Archived posting to the Leica Users Group, 1997/10/27
[Author Prev] [Author Next] [Thread Prev] [Thread Next] [Author Index] [Topic Index] [Home] [Search]Stephen, Desirability, price and prospective sales frequency are all interelated but= wholly separate = phenom's. All are products of perception while rarity alone reflects realit= y based = principle. = Marc's point is well taken by me; I realise that actual sales are not confi= rmable because = they're private. Then again, citing unconfirmable evidence as a proof is no= t truly = responsible. Marvins LUG posted Ebay URL is of the same fabric, until tomor= row at = least (BTW, that URL is consistently frozen and no current updates are avai= lable). = Even then, is one Ebay sale anymore substantive than my one sale? Is Ebay a= popular = venue for collectible Leica? Chatterton, Hansen, Tamarkin (among many more= ) have = sold many PADs for a premium and will buy them back at a premium over SI M6= s. What = of that? My experience and position has no co-relation to your LA DJ one-liner ; I'm= trying to cite = confirmable proof but, for some reason, my experience is never a reliable e= nough = counter to vague generalities. Why? There is a problem in communicative style that is making this conversation = quickly less = substantive. References to 'flatlanders/flatearthers', 'Aktions speak loude= r than words', = 'I'm stuck', LA DJ's, among other remarks, are reflective of a group of thr= ee exaltation = designed to discount my position as silly. This kind of denegration is unfa= ir and uncalled = for. I expect you to argue your case on its merits and I'll do the same. Your argument is (finally) getting better but it's still not untouchable an= d I don't think it = ever will be. There is nothing 'amusing' in my position and the same applie= s to yours. I = hope you agree. I never argue for concensus opinion and that bothers many. I'll never under= stand why = concensus is so valued, but I think that this is what has Marvin angered to= the point of = flaming email. = > Faced with evidence that all rare Leica is not desirable (a question > you demanded the answer you), you dismiss Marc's answer because it was > not Leica, and you dismiss my reply I do not "dismiss" any substantive point, or opinion, any of you propose. = Your, Marc = and Marvin's collective Leica knowledge is known, respected and admired by = me, = among many; this is _totally outside of the issue at hand and not something= I would ever = even question, much less argue. Why do you see me as dismissive when it is = my point = of view that is the most roundly attacked position (in this case)? = >That you sold your PAD to a dealer probably only means he had another pige= on waiting > for it.It proves nothing about their real market value. Possibly it proves little, but "nothing"? It does prove that a market exist= s and it helps = prove a number of the points I've proposed. Am I really the original, gulli= ble 'pigeon' = holding place in the fleecing line? = >Call Don Chatteron, he will also tell you the new instant collectibles ar= e > turning out generally have little market demand. But of course, > maybe his experience doesn't count either. But of course, my PAD _came from Don Chatterton. What of his experience? Di= dn't he = sell out _all of the PADs he had? Didn't he sell each of them for a premium= ? = Is there a smaller market for SE's than for SI's (standard issue)? I never = said, nor = implied that there wasn't but that doesn't mean that there is only a fools = market in these = things. If it does, I'd like to be convinced of that as fact. = > Rarity is just PART of the > equation, the other part being demand which is often a fleeting=A0 > popularity.=A0=A0 Rare alone does not make it.=A0 For it to be desirable = and > valuable to Leica collectors, ready documentation and market value > must be established--but=A0 that is not enough--they need to be popular > too.. Exactly confirming my analogy to real estate. I never said, or implied that= 'rarity was all = there was to it'. Gold R3's, black enamel SL2's, 1/2 frame M2's may be hard= er to sell = but you do concede that they're worth a premium over SI versions on the cur= rent market. = My point is that the SE M6's are also worth more and that there is a (human= ) market for = them. Some SE M6 variations, we also agree, are more desirable than others.= What = exactly does 'readily saleable' mean? > If its not readily salable, your stuck.=A0 The real issue is not whether = a SE > will command a premium in the used market over a normal version, but > HOW MUCH money will the investor lose or gain by buying a SE. We were never singularly discussing investing or investors. Simon asked for= a camera = that would hold more of its value in the long term while he extremely caref= ully used it. = "How much" money one would lose on resale is the issue and my position is t= hat even a = 50th anniversary CL, or a safari R3, lose less or gain plenty. Standard iss= ue M6's on the = market today come with a guaranteed $500-700 instant devaluation on receipt= =2E AFAICT, = PADs don't. Which is a better bet? Your counter question is do they sell? My answer is that by my experience a= t least, yes = they do. Do they sell on demand? I had only one dealer flatly refuse all in= terest in the = camera (Calumet). Every other formal dealer I offered the camera directly t= o, except one, = offered me more than I paid for the camera on the spot and on demand. I intend no ire by posting this; though I've addressed issues very directly= and my words = could be interpreted as heated, 70F degrees are intended . = My regards to you, Danny Gonzalez