Re: The problems of living outside the USA

["Dan Post" <dwpost@email.msn.com>]

Maybe the LUG should have its convention in a motel near the Dubai airport!
- -----Original Message-----
From: Matthew A. Cenzer <mcenzer@nwu.edu>
To: leica-users@mejac.palo-alto.ca.us <leica-users@mejac.palo-alto.ca.us>
Date: Tuesday, 18 November, 1997 12:27 PM
Subject: Re: The problems of living outside the USA

>>     Hi  Luggers   Ah the misery. Here in Africa we have a few problems
>>getting  Leica equipment and the reason given is "the backorders from the
>>USA get  first priority!". Now what I find strange is that most dealers in
>>the USA  seem to advertise that they have stock of all the usual lenses,
>>but my order  >from Leica for a 35mm F2 ASPH Summicron will "take weeks or
>>months to  arrive as they have all been pre-ordered by the USA, our
>>biggest market."  Is this really the case, and do other buyers in the
>>far-flung corners of the  world suffer from this problem or is it unique
>>to Africa?  Best wishes to all the LUG   Harold   My e-mail addresses are
>>as follows: haroldgess@journalist.com gess@icon.co.za Please use either of
>>these to reach me and, lest  you lose sight of it, have a nice day!
>
>You in South Africa have it lucky, when I lived in Kenya it was basically
>impossible to get new Leica equipment. It had to be specially ordered and
>was subject to 100% import duty from the Kenya governement. My solution was
>to purchase equipment in Dubai (United Arab Emirates) which has to be the
>world's greatest duty-free shopping paradise. The camera counter at the
>Dubai airport was better stocked than most camera shops and the prices were
>better than any I have found. Dubai was a relativly cheap flight from Kenya
>and I would usually route my London-Nairobi flights through the Emirates
>and save my shoping until then.
>
>--
>Matthew A. Cenzer
>Department of History
>Northwestern University
>mcenzer@nwu.edu
>
>