Leica Q3 Waitlist/Stock/Shipment

[CalStanford]

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I had a launch day order with B&H too. Same crap experience. Prepaid over $6000 to them. No communication from them and when I reached out I got lies ("you'll have it in two weeks"). Ended up cancelling it after two months when I happen to be in Frankfurt Germany and bought some things for my upcoming Q3 (battery etc). The dealer offered to ship it to me to HK when available. I then reached out to a few other Leica dealers in the country and the Constance one came through after just over a month wait only. Ended up costing me less than B&H and was great communication throughout. Shipping took two and a half days. The Frankfurt store was super nice and told me I could have gotten one two weeks later from them as well. 

 

Long story short. Forget the constant B&H ads and go with a Leica or independent photo shop. Try a few if need be. Wait really isn't long. 

Edited September 18, 2023 by CalStanford

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The Leica Q3 is available for pre-order at B&H Photo Video and Adorama

[Voxen]

8 hours ago, Torontoamateur said:

My frustration is that Leica is fostering this pre order delay and if they had integrity they would say no orders until we ship and then only allow the authorized dealers to sell when the camera is in stock.

Your point make no sense. First you should realise that Leica is a small company that just can not build as fast as demand goes. Second, if Leica said no orders until the camera is in stock do you think that will help you get it faster?

You should never have paid upfront, because here you gave your money to B&H that makes profit from it. That is your mistake and you should blame nobody but yourself.

[BeMoreDog]

9 hours ago, Torontoamateur said:

With every vendor taking deposits it is all the same  It is Leica at the production floor who makes us fools . No production plan. No communication of expectation of delivery. We are fools to tolerate this

Hasselbad X2D, launch, massive wait time. Canon R5 and R3, launch, massive wait time. Nikon Z9 and Z8, launch, massive wait time. Blame Leica all you want but I think you will find pretty much EVERY manufacturer with a "popular" release is exactly the same right now. One difference, Leica is a very small company compared to many others.

I'm waiting and have not paid up front, nor would I. I would choose my vendor with more research and temper what I decide to do with regards to deposit (if at all).

One vendor told me if I paid a £500 non-refundable deposit I would get on their "priority" list. Suffice to say I declined to tell them what I thought and simply chose a different vendor.

[rayansb]

I don't think either Leica or B&H can be fully blamed. Leica is a tiny company in comparison to juggernaut manufacturers like Sony or Canon so it is understandable their production output is fairly small and according to them they did not expect such demand for the Q3 so that's another factor. B&H is a third party vendor, they ship it when they get it. They have little to no control over production or product allocation set by the manufacturer. Not taking the money of a willing customer is just bad business. I paid the 6000 dollars upfront because that was the only option I had as an international customer with no local Leica shops where I live. I can cancel at anytime and get my money back so paying upfront isn't that big of a deal especially if you have made your mind your want the Q and you'll wait for it. I understand it's a little frustrating not knowing when you will get your camera and the lack of clarity on timelines and possible dates of fulfillment are annoying but it is what it is. 

[JTLeica]

11 hours ago, Torontoamateur said:

With every vendor taking deposits it is all the same  It is Leica at the production floor who makes us fools . No production plan. No communication of expectation of delivery. We are fools to tolerate this

I dont think your comment is very well thought out at all. When a new popular product is released, you expect them to employ more people and buy more machinery solely for this camera to get to people quicker? And the next one when those people and machines are surplus to requirements, you get rid of them?

It is not Leica that are not communicating. They are telling every dealer they supplier the stock they will get that month, at the start of the month, and delivering. People have chosen to Order from B&H who are not communicating, and have chosen the largest seller of cameras that everyone knows... and defaults to. It's not Leica, it's the sellers and people choosing the large retailers. 

I got mine two weeks after ordering as I know where to look

[JTLeica]

3 hours ago, BeMoreDog said:

Hasselbad X2D, launch, massive wait time. Canon R5 and R3, launch, massive wait time. Nikon Z9 and Z8, launch, massive wait time. Blame Leica all you want but I think you will find pretty much EVERY manufacturer with a "popular" release is exactly the same right now. One difference, Leica is a very small company compared to many others.

I'm waiting and have not paid up front, nor would I. I would choose my vendor with more research and temper what I decide to do with regards to deposit (if at all).

One vendor told me if I paid a £500 non-refundable deposit I would get on their "priority" list. Suffice to say I declined to tell them what I thought and simply chose a different vendor.

Bang on there, well said.

PS5 and XBOX were out of stock for months, the PS5 for years, silly little old Sony for not making more eh.

Leica Q's are Leicas most popular camera that isnt just a re-shell of a Panasonic, so their build and attention to details is top priority and they arent a company to cut corners. So, how would someone expect a company to double its production overnight, it just isnt possible.

[jk356]

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A lot of us on this post are in the same boat- trying to buy a camera where supply is less than demand

you have a number of options:

wait until demand decreases and the camera is readily available- ~6months?

get on a waitlist ~less than 6 months?

be creative and search for smaller dealers~ some have had success doing this but it takes some time and effort of your part

buy a used Q3 camera- pay a premium

buy something else

or go on leica forum and whine about how leica sucks

 

[Le Chef]

16 hours ago, Torontoamateur said:

With every vendor taking deposits it is all the same  It is Leica at the production floor who makes us fools . No production plan. No communication of expectation of delivery. We are fools to tolerate this

And of course you have proof of all this. I would love to see it as I’m sure would all the others on this thread.

[Orguy]

“Paid in full”?  Not me. I too have it on backorder since May 28 at B&H and *I didn’t get charged.*

(BTW, what is the latest B&H Q3 that has shipped, as far is known?)

They say they don’t charge a credit or debit card till item is in stock and shipped. BUT-if you use Apple Pay or Paypal then their business model does immediately charge. Maybe that is your problem? 

Edited September 18, 2023 by Orguy

[FusionX.Photo]

I can't see how any dealer can justify taking a deposit, the product is in such huge demand that if you order it and change your mind they will sell it to someone else instantly.

Deposits should only be taken on niche products that they could potentially get stuck with on the shelf for months if you back out.

My UK dealer was superb, preordered on their website on release day, emailed me when in stock, went and collected and paid in store, simple.

 

[thrang]

28 minutes ago, FusionX.Photo said:

I can't see how any dealer can justify taking a deposit, the product is in such huge demand that if you order it and change your mind they will sell it to someone else instantly.

Deposits should only be taken on niche products that they could potentially get stuck with on the shelf for months if you back out.

My UK dealer was superb, preordered on their website on release day, emailed me when in stock, went and collected and paid in store, simple.

 

I’m not sure if this was stated earlier, but B&H is/was only requiring deposit in full for PayPal orders. I had a q3 on order with them via credit card and there was no charge (since cancelled and went for an M11)

I don’t know for certain but maybe it has something to do with the ability to put  hold on the charged amount with a credit card transaction but no way to do the same with a PayPal purchase?

If they are also asking for a deposit on credit card now, that I’m unaware…

 

Edited September 18, 2023 by thrang

[JTLeica]

31 minutes ago, FusionX.Photo said:

I can't see how any dealer can justify taking a deposit, the product is in such huge demand that if you order it and change your mind they will sell it to someone else instantly.

Deposits should only be taken on niche products that they could potentially get stuck with on the shelf for months if you back out.

My UK dealer was superb, preordered on their website on release day, emailed me when in stock, went and collected and paid in store, simple.

 

I think it's down to customer commitment, if a customer is serious and wants to put their name down and pay a deposit, likely they will carry through with the purchase. If there were no deposit, you could put you name down with every dealer, but 90% of the list would be fake. And when they call, 9/10 customers have already bought one etc.

[FusionX.Photo]

12 minutes ago, JTLeica said:

I think it's down to customer commitment, if a customer is serious and wants to put their name down and pay a deposit, likely they will carry through with the purchase. If there were no deposit, you could put you name down with every dealer, but 90% of the list would be fake. And when they call, 9/10 customers have already bought one etc.

That isn't going to happen at the moment though is it, people are struggling to get one anywhere so as I said the dealer isn't going to be left with stock they can't sell.

[JTLeica]

2 hours ago, FusionX.Photo said:

That isn't going to happen at the moment though is it, people are struggling to get one anywhere so as I said the dealer isn't going to be left with stock they can't sell.

I don’t mean they will be left with stock. But they have to manage a waiting list that’s ten times longer and 90% of the people on the list are not fully committed and will likely have sourced one already. So you’re making 10 calls, but 9 of them will have changed their mind, bought elsewhere, bought used etc. By taking a deposit you are cutting out people that aren’t serious.

I would take deposits if it were my business. Even £100/200 or so, as I want to deal with serious buyers. 

[jwhitehead]

It seems to me that B&H could fairly easily mitigate a lot of the wrath over their lack of communication. Why not put a button on the order page for those who have already ordered stating their position in the queue? Assuming they truly deliver them based on order date/time, it should be fairly easy to implement. Of course, this wouldn't implicitly tell you what date your camera will arrive, but one could start to get a feel for it by watching their place in line shrink over time. Personally, I would love to know if I'm 25th in the queue or 250th in the queue. 

[Le Chef]

They’re not going to do that, as people’s tolerance levels for waiting are different. (Plenty of scientific tests have been done on this in terms of wait vs reward). Publish the list and you will lose people. Don’t publish the list and you will likely keep more people waiting. If I’m B&H I know what I would do.

[gotium]

On 9/17/2023 at 2:57 PM, Torontoamateur said:

My frustration is that Leica is fostering this pre order delay and if they had integrity they would say no orders until we ship and then only allow the authorized dealers to sell when the camera is in stock.

 

That is my anger with Leica. To encourage and allow such ludicrous waits and practices . Only the consumer is penalized. The dealer and the factory just relish and profit in our blind commitment to endure their arrogance.  In a commercial business there are penalties for late completion yet not with Leica products.  We are the fools to be used to satisfy their ridiculous and unkown timelines  No commitment to production expectations?That is irresponsible  business and that starts at the Leica Factory.

Hey, when the M10 was released and was also totally unavailable, Leica even increased the price on everybody on the wait lists! Talk about warm fuzzy feelings.

Edited September 19, 2023 by gotium

[idusidusi]

On 9/18/2023 at 10:38 PM, JTLeica said:

I would take deposits if it were my business. Even £100/200 or so, as I want to deal with serious buyers. 

That level of deposit, no problem I accept that, as a statement of a serious buyer. Also if I had 2 cameras already, and decided one had to go to fund the new, then if I offered the camera in exchange (and they of course accept) and gave it to the shop, I would expect that to be taken as a deposit too. In both cases I would regard myself as a serious buyer.

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Hallo,

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[mcqinternational]

try Ffordes for leica Q3

[Goon525]

3 hours ago, mcqinternational said:

try Ffordes for leica Q3

Though they’re showing out of stock.