Archived posting to the Leica Users Group, 1999/12/07

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Subject: Re: [Leica] Franklin Mint......(was black paint)
From: Nathan Wajsman <nathan.wajsman@euronet.be>
Date: Wed, 08 Dec 1999 06:33:57 +0100

> In my opinion, what Leica has produced is the Franklin
> Mint edition of the M6TTL.  This thing is going to go
> down in Leica history at the M6TTL-MT---the M.T.
> stands for Millennium Turkey...and at $2795 a shot, it
> should also be known as the "Hello Sucker" model.
> That's $800 to $1,000 over the going price for a
> regular M6TTL. What have those people been smoking?

Who, Leica or the buyers? Because I think that the black paint M6 will
sell quite well. So from the point of view of the business it is a very
sound idea. Finish matters; why was Apple so applauded when they
introduced their computers in various colours instead of the standard
grey? I personally am not willing to pay extra for black paint, titanium
etc., but judging from the second-hand market, a lot of people are, so
why shouldn't Leica capitalise on it?

> You have heard that Leica has a warehouse full of R8s
> well, I would not be surprised if the warehouse next
> door is filled with failed M6 collectables like the
> Danish Wedding one, or the Anton Brukner one, or the
> Jubilee, and on and on.  I feel that the public has
> had it with these contrived collectables.

Well, let the public vote with their pockets. And yes, we have heard
about the unsold R8s but nobody in a position to KNOW has actually
confirmed it, nor do we know the extent of the problem. Clearly, the R8
is a disappointment in terms of sales, which is probably why prices in
many European countries have been cut by 20% and the warranty extended
to 5 years. Seems like a sound sales tactic to me--and it worked on me,
as I bought one this week!

Nathan
- --
Nathan Wajsman
Overijse, Belgium
General photo page: http://members.tripod.com/belgiangator
Belgium photo page: http://members.xoom.com/wajsman