I am considering buying a new Leica M6. I shall be in France this summer. Can I get a better deal there? Presumably I would not have to pay the VAT.

-- Alan Shapiro (ashapiro@yorku.ca), January 24, 2001

Answers

If you are not living in the UE, you can get back the VAT amount when you leave the country: You will have to pay the VAT and will get reimbursed later.

Prices in France are pretty bad. If you do a little trip to Germany, you'll probably get much better deals (and still no VAT).

Xavier

-- Xavier Colmant (xcolmant@powerir.com), January 25, 2001.

Sorry, I wasn't to clear in my previous message: UE -> read EU (European Union). When you buy your stuff, to get back the VAT, you have to ask the vendor to fill a special form...

Xavier

-- Xavier (xcolmant@powerir.com), January 25, 2001.

If it's possible for you to stop in the UK on your way to France you might want to consider purchasing from Robert White. You can check pricing at http://www.robertwhite.co.uk/. There are numerous posts recommending them on various sites. You can search this site, photo.net and Medium Format Digest for more specific comments. You might want to research the issue of warranty service before you buy from overseas though.

-- KL Prager (www.pragerproperties@worldnet.att.net), January 25, 2001.

If you do buy a camera in the UK or Europe, and you actually want to get your VAT back, I would highly recommend going through one of the agents at the airport who will give you your VAT back immediately in exchange for a specified percentage. I bought a Leica Minilux in Edinburgh last summer and still have yet to see my VAT refund from the British government!

I'm going to Europe myself this summer, and my early research indicates that prices on Leica lenses in Germany are quite good indeed! I don't know about France, but my experience with the UK indicates that prices are really no better than in the US (probably due to the strength of the pound relative to the dollar). It could be that I just don't know where to look, though...

-- Buzz Andersen (buzz@scifihifi.com), January 27, 2001.

Another thing--about the warranty: I was told by the salesman at Edinburgh Camera that as long as the warranty card is stamped by an authorized Leica dealer, it will be honored the world over. This makes sense, as the card would probably not be stamped on grey market items.

Oh, and one more thing--don't forget to claim your purchases with US Customs :-)...

-- Buzz Andersen (buzz@scifihifi.com), January 27, 2001.

Oh...sorry--I mean Canadian customs :-)...

I'll shut up now :-)...

-- Buzz Andersen (buzz@scifihifi.com), January 27, 2001.