Archived posting to the Leica Users Group, 1998/03/16
[Author Prev] [Author Next] [Thread Prev] [Thread Next] [Author Index] [Topic Index] [Home] [Search]Hi Donal, I thought I may jump in and offer some reasons as to the price differences. Not all Leica Distributers are created equal. The cost of doing business in different countries varies. Leica USA offers Passport Warranty, but other expenses come to mind. Advertising (already mentioned). Labor. Maintaining your sales staff (Leica USA has both independant and company sales representitives) and a repair facilities to maintain. Shipping. Shipping costs are not the same in all countries. How they buy. Perhaps some larger dealers may make deals with Leica AG that have an impact on the final price. Import tarriffs. Some countries collect large sums of money to import these "luxury items." Jeff Alford Keeble & Shuchat Photography Donal Philby wrote: > Eric Welch wrote: > > > > At 07:35 PM 3/15/98 -0800, you wrote: > > > > >coming from Rochester directly to my photo store. Same film out of same > > >machine. Something is wrong. If they can indeed export film cheaply > > >enough to come back here cheaply, they are over charging the US > > >customers. Period. > > Donal, > > > > It's not the same film. They have plants in other countries that make film. > > Sorry Eric. Kodak does have such plants and undoubtedly some of the > film from them makes its way to US markets, but Kodak reps have > acknowledged what I say and admit they have no justifiable answer. > > > > >Same situation with grey market cameras. How possibly could foreign > > >dealers get Leicas and export them to the US, pay customs charges and > > >still have them sell for less? If US distributors won't match grey > > > > They have to pay for advertising, and for staff in the U.S. (or Canada or > > elsewhere). On top of that, they are giving more value with the Passport > > than other distributors are. Maybe it's too expensive, and they should > > offer with or without Passport to save a couple hundred bucks for those who > > never take their cameras out. > > > > But the way they trade with each country is a matter of dealing with that > > country. Import taxes here vs. there. But it's mostly the cost of doing > > business in that country that can determine the difference. That and "what > > the market will bear." I.E. Capitalism. > > If Leica is wholeselling cameras for different prices to different > countries, the various distributors should be yelling and screaming. > The only acception I can think of is differences in import duty. Yes to > advertising, but so do other countries in their own countries which are > also re-exporting. As for the Passport cost, perhaps you have a good > idea. But I still am cynical about all the pricing. And stand by what > I wrote earlier until (I'll listen!) I hear more specific arguments. > The most egregious violator is Kodak and I love their films anyway. > The world is growing too small for these kind of games and greed. > > donal > > ========== > > > > Eric Welch > > St. Joseph, MO > > http://www.ponyexpress.net/~ewelch > > > > I exist as I am - that is enough. > > > > - Walt Whitman > > -- > Donal Philby > San Diego > http://www.donalphilby.com