I believe Leica has a policy of annual price increases.
Some of the gear I bought in the early 2010s is now close to 2x higher MSRP... in theory I should be able to resell that equipment and recoup most of my original spend (of course that doesn't account for inflation). But reality is that resale value of some Leica gear has not kept pace with the price increases.
retrofocus wrote:
Squeezing out as much as they can...until they realize they went too far.
Last year when the US Tariffs came into effect Leica went too far for Canada.
Since Leica ships to the US first then ships to Canadian dealers we were hit with those same tariffs. The Canadian dealers pushed back but Leica wouldn't adjust their process.
No matter I consider my Leica M kit complete in terms of lenses, buying a new body is on the bottom of my list of things to do.
I still consider 2nd hand purchases but new would take something special for me to jump.
It's interesting how the price increases aren’t uniform across all lenses and bodies. They seem to follow some internal metric that Leica uses.
It could be based on a number of factors, but from what I have noticed, the items that don't move as quickly or sell as strongly tend to see smaller increases. I could be wrong, but looking back at previous adjustments, that is the pattern that stood out to me.
Fred, that makes some sense for the market in which Leica operates. Popular items have demand that is less price sensitive, therefore Leica may feel they can take advantage of relatively greater buyer tolerance of price changes because those users really want those items. For a currently less popular item, the customers who had to have it on release, already have it.
The other brands play a similar game, at least in the short term. A new product is released and early adopters pay the introductory price, which is often somewhat higher than equivalent products from competitors. Then at some point in the future, that product starts to receive periodic discounts and/or settles to a lower 'street' price.
burningheart wrote:
Last year when the US Tariffs came into effect Leica went too far for Canada.
Since Leica ships to the US first then ships to Canadian dealers we were hit with those same tariffs. The Canadian dealers pushed back but Leica wouldn't adjust their process.
No matter I consider my Leica M kit complete in terms of lenses, buying a new body is on the bottom of my list of things to do.
I still consider 2nd hand purchases but new would take something special for me to jump.
I ended up getting my Q3 shipped to Canada from a store in Europe, the savings were pretty decent, the prices in Canada are silly because of supply coming from the US.
Go overseas for your gear and play tourist with the savings. Leica warranty doesn’t care where you bought it just sent it off to Wetzler directly. For other stuff go to Japan. A new Zeiss ZM lens there cost less than used prices here. Leica brand new on the other hand are priced as if they are stocked in hotel mini bars.
hkrazerx wrote:
Go overseas for your gear and play tourist with the savings. ....
What savings
Once you factor in airfare, accommodations, food for oneself, the savings are long gone. Not to mention the costs for other family members travelling with you.
The usual April prices hikes are expected. Such is life. One personal bright spot is that the body-only SL3-S is not on the list.
The ones I hate to see are the quite steep M-A and MP increases, because I reach age 65 this year, and might want to be kind to myself, with a new film M, rather than an SL, but would rather wait until September or October, to buy. Regardless, I will not be able to act until the last business day of March, anyway, by which time little to nothing will likely be in-stock.
On the other hand, I have only bought one Leica M camera new, that being my original M10. I have only bought one Leica M lens new, that being my Re-Edition Steel Rim. So, I am accustomed to pre-owned self-gifts.
RexGig0 wrote:
On the other hand, I have only bought one Leica M camera new, that being my original M10. I have only bought one Leica M lens new, that being my Re-Edition Steel Rim. So, I am accustomed to pre-owned self-gifts.
Though I have (probably) too many, I have bought only two new: The 35/1.4 SRR and the Vintage line Summilux 50/1.4. Seeing that these have two of the largest increases, I'm happy with that. Awesome lenses both.
I think that Leica is trying to find a cure for GAS. This is an excellent remedy. More seriously, my lack is in talent, not gear. So, a price increase really won’t be an issue for me.
bwcolor wrote:
I think that Leica is trying to find a cure for GAS. This is an excellent remedy. More seriously, my lack is in talent, not gear. So, a price increase really won’t be an issue for me.
100%
The higher Leica's new gear goes, the happier I am with what I already own. Thanks, Leica!
Leica knows its market and it knows the hook is set. For buyers who want the brand, price is secondary. This is not something competing on a shelf at Walmart. It is a luxury product, and luxury brands use the pricing power they have. Porsche is another example.
That said, I shoot for fun and price increases absolutely affect me. I have a ceiling. I suppose I understand the inflation and production arguments
What bothers me most is the ripple effect. Leica prices rarely move backward, and increases like this tend to lift the used market as well. Even if I avoid buying new, I will likely feel it later.
Once you factor in airfare, accommodations, food for oneself, the savings are long gone. Not to mention the costs for other family members travelling with you.
I wouldn’t fly to Shanghai to save 5 bucks on dumping! If you are planning a holiday maybe it’ll be of consideration.
RexGig0 wrote:
The usual April prices hikes are expected. Such is life. One personal bright spot is that the body-only SL3-S is not on the list.
The ones I hate to see are the quite steep M-A and MP increases, because I reach age 65 this year, and might want to be kind to myself, with a new film M, rather than an SL, but would rather wait until September or October, to buy. Regardless, I will not be able to act until the last business day of March, anyway, by which time little to nothing will likely be in-stock.
On the other hand, I have only bought one Leica M camera new, that being my original M10. I have only bought one Leica M lens new, that being my Re-Edition Steel Rim. So, I am accustomed to pre-owned self-gifts.
I just realized that the price jump is March 13, not March 31st. So, alas, I will be unable to buy anything, before the prices increase. Just as well; I have other priorities.
Notably, CameraQuest is running a Voigtlander sale, at the moment.
burningheart wrote:
Last year when the US Tariffs came into effect Leica went too far for Canada.
Since Leica ships to the US first then ships to Canadian dealers we were hit with those same tariffs. The Canadian dealers pushed back but Leica wouldn't adjust their process.
No matter I consider my Leica M kit complete in terms of lenses, buying a new body is on the bottom of my list of things to do.
I still consider 2nd hand purchases but new would take something special for me to jump.
Fellow Canadian and I’m glad I feel sated as well with my current kit. I guess it really isn’t about tariffs anymore at this point but rather increasing margins. If it was truly tariff related Leica would be importing from EU for us sorry bastards. And yes, it really is too bad we have to go through the US distributor. Would it behoove Leica to acknowledge the heritage it shares with Canada, particularly in Midland, Ontario?
The problem for Canadians is that there is no longer a Canadian Leica distributor importing directly from Germany to bypass the US tariffs that shouldn't affect us. There hasn't been one for ages. Canada is probably too small a market for Leica USA to bother with the hassle of separate imports for us to avoid the tariffs. Or they have already bought the propaganda that we're the 51st state.
Surfnsun wrote:
What bothers me most is the ripple effect. Leica prices rarely move backward, and increases like this tend to lift the used market as well. Even if I avoid buying new, I will likely feel it later.
I think that is party of why Leica does it, to 'protect' those already 'invested' in the system by making it gradually increase in value. The longer you hold, the more you potentially gain when exiting.
This always benefits those on the inside with regard to assets that generally appreciate. Of course, Leica gear still takes a significant depreciation hit once the box has been opened, but if you hold it long enough, that might eventually be significantly offset (again, ignoring inflation).
hkrazerx wrote:
Go overseas for your gear and play tourist with the savings. ....
burningheart wrote:
What savings
Once you factor in airfare, accommodations, food for oneself, the savings are long gone. Not to mention the costs for other family members travelling with you.
If you're already going... it can be worthwhile. Otherwise I'd order from a reputable shop in a region where there is a price advantage and then pay the GST/HST on import.
That said, I no longer trust Leica gear to be in correct working order out of the box new, so definitely want an easy return option and that can be difficult if not buying domestically.
In general, if you'd be buying enough gear, the savings could offset the cost of a flight and maybe a bit more, basically paying for a visit to another country for a short photography holiday. If you have to take someone else along, buy more!
Fred Miranda wrote:
It's interesting how the price increases aren’t uniform across all lenses and bodies. They seem to follow some internal metric that Leica uses.
It could be based on a number of factors, but from what I have noticed, the items that don't move as quickly or sell as strongly tend to see smaller increases. I could be wrong, but looking back at previous adjustments, that is the pattern that stood out to me.
Leica has now increased the price of an M with 58% in less than a decade... and the price of the Q (since 2015) with 78%...
The price of the SL though (also since 2015) has pretty much remained unchanged, i.e. from $7,450 to $7,485...
