Hello,

It seems to me prices of good quality second hand leica M equipment floats around some. Most recently, prices seem to be dropping some. I have purchased all my gear used. That being stated, all my stuff was essentially like new. Other than some wear on the battery door of my M6, you couldn't tell it had ever been used. All my purchases have been in the last six months.

My leica gear has been purchased either from Don Chatterton, or Adorama's used department. (I purchased a demo 50 f2 and a 90 f2.8 from Adorama. 50 had a box and the pouch, 90 was missing the pouch and rear lens cap) Both lenses look brand new. Both Mr. Chatterton and Adorama stand behind their used stuff for 90 days or more. I post the following for reference.

M6(circa 1996 non TTL)$1295.00 35 ASPH f2.0 $1195.00 50mm f2.0 latest ver. $682 90 f2.8 latest ver. $854. (USA prices)

As you can see, no discount deals here. I am very satisfied with the price and service I have received. Hopefully, I'm done buying. (Are we ever done?)

Yet since I started acquiring my gear, I perceive that prices have dropped somewhat.

What makes like new/used leica prices drop? Exchange rates? Markets forces? Leica rebates?

Lastly, now that the M6 TTL is the standard will we see a plummet of the M6 non-ttl prices or is the smart money on them staying around 90% of original purchase price?

Your opinions are most welcome.

-- David S Smith (dssmith3@rmci.net), July 16, 2001

Answers

Market forces:

Everyone's tech portfolio took a hit last year and will continue to take a hit for the next 18 months minimum. What does that translate into?

A decrease in "virtual wealth" equaling a decrease in "pocketbook health".

;-)

-- John (ouroboros_2001@yahoo.com), July 16, 2001.

Monetary fluctuations affect camera prices in general , especially high end stuff. For example, when the Yen gets stronger, used classic Leica equipment tends to go up as a lot of the stuff goes to Japan then. Also. when Leica puts a large rebate on their new cameras and lenses (like they have now), that also knocks down the value of used equipment accordingly. I remember when Contax put a $500 "instant" rebate on the G2 camera, some big sellers like KEH had used G2's listed in their catalog for $300 more than you could buy a new one. Of course they had to drop them down in order to sell them.

-- Andrew Schank (aschank@flash.net), July 16, 2001.

It is indeed market forces driving down the prices of all luxury items including big houses, boats, exotic cars, jewelry and yes, even Leicas... You are in the midst of recieving a lesson in macro economics. If you have cash stashed, now is the time to make some hay on gear purchases. This trend will likely continue for about 3 to 6 more months, then things should gradually pick back up.

-- Jack Flesher (jbflesher@msn.com), July 16, 2001.