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Message: <blockquote data-quote="brocknroller" data-source="post: 1775158" data-attributes="member: 665">Dave,Given the heft and robustness of the Trinnies, I can see how they would make a good hammer in a pinch. <img src="data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7" class="smilie smilie--sprite smilie--sprite1" alt=":)" title="Smile    :)" loading="lazy" data-shortname=":)" />I doubt if Leica is still making spare parts for Trinovids anymore than GM is making spare parts for Saturns. The "Good Faith" Policy for Trinnies is going to expire after all the parts are gone. It could be that Leica received many more Trinnies than they had anticipated, and hence, the delays. With the high price of Ultravid HDs, they should have been expecting a lot of "Good Faith" repairs on older models, particularly with the recession still on, and the trend being for people to fix what they already have rather than buying new. For example, the remodeling market for houses has been more robust over the past two years compared to new home sales. If not for the "Cash for Clunkers" program, it would have been the same with cars. While housing and transportation are necessities, alpha bins are not. People tend to cut back on luxuries during a downturn, and Leica's sales slump last year reflects that. As far as Zeiss, they probably replace only the new models. If someone sent in a 7x42 B/GA or Victory I for repairs, I doubt if they have enough old stock on hand to replace each one. They either have to fix the old ones or offer the customer a good price on an upgrade. I don't know if Zeiss offers upgrades with a trade-in like Swarovski does, but it would be a good sales strategy to retain customers. Swarovski seems to have the largest stock of discontinued bin parts among the alphas, and that's probably because they went decades without any major changes to most of their bins. The SLCs were mooreorless the same for over 20 years until the new HD model, and the Habicht porros haven't changed since the Crimean Era <img src="data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7" class="smilie smilie--sprite smilie--sprite1" alt=":)" title="Smile    :)" loading="lazy" data-shortname=":)" />. Sticking with a proven design has kept the prices on the SLCs fairly reasonable until the recent HD upgrade. I really like the idea of designing something that could last for decades, with only minor upgrades. Consistency and reliability help offset what you might be missing with the "latest and greatest" new designs. And when repairs are needed, it's very helpful to have a lifetime warranty. Plus, when you're paying top dollar, you should be able to expect more "mileage" from the product than a lower ticket item. Every time a manufacturer comes out with a new design, some "bugs" are bound to show up, such as ZR's first gen 7x26 ED2. It's the reason why I stay a version behind in Windows. By the time they developed all the fixes for Vista, if I upgrade to Window's 7, I'd be starting all over again. New designs usually drive up costs. Off-shore manufacturing has off-set that in some brands, but at the alpha bin level, you pay a steep price for incremental improvements. I'm not a Luddite. Innovation is a good thing, we wouldn't have had the roof bin revolution if not for p-coatings, but at some point, you have to draw the line and say enough is good enough or you're going to end up with $3,000, $4,000, and $5,000 binoculars. If your salary keeps pace with those prices, then no problem. But if you're "working harder for less" like a lot of people are today in the US, as labor unions go the way of the premium porro, and high paying manufacturing jobs go overseas and are replaced with lower paying service sectors jobs, and laid off workers are forced to take lower paying jobs, many people are going to be priced out of the alpha bins market. Fortunately, the second tier bin market is growing and will be able to pick up the slack at more affordable prices. And with Nikon's, Swaro's, and now Leica's excellent used bin repair policies, binofans can also enjoy older alphas.</blockquote>

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