buying from cameraquest

shaaktiman · 11-17-2005

I am thinking of getting a new camera from stephen gandy. My last purchase was great and I know he frequents this site. I am interested in getting a new leica MP, and his are almost $1000 less than B+H's price.

How? If I buy this camera, what service or warrantee am I missing out on?
are they grey market?

thanks,

a

schmoozit · 11-18-2005

I don't think it's a bad idea to post this question here, but why don't you ask Gandy himself? He is a straight shooter and he'll give you all the info you need.

rover · 11-18-2005

Quote:

Originally Posted by schmoozit

I don't think it's a bad idea to post this question here, but why don't you ask Gandy himself? He is a straight shooter and he'll give you all the info you need.

I agree, give him a call, I am sure he will give you the straight scoop. Hey, if you are going to be spending that much money you may as well talk to the guy you are sending it to.

Oh, and mention RFF so he knows that his sponsorship is a good investment.

ducttape · 11-18-2005

...and be sure to post the results here.

Thx!

Brian Sweeney · 11-18-2005

Considering his price for a new camera is less than a used camera, and he has his own repair service, it looks really good even if it is not "offical USA Leica"! He states that on the site.

http://cameraquest.com/frames/4saleLeica.htm

I wonder how much he would charge for an extended cameraquest warranty??? (HINT)

peter_n · 11-18-2005

Also keep your eye on eBay for a U.S. Passport MP going cheap until the end of the year. Leica have a free winder/Leicavit offer for US passport sales till then - sell the freebie and you can get a US warrantied cam for well under $2K if you manage a really good deal on the auction win price.

julianphotoart · 11-18-2005

In 100% contrast to what I had to say about Cambridge in your other post today, Steve Gandy is wonderful to deal with, very personable, etc. He shipped multiple things to me in Canada with zero hassle.

aad · 11-18-2005

I've never heard a bad word about him, and he's put a lot of effort into this hobby. I'd not worry.

shaaktiman · 11-18-2005

Thanks. I'm not really 'worried," I've bought from him before and I've never heard anything but positive stuff about him. I was just kind of curious to get some feedback from other people. You never know, there might be someone out there who wants to tell me about how they got screwed on a grey market item for some reason.

Can't blame me for being cautious. Especially since his price is $800(!!!) cheaper than adorama.

Peter made an interesting point though. For $3,300 one could purchase an authorized MP and get a leicavit to go along with it. I don't really want one of those, but if I could get even 70% of its value on ebay then I'd be in good shape. On the other hand Adorama would charge me tax to the tune of $250; Mr. Gandy's looking better every minute.

11-18-2005

Stephen's okay. He always answers right away. And his answers are straight.

DHu · 11-18-2005

Quote:

Originally Posted by peter_n

Also keep your eye on eBay for a U.S. Passport MP going cheap until the end of the year. Leica have a free winder/Leicavit offer for US passport sales till then - sell the freebie and you can get a US warrantied cam for well under $2K if you manage a really good deal on the auction win price.

Not that I could afford to buy one.... but I looked at the promotion blurb one time, it sounded like the camera will have no bottom plate and comes with the winder attached instead. Just curious.

peter_n · 11-18-2005

No, that's not how it works. You get a regular camera with the bottom plate. In the package is a special offer card that has some weird banknote-style watermark (presumably to discourage forgeries) with the details of the camera you bought filled in by the dealer. You complete the rest of the card and mail it to Leica in NJ and a couple of months later either the winder or the Leicavit (your choice) arrives on your doorstep.

StuartR · 11-18-2005

DHu -- that's not quite how it works. You buy the camera, send in your US warranty registration along with a form for the promotion, and 4-6 weeks later they send you either your motor or your leicavit.

StuartR · 11-18-2005

Cross posted with Peter there....

Also, you asked about the difference between buying from Gandy and buying a full USA body. Well, the passport warranty is one. Instead of the 1 year that Gandy probably offers (perhaps it is more...I have not checked), you get 3-5 years. For those 3-5 years, ANYTHING that goes wrong with the camera will be fixed for free as long as you did not do it on purpose. Let's say you are running across the street and drop your MP and an 18 wheeler runs over it. As long as the serial number is readable, they will replace the camera at no cost to you. This is very unlikely to happen, but it is a nice thing to have. I have had two problems with my very early MP -- the eyepiece needed to be sealed, and another time the shutter curtains had a light leak problem. Both times I sent it back, it was repaired and sent back to me within a month. The second time (I was understandably upset), they did a complete CLA. These are complicated cameras and repairs are expensive, so it is not a bad idea to have a good warranty. For lenses, I would, and do, often buy grey market because they don't tend to have as many problems. In any case, that is just my two cents.

By the way, I bought my MP from Adorama right after they came out...2250 dollars...ah, the good old days.

peter_n · 11-19-2005

To return to Stephen Gandy for a second, I emailed him late Wednesday night about a lenshood. I ended up ordering the hood from him very late that night. This morning when I went out to get the paper it was on my doorstep. Amazing!

George S. · 11-20-2005

I've emailed Stephen about 5 times in 5 years. It was never an urgent request, and I fully expected an answer in a day or so. No matter if it was morning, evening, or getting into late night, each time he responded with the answer within 20 minutes! The guy gives amazing service both before and after the sale. He certainly deserves our support. (IMO)

CZeni · 11-20-2005

Quote:

Originally Posted by shaaktiman

I am thinking of getting a new camera from stephen gandy. My last purchase was great and I know he frequents this site. I am interested in getting a new leica MP, and his are almost $1000 less than B+H's price.

How? If I buy this camera, what service or warrantee am I missing out on?
are they grey market?

thanks,

a

They are very grey market...he would provide the warranty service which I guess will be quite a bit different than the Passport service as described above. However, my understanding is that Leica USA will repair a grey market camera, albeit not for free... your decision is if the Passport coverage is worth the heavy premium it carries.

peter_n · 11-20-2005

If you buy a gray market camera you can presumably send it to Solms. That's not a bad deal. I bought a used M7 with about 2 years left on the warranty from Australia this year. In the package was the official receipt from the Hong Kong dealership where the camera was bought with no buyer's name on the paperwork. I assume that since I have pristine paperwork if the cam went wonky I could send it to Solms for repair. This is a gray market cam bought in a foreign country and imported into the U.S. I would also assume a Solms warranty would hold for a gray market cam bought within the U.S. Yes? No?

jlw · 11-20-2005

Quote:

Instead of the 1 year that Gandy probably offers (perhaps it is more...I have not checked), you get 3-5 years. For those 3-5 years, ANYTHING that goes wrong with the camera will be fixed for free as long as you did not do it on purpose. Let's say you are running across the street and drop your MP and an 18 wheeler runs over it. As long as the serial number is readable, they will replace the camera at no cost to you.

Another way of looking at this: suppose the price difference between a Passported camera and a dealer-warranty camera is $1,000. And let's also suppose that the Passport coverage is for five years.

In effect, what you're getting with the Passport is an all-risks camera insurance policy for a premium of $200 per year.

Could you get the same coverage added to your homeowner's or renter's insurance policy, for less money? You'd need to check with your insurance agent, but it's very possible. This is something to keep in mind when trying to compare the value of Passported vs. non-Passported cameras.

[Potential caveat: Some insurance policies still have unrealistically low limits on camera values, such as $1000 per item or per occurrence. Apparently they haven't checked what high-end digital cameras cost nowadays; talk to your agent about the limits of your specific policy.]

peter_n · 11-20-2005

To be literal, Leica will extend the 3 year U.S. Passport to 5 years at any time during the 3 year warranty period for $125. That's $62.50/year. OTOH the difference between gray market and U.S. Passport is > than $1K. jlw makes a good point, work out the real numbers and compare what an endorsement on your homeowners would cost for the same coverage.

Flyfisher Tom · 11-20-2005

To second and third those other endorsements, Stephen is very fast in his responses and very fast in shipping. Thumbs up.

shaaktiman · 11-21-2005

Well, I learned 2 things recently.

1- cameraquest's MPs are all sold out.
2- KEH's auto-quote lists their buy-price of a mint leicavit at $475.

I am not planning on buying for another 2 - 3 weeks, but when I do it looks my decision is pretty much made up. MP from adorama and I'll try to sell the leicavit once I get it. Actually, since I am happy to get $475 for the leicavit I may try posting it here first to see if anyone is interested.

FYI on my inquiry to cameraquest. I am not as impressed with his customer service as some of the other people here. I wrote to ask about the differences between his warrantee and leica's and got a 1 line non-answer. This is pretty in-line with my previous experience; after purchasing a camera, lens and accessories from him last year I emailed him a question about it and never got a response.

I'm glad other people have had more positive experiences, but I'm not all that into him.

MP Guy · 11-21-2005

shaaktiman,

Tony at popflash has some great deals on MP's I just picked up a few silver M lenses from him and they are just what I expected. I have a 50 summicron coming in tomorrow.. Richard at KB has them new and used as well.

shaaktiman · 11-21-2005

Cheers Jorge! I'll check 'em out.