Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunting Optics Holy Crap Leica!

I also got some free replacement lens covers....no questions asked. My only experience with CS.

My only experience with Leica went the same way - they sent new ones out immediately - no charge.

Conversely, Swaro wanted $35 to replace covers that wouldn't stay closed on a NIB EL.

So let me see if I got this right. Evidently knowing full well before you bought it, you got a Gray Market binocular. You then, after you screwed up and dinged the lenses, got your knickers in a knot because you did not get the full meal deal warranty red carpet treatment from Leica. I personally would not have had the audacity to even post something like that. You would have got the same treatment from Zeiss or Swarovski if you'd sent a gray market unit of theirs to them expecting red carpet service. There is a reason that serial number is on the binocular.

If that Leica of his was purchased through a reputable dealer like CLNY then you would have had a legitimate gripe and Leica would then have richly deserved a thorough reaming. But one reason alpha binoculars cost a lot of money is that good glass is EXPENSIVE.

Steve: if you purchase a used optic do you check the serial number with the manufacturer to see if it's a gray market or USA warranty item?

When shopping for some photography equipment some time ago I learned of gray market directly from BH photo-video and it agrees with your overall assessment.

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/find/HelpCenter/USGrey.jsp

But seems that if this gray vs USA warranty issue was that cut and dry then you would hear some occasional complaints about other manufacturers like Swaro but the usual story is : "I picked up this old SLC from an estate sale, sent it to Swarovski, they fixed it up for a minimal charge." Never a mention of gray market or where it was originally purchased.
Could Leica just be more stringent in their monitoring of gray market items?

I try to always get a serial # when I'm purchasing a used/demo optic so I can call the manufacturer and just make sure. I tried that with Nikon one time and they were 100% clueless.

ctsmith: go to the bh link, it pertains to lots of different equipment

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/find/HelpCenter/USGrey.jsp

It seems to me that the link should explain Gray Market. It further seems to me that you should expect good service for non Gray Market purchases when you are buying the full meal deal. When you get a genuine expensive item on the cheap, I think you have some unreasonable expectations for full retail price and service warranty, repair and customer service.

I will grant the point that of the alpha brands, Leica seems to have the poorest service reputation.

Correct me if I am wrong but my understanding of "gray market" optics are they still fall under the manufacturers warranty but only can be sent to the main factory for repairs or service and not any company authorized repair facility.

So, If an optic is manufactured in Germany and is bought as "gray market" in the USA. It can only be sent to the company in Germany for warranty work and not a authorized facility in the USA.

That is what I have been told is the chance you take when buying a "gray market" optic. Not the warranty issue but the extremely high shipping costs needed for the item to be sent oversees and possibly the difficult language barrier when dealing with repair/warranty issues.

This was told to me several years ago by a regional manager of a alpha optic company who was at a large outdoor show. The optic company had a booth set up and the regional manager was at the booth answering questions.

I don't think anybody does. I think if buying used, it would be a good idea if you want to be proactive and cover yourself. At least take some steps before you fork over your $$$ to see what you might be getting. What I was getting at was that by running the serial number, that factory can get the information on it and whether or not it went through an authorized retail outlet, and is thus either is or is not covered with the warranty.

I brought it up because the OP admitted he knew it was Gray market.

Again if that is the policy on items from authorized retail, then they deserve a reaming.

I am not sure why anyone would think a repair on a $2000 pair of binos would be cheap. Of course it is going to hurt, that is why you buy them new and get a real warranty.

That's not what I got from the OP's statement.He simply expected to pay for a reasonable priced repair.He did not expect a free repair but he thought the ammount was excessive and I agree with him.

That's the way I read it too. He states in the OP that Leica wanted $852 to replace the two objective lens. That is excessive by any standard, grey market or not. That's more than I paid for my brand new pair of swarovski 10x42 slc's about 12 years ago.

If he'd come on here complaining that they wanted $200 I'd say suck it up and quit whining. $852, on the other hand, is unethical price gouging. However, we have many on here that think it's just capitalism at work when greedy sellers take advantage of Obama's gun grab to try and demand $2500 for an AR-15 or $80 a brick for 22LR ammo. If someone thinks that's okay then there's no use trying to explain to them why $852 is unethical for a pair of objective lens.

Does Zeiss and Swarovski distinguish any of their products as gray market, for warranty purposes?

Leica no doubt has been weaker in the CS dept compared to Swarovski/Leupold/Zeiss. I called Leica last year to inquire about scopes and they directed me to there sales rep in NC. When I called NC at 9:30am he'd just woken up from sleep and could not answer my question concerning elevation. He then gave me a contact# to a sales Rep in CA, which returned my call 24hrs later and mentioned he just started working for Leica and still in training.

I owned a pair of Geovids & liked them alot, but knew if something ever happened to them there would be a 50/50 chance of being taken care of fairly due to other reviews online.

IMO, $852 is ridiculous....I wouldn't pay it.

I took it the same way you guys did, and Crow hunter nailed it IMO.

If all you read was the OP, you probably would not get that from it. He amended several posts later to clarify that it was Gray Market. Since he entered the term into the discussion I think it is reasonable to assume he knows what it is. It then follows he should have been somewhat prepared for what happened.

Yes the repair seems a bit on the high side, but what goes through the objectives sets the tone for what goes through the rest of the binocular, and good alpha class glass is not cheap. Neither is the labor to get it back to proper order.

To be clear no flame intended, but maybe we all can learn something about Gray Market and its perils when trying to save money.

I went back and read his posts up to page 4.I didn't see any edit and he seemed honest that he expected to pay for his mistake,just not that much.

Whether the price is excessive or not,I suppose is subjective.It does however make the competition look more appealing.

Here is an alternative Leica repair facility that might be worth a try. Can't be any more than Leica was.

http://www.company7.com/repair&rehabbino.html

I did not mean to say he edited anything either in or out.

I agree he was willing, even expecting to pay.

I agree the price seems high.

Here's what he said, in the forth post of the thread:

"Mine are gray market, purchased for about half of retail if I recall correctly, from one of the New York camera stores - NOT Camera Land. I attempted to register with Leica and that is when I learned of the issue - but should have known something was up when I paid so little. I don't know how they would have treated me different if I had paid the full retail price - suspect they are spanking the gray market buyer".

Anyway it is what it is and if I were him I'd call Company 7. If they can fix the Geovid on the link page, scratched objectives should be no problem.

Steve:

I have been watching this thread, and your link to Company 7,
seems to be a great choice. They seem better prepared than even
Leica, to fix things up.

I suppose, with a gray market optic, or any optic, take care of it,
and don't drag it through the dirt.

Jerry