[Leica] As P.T. Barnum said..."you wanna buy a Leica Product???"

[vroger at gmail.com (Victor Rubin)]

Hi All:
 First off let me state unequivocally, that after years of doing business 
with B&H in NY (in person), I am totally convinced of their honesty. The 
fact that salesmen are NOT on commission, further accentuates the fact that 
they do not try to sell anything that you do not want or need. This story in 
no way is meant to change this attitude or in any way denigrate the store. 
B&H is still my favourite place for buying camera stuff.
 I just got home from their shop. Day before yesterday I tried to charge one 
of the 2 Digilux Batteries I have for my Digilux 1. Instead of the slow 
steady blinking light I have had for the past 2.5 years, a rapidly blinking 
charger light indicated something might be wrong. Sure enough, the battery 
which had not held a charge very well was not really charging sooo, time to 
get a new back-up battery. Went down to *B&H*. I had bought an *off
brand*back up battery for my Canons for $25.00 at a
*Walmart* store about 1.5 years ago and that one gave out on me in Prague 
about 2 weeks ago so I thought I'd stick with the "Leica" brand.
 I went to the express counter and asked for a battery for a Leica Digilux 
I. Sure enough they had it in stock. I was prepared to spend about $60.00 
for the battery and when I enquired, the price was...*$89.00* plus
tax. *"Eighty
Nine Dollars???"* I was aghast!! The nice guy behind the counter sent for 
the battery and then confirmed the price. I looked at the battery and it was 
the real McCoy. So...I said OK. He started typing the sale into his computer 
when I had a thought. "Wait a minute", says I, Panasonic made an identical 
camera but I don't recall the model. He checks under Panasonic, finds 
nothing. "Try the LC1" I told him.( I took a chance, the LC1 is a sister 
camera of (I believe) the Digilux 2). He did and there was a battery that 
looked identical to the one I was looking for - not for $89.00 *but for 
$39.00.* Not only that, but there was a generic (off brand) battery, which 
the salesman actually recommended, saying that the store sold a great many 
batteries of that off-brand for 29.95 (plus tax totalling $32.00). We sent 
for the generic, it was a glove-like fit. $60.00 saved. Now, I could have 
had the Panasonic made battery for $39.95, but the sticker shock I'd been 
through compelled me to buy cheaper.
 At home now, as the battey charges, I think back to the purchase and I must 
say, that the guy behind the counter really didn't know much about cameras 
or batteries, he just was extremely coopertive, and ended up thanking me for 
illuminating his store of information!!- I believe that P.T. Barnum said it 
best... (Ah, you know what he said). Am I pissed? You bet! Leica will reap 
what it sows. vroger