Has anyone here dealt with the mailorder firm Delta International. They have 75 Summiluxes listed for $1889 (new). They are a New York store at

http://www.deltainternational.com

The price is about $600 less than B&H...

-- Mani Sitaraman (bindumani@pacific.net.sg), March 14, 2001

Answers

This page is a good resouce for checking a store's reputation (it is huge though):

http://www.photo.net/neighbor/one-subcategory?id=2

This site rates them quite highly andI have only heard good comments about Delta though I have not done any business with them myself.

Cheers,

-- John Collier (jbcollier@home.com), March 14, 2001.

I have also heard nothing but good responses about this company, which sells all gray market equipment however.

-- Andrew Schank (aschank@flash.net), March 14, 2001.

Re your comment about B&H being more expensive: I find that if you call, they sometimes are running a "special" on the item you want for a much lower price. Why they don't just advertise it this way on their website, I do not know...

-- Jack Flesher (jbflesher@msn.com), March 14, 2001.

Wow, I have been shopping for a 35 'lux.

B&H: $2495 (US)

Don Chatterton: $1950 (Gray)

Delta Int.: $1766 (Gray)

B&H told me today that they do not sell gray market Leica.

Delta makes the 'lux seem, well, afordable. photo.net Neighbor to Neighbor gives high praise to Delta Int. Hum...

Also 35 'cron ASPH: $1124 at Delta Int. And 50 'lux is $1338.

-- Dan Brown (brpatent@swbell.net), March 14, 2001.

Just for comparison purposes, email Klaus Lang at drlang@t-online.de

He's the German dealer you often see on ebay. He may have what you're looking for even if it's not on ebay. He quoted the new Tri Elmar to me for $1575. I am soooo tempted.

-- Bob (robljones@home.com), March 14, 2001.

I've purchased several Leica and Hasselblad items from Delta. Quick service. Friendly and accomodating. Fast. Perfect equipment. No problem. If you don't need the US warranty, they're a good deal.

-- Ken Shipman (kennyshipman@aol.com), March 14, 2001.

I've bought many Leica items from Betty at Delta International. She is honest, quick and a pleasure to deal with. Without Betty, I could never have been able to buy all of my Leica lenses; the poor house would have got me first.

Buy Leica from Delta. Can't go wrong....

-- Steve Hoffman (shoffman2@socal.rr.com), March 14, 2001.

The reason B&H dosen't always list their actual selling prices is due to the minimum price advertising requirements that many suppliers insist upon. I know from my local Leica rep that Leica USA requires all new dealers to comply with this if they want to buy from them. They actully have them sign a contract that includes this provision.

Some of the older Leica dealers manange to avoid this requirement, thus their advertisements for 'import' pricing, now forbidden by the contracts newer dealers sign.

-- KL Prager (www.pragerproperties@worldnet.att.net), March 14, 2001.

Its great reading all these posts and realizing that the internet is bad news for some of the scheister run operations that have been using shady basically in the dark over the years. These days, if an outfit is bogus, it isn't long before a whole lot of people find out about it. And if they deliver, their business gets a boost more than any advertising would bring about.

-- Andrew Schank (aschank@flash.net), March 14, 2001.

Many thanks, folks. The input on photo.net was uniformly glowing, so I thought I'd cross check. The prices are really good for US (and international) grey market, though the selection is limited. That 75 Summicron sure looks good.

-- Mani Sitaraman (bindumani@pacific.net.sg), March 14, 2001.

I bought a new Leica R8 camera from them recently. It comes with a 3-year USA warranty by MACK Corp. I know other people who have been satisfied with their purchases from Delta International. If you can live without the Leica Passport warranty, then Delta is the place to buy your new Leica equipment from!.............................

-- Muhammad Chishty (applemac97@aol.com), March 15, 2001.

I purchased an SF20 and Winder R8 from them not long ago, was very pleased with the service as well as the price, which was substantially lower than the other well-known gray-market Leica dealers in the US.

-- Jay (infinitydt@aol.com), March 15, 2001.

i just got my leica universal polariser for the m cameras and i am very happy with the price {247.00} and the service. delta is a company i will deal with again. p.s. does any one have a broaken m4- 2, m4-p or m winder they want to sell cheap?

-- jon harkness (harkness@wt.net), March 21, 2001.

Ijust bought a M6 case from Deltainternational. Good price ($137.00, $40 less than BH) fast shipping, no problems.

-- L M (drlucian@yahoo.com), March 25, 2001.