[Leica] Lyin' Mike's Camera

[LawsonCL@aol.com]

Denver, CO, USA area camera chain runs a full page ad that leads with the 
headline:

EXTRA 10% OFF
ENTIRE STOCK WINTER CLEARANCE*

OUR GUARANTEED LOWEST PRICES - JUST IN TIME FOR VALENTINE'S DAY!

EVERY CAMERA, CAMCORDER, DIGITAL CAMERA, BINOCULAR, TELESCOPE AND LENS IN 
STOCK!

Near the bottom of the page, the asterisked copy informs of the following:

*SALE EXCLUDES NIKON F5, CANON EOS1n, NIKON N90s, LEICA M6, HASSLEBLAD 501c, 
MEADE ETX-125EC MODELS

Excuse me? Doesn't ENTIRE STOCK mean just that, ENTIRE STOCK? Doesn't EVERY 
CAMERA...IN STOCK mean EVERY CAMERA...IN STOCK? 

If a vendor wants to advertise a clearance sale with restrictions, he 
shouldn't claim that the ENTIRE STOCK is on sale.

I called the main store in Boulder to see if the noted Leica exclusion 
included M-Series lenses. As providence would have it, the call was routed to 
a branch store where it was answered by a representative who claimed to not 
know what was included in the ad. Further, he told me I should call the 
Boulder store for clarification, but their phone lines are down and that's 
why my call was routed to another store. Hmmm. Curious a chain would place a 
full page ad in the paper and not inform the sales staff of the promotion.

As an adman who takes this sort of blatant, misleading advertising almost 
personally, I suggest we in the Denver-Boulder area not let Mike's off too 
easily on this. Call every store and tell them you resent this misleading ad. 
I realize Boulder area photographers have fewer choices, but a boycott of 
Mike's might drive home the point. In Denver it's a simple matter to visit S 
& S Optika, Werner's, The Camera Trader and others for Leica gear. That said, 
I further realize few LUGGERs in the area would be tempted to buy a new M6 
from Mike's anyway. However, a lens at 10% off might be tempting. From now 
on, whenever I buy any photographic equipment or supplies, I'm going to tell 
Mike's how much I spent, where it was spent and why it was not at Mike's. 

BREAKING NEWS: According to a sales representative I just spoke with at the 
Park Meadows store, Leica lenses in stock will be selling at 10% off.

Chris Lawson