Archived posting to the Leica Users Group, 1997/08/03
[Author Prev] [Author Next] [Thread Prev] [Thread Next] [Author Index] [Topic Index] [Home] [Search]>That is the idea behind the $500 M6 rebate. Leica >knows that for every body they sell, they will also sell X number of >lenses. Bill, Right now Germany's currency is trading at the lowest level it's been at for a decade or so. This is fallout from the plans to consolidate all of the European currencies. Because of this, Leica would actually be making much more profit per camera if they kept the old prices. By offering the rebate, they can sell many more cameras and still make about the same profit per camera, since the dollars that represent Solm's cut of the selling price will be exchanged for many more Deutschmarks than they would have gotten a year ago. Since the lens rebates are proportionally smaller, they are actually making a lot more money on lenses and accessories than they were before. I would imagine that you are right that the increased body sales will also mean more lens sales, especially for first-time buyers. The reason for making it a rebate program is so that it can be cancelled if the currencies fluctuate unfavorably for them; in the meantime, they have not changed their list prices. - - Paul