Passport

[Jim Brick <jim@brick.org>]

Over the years, I've purchased numerous new pieces of Leica R equipment. I
received a plastic "Passport" card for each (I must have a couple dozen by
now). I also received a leather billfold style case for the passport cards
and a bound notebook to record the type and serial number of each piece I
own. At this very instant, I cannot put my hands on the billfold and
passport cards. They're here somewhere. But basically useless. I've never
had to use the passport service and I've been cranking film through my
Leicas since 1976. My son had passport work done on a lens a few years ago.
Didn't need to send anything besides the lens. They just fixed it. It was a
35-70 zoom. He had it in an outside pocket of his backpack. He fell against
a rock and rendered the lens unusable. Wouldn't focus or zoom. Over the
past few years, I've ignored the registration card. I decided that storing
the blank registration cards with the box and other documentation has the
*possibility* of increasing the resale value, or making a quicker sale,
should I decide to sell sometime in the future. Yes... even on R stuff.
It's not that the buyer of your used equipment, including blank
registration card, is going to get a new passport warranty, it gives the
impression that the previous owner cared enough to keep the entire package
intact. Last year, I sold an R4sp and an R6 at Keeble & Shuchat
Photography. They were in the original boxes, all papers and wrappers, etc.
They sold very quickly (at the highest used price) while "naked" bodies
just sat there.

As Marc said, here in the US, you are covered without sending in anything.

Jim