Archived posting to the Leica Users Group, 2004/09/26
[Author Prev] [Author Next] [Thread Prev] [Thread Next] [Author Index] [Topic Index] [Home] [Search]Your attitude, Karen, is precisely why this won't work and why Leica will go down the tubes. They already have, and pay for, the office space, the phone, etc. It's all part of a huge overhead pot. Sure, it means shifting "expenses" around. And as to the $50K and benefits - they could have this program based in the US, and run by an intern on contract for $22K and no benefits. ;-) There are reasons always reasons why something won't work - the trick is finding reasons why something WILL work. I don't know about your students, but I have students who would sell their boyfriend/girlfriend to be able to own a Leica. In fact my most "successful" student thus far - he is now signed up with one of the agencies, shoots major league baseball, and on and on and on - scrimped and saved and bought himself a used M 6 and a couple Cosina lenses. And he's not some pie-in-the-sky nutty art student; his main cameras are Canon EOS digitals. You may be right that something like this kind of program, whatever it's configuration, won't work. But the sad reality is that if you're right, leica is dead. Because the only way Leica will survive as a meaningful brand is if it can hook the next generation of photographers; it can't survive if it continues to sell only to old farts like me and not as old farts like you. And because the Leica price points are so high, they are going to need some loss leaders to get the next generation in the door. -----Original Message----- From: lug-bounces+bdcolen=earthlink.net@leica-users.org [mailto:lug-bounces+bdcolen=earthlink.net@leica-users.org] On Behalf Of Karen Nakamura Sent: Saturday, September 25, 2004 11:44 AM To: Leica Users Group Subject: Re: [Leica] Leica donation to students > >I mean Leica get "free cameras" to refurbish and in most cases it >wouldn't be more than a quick check over, wiped down and ready to hand >out to some on the way kid showing potential talent. Hasselblad was doing this program where you could trade in your 500C/M for a credit towards a new 503CW or 203FE/205FCC. The problem was that there was so much good 'blads out there that would't die, and they were depressing the market for new equipment. Alas, Leica has that problem as well. Now, can we have a raise of hands of people who would donate their Leicas to this program? It sounds great on paper, but I don't think it'd fly. You'd get a lot of Canons, Nikons, Minoltas, and Yashicas, but Leicas? If I was feeling generous, I'd sell my Ms on ebay and donate the money directly to a charity. The overhead on these things are much more than people think. Consider this: if Leica dedicated *one* person to work half time on this for a year, it'd cost them at *least* $50,000 if not $100,000 in wages, benefits, office space, and telephone equipment. And this is with zilch costs in marketting this. Do you think they'd have any chance of selling 200-400 more M cameras because of the wonderful advertising effect of this program and thus recoup their costs? Sheeez. I'm supposed to be the professor in the ivory tower. Do you guys actually work in the real world? Kren -- Karen Nakamura http://www.photoethnography.com/ClassicCameras/ _______________________________________________ Leica Users Group. See http://leica-users.org/mailman/listinfo/lug for more information