This comment may be a bit late in the game but here goes. Because an individual claims that they would buy a Leica if it cost less is not a proper argument against Mike’s assessment of Leica as a Veblen good. Individuals make decisions to maximize the use of their available resources to produce the largest return for that individual. The assumption is that all the collectors and Leicaphiles of the world would act in a similar fashion to the photographers who visit this site. In the case presented here, if the Leica was priced lower, more people with an interest in using them may buy more but even more collectors may be turned off by the diminishment of the ‘Leica prestige’ thus reducing the total sales. I, for one, would be happy to see this theory tested (i.e. a lower priced ‘photographers Leica’) but do not see this ever coming to pass.