Re: [Leica] was my leica m6 stolen?

[Javier Perez <japho@cunyvm.cuny.edu>]

Hi
What's the store? If you can say.
I once bought a flex standard from a very prestigeous New York dealer
based in Germany that has an impeccable reputation. Since it was
broken, I didn't look at it too carefully. When I got it home and had
finished fixing it I started looking for a serial number and found the spot
where it ought to be covered by a store stick-on name tag. I phoned
up the owner/manager (Who looks like Colonel Klink) and he explained
that the camera had shown up in that condition as part of a shipment from
overseas. Because there was no serial number to pass through the hotsheet
and because it had already passed interpol/customs/etc there was no point
in reporting it. I'm sure he was being honest about it but was put off by the
covered up number. In any case the point here is that a serial number defaced
item can not show up on the market legally. I wouldn't want to buy it though!
In fact I'm surprised we don't see more of these on the market. Unless
law enforcement agencies in the U.S. are required to destroy items with
defaced numbers, and I doubt they are, it's easy to how a defaced M6 could
be auctioned off by govt. for some charity as a theft recovered item and wind up
on
the market again. If Leitz would spend 5 bucks more per camera they could
engrave the number on the chassis and make it lots less attractive to theives
in the know! I personally inscribe the serial number in several areas inside the

chassis  I'm thinking of adding a sticker with my name and address to the inside

of the bottom plate on the Rs and top plate on the Ms I would of course remove
these if I sold the camera but I never sell anything.
See Ya
Javier





Bud Cook wrote:

> I'd take it back to the store as quickly as I could and get my money back!
> Bud
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: kyle cassidy <cassidy@hector.asc.upenn.edu>
> To: <leica-users@mejac.palo-alto.ca.us>
> Sent: Saturday, July 24, 1999 1:39 PM
> Subject: [Leica] was my leica m6 stolen?
>
> > Howdy all,
> >   I just bought a used M6 from a large, long-time-in-business store in the
> > U.S.. When a friend asked me the serial number, I was forced to say that I
> > hadn't been able to find a serial number on it. He told me to look on the
> > hot shoe, and when I did, i found that one of the sides of the hot shoe,
> > the one where the serial number was supposed to be, has a decided
> > _depression_ or _groove_ in it, very finely milled, but a groove
> > nonetheless, did someone file off the serial number? it is also a slightly
> > lighter color, as though someone perhaps repainted it, though i would
> > think painstakingly. when a level is placed across the hotshoe, one side
> > is definately slightly lower than the other, which would fit in with some
> > metal being ground away. am i being paranoid? should i call the store i
> > bought it from and try and trace down the previous owner?
> >   Thanks for your expertise,
> >
> >   Kyle
> >
> >