p.4 #1 · Leica resale prices on M lenses bought new are no longer good these days!
It is also supply and demand. I remember when used Summilux 50 ASPH was going for more than new copies, you just had to wait 6+ months to get a new copy. Same for 35 Lux FLE - it took 3 months to arrive post my order at B&H. Things changed when Leica opened the then new factory. Introduction of the M9 also led to a price spike for M lenses.
p.4 #3 · Leica resale prices on M lenses bought new are no longer good these days!
If you bought used, the values tend to be pretty stable (though by no means a good investment in pure financial terms). I bought my 50mm Summilux ASPH for $2900 back in 2013. I see it now selling for $2550 on FM B&S. So while the value has certainly gone down (especially considering inflation adjustment), the decline in value over a 13y period isn't bad as compared to my Nikon lenses, which I can't even use on modern Nikon cameras. I comfort myself in knowing that I've shot a lot of treasured images through that lens, and that I can still very joyfully use it on modern or ancient cameras.
Now if you bought new from the boutique, you're certainly not going to recover most of your spend in resale. No one is paying close to $5500 for a 50mm 'lux or a $10K for a 21mm 'lux. But then again, the whole mantra of "bodies are costs, lenses are investments" was always a bunch of BS anyway. Over a long enough time horizon, all of these toys (or tools, depending on your use case) become next to worthless compared to what we paid for them new (and by "long enough time horizon," I mean > 7 years).
p.4 #4 · Leica resale prices on M lenses bought new are no longer good these days!
There are many, many interesting lenses in this world, and even more boring ones. I like Kool-Aid and drink my share of the Leica flavor—within reason. Boutique pricing is where I draw the line. That luxury ship started taking on water when the Hermes Edition (with matching leather strap) was released. Dreck (excuse my German). I fully expect our enterprising Chinese providers are going to blow the doors off this Leica delusion. LLL, Thypoch are leading the charge for manual focus, while Viltrox is the optical world-beater with AF. To the Old Guard, I wish you the best of luck...and gold-plated lifesavers.
