rscheffler wrote:
And the removal of Trump's tariff.
highdesertmesa wrote:
I guess theyre just waiting to clear the inventory of the discontinued Portugal lenses before reducing the prices on everything then? Its strange to me that Leica and Leica dealers are ok with the old 35 Lux FLE sitting there for sale at $600 higher than the new one doesnt matter if its because of expired tariffs, strong dollar, or if the new one is less expensive to make. One implication of this pricing: who in their right mind would buy a new 50 Lux right now when we know the new close focus version is imminent and that it will probably cost less? Who would buy any new M lens from the US right now considering that Leica could drop all the prices at any moment? Even the new Q3 could cost less than the Q2 does now. ...Show more →
Yeah, if I was looking at new Leica gear, I'd be extremely inclined to buy from the EU right now. If I had to replace my entire Leica-made lens kit, only 6 lens, the price difference would be $9K higher buying in the US.
I suspect as new items are introduced, we'll see the same pricing conflicts. New items at lower prices than previous versions. This because Leica's pricing in other markets, such as in the EU, also has to make sense. There the new 35 is actually more expensive by 400 Euro, IIRC. And I suspect that Leica sets pricing for the EU and the rest of the world falls into place depending on exchange rates.
This assumes the USD remains strong, which IMO is a reason why Leica USA might be slow to react - no one knows how long the current USD position will hold. They could start to implement price reductions and then the USD drops... And to lower prices means they will have to provide refunds or credit to their dealers with existing inventory. That's a lot of paperwork that costs money to manage. And see-sawing prices are annoying for customers too. Sure it's nice to see prices come down, but then if they quickly jump again (like gas), you feel that sting. And face it, some of Leica's customers are less price sensitive than those price many other shopping other systems. While checking prices at B&H I noticed some lenses are out of stock or backordered. It could be that Leica USA will adjust pricing as they receive new inventory. It will be interesting to see if it happens.
rscheffler wrote:
Yeah, if I was looking at new Leica gear, I'd be extremely inclined to buy from the EU right now. If I had to replace my entire Leica-made lens kit, only 6 lens, the price difference would be $9K higher buying in the US.
I suspect as new items are introduced, we'll see the same pricing conflicts. New items at lower prices than previous versions. This because Leica's pricing in other markets, such as in the EU, also has to make sense. There the new 35 is actually more expensive by 400 Euro, IIRC. And I suspect that Leica sets pricing for the EU and the rest of the world falls into place depending on exchange rates.
This assumes the USD remains strong, which IMO is a reason why Leica USA might be slow to react - no one knows how long the current USD position will hold. They could start to implement price reductions and then the USD drops... And to lower prices means they will have to provide refunds or credit to their dealers with existing inventory. That's a lot of paperwork that costs money to manage. And see-sawing prices are annoying for customers too. Sure it's nice to see prices come down, but then if they quickly jump again (like gas), you feel that sting. And face it, some of Leica's customers are less price sensitive than those price many other shopping other systems. While checking prices at B&H I noticed some lenses are out of stock or backordered. It could be that Leica USA will adjust pricing as they receive new inventory. It will be interesting to see if it happens....Show more →
Some of it they could have done a while back when the Trump tariffs went away, though. I guess that would have put their German lenses at the same price as Portugal lenses, effectively killing any hope of selling the latter.
But the tariffs being gone that means they do have some buffer and could lower prices without even touching the exchange rate difference. I'm sure like you said there's a long chain of consequences for stuff like this, but they sure as sh!t need to figure it out, because they didn't have any problem passing the higher cost onto us when it was all the other way around.
I just purchased my first new Leica item ever (the recently released close focus 35/1.4 FLE) in Copenhagen and when accounting for VAT refund and Illinois sales tax I saved about 20% all said and done. Directly converting the currency here its a bit higher and equivalent to USD5800, but I get back 15% on departure and dont have to pay the 10.5% IL sales tax. My wife bought a coat and it ended up costing about 38% less than it would have at home!
So yes, if theres something youve always wanted and youll be in EU or Britain now is a great time to buy.
Edit: They had the Seal version of the Q2 on display. Pretty cool looking with a matching strap and scarf.
As an aside on the currency conversion and purchasing from the USA - if paying by PayPal in euros, don't select the option for PayPal to do the conversion. Select "let the credit card issuer" do the conversion.
PayPal is a rip off and charges almost 4% premium when doing euro to USD conversion compared to the spot rate. My credit card from Chase gives me almost close to the spot rate and no foreign transaction fees.
With euro down to 0.97 usd as of Sep 24, this is a great time to splurge
