Archived posting to the Leica Users Group, 2000/08/25

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Subject: Re: [Leica] "B Grade" Leica gear? -- Not Really
From: apbbeijing <apbbeijing@yahoo.com>
Date: Fri, 25 Aug 2000 17:09:15 +0800

on 25/8/00 11:47 AM, Rick Dykstra at rdandcb@cybermac.com.au wrote:

> If I was a manufacturer of products with a reputation for (or a
> marketing angle for) the highest quality, I would send the stuff that
> wasn't quite perfect in some way to the furthest part of the globe, from
> where a warranty claim would be a time consuming issue.  Like Australia.
> Or to a place where consumers might not be as fussy as in (say) the US
> or Japan.  Like Australia.

Hi Rick,

I think part of the problem is that there just is not enough inspection of
the goods to make such grading feasible: dud stuff seems to turn up all over
the place let alone slightly imperfect items. For example the first two R8s
I saw in London were demos from Solms and both were broken: this was before
you could even buy a new one in the store!

Any company that depends on the value of its brand aims to get the best
quality in all the products that leave the factory: even employees can only
buy discounted first quality goods and not seconds. The sub-par ones are, in
any well run company, either rebuilt where cost effective or destroyed. The
theory is that the damage to the brand name of letting sub par goods on the
market is always too much of a risk. The intellectual property lawyers are
kept busy in China where factory overruns or seconds do get out to the
markets, let alone the pirated stuff: either way it is not the company's
policy to allow such products bearing their brand name to be sold to anyone.
Soiled, worn or refurbished demo goods are another matter and usually the
responsibility of the import or sales agents, not the manufacturer. I know
very well that some of the latter will pass on such items and known faulty
items to their sub-agents but again that is beyond the scope of the
manufacturer. I believe the Australian agent gets his Leica equipment from
Solms rather than through another agent.

I am always sceptical about the 'factory refurbished' electronics advertised
in the US: are we to believe that the $200 printer has been shipped back to
Japan and returned after some kind of tarting up by workers (or robots)
taking a break from the production line? Doesn't sound likely to me...

Bests

Adrian


- -- 
Adrian Bradshaw
Corporate and Editorial Photography
Beijing, China
tel/fax +86 10 6532 5112
mobile +86 139 108 22292
e-mail apbbeijing@yahoo.com
OR adrianpeterbradshaw@compuserve.com

website:   http://www.apbphoto.com

Please note my new mobile number (as of August 1st)


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Replies: Reply from Rick Dykstra <rdandcb@cybermac.com.au> (Re: [Leica] "B Grade" Leica gear? -- Not Really)