Lax Jought Posted December 25, 2012 Share #1 Posted December 25, 2012 Advertisement (gone after registration) I anticipate making a trip to Tokyo sometime in 2013 and was wondering whether I could purchase the new Leica M from there if the prices there are reasonable relatively speaking. Can't be any more expensive than prices where I'm from in Australia, I'd imagine. Anywhere else in the world where people go Leica shopping? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Advertisement Posted December 25, 2012 Posted December 25, 2012 Hi Lax Jought, Take a look here Anybody know what Leica prices are like in Tokyo, Japan?. I'm sure you'll find what you were looking for!
Guest malland Posted December 25, 2012 Share #2 Posted December 25, 2012 Map Camera in Shinjuku lists the M at ¥738,000, which is US$8,711 at today's exchange rate: Leica｜デジタルカメラ｜フィルムカメラ｜交換レンズ｜アクセサリーの商品一覧｜マップカメラ(中古,新品,買取,下取,委託) ...and the question is whether they would have one is stock when you're in Tokyo. Generally, cameras are expensive in Japan. For example the M-Monochrom sells for ¥836,700, which is US$9,868, compared do US$7,995 in the US. However, I think you do be better in Germany or France than in the US. I bought my M-Monochrom in Paris at the Maison du Leica for US$7,100 (ex-VAT). It seems to me with shipping to Oz and GST, you'd still end up better, but availability could be an issue. —Mitch/Bangkok Gods for Sale Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
DigitalHeMan Posted December 25, 2012 Share #3 Posted December 25, 2012 Maybe not a direct answer to your question, but I have been spending Christmas in Tokyo, and Leica shopping was one of my goals. I'm only just starting out so I was looking for an M6 body, rather than anything digital, but my impression is that with regards to second hand pricing, the prices are slightly lower than the Netherlands (my main comparison) for bodies, and slightly higher for lenses. However, what is lacking in price is made up in selection. There is shop after shop with very good second hand Leica selections - for example I was at Lemon cameras in Ginza where they have a 6m long display case with 5 shelves, full of Leica gear. Was also surprised to see the 50/1 lens at more than a couple of stores (although it was 598000 Yen, or around $7000). Also each store where I looked at M6 bodies typically had a selection of 10-15+ to choose from (and yes, I did choose With regards to new pricing, they didn't seem much different to the Netherlands, although the stores did seem to have good stock levels, especially compared to the Netherlands. Not sure how prices would compre to Australia though. I also saw the M at Map for 738000 or thereabouts..... Of course, it's all dependent on a good exchange rate - when I was last in Japan 2 and 4 yeas go, camera pricing was much more competitive..... Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest malland Posted December 25, 2012 Share #4 Posted December 25, 2012 My post number 2 above was censored by deleting the comparison of the M-Monochrom prices in Japan, France and the US, without the courtesy of notifying me. I don't like censorship and if moderators are going to do that, they should give the posterthe option of having the post deleted. Indeed, I would like the moderator in question to delete that post because the purpose of my post has been subverted. —Mitch/Bangkok Gods for sale Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lax Jought Posted December 25, 2012 Author Share #5 Posted December 25, 2012 Thanks malland and DigitalHeMan - so I guess the Japanese prices are sort of on par with the anticipated Leica M price which is ok. In Australia, I would expect to have to pay an extra $1000 I think. I recall when the M9 was released, when I enquired at a well known local camera store, the price they attempted to quote was at least $1000 or $2000 more than the prices I was seeing on the internet in other countries. DigitaHeMan - the slightly lower film bodies in Japan could be that film photography is still quite popular there I think, so there may be more of those going around? Mind if I ask for a ball park of how much you bought your M6 for at that Lemon store? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
pop Posted December 25, 2012 Share #6 Posted December 25, 2012 My post number 2 above was censored by deleting the comparison of the M-Monochrom prices in Japan, France and the US, without the courtesy of notifying me. I don't like censorship and if moderators are going to do that, they should give the posterthe option of having the post deleted. Indeed, I would like the moderator in question to delete that post because the purpose of my post has been subverted. —Mitch/Bangkok Gods for sale I can see no signs of tampering, moderation or modification anywhere within this thread. It can be seen by clicking on the "reply" button and then scrolling down. The post in its entirety reads as: Map Camera in Shinjuku lists the M at ¥738,000, which is US$8,711 at today's exchange rate: (japanese text omitted) ...and the question is whether they would have one is stock when you're in Tokyo. Generally, cameras are expensive in Japan. For example the M-Monochrom sells for ¥836,700, which is US$9,868, compared do US$7,995 in the US. However, I think you do be better in Germany or France than in the US. I bought my M-Monochrom in Paris at the Maison du Leica for US$7,100 (ex-VAT). It seems to me with shipping to Oz and GST, you'd still end up better, but availability could be an issue. —Mitch/Bangkok Gods for Sale I would guess that the forum's software does not properly handle URLs with foreign characters and that it therefore drops the text following the URL in certain modes. Sorry for the inconvenience. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
andybarton Posted December 25, 2012 Share #7 Posted December 25, 2012 Advertisement (gone after registration) My post number 2 above was censored by deleting the comparison of the M-Monochrom prices in Japan, France and the US, without the courtesy of notifying me. I don't like censorship and if moderators are going to do that, they should give the posterthe option of having the post deleted. Indeed, I would like the moderator in question to delete that post because the purpose of my post has been subverted. —Mitch/Bangkok Gods for sale As Pop has pointed out, no "censorship" has taken place, and I think an apology to the Mods is in order. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest malland Posted December 25, 2012 Share #8 Posted December 25, 2012 Sorry, but when I did clicked "preview post" the text following the link in Japanese was not clipped. —Mitch Gods for sale Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest malland Posted December 26, 2012 Share #9 Posted December 26, 2012 As Pop has pointed out, no "censorship" has taken place, and I think an apology to the Mods is in order.Andy, I posted the email above hastily this morning before leaving Bangkok for the south but, on reflection, I am sure understand that when I come back to the thread and saw that the guts of my message has been removed that it was logical for me to think that it had been censored. In my view, an explanation by you of what happened would have sufficed, without the censorious statement that you made, as I don't really need lessons in behavior. So it looks like there was no censoring, but only a censorious message from you — and that's no paly on words. —Mitch/Pak Nan Pran Gods for Sale Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest malland Posted December 26, 2012 Share #10 Posted December 26, 2012 Thanks malland and DigitalHeMan - so I guess the Japanese prices are sort of on par with the anticipated Leica M price which is ok. In Australia, I would expect to have to pay an extra $1000 I think. I recall when the M9 was released, when I enquired at a well known local camera store, the price they attempted to quote was at least $1000 or $2000 more than the prices I was seeing on the internet in other countries...On the basis of the M-Monochrom price difference that I quoted, it seems to me that you're not drawing the right conclusion, expect for the fact the these things are very costly in Australia. Between the US$7,100 ex-VAT price that I paid in Paris and the US$9,868 in Japan, which I gather from what you state is more or less the same as the Australian price, there is a difference of US$2,768, which is 39% — a huge difference. The thing is that today with the availability of this information on the web it's possible for a consumer to decide the best place to purchase, even if the buyer decides to do so in Australia owing to the perceived advantages of buying from a local dealer, but at least he then knows the extent of the premium that he's paying. —Mitch Gods on Sale Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
DigitalHeMan Posted December 26, 2012 Share #11 Posted December 26, 2012 DigitaHeMan - the slightly lower film bodies in Japan could be that film photography is still quite popular there I think, so there may be more of those going around? Mind if I ask for a ball park of how much you bought your M6 for at that Lemon store? Sure. There is a big variation across the camera stores on the price of M6 bodies. I ended up paying 115000 Yen for a black one that I would consider in close to mint condition - including all the original boxes, documentation, unused strap, and even the warranty card. It either had been used very lightly, or had always been enclosed in an ever ready case or similar. As a comparison, I looked at one in Map Cameras that was 145000, without a box, and with a number of knocks and scratches, and another one there for 130000 where the shutter sounded decidedly dodgy. Quite why there is so much variation in price is beyond me (there are 'standard' Classic M6 bodies available for anywhere between 95000 and 180000 Yen, condition varying, before even taking the 'specials' into consideration), but from what I understand a lot of these cameras are sold 'on consignment' - basically older photographers are bringing in their classic camera gear and setting the price themselves, maybe to make some money for their retirement. The store owner then adds a percentage on top of this to cover his costs. The body I purchased was not one of these consignment cameras, which may explain why the cost was lower than some of the bodies I looked at, however it had been tested and was provided with a 6 month warranty. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lax Jought Posted December 27, 2012 Author Share #12 Posted December 27, 2012 malland - I'd have to say I couldn't see your post about the Monochrom so I was referring to the Leica M japanese link you provided. Your post ended there. Having said that, I have just spoken to one of the local Leica dealers not far from where I work and he's told me that the price of the Leica M when it arrives in his shop will be a firm AUD$8000. If that's the case, wow I'm surprised, I'll be ordering from his shop. DigitalHeMan - I've had a brief look at Leica prices on the internet, I think the variation in prices you experienced in Japan is reflected for other Leicas elsewhere too. But if you were able to find a mint condition M6 (with warranty card, no less), I would say it's definitely worth the money. I read the Japan Camera Hunter's advice for camera shopping Japan, I think I'd be intimidated! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
hillavoider Posted December 27, 2012 Share #13 Posted December 27, 2012 Thankyou Malland, i will be in Paris in 2 months. you should be congratulated for offering us so much info and saving me 2 and 1/2 grand! i hate paying australian prices. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.