RE: [Leica] Re: Warranty & New vs. Used

["Austin Franklin" <darkroom@ix.netcom.com>]

> My comment above was made regarding Austin's assertion that Leica gear
> costed more in the U.S. than anywhere else, which is simply not true.

Unless you know all the costs involved (price from Leica to importer in
country X, price it costs for importer X to bring the camera into the
country, and then price importer X charges to the dealer), you can't begin
to know that it is true or not.

> When
> that was pointed out to him, he responded that he wasn't talking about
> government taxes but manufacturer/importer pricing policies, hence my
> question, which went unanswered.

EXACTLY!  And you don't know what the importers fees/taxes etc. are.

> In France, a new M6 body costs 18,890FF (as advertised in Leica Magazine),
> which comes to about $2068USD, and this is before taxes (with taxes it
> costs the equivalent of $2474.USD). Last time I checked, $2068. was more
> than $1995., which is what the same M6 body will cost you in the US, where
> you can take $200 off that price thanks to the current rebate, you get a 3
> year warranty, and - if you buy out of state - you don't pay any
> sales tax.
>
> Enough said?

Er, no.  The tax you are adding in your above paragraph are only sales taxes
(VAT or whatever), not importing duties and taxes.  If I added the %55 I pay
for taxes here in the US, instead of paying VAT, then I'd pay a LOT more for
the same gear here in the US.

You might be right that some other countries importers are marking up Leica
gear more than the US is, but you haven't shown legitimate data to
substantiate that.  The fact is, the camera can be purchased much cheaper
elsewhere, and that alone should indicate that the Leica US importer is
taking on a hefty sum for themselves, certainly heftier than a lot of other
countries are!