Re: [Leica] LEICAUSA: That ain't no customer, that's....

[John Coan <jcoan@alumni.duke.edu>]

John,
An excellent post.  I consistently enjoy what  you have to say on most 
topics.  Thanks.

I wonder what really is going on in Leica marketing.  When I was shopping 
last month for an M6, everyone had the same price for the "passport" 
product.  Except one authorized dealer I found in PA that is... and that's 
where I purchased.  This wasn't a fly by night operation either, the 
salesman was very knowledgeable and I got quick shipment, registered the 
passport, and got my little card back from Leica USA.

One well known dealer was offering 5% off for his "Leica day", but I didn't 
want to wait.

I've noticed in the ads there are basically three classes of warranty:

1.  Passport
2.  Two year warranty for import
3.  Demo equipment with three year, but non-passport.

Where are all these "demos" coming from?  Are they really just regular 
stock that the dealer chooses to sell without the extra insurance coverage 
of a Passport?

You mention that the two year import warranty probably goes back to Germany 
for service.  So, the USA distributor handles it but doesn't do the actual 
work?  That's why it's slower?

What is the coverage on the "demo" stuff?  Is that handled here in the US, 
or is that stuff sent back to Germany too?

Finally, considering just the passport product --- why is there no 
competition?  I know about minimum advertised price and 
kickbacks.  However, on other brands the dealers will not have the same 
*identical* price once you call for a quote.  It will vary by five or ten 
or a hundred bucks depending on how much profit they are willing to 
take.  I tried all the majors and some minors, and it was always the same 
to the penny.  Seems fishy as hell.  If margin on the MAP is $300 say for 
an M6, why wouldn't dealers try to get a sale at $250 if they want the 
business badly?

By the way, Leica seems to have decent import servicing if it does take a 
while.  I've heard horror stories about Mamiya America refusing to even 
work on parallel imports.  They also have a huge markup in the US vs other 
countries, and have tried to get US Customs to enforce their trademark at 
the port of entry by refusing to let the stuff in at all, even for 
individual travellers.  (Reminds me of one guy I met about 35 years ago 
that had a Miranda Sensorex with the labels literally obliterated from the 
body and lens with a sharp instrument.  I asked him about it, he said he 
had to do in at Customs because of the trademark.  That really sounds 
Draconian!)

The system of individual importers for the countries was developed in the 
age of high tariffs and slow international shipments.  Now, with better 
communication with the Internet and more free trade zones (like NAFTA and 
the EU, for example) I wonder if it might be time for this practice to 
end.  I can ship a camera to Germany by air mail for $25 and it gets there 
in a week.  Why not deal directly with the factory?  If I had to wait nine 
months for Leica USA to fix my Summilux, I think I would try this route.

At 01:53 PM 06/19/2000 -0600, you wrote:
>Many of us on this list do not realise how products are distributed and
>warranty repairs done. The national distributor buys product at a fixed
[excellent post snipped for space]