Mysterious R8 promotion ???

["David Freedman" <dpfreedman@worldnet.att.net>]

Here's an odd bit of marketing by Leica:

After a fair amount of hand wringing, I decided to splurge (with a
vengeance!) and treat myself to a new Leica R8. Anyway, after a five or six
week wait, my black bodied R8 arrived at the dealer. This was April 28. So
far so good. A few days later, I read in this very mailing list that Leica
US has dropped the price of the R8 by $400. Curses! Just my luck. To
continue:  So, not having filled out my warranty cards, I called my dealer
to ask if the news of a price drop was correct? This was last Wednesday,
May 13. He told me that, no, as far as he was aware, the price of the
camera had not been changed. However, said he, he had recently (5/9)
received a fax from Leica informing him of a promotion being offered to
purchasers of the R8. Here's the screwy part: the promotion only applies to
cameras purchased prior to 5/1!! Why would Leica be notifying one of their
major dealers on 5/9 of a program that expired on 5/1?

I went to visit the dealer yesterday, Saturday, and was given a photocopy
of the document. To quote:  

"Thank you for puchasing your new Leica R8 camera. If your purchase was
made prior to May 1, 1997, this certificate entitles you to one of the two
following benefits at no charge:

Conversion of any two Leica R lenses (zoom lenses not included) to be
equipped with the ROM chip for full function with the R8

OR:

One Billingham #335 Camera System Bag"

Interesting, no? I was wondering if there might be any other R8 owners on
list and if their dealers informed them of this promotion?

Incidentally, as the ROM conversion price now stands at $195 per lens, the
offer of 2 free mods is roughly the equivalent of a $400 price decrease on
the camera (assuming, of course, you had intended to have the conversions
done at all).  Could this just be Leica's way of smoothing the ruffled
feathers of early R8 purchasers such as myself who will have missed out on
the price drop?