p.1 #1 · Leica resale prices on M lenses bought new are no longer good these days!
I am so disappointed in offers I am getting on original Mint (mounted once and used for 10-15 shots) Leica M lenses.
I sold all my Leica SL gear and thought the low pieces were due to the items being SL gear which were heavily competing with Nikon and Canon systems. Not just SL gear I know now.
Now I am finding that even Leica M lenses are not holding their value as we have been lead to believe by Leica for years.
p.1 #2 · Leica resale prices on M lenses bought new are no longer good these days!
I browse BS boards pretty frequently. The popular native M mount lenses have retained value well. The really popular ones like Steel Rim Reissued has gone up in price for used ones. I guess it depends on what you are selling. You have any recent listings to support your observation?
p.1 #3 · Leica resale prices on M lenses bought new are no longer good these days!
I have noticed that at least in some cases prices have come down a bit. But come down from fairly insane heights IMO; some 10 years ago I could get a Summaron 35/2.8 in Sweden for maybe 500EUR in great condition. Then for a while people wanted 1200-1300 for them. Now they are back down to maybe 800, which is still a lot more than they used to be...
p.1 #4 · Leica resale prices on M lenses bought new are no longer good these days!
Most of the bidding activity is low, but if you list for Buy-Now and set the price to the price you want, you can still get good value. Do a search on eBay for your lens, and tick the only-sold-items checkbox, and see what they are going for.
p.1 #6 · Leica resale prices on M lenses bought new are no longer good these days!
People still buy Leica lenses as an investment? The best photography investment one can make is to get out with Leica lenses (or any gear) every day and photograph to your heart's delight. The investment in your happiness and skill will greatly outweigh any lens appreciation. IMHO.
p.1 #8 · Leica resale prices on M lenses bought new are no longer good these days!
stgrove wrote:
I am so disappointed in offers I am getting on original Mint (mounted once and used for 10-15 shots) Leica M lenses.
I sold all my Leica SL gear and thought the low pieces were due to the items being SL gear which were heavily competing with Nikon and Canon systems. Not just SL gear I know now.
Now I am finding that even Leica M lenses are not holding their value as we have been lead to believe by Leica for years.
The SL lenses generally don't hold value as well as the M lenses, and the same goes for the SL bodies. I bought a mint Leica SL2 on the buy and sell board for $1,850 about three months ago.
The other part of the equation is whether you bought the lens new or used. If you buy new, even with Leica M-lenses, don't expect the value to fully hold. Most will drop around 25-40% initially, then level out. One of the interesting things about Leica M gear is that once the used price settles, it tends to stay stable over time, and in some cases it can even appreciate if a lens gets discontinued and turns into a bit of a Leica classic. Of course, all of this still depends on the specific lens and how desirable or rare it is.
For example, if you buy a brand new Leica 35mm f/1.4 Summilux FLE close focus for $6,900 right now, realistically you are probably looking at around $4,800 to $5,500 on the used market, even if the lens is mint and barely used. If you list the lens at $6,000 thinking you're only "losing" $900, it just sits there...
Most third party M lenses depreciate even more where prices continue to slowly decline over the years, though there are always a few exceptions.
p.1 #9 · Leica resale prices on M lenses bought new are no longer good these days!
gordec wrote:
I browse BS boards pretty frequently. The popular native M mount lenses have retained value well. The really popular ones like Steel Rim Reissued has gone up in price for used ones. I guess it depends on what you are selling. You have any recent listings to support your observation?
Yes, I sold almost new SL APO lenses for around 50% of the new price. Now take a mint M 50/0.95 use for 10-15 shots. Retail now $14400 (Yikes!!!), but offers are not even 50% of that-actually closer to 40% of retail. I was told today that a Leica store would offer about $4k for the mint APO 50/2.0 lens that now sells for what $8k. Of course specialty lenses can attract better prices versus retail, but even the Leica 50/1.2 I sold was around 50% of the new price.
I can go one more, but it seems very old character Leica lenses hold up (I guess) and also LLL is certainly affecting how Leica M users now buy lenses and which lenses they like.
Generally, Leica M glass values are not what they used to be. But then again Leica prices are just very high on all items.
p.1 #10 · Leica resale prices on M lenses bought new are no longer good these days!
Fred Miranda wrote:
The SL lenses generally don't hold value as well as the M lenses, and the same goes for the SL bodies. I bought a mint Leica SL2 on the buy and sell board for $1,850 about three months ago.
The other part of the equation is whether you bought the lens new or used. If you buy new, even with Leica M-lenses, don't expect the value to fully hold. Most will drop around 25-40% initially, then level out. One of the interesting things about Leica M gear is that once the used price settles, it tends to stay stable over time, and in some cases it can even appreciate if a lens gets discontinued and turns into a bit of a Leica classic. Of course, all of this still depends on the specific lens and how desirable or rare it is.
For example, if you buy a brand new Leica 35mm f/1.4 Summilux FLE close focus for $6,900 right now, realistically you are probably looking at around $4,800 to $5,500 on the used market, even if the lens is mint and barely used. If you list the lens at $6,000 thinking you're only "losing" $900, it just sits there...
Most third party M lenses depreciate more where prices continue to slowly decline over the years, though there are always a few exceptions....Show more →
Fred,
Actual prices for selling gear to dealers means they will offer 30% less than the going prices. So if one calls a reputable dealer (say a Leica Store) and ask what they will pay for lens XYZ that is in current production and then take that up by 30% minimum that indicates the current used prices. I regularly do this and the prices are not optimistic like Leica has mentioned and most have believed all these years, myself included.
p.1 #11 · Leica resale prices on M lenses bought new are no longer good these days!
Yeah, dealers are generally not worth it, perhaps except if you own some exceedingly rare Leica M2 black paint owned by a known personality or something, then they could be worth it so you don't have to deal with shady characters trying to nick it. Any middle layer will take money, many of them quite a lot.
p.1 #12 · Leica resale prices on M lenses bought new are no longer good these days!
With Leica, buy the right items used, take care of them, sell used and you don't lose much, and often make money.
The used market for Leica is active. You will get many low offers from people looking for bargains or even trying to flip for profit. Handle Leica properly and you will find that you do well with Leica.
p.1 #13 · Leica resale prices on M lenses bought new are no longer good these days!
A great place to get an idea of market price for most Leica used gear is the Buy and Sell forum. Over the years, I still think it's still the best place out there for most things Leica.
p.1 #14 · Leica resale prices on M lenses bought new are no longer good these days!
Yup. The used market on this forum is definitely the best deal going. Constant turning over of brand new looking gear by bored photographers.
I also think people confuse listing prices with selling prices. Just like the auto market that’s failing right now. Things are only worth what people are willing to pay. I also agree with the post above about not buying lenses based on value retention.
kidigital wrote:
A great place to get an idea of market price for most Leica used gear is the Buy and Sell forum. Over the years, I still think it's still the best place out there for most things Leica.
p.1 #15 · Leica resale prices on M lenses bought new are no longer good these days!
The only Leica lenses that you buy new which will hold, or increase, in value are either limited edition models or ones in very limited release but are regular production models like the 35M Apo.
All other Leica lenses and gear plummet in prices if you bought new. If I’m going to buy a Noctilux 50 .95 or Apo 50 f2, used prices are about 60-70% of new for perfect shape lenses for example.
The move if you don’t want to lose money, or hope for the value to increase in the future is to obviously buy used.
A lot of people fall for the l-camera forum hype that claims Leica gear appreciates in value. The fan bois say that to validate their purchases. Buy your gear used, and wait for Leica’s year upon year price increases to cash in later on if that is your goal.
p.1 #16 · Leica resale prices on M lenses bought new are no longer good these days!
1bwana1 wrote:
With Leica, buy the right items used, take care of them, sell used and you don't lose much, and often make money.
The used market for Leica is active. You will get many low offers from people looking for bargains or even trying to flip for profit. Handle Leica properly and you will find that you do well with Leica.
That's generally the best advice. Buy used, especially from FM, and take care of it for as long as you want. If you decide to sell it later, the price drop is usually minimal, and in many cases you will break even after fees or even come out ahead. Surprisingly, this holds true for M bodies as well, not just lenses. As a personal example, I bought a used M10 for $4,200 about five years ago, used it for roughly two years, and sold it for $4,300. Today, you can still likely get about the same price if the condition remains mint.
p.1 #17 · Leica resale prices on M lenses bought new are no longer good these days!
Not disputing about buying nice used gear where they hold value. That is another subject.
I am talking about those who buy new and then sell them 3-4 years later suffer a lot which has not always been the case even 5-6 years ago. There has been a significant shift downwards since then.
p.1 #18 · Leica resale prices on M lenses bought new are no longer good these days!
carstenw wrote:
Yeah, dealers are generally not worth it, perhaps except if you own some exceedingly rare Leica M2 black paint owned by a known personality or something, then they could be worth it so you don't have to deal with shady characters trying to nick it. Any middle layer will take money, many of them quite a lot.
I have a bad taste for selling to the general public since years ago I sold a mint M9 in around 2011 to some pro in Seattle. He used it for a job after shooting over 250 images and then said it was not the paint that the original Leica box said that it was and demanded his money back. It was the correct camera that I bought new myself. That soured me on selling to other M users. Reputable Leica dealers do not do that to Leica sellers. Leica Miami has paid me about $60k on mint Leica gear-some rare and some not. Other Leica stores and dealers have paid me $50k+ for mainly M lenses and bodies. At least I know their payments are good and I can sleep knowing no one will be demanding funds returns.
p.1 #19 · Leica resale prices on M lenses bought new are no longer good these days!
New Leica takes a huge hit driving it off the lot, the best "new" bargains can be found with demos and sometimes what I presume an overtax or selling inventory before tax etc. I have bought two essentially brand new lenses this way, never registered one still in a sealed box for the price after the drive off the lot hit. There are many "A-" lenses listed or auctioned and purchased right are essentially new and post drive off the lot hit. If you dispose of a lens after that hit the spread of pay and sell is much smaller. except for wait lists like the new 35 noct it seems to me that once new inventory is released like the M11P safari it rather quickly saturates a small market and then it also seems Leica moves on to the next thing as they did with that safari. I own one and I was surprised how quickly it came and went showing the market base cannot be the large. So if you want an older design 0.95, steel rim, 50 apo and willing to spend some weeks waiting for the right opportunity it will happen quicker than you might imagine. On the other hand the new 35 noct, it will probably be a year or two for the market to saturate and you can snag one at a discount "A-". The true collector stuff those do seem to appreciate- 0.95 titan anyone, all the LHSA stuff ? That super collector pool cannot be very large, but must be scaled fairly well to inventory. The "ordinary" user Leica stuff is probably not a good investment for appreciation, but you can manage the spread between buy and sell and enjoy it between, my own view is if I come out more or less even that is a huge win.
p.1 #20 · Leica resale prices on M lenses bought new are no longer good these days!
stgrove wrote:
I have a bad taste for selling to the general public since years ago I sold a mint M9 in around 2011 to some pro in Seattle. He used it for a job after shooting over 250 images and then said it was not the paint that the original Leica box said that it was and demanded his money back. It was the correct camera that I bought new myself. That soured me on selling to other M users. Reputable Leica dealers do not do that to Leica sellers. Leica Miami has paid me about $60k on mint Leica gear-some rare and some not. Other Leica stores and dealers have paid me $50k+ for mainly M lenses and bodies. At least I know their payments are good and I can sleep knowing no one will be demanding funds returns.
But is this one dishonest pro really the general rule? Here in Germany I have never had anything like this happen, and I have bought and sold photo equipment for decades.
