Looks like price increases in July 2024

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As Leica ambassador said on this forum, Leica is for the elite and if you can’t afford it that’s your problem (paraphrased).

My local post office/convenience store has just announced they are closing down next month. The post office side is profitable for them but they rely on sales of all the other stuff to make it viable and with price increases people aren’t spending enough to cover their increased costs (rates, energy, staff etc). 
 

Leica isnt immune to the cost of everything going up, although some people are getting enormously (more) wealthy off the back of us. 

[Herr Barnack]

On 6/15/2024 at 9:20 AM, Stuart Richardson said:

Crazy how much they have outpaced inflation. I remember buying an MP new from Adorama in 2002 for 2200 dollars. With inflation is should cost 3800. They are now 6000.

That's only an extra $2200 -  stop being such a tight wad!  😅

Quote

As Leica ambassador said on this forum, Leica is for the elite and if you can’t afford it that’s your problem (paraphrased).

Will we non-elite common turds who already own Leicas be grudgingly permitted to keep them, or will they be, uh, "collected" from us lest we bring shame on the elites?

Edited June 16, 2024 by Herr Barnack

[Eoin]

Thinking out loud here ...

Summilux 21 new 9k, 2nd hand 4.5k
Summicron 50 APO new 9.3k 2nd hand 5.5k
Noctilux .95 new 13k 2nd hand 6k
Noctilux 1.25 new 14.5k 2nd hand 8k
Summicron 90 APO new 5.7k 2nd hand 2k

While most top lenses from other systems are in the 1k to 2k range new and Leica's SL lenses costing half of M lenses when new, I wonder how long this luxury bubble will last.

I'm obviously not Leica's typical target customer as I see absolutely no reason to buy new ... ever.

 

 

[gotium]

I'm thinking maybe it's time to move on. Just got an M11 with corruption issues and not sure what better option there is. 

[darylgo]

Someday we will fondly look back on the years of the 2020 decade and think how reasonable Leica prices were.  It only hurts in the present. 

Leica M15  $99,999.95 MSRP

Edited June 16, 2024 by darylgo

[ianforber]

Same with watch brands like Jaeger Le Coultre. Insane price hikes over the last few years. Omega almost as bad. Only Bremont realised they weren’t selling and decided to reduce prices. 

[petereprice]

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Looking at this price list in more detail, a few items stand out to me, that are interesting....

The big one, is that the M6, MP and MA's are all getting $300 increases.  I really hope that these price increases improve repair time of those film bodies, because at present I'm hearing the turn around time for film body repairs, is about 6-8 months.

I find it interesting that the M11 Monochrom got a $300 increase but the M11 and M11-P didn't.  No idea on that one.

On the lens front, I feel like some of these make some sense.  For instance, it looks like the 35mm f1.4 Summilux ASPH FLE II got the biggest increase, but looks like it's now priced evenly with the old 35 Lux FLE, which makes sense.  Even though painful.  And the rest of the M lenses look like "cost of living" increases.

The SL lenses is where I am kinda blown away by.  The 24-70 got a $100 increase but is already in my opinion overpriced when it's actually a rebranded Sigma 24-70 and the older version I might add, that is NOT hand assembled but is manufactured in Japan.  I don't know of any current advantage of the 24-70 Leica vs Sigma but I do know that the new Sigma 24-70 f2.8 II seems to have advantages to the original and is over half the cost of this lens.  Not sure what Leica is thinking there.  Same with the 14-24 f2.8 lens, which got a $200 increase, but can be bought by Sigma (same lens) for over half the price!

Lastly the non APO Summicrons which are hand assembled in Portugal got $200 and $300 bumps, which again has me scratching my head, when these are just better built Panasonic Lumix lenses, which sell for a quarter of the price and to my understanding are not selling well on their own, and are only in circulation because they were bundled with the SL2/SL2-S for the last year at a pretty competitive price.

So definitely some interesting ones to note.  I get it that Leica has to increase their costs annually but the timing and the actual numbers I find a bit weird, unless they are being used to increase their productivity to meet the spike in demand.  What I would like to see is Leica use these price increases to offer better repair and professional services, then I feel like the price increases are more worth it.  But 6-8 months for a M6/MP/MA repair, or 8-9 months for the SL series bodies?  They could do better in my opinion.  Know what I mean?

[Markey]

1 hour ago, gotium said:

I'm thinking maybe it's time to move on. Just got an M11 with corruption issues and not sure what better option there is. 

I don`t think there is a" better option" just a different options.

We are talking about taking photographs and although we all love it that`s all it is.

Plenty of other ways besides using Leica and I have been using Leica for nearly 30 years.

Probably different for the pro`s who can maybe off set their costs (I wouldn`t know) but for the hobbyist its another matter.

[RobW0]

I don't care, I have have the cameras and lenses that I want, other than some of the vintage ones, that I want. There is one lens I want, but that is one I will buy use, and that is the 50 APO. 

[Kiwimac]

I love M cameras. The simplicity and form factor are close to perfect for me. 
 

However, short of a Lotto win or massive inheritance, I cannot see myself buying new again. The 11-P does largely everything I could wish for, looks and feels lovely and seems (fingers crossed) 🤞 to be more or less settled in behaviours now. 
 

I cannot really fathom what the M12 could have that would make it worth the price of a small car, which it will be. Adding complexity like IBIS in a camera that Panasonic aren’t at all involved in the design of is asking for trouble in my view, but we’ll see. 
 

If the Fuji X-Pro 4 ever does eventuate, that will offer something very similar to M form factor, excellent glass and a significantly lower price point. I could see it eating a lot of Leica’s lunch for the more price sensitive amongst us. 

[Stuart Richardson]

2 hours ago, petereprice said:  What I would like to see is Leica use these price increases to offer better repair and professional services, then I feel like the price increases are more worth it.  But 6-8 months for a M6/MP/MA repair, or 8-9 months for the SL series bodies?  They could do better in my opinion.  Know what I mean?

Leica just came off its most profitable year in history. I don’t think they are cash strapped to the extent that they cannot afford to shorten their repair times. They have clearly made a calculation that fixing it quickly and dramatically is not a priority. Also service techs have to be trained and I imagine that is not a weekend workshop. Hopefully it will get better, but I have been shooting Leica for a quarter century now and their repair times have never been less than a month door to door for me, usually at least three months. I think they want the service times long so that people don’t send things in for all the little things that can and do go wrong on Leica bodies. 

[RobW0]

24 minutes ago, Stuart Richardson said:

Leica just came off its most profitable year in history. I don’t think they are cash strapped to the extent that they cannot afford to shorten their repair times. They have clearly made a calculation that fixing it quickly and dramatically is not a priority. Also service techs have to be trained and I imagine that is not a weekend workshop. Hopefully it will get better, but I have been shooting Leica for a quarter century now and their repair times have never been less than a month door to door for me, usually at least three months. I think they want the service times long so that people don’t send things in for all the little things that can and do go wrong on Leica bodies. 

Got to always have increasing profits.  That is the american way. Oh,this is a German company. 

[jaapv]

The M8 cost 4192 Euro in 2006. I seem to recall that the M8.2 cost exactly the same. 

[jaapv]

9 hours ago, RobW0 said:

I don’t think they are cash strapped to the extent that they cannot afford to shorten their repair times

That is a staffing problem, not a cash one. Their official turnaround is one week. 🤣🙄

[newtoleica]

20 hours ago, Eoin said:

 

I'm obviously not Leica's typical target customer as I see absolutely no reason to buy new ... ever.

 

 

me neither. Only once (in 2005) never since. I don't have money to burn.

[graphlex]

No increases for any M11 but the Monochrome. Hmmm. 

[adan]

I read a print version of this Associated Press story just a couple of days ago - also found the second link while searching for the first.

Food for thought, regarding Leica's perennial challenge of trying to balance "luxury fashion accessory" status against unit-sales volume.

https://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory/study-finds-global-luxury-sales-flattening-amid-inflicted-111214667

https://www.reuters.com/business/retail-consumer/chinas-rich-ditch-flashy-luxury-global-sales-stall-says-bain-2024-06-18/

Of note - 20-ish years ago, the fashion brand Hermès was part-owner of Leica Camera. Not a great long-term success for either brand. Although the association still turns up -  occasionally - in special editions. But I had rather hoped that Leica had learned that lesson, and gone back to focusing soley on making great photographic tools.

 

[Smudgerer]

On 6/17/2024 at 11:47 AM, jaapv said:

 Their official turnaround is one week. 🤣🙄

So, why is my M10-R still in Wetzlar since early days January 2024 for a warranty, ( now long expired ), repair?

[jaapv]

Said often in this forum. Desperate lack of staff and possibly shortage of spare parts.

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[jaapv]

34 minutes ago, adan said:

I read a print version of this Associated Press story just a couple of days ago - also found the second link while searching for the first.

Food for thought, regarding Leica's perennial challenge of trying to balance "luxury fashion accessory" status against unit-sales volume.

https://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory/study-finds-global-luxury-sales-flattening-amid-inflicted-111214667

https://www.reuters.com/business/retail-consumer/chinas-rich-ditch-flashy-luxury-global-sales-stall-says-bain-2024-06-18/

Of note - 20-ish years ago, the fashion brand Hermès was part-owner of Leica Camera. Not a great long-term success for either brand. Although the association still turns up -  occasionally - in special editions. But I had rather hoped that Leica had learned that lesson, and gone back to focusing soley on making great photographic tools.

 

Weirdly enough the special editions ARE great photographic tools and of course a great cash generator with little to no R&D costs. Leica has a tradition of building special editions - a lot of them- since the Luxus was announced in 1929.