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To claim is a bit uniformed and foolish.  It is an expensive brand - that is something quite different. You seem to be into watches. Rolex is a luxury brand. IWC is an expensive brand. 

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1 minute ago, jaapv said:

To claim is a bit uniformed and foolish.  It is an expensive brand - that is something quite different. 

Right. The characteristics of a luxury item doesn't fit $10,000 Leica cameras at all. 

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2 minutes ago, jaapv said:

 It is an expensive brand

And always has been. I am fascinated with the number of cameras they sold in the 1920/30's given the economies of the time. 

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1 minute ago, sinquerer said:

Right. The characteristics of a luxury item doesn't fit $10,000 Leica cameras at all. 

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AI nonsense?  That is your authority? 🤣

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1 minute ago, sinquerer said:

$10,000 Leica cameras at all.

If it makes you feel proud, fine. I think if you apply an inflation uplift to M and especially R bodies from the 70's they were in line. Accept recent changes have seen a small step in price.

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2 minutes ago, pedaes said:

And always has been. I am fascinated with the number of cameras they sold in the 1920/30's given the economies of the time. 

- A Leica camera in the 1930s cost $300-$500

- Production in the 30s was 3-5,000 cameras a year. 

- To be rich in the 1930s you had an income of around $10,000 a year. 

- Global population was 2 billion people. 0.1- 0.5% of the population was considered "rich". Mostly concentrated in Europe and the USA. 

- Top 1% of wealthy individuals in the USA was roughly 1.2 million rich people, and several million across Europe. 

Today Leica sells 40-60,000 per year and there are 600+ million rich people in the world compared to less than 10 million rich people in the 1930s (meaning $1M+ net worth). 

So there were millions of rich people in Europe and the USA in the 1930s. 

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Yeah, I appreciate a nice box as much as anyone but I think the new eco box is perfectly fine for a box I touch once and then put in storage while I go and play with the camera itself. I actually liked opening the box and having the camera presented to me like immediately, and without plastic, it was a good unboxing experience and to me it does not feel like a cheap box. We like different things and this just seems like an agree to disagree discussion. 

As for luxury I think it's subjective, I personally don't consider them a luxury brand (which I base mostly on my personal experiences and interactions with Leica personnel), but sometimes they behave like they are, and that's fine with me. They are expensive though, but it is more understandable given the lower production numbers, smaller staff and European wages, complex mechanics (especially the rangefinder), premium materials, etc. I wish they were more affordable too, but in the used market they are so they can have multiple lives. Pretty great actually! 

Getting back to the box, I'm not rich by any means but the rich people I know generally don't unbox things themselves anyway so doubt they care as much as you do. 

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14 minutes ago, sinquerer said:

- A Leica camera in the 1930s cost $300-$500

- Production in the 30s was 3-5,000 cameras a year. 

- To be rich in the 1930s you had an income of around $10,000 a year. 

- Global population was 2 billion people. 0.1- 0.5% of the population was considered "rich". Mostly concentrated in Europe and the USA. 

- Top 1% of wealthy individuals in the USA was roughly 1.2 million rich people, and several million across Europe. 

Today Leica sells 40-60,000 per year and there are 600+ million rich people in the world compared to less than 10 million rich people in the 1930s (meaning $1M+ net worth). 

So there were millions of rich people in Europe and the USA in the 1930s. 

What a load of bollocks (one of @jaapv favourite words) from someone who joined this forum 6 hours ago.  Inflation calculator:

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14 minutes ago, jaapv said:

AI nonsense?  That is your authority? 🤣

If you don't like definitions I can show you many times where Leica's top brass referred to their brand as a high-end LUXURY brand. 

To pretend Leica isn't a luxury brand is a ridiculous conversation to have. 

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Posted (edited)
7 minutes ago, T25UFO said:

What a load of bollocks (one of @jaapv favourite words) from someone who joined this forum 6 hours ago.  Inflation calculator:

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Wrong. I was never talking about crappy pounds. I very clearly used US American dollar signs. 

 

In the 1930s someone earning $10,000 a year was earning over $175,000 a year today. Here exactly in 1930 is $192,000. 

AMERICAN dollars. 

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6 minutes ago, sinquerer said:

Wrong. I was never talking about crappy pounds. I very clearly used US American dollar signs. 

 

In the 1930s someone earning $10,000 a year was earning over $175,000 a year today. Here exactly in 1930 is $192,000. 

AMERICAN dollars. 

Yeah, but that's not real money.  No one gives a f**k about America in the 1930s🤣🤣🤣🤣

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19 minutes ago, maxpower said:

They are expensive though, but it is more understandable given the lower production numbers, smaller staff and European wages, complex mechanics (especially the rangefinder), premium materials, etc.

This is the very definition of a luxury item. I don't understand what's wrong or negative about a luxury item. Luxury items, because of what you just described, are the best consumer products you can buy. Which is why they're so expensive. 

Best watch? A Patek Phillippe. 

Best car? Buggati

Best luggage? Hand made in England the Globe-Trotter 

Best camera? Leica 

Best airplane seats? Emirates First Class A350

Best resort? Laucala Island Resort, Fiji 

What do all those "best things" have in common? Other than they're not necessary (which BTW is in the definition of the word LUXURY in the dictionary). 

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Over the years I have unboxed (New) quite a few Leica products and quite a few other marques. The Leica is an experience (MP240 Safari Set) my recent 28-70 Vario Elmarit SL comes to mind. Very nicely packed/boxed, definitely an experience going through the unwrapping/unboxing experience. The lens sat there in it's glory just waiting to be picked ups fondled and then mated to my camera.. Some of the $'s I spent obviously went into the unboxing/unpacking experience. Loved It, thank you Leica.. A beautiful Lens to boot..I remember reading about Sir Jackie Stewart holding a party for the Unboxing/Presenting his new James Purdey guns..  Now that's an Unboxing to remember.. 🥂

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1 minute ago, sinquerer said:

This is the very definition of a luxury item. I don't understand what's wrong or negative about a luxury item. Luxury items, because of what you just described, are the best consumer products you can buy. Which is why they're so expensive. 

Best watch? A Patek Phillippe. 

Best car? Buggati

Best luggage? Hand made in England the Globe-Trotter 

Best camera? Leica 

Best airplane seats? Emirates First Class A350

Best resort? Laucala Island Resort, Fiji 

What do all those "best things" have in common? Other than they're not necessary (which BTW is in the definition of the word LUXURY in the dictionary). 

If you truly believe that the most expensive things are the best things you are misguided. But I'm opting out of this discussion now because I think you are just trolling and I don't feel like wasting more of my time. 

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Posted (edited)

Leica is absolutely a luxury brand. Every facet of their marketing and product placement is consistent with other luxury brands. Most of which are pretty terrible corporate entities. Blackstone isn't going to invest in a low margin business and one of the key components of luxury is a huge upsell based on intangibles like image and rarity, all conveniently things that add no cost to materials and labor. 

The difference is that they are a luxury brand making a tool that uses a technology that no one else makes, so you could argue they’re a more practical luxury brand than most, but I can’t believe there’s even dissent about this. 
 

That said, luxury brand that they are, I couldn’t really give a shit about the packaging, so long it gets to me safely. I do like the leather lens pouches, those are practical, but I don’t need my unboxing to be an experience. I need my camera to work straight out the gates from the factory. That seems like it’s been hard enough. Maybe if they’d put more resources into that instead of past boxes I wouldn’t be as critical. 

Edited by pgh
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Posted (edited)
13 minutes ago, pgh said:

Leica is absolutely a luxury brand. Every facet of their marketing and product placement is consistent with other luxury brands. 
The difference is that they are a luxury brand making a tool that uses a technology that no one else makes, so you could argue they’re a more practical luxury brand than most, but I can’t believe there’s even dissent about this. 
 

That said, luxury brand that they are, I couldn’t really give a shit about the packaging, so long it gets to me safely. I do like the leather lens pouches, those are practical, but I don’t need my unboxing to be an experience. I need my camera to work straight out the gates from the factory. That seems like it’s been hard enough. Maybe if they’d put more resources into that instead of past boxes I wouldn’t be as critical. 

Yes. It's unbelievable that saying "Leica is a luxury brand" is controversial and you're immediately labeled a troll for saying what is obvious to everyone.

I just quoted Leica management saying Leica is a luxury brand. Quote: "Leica takes after OTHER LUXURY BRANDS...". 

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Edited by sinquerer
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38 minutes ago, sinquerer said:

you're immediately labeled a troll f

It wasn't immediate. You hag to  prove it 

Lets try again. Do you use a Leica? 

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