses a 75 Lux, 50 Lux, but there prices are obscene. Tri-X does not exist here, and many of my standard supplies, like batteries for my SL2's do not exist, My M7 batteries took months before the shops had them in stock. It was funny that all the camera shops were out the SR44 batteries, until two months ago, then all of the shops got them in at the same time, the same brand.... Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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