chris_livsey Posted May 17, 2015 Share #1 Posted May 17, 2015 Advertisement (gone after registration) A UK camera dealer "near the British Museum" who has featured here before is offering Black Ex-Demo M240s at an attractive price. They state on their web site they are a "Leica Premier Dealer" but I note from the Leica main site their dealer list now has dealers ("plain" and "Premier Plus Dealers" only. This particular dealer is not on the list for either option. So, has anyone availed themselves of the attractive offer, they do seem to have a never ending supply of mint ex demo models ? What then is the guarantee and passport status of the cameras? I am awaiting a response direct on both the dealer status question and the latter query, previous experience would suggest I will obtain an answer here more promptly. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Advertisement Posted May 17, 2015 Posted May 17, 2015 Hi chris_livsey, Take a look here M240 "Grey" Imports - support UK. I'm sure you'll find what you were looking for!
wda Posted May 17, 2015 Share #2 Posted May 17, 2015 Unless recently reinstated, their erroneous Leica accreditation claim would serve to deter me. If grey imports, servicing and support could pose problems. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
M9reno Posted May 17, 2015 Share #3 Posted May 17, 2015 From their website: "[store near the British Museum that shall not be named] is a Leica Premier Dealer. All products include a genuine Leica Passport." ...so, not just a Leica passport, but a Genuine One. seems too good to be true. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
AlanJW Posted May 17, 2015 Share #4 Posted May 17, 2015 The Leica website functionality for dealer location leaves a lot to be desired and the website could be just plain wrong. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
dpitt Posted May 17, 2015 Share #5 Posted May 17, 2015 Why not email Leica customer support directly to verify? I know for a fact that some dealers in the Netherlands present themselves as Leica dealers while they are not. Of course anyone can sell second hand Leica stuff or even grey import new items to keep up appearances. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
jaapv Posted May 17, 2015 Share #6 Posted May 17, 2015 Service should never be a problem as in the end the factory customer service stands. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paulus Posted May 18, 2015 Share #7 Posted May 18, 2015 Advertisement (gone after registration) Service should never be a problem as in the end the factory customer service stands. Also when the Camera is over two years old? If I sold mine in excellent condition it could easily pass for a " demo" new one in such a shop. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
jaapv Posted May 18, 2015 Share #8 Posted May 18, 2015 Service yes, Leica does not refuse service on any of their products. The factory guaranty obviously has its regular time limit, of course. Hence proof of purchase. If such a shop would sell a used one as a demo that is clearly fraud. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
chris_livsey Posted May 18, 2015 Author Share #9 Posted May 18, 2015 Why not email Leica customer support directly to verify? I know for a fact that some dealers in the Netherlands present themselves as Leica dealers while they are not. Of course anyone can sell second hand Leica stuff or even grey import new items to keep up appearances. I have indeed, as I indicated, emailed Leica UK to clarify. The other point of course, the elephant in the room, is the price. If these are new with warranty and passport "ex demo" cameras and are grey imports (all assumptions I allow) where are they greying them from to retail at such attractive prices and presumably make some profit from doing so? We are talking around £2,000 below the Leica Mayfair price, 36% off list!! Which is why given previous conversations on the forum surrounding this dealer and the obvious warning bells I am even thinking of the deal. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
wattsy Posted May 18, 2015 Share #10 Posted May 18, 2015 The other point of course, the elephant in the room, is the price. If these are new with warranty and passport "ex demo" cameras and are grey imports (all assumptions I allow) where are they greying them from to retail at such attractive prices and presumably make some profit from doing so? We are talking around £2,000 below the Leica Mayfair price, 36% off list!! Bear in mind that a northern premier dealer had a sale around Christmas time and was selling brand new M240 cameras for £3799 and that most dealers have been selling them for around £4200 since then so I don't think the Mayfair list price should be taken too seriously. The Classic Camera appear to have a general strategy of keen prices (in fact, when I first started buying Leica around 15 years ago that used to be their strategy then) so it doesn't surprise me to see that price for an ex-demo M240 with warranty (judging by the used section, I'm more surprised to see how low M9 and M8 prices are heading). Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
250swb Posted May 18, 2015 Share #11 Posted May 18, 2015 We are talking around £2,000 below the Leica Mayfair price, 36% off list!! But Leica Mayfair do charge the utmost top price's, and it isn't difficult to find other UK Premier dealers selling an M240 £600 cheaper without it being involved in any special offers (which makes Leica Mayfair's offer to clean your sensor 'for free' seem very expensive). So if you can get £600 off without wandering from the dealer network then nearly £2000 off for an ex demo grey import model isn't too unimaginable. But is it really £2000 below Mayfair price? I see the company in question are selling ex-demo M240's at £1551 less than Mayfair price which isn't anywhere near the £2000 claimed? And to be fair on the company in question it really needs pointing out that a brand new M240 is £450 cheaper than Leica Mayfair, so perhaps it is the case Leica Mayfair are charging inflated prices not that other dealers are charging suspiciously low prices? Steve Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
dunhoy Posted June 12, 2015 Share #12 Posted June 12, 2015 List prices are no more than numbers on a piece of paper (or these days a website). The market, ie supply and demand, is a better guide to real prices and whilst Leica Mayfair are friendly and helpful their prices reflect their location and I suspect their money no object clientele. As far as grey imports go - it's the same camera made in the same factory it just ended up initially in a different country! The UK is known for its rip off pricing the world over - personally I would not be put off by a grey import if I judged the cost saving was sufficient! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
earleygallery Posted June 12, 2015 Share #13 Posted June 12, 2015 Classic Camera are listed on the Leica website - seems they've got their official dealer status back. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr_Jones Posted June 13, 2015 Share #14 Posted June 13, 2015 Classic Cameras are OK. The owner is quite keen to turn stock over and you get a fair amount of hype with the process. I prefer Red Dot and Richard Caplan who have a more relaxed sales style although they generally charge a little more. I exchanged an M8p for M9p and the M9p was serviced by Leica (sensor replacement). I bought the M8p and sold the M9p privately and came out of it quite well so I think they are quite competitive on price and part exchange. They handled exchange of a new Zeiss lens with no problems at all when I felt the first one was not optimised for the correct aperture. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
lleo Posted June 13, 2015 Share #15 Posted June 13, 2015 I just received my hoods from Red Dots. Quick and nice service, but not even a cent of discount. Though their prices, my hoods', were quite lower than other shops'. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
tatetate Posted June 14, 2015 Share #16 Posted June 14, 2015 Has anyone used aperture uk? was about to end up buying M system from them but was not sure as have not come acorss someone using them. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
earleygallery Posted June 15, 2015 Share #17 Posted June 15, 2015 Aperture are good dealers, but they only sell used gear. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
cwmalan Posted June 15, 2015 Share #18 Posted June 15, 2015 Hi Chris, I bought an "ex-demo" m 240 P from this shop just before Christmas, trading in an M9 for it. I was told that it was a Leica factory demo used at trade fairs, and that it had been checked and serviced by Leica, and that they therefore carried a full two year Leica guarantee (but they did not tell me that it didn't have a one year Leica passport which covers accidental damage). I was told that when they sold such ex-demo M9 bodies, they had generally only ever had a couple of hundred actuations. It was only after I had paid, and been handed the invoice, that I realised that there was no VAT on the price, as the camera was deemed to be second hand. I was therefore paying exactly the same price as I would for a brand new M 240P after claiming back the VAT. As it was 5pm, I was leaving the next day on a trip, and they had given me a good price on the M9 I was trading in, I just took the camera. If you're not VAT registered an ex-demo may be an attractive proposition, but..... I realised over Christmas that the vertical alignment was fractionally out. Mayfair couldn't have been less helpful - customer service would appear to be an alien concept. They initially denied that there was a problem, then blamed me, and then told me that vertical alignment could only be cured using a very expensive machine in Germany. Classic Camera were just as unhelpful, first denying that there was a problem and then telling me that the misalignment was well within acceptable tolerances for a brand new Leica. WHAT??? In the end I took the camera to Aperture UK on Rathbone Place, where the charming repairman there recognised the issue immediately and was able to fix the vertical alignment in an hour using an allen key (the very expensive machine!). I had to pay for the repair, but it was preferable to sending the camera to Germany for 10 weeks. I will not be using Leica Mayfair or Classic Camera again. I'm a 48 year professional photographer and film maker, and the staff at both establishments treated me as if I was a complete idiot. Now, that may well be true - but I won't be putting any cash through their tills again. I recommend Red Dot, Richard Caplan, and Aperture UK (for second hand and repairs) - all helpful, and they actually know about the stuff they sell. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
tatetate Posted June 15, 2015 Share #19 Posted June 15, 2015 A friend of mine has acquired m240 from aperture lately and all i heard from him where great things about them. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
hexx Posted June 16, 2015 Share #20 Posted June 16, 2015 I recommend Red Dot, Richard Caplan, and Aperture UK (for second hand and repairs) - all helpful, and they actually know about the stuff they sell. Yep, can fully recommend RedDotCameras - I bought M240 there and ApertureUK where I bought M6 and a couple of lenses (plus a lot of film) Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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