Archived posting to the Leica Users Group, 1999/11/11
[Author Prev] [Author Next] [Thread Prev] [Thread Next] [Author Index] [Topic Index] [Home] [Search]Dear Bill, Thank you for working out the Hexar RF prices in USD. The bad news for Leica and good news for us, is that when the Hexar RF finally arrives in the US, my guess is that it will sell for significantly less than the prices I quoted earlier. Let me explain: Japan is primarily an export country. For most consumer products, such as cameras and electronics, they are often sold for less in the US than in Japan. A quick glance at the latest B & H catalog will confirm this. Of course, the current high Yen has pushed up the Japanese domestic price in USD even more. Still, the lowest prices are still to be found in Hong Kong and probably Singapore too. We have a lot of visitors from Japan buying Japanese cameras here. I shall be receiving a few dozens of Hexar RF in late December, and when they arrive I will let you know how much they will cost. Again, I believe the export prices offered to me by Konica will be less than those quoted in their Japanese price list. Regards, Joseph Bill Erfurth wrote: > Hello Joseph, > > Thank you for the pricing information on the Hexar RF. > > This is truly bad news for Leica Camera, but good news > for consumers. Since the Hexar RF will be sold > separately for about $1,584 (USD) that means that more > people will be able to afford to buy one. This will > cut even deeper in to Leica's M body sales. > > But, on the other hand, it will most likely be good > news for their lens sales in the distant future. > > Here is a quick conversion of Joseph's figures from > Yen to US Dollars. > > Hexar RF body 168,000 Yen =............$1,584 > HX-18W Flash 16,000 Yen =................$151 > Leather Case 12,000 Yen =................$113 > M-Hexanon 28/2.8 113,000 Yen =.........$1,066 > M-Hexanon 50/2.0 72,000 Yen =............$679 > M-Hexanon 90/2.8 75,000 Yen =............$707 > > Now, the further bad news for Leica is that as the > exchange rates change, the Hexar is going to be less > expensive in terms of US Dollars and the M6 is going > to get more expensive, here again in terms of US > Dollars. (You just have to trust me on this one > because the explanation would be lenghy) > > I made a quick call to B&H this morning and they do > not have it in stock yet. The gentleman I talked with > said they expect to have it in stock within the next > month. He suggested calling back about once a week if > I wanted one before Christmas. > > Although I would hope that this is a wake-up call for > Herr Cohn, I understand that in reality his intensions > may not be to turn the company around, but rather sell > it off for the value of the name. > > Regards, > > Bill Erfurth > m6rf@yahoo.com > > __________________________________________________ > Do You Yahoo!? > Bid and sell for free at http://auctions.yahoo.com