This is a $500 price increase from last week and $1000 over MSRP.
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Leica M9 hits US $7,999.00 on eBay
This entry was posted in Leica Ebay Madness, Leica M9 and tagged Leica M9. Bookmark the permalink. Both comments and trackbacks are currently closed.
11 Comments
It did not “hit” $7999, as it is not an auction and there are no bids on that item. The seller has listed it as $7999 “buy it now”. Therefore, it is not actually an auction listing, merely an attempt to sell an item at an inflated fixed price. The eBay seller in question has a business selling cameras, games, etc.
You will notice, there is no mention of the actual serial number of the specific camera for sale. Photos are included of both the black and steel finish versions. Nothing in the listing indicates which version is for sale.
It is possible the seller doesn’t even posses the M9, and will simply run out and purchase one at the normal Tokyo retail price if someone pushes the “buy it now” button.
I also saw a couple of postings on Craig’s List (Los Angeles) offering for sale new M9s. You can buy the new M9 from Germany (as I did) for 4,621.85 Euro (works out to be about $6,800) after VAT refundin today’s dollars. American Airlines is offering roundtrip between NYC to Frankfut for about USD$800. Spend one night hotel at the Westin Frankfurt for about USD $300/night, and you have a total price of $7,900, enough left for taxi fare and you’ll have a quick trip to Germany!
David, do u mean u can always get a good deal in Germany retails? do they offer any discount if u ask for one. usually in Asia u can ask for 5-10% off. for lens/bodies, just as if buying a Rolex.
No you cannot ask for a discount in Germany; it is not a bargaining type of country like China. (I am Chinese, BTW). And if you ask me HK is not what it used to be in terms of discounts off of electronics, at least with resepect to high-end cameras like Leica. High-end items are more difficult to obtain in HK and there are more people per capital who are willing to pay a premium for them; in my experience the Leica lenses in HK and China sell at at least 10% premium to the U.S. market. As for why one might get a cheaper price for a M9 in Germany compared to the U.S. is because Germany has a killer 19% VAT that the local residents have to pay. In order to compensate for such a high tax, Leica prices their products in Germany a bit lower so as to defray the cost of the high VAT to the German consumers. However, as a tourist, you are not subject to the VAT, so you can get the benefit of the lower-priced retail. Of course, you should declare any and all items purchased abroad upon re-entering the U.S. that are worth over $800 and be at the mercy of the U.S. customs for how much import tariff you pay
Another important factor is the currency value, of course. If you are lucky enough such that the dollar is strong when you purchase your product, and subsequently weakens against the Euro by the time VAT is issued to you, you save more than 19%. For instance, the dollar has dropped between September 9th and now. If you had purchased a M9 from Germany on September 9th, and got your VAT refund say last week, you would save more than 19% due to currency windfall on your part (assuming you use a credit card that does not charge you a foreign transaction fee (Capital One does not)). One may have theoritically been able to acquire a M9 from Gemrnay for about $6,500.
But saving that money wasn’t my point, going to Germany and have some great blood sausage + gummie bears, while getting your next camera, is the point! Not that HK is not a terrific place to visit, too.
i heard US is always giving out better offer than european countries. and HK is the cheapest place to get your leica because of its tax free policy. =/ i am now really confused wheere i should get my M9
I hate eBay sellers who are trying to make big bucks on limited availability.
I encourage NR readers to make low offers on this item in order to p*ss the buyer off. I proposed $800
Either way yet another OVERpriced leica toy for the rich and snobby.Too bad they can’t seem to make tools for photographers and not collectors pieces.i am sure there are plenty of “leicaphiles” that will justify their “investment” but as a working pro,I just do not see their value.
Leica is certainly expensive, and if you making money is the primary goal I agree Leica may not be the way to go. For landsacpe, film is still the way to go. For shooting people or anything that moves, you can’t use a range finder. For classic portrait shots, etc., I don’t see a need beyond an advanced DSLR (the M9 is not the holy grail here, it’s the Hasseblad or the S2 that are way overkill unless you are super famous and people buy that equipment for ya). As for whether something like the M9 is a tool for photographers? Well I think that depends what you need as a tool; everyone’s needs are different and I don’t think a blanket statement is fair. For me, the M9 has allowed me to sell a couple of Nikon lens that I typically used for landscape, and also making my 6X9 camera obsolete. I did some controlled test shots and concluded that the Leica lens + the M9 out resolves anything I have from Nikon (except possibly the 14-24mm), and anything in 6X9. I am debating about whether I should also let go of my 6X17, leaving only the 4X5″. Hence, for me personally, the M9 is actually saving me money, to give me results that I am willing to accept for the HUGE benefit of carying the the total weight of a small DSLR with platic lenses (this makes a huge difference when you are out on the field the whole day carrying everthying you need). And, I don’t have to carry a different set of lens when I need to go to film to capture the full color/expsosure lattitude; I just break out my M6 that also weighs very little. The weight that I save by not having to carry the heavy DLSR + lens (or the 6X9 and 6X17 for film) is very liberating. Is it worth $7K? Well, as I said, it didn’t cost me $7K, because I sold a lot of equipment that I personally found the M9 made obsolete. Does that make my a rich snobby collector, and not a photographer?
cant agree more with david =D cheers.
if any one see how leica make their lens and calibrate their cameras.. i dont think u would call that a TOY.
even it is overpriced for some people, the quality is still there, it wont make it less professional for any Pros who need it.
Leica should announce a new Leica Club M9. They would work with German Tourism. Leica fans around the world could book a trip to Germany. Stay at key hotels (in specific cities) which would also provide loaner M9s for a few days to get accustomed to the camera. Then arrangements would be made to get tourists to the Leica factory to see the M9 assembly and testing area. I envision a raised walkway, glass enclosed of course. At the end of the tour, lunch would be served and tourists could buy their very own M9 which would be presented at the end of the lunch. Prices would be minus German Vat as these are Tourists. Only one M9 body and lens could be purchased so as not to piss off the distribution network. Leica would of course send a few bucks to respective distributor to enable warranty coverage. Distributors would win because folks would buy more Leica lenses and backup bodies locally. Tourists would be thrilled to become members of the exclusive Leica Club. If you can afford a Leica M9 then you could afford the trip to Germany to pickup your M9. Might be a neat marketing thing. Would also help personalize Leica by inviting new owners to visit the factory. Sure you can visit Leica but this would be a more organized and fullfilling experience. I copyright the idea henceforth.