LEICA Barnack Berek Blog: LEICA PRICES IN OTHER COUNTRIES

Tuesday, December 2, 2014

LEICA PRICES IN OTHER COUNTRIES

Have you ever wondered what Leicas are selling for in other countries? It is no secret that prices do vary considerably depending what continent of what country you are in. I have often compared prices with my sister who lives in Germany and we have come to the conclusion that Leica prices in Germany are roughly the same numerically in euros or dollars. Considering the exchange rate between the two currencies, that makes Leica equipment definitely more expensive in Germany than in the US.

This is by no means a very scientific comparison, but it does display a certain trend. To make comparisons between a large number of countries is almost impossible, for a variety of reasons. The currency exchange rates often differ from one day to the next. Prices will also vary from dealer to dealer and among cities or areas within a country.

I got help from a reader of this blog a few days ago. Torben Chrona Christiansen publishes the LEICA INDEX (www.leicaindex.com). He did a tremendous amount of research on this topic. As he explained, it was virtually impossible to include all countries, nor does he consider his results totally accurate because of the problems associated with this. He decided to compare prices of the Leica X2 in 21 different countries and after researching the prices in those countries, he decided to publish the prices based on one particular day, November 21, 2014 and the prevailing exchange rates for that particular day. Since these countries do have currencies of their own, he also decided to use the US dollar as the currency for the comparison.

Here are his results from the least expensive to the most expensive country.

1 Indonesia: $1624

2 United States: $1629

3 Malaysia: $1662

4 Sweden: $1689

5 Hong Kong: $1701

6 Canada: $1727

7 Australia: $1730

8 Japan: $1796

9 United Kingdom: $1884

10 Italy: $1912

11 Spain: $1981

12 Croatia: $2000

13 Netherlands: $2107

14 France: $2170

15 Germany: $2170

16 Denmark: $2294

17 Russia: $2310

18 Taiwan: $2368

19 China: $2384

20 South Africa: $2548

21 Brazil: $2788

That makes for a difference of $1164 between the lowest and the highest country, a surprisingly large amount. It seems to be an easy decision to buy Leica equipment in a country with the lowest prices. But there is more to consider. You will need to examine the warranties and how they compare, if they are even valid in your country. There will also be some extra cost attached to buying in another country, where the main extra costs are tax and shipment. This can in some cases be a very big factor.

You might pay a higher price if you buy locally, but if something goes wrong, you have your dealer service to rely on, and, if you are like me, once I have made the decision to get a new piece of Leica equipment, I want to get my hands on it right away. Buying locally eliminates the waiting period for the camera to arrive. Much to consider.

My thanks to Torben Chrona Christiansen for giving me permission to use his data for this article.

For the complete article, go here

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Please Note: The items listed below are subject to a dfiscount of 20% off the listed prices through the end of December 2014.