[Leica] Leica prices (formerly M9)

[mark at rabinergroup.com (Mark Rabiner)]

Leica! Jacked up prices!  Is that what  its all about? Some faked deal like
that highly suspicions totally lacking in integrity art world!?!?
I'm afraid I give the Art world plus the integrity of Leica a bit more
credit than that or I sure as hell would not be on the LUG and I sure as
hell would not have broken my but swinging for an M system and other Leica
gear and done so much work with it.
Leica is made at hugely higher tolerances than mass market Panasonic, Sony,
Fuji, nikon and Canon stuff and at hugely smaller amounts.
That accounts for the price different did then then kick in another then
percent?   I don't guess the prices are inflated very much at all.
I'd think the people who thought so would not buy the stuff and not be on
this list!?!
But I do think when you're the best and every body knows your  the best as
in making the best cameras or whatever you can charge whatever you want.
On the long run you change with the market will bear.
Personally I have no problem with capitalism and a free maket.

Mark





> From: Lawrence Zeitlin <lrzeitlin at gmail.com>
> Reply-To: Leica Users Group <lug at leica-users.org>
> Date: Mon, 13 Jun 2011 23:06:08 -0400
> To: Leica Users Group <lug at leica-users.org>
> Subject: Re: [Leica] Leica prices (formerly M9)
> 
> have you ever been to a sale at an antique shop?
> 
> They tend to work the same way as Leica - they up the
> prices to make the stock sell better.
> 
> Cheers
> Douglas
> - - - - - -
> In marketing speak this is called "inverse price elasticity." Normal price
> elasticity implies that when the price of a product is reduced demand and
> sales go up. Certainly this is the case for most consumer items. But there
> is a group of products where the prestige of the product is more important
> to the consumer than the actual quality. Included in this group are
> cosmetics, wines, designer clothes, jewelry. fine arts, antiques, and of
> course Leica cameras. The main determinant of prestige is price. The more
> expensive the item, the better and more prestigious it is deemed to be.
> Raising the price often acts to increase the perceived value, and, at least
> for affluent consumers, increase the demand.
> 
> Years ago I consulted with a several firms in the cosmetics industry. The
> ingredients of lipstick, no matter what the price, are mostly the same, a
> stiff greasy base, pigments, and scent. With the exception of the case, the
> contents of a tube of lipstick cost about a nickel to make. Yet the retail
> price of lipstick varies over a 100 to 1 range. And in department stores 
> the
> expensive brands far outsell the cheaper ones. "It costs more but I'm worth
> it."
> 
> My son in law owns a wine shop in an upscale suburb of Washington D.C. He
> tells me much the same story about the relationship of wine quality to
> price. Is a bottle of wine really worth the cost of a Leica M9? Some sell
> for as much.
> 
> My wife sells paintings in a New York Gallery. When a painting doesn't 
> sell,
> the owner marks up the price. Visitors to the gallery say "That painting
> only cost $3000 a week ago. Now the price is $4000. I better snap it up
> before the price rises again."
> 
> Ans so it is with Leica. There is precious little objective evidence that a
> Leica is a better camera than one substantially lower in price. (See the
> current Pop Photography comparison of the Fuji X100 and the Leica X1.)
> But the higher Leica price adds prestige to the product and increases 
> demand
> among those who feel that "they are worth it."
> 
> Viva inverse price elasticity. It has kept Leica alive.
> 
> Larry Z
> 
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