A ridiculous experience from Leica official online store

[bigbeeb]

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On August 6, I noticed that M10R Black Paint, MP Black Paint 0.72, Noct 50mm 1.2 are back in stock at Leica Online Store Austria(www.leicashop.com). I was feeling very surprised and thrilled. I love photography and have been a fan of Leica. I have already spent almost EUR 40,750.00 at the Leica Online Store Austria for the products. I trusted this official online store.

 

I ordered the M10R Black Paint, MP Black Paint 0.72, Noct 50mm 1.2 and successfully paid on August 6 without any restrictions and discount. However, a Store / E-Commerce Manager of Leica Online Store Austria contacted me by email and said that they needed to cancel my orders because I had order too much. 

 

This is so ridiculous! I don’t understand that the Leica Online Store Austria allows customers to buy Leica products, but not too much. 

 

Look at the webpage, Leica Online Store Austria seems allow customers to order products which is on-stock, even it’s a repeat order. If there’s restrictions, customers should be able to get the notice before they order any products. If the order has been placed and successfully paid, and the Online Store has accepted the transaction, what I think is that Leica Online Store Austria or Leica should keep the promise, and deliver the products to customers.

 

The Store / E-Commerce Manager said that Leica Online Store Austria would refund me, and just said sorry via email. Previously my order was successful, and Leica Online Store Austria had accepted the transaction so that I paid a lot of handling fees. Therefore, although Leica online store has refund me the price of the products, so far, I have lost about EUR 412.00 even I got a part of refund, because of the exchange rate and Visa credit card charging fees.I don’t know how much money I will lose in the end. 

 

I am very sad about Leica Online Store Austria canceling my orders this time. It is also difficult for me to accept that this Store / E-Commerce Manager only apologized by email without taking any actual actions. What’s more, the Manager do not promises the compensation for my loss due to cancelling trade.

I don’t know how to ask the Leica Online Store Austria for compensation, but I must let everyone who love Leica know that there is a risk of property loss when shopping at the  Leica official online store.

 

Thank you for reading. Though English is not my first language, I have tried my very best to write this down with honesty.

[wda]

If you cannot get this resolved with the store in Austria, I suggest you refer the matter to Leica HQ in Germany for resolution. Go to the Customer Service section.

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[Herr Barnack]

1 hour ago, bigbeeb said:

...I ordered the M10R Black Paint, MP Black Paint 0.72, Noct 50mm 1.2 and successfully paid on August 6 without any restrictions and discount. However, a Store / E-Commerce Manager of Leica Online Store Austria contacted me by email and said that they needed to cancel my orders because I had order too much.

This is so ridiculous! I don’t understand that the Leica Online Store Austria allows customers to buy Leica products, but not too much...

 😳  Does your wife work there??

Edited August 8, 2021 by Herr Barnack

[tom.w.bn]

Maybe they think you are a reseller and they want to sell stuff to real users.

[pedaes]

3 hours ago, bigbeeb said:

I am very sad about Leica Online Store Austria

It is also very sad, but not unusual, that a first post here is with a complaint. Where do you live? I don't understand why it has cost you money, but please do not try and explain.

If you genuinely want these items for your own use, I am sure you can source them locally.

 

[bigbeeb]

4 hours ago, pedaes said:

It is also very sad, but not unusual, that a first post here is with a complaint. Where do you live? I don't understand why it has cost you money, but please do not try and explain.

Austriaf you genuinely want these items for your own use, I am sure you can source them locally.

 

Why Austria?

1, If the products back-in-stock, customer will get notification if sign the email. customer order and successfully paid just wait 5-7 weekdays.

2, Compared with Germany official online, Austria do not need UPS shipping fees. 

3, Compared with UK official online, Austria selling price and exchange rate(EUR-HKD < GBP-HKD) more less.

4, Leica brand new product Includes Worldwide Warranty, and local official store selling price is more expensive. And these product local official store no reservations anymore, customers only can buy them from someone who re-sell it.

Edited August 9, 2021 by bigbeeb

[bigbeeb]

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4 hours ago, tom.w.bn said:

Maybe they think you are a reseller and they want to sell stuff to real users.

I think if there’s restrictions, customers should be able to get the notice before they order any products. 

If the order has been placed and successfully paid, and the Online Store has accepted the transaction, what I think is that Leica Online Store Austria or Leica should keep the promise, and deliver the products to customers.

I have the experience of buying products on the local Hermes official website. If their E-shop salesperson does not want to ship to the customer, they will cancel the transaction directly. Instead of It is not a refund after accepting the transaction.

That is why I feel incomprehensible.

[bigbeeb]

4 hours ago, pedaes said:

It is also very sad, but not unusual, that a first post here is with a complaint. Where do you live? I don't understand why it has cost you money, but please do not try and explain.

If you genuinely want these items for your own use, I am sure you can source them locally.

 

I do complaint it. I noticed that our local guy, a private re-seller, who se-sell many products, products from Leica Online Store Austria vintage department.(The guy used vintage shop's shooting photo and showed the same S/N code.)

The guy selling price more less than Leica Online Store Austria vintage department mark price. I believe that Leica Online Store Austria vintage department sold to him at a very cheap price. 

For these reasons, I feel so ridiculous.

 

Edited August 9, 2021 by bigbeeb

[bigbeeb]

7 hours ago, wda said:

If you cannot get this resolved with the store in Austria, I suggest you refer the matter to Leica HQ in Germany for resolution. Go to the Customer Service section.

Thanks for your advice. I have sent a screenshot of Bill to the manager. I hope he will take a practical action, an action consistent with Leica, not just said sorry.

[Herr Barnack]

@bigbeeb   I do not understand the reasoning of whoever is in charge at Leica Online Store Austria - buying three different pieces of Leica kit is "too much??" 

Most businesses would be more than happy to sell three very costly items to one customer.  Maybe the Austrian way of doing business is different from what we U.S. based Leica users are accustomed to - but even then, a call to you personally to ask about the nature of your purchase would have been a better way to proceed rather than simply cancelling your purchase.

If you had tried to buy three of the exact same camera body or lens, there could be a reason to question the purchase.  If the concern is that you would take the items and try to sell them at above the official Leica price, that would be a valid concern for Leica Online Store Austria.  IMHO, three different items is another matter altogether.

This is at best an odd reaction from a retail merchant.  I hope you are able to get the three M system pieces of gear that you want without more complications/problems.

[IkarusJohn]

Surely, Austria has the concept of a contract; you know, offer-acceptance-payment … all that “legal” stuff?

[pop]

Given that they claim that the amount was too large and that they (presumably) don't know your identity, it could be a weird side effect of local money laundering laws. Speaking to the Leica Store in Austria certainly would be more useful than placing a complaint in a forum which is not associated with Leica or Leica Stores.

[wattsy]

It's might be a security thing. If the OP had ordered the products separately he/she may not have had a problem. However, a single credit card overseas purchase for €20k+ may have gone over some internal limit? It would have made more sense to phone the shop up and speak to the manager rather than rely on email and then complain to a bunch of strangers here.

Edited August 9, 2021 by wattsy

[250swb]

It could be a money laundering alert that sounded, or a limit written in the contract with Leica that one Leica Store (in Austria) won't disadvantage or take trade away from another Leica Store somewhere else in the world.

[jaapv]

3 hours ago, 250swb said:

It could be a money laundering alert that sounded,

This is almost certainly the case. I had to transfer 60.000 Euro a few months ago. I could only do it from three different accounts to a max of 20.000 for this reason.

[ianman]

1 hour ago, jaapv said:

I had to transfer 60.000 Euro a few months ago.

Yes, btw it's still not on my account 😇

[Al Brown]

I have ordered form the very same Leica stores in Vienna (they are next door to each other) - both second hand and new (the latter is being discussed here) - with 100% success and with the full dose of Austrian pedantness but my order never surpassed 10K euros. The money was wired via EU SEPA bank transfer without any problems, nor were there issues with the store manager(s). I am stoked you did not ask WHY EXACTLY they refunded you. There are really only two options - money laundering laws or the items were actually not in stock but the site said they were.
However, I check their online store regularly for the black paint M10R and I have yet to see it coming back in stock to be available online, as they just get very few copies every fortnight or so and they are all reserved way ahead (we are in contact often, that is how I know this information). The only time this Leica model was available online was for preorders. Here is a screenshot of how the M10R black paint availability has looked for quite a while now, more than a month.

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Edited August 9, 2021 by Al Brown

[zeitz]

16 minutes ago, Al Brown said:

There are really only two options - money laundering laws

I also believe that money laundering protocols are involved.  Let me tell you my tale in case it helps in the future.

We know the other store you are talking about is Joe Geier's Mint and Rare in Vienna.  Joe is the nicest guy in the world and he used to work for the Leica Shop and for the Westlicht Auction.  I bought a very expensive item from Joe.  I did the normal wire transfer from my local international bank branch.  The same person who has done wire transfers for me in the past also did this paperwork.  Unexpectedly I got two phone calls, first from the central office of my bank and then from Bank of America which handles all wire transfers from the US.  Both calls seemed to be more interested in the receiver than me.  Giving them the Mint and Rare URL seemed to work, the transfer was only delayed about one day.

Joe promptly ships using Federal Express.  The package promptly gets to the FedEx international gateway in the US (Indianapolis).  But then it gets hung up clearing customs.  There was only one piece of information missing which I provided on the 1st day.  But it still took seven days to clear customs.  I called FedEx customs everyday.  Each time I called I was given a different reason for the delay or another form to fill out.  Again this was all very strange and different from packages that weren't valued as high.

[pedaes]

1 hour ago, zeitz said:

We know the other store you are talking about is Joe Geier's Mint and Rare in Vienna

Not sure it is - think he was talking about a HK store ("my local guy").

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[zeitz]

1 hour ago, pedaes said:

Not sure it is - think he was talking about a HK store ("my local guy").

Thanks for the clarification.  I misread that.