Hi guys, a friend of mine will be travelling to spain again where he recently saw a 550 for (so he says) 350 euros. Thats about 340 Pounds sterling. I am unsure whether this is with the stock lens or not.

Where do we stand int erms of buying this device a broad?

Will Canon cover it with the warranty?

Also are there any issues I need to be aware of? Languages etc?

Thanks guys
James

Not too sure about the warranty in Europe but my guess would be you wouldn't be covered.

You'll also want to make sure your friend buys the right camera and doesn't mistakenly buy the 500d which is on runout and very cheap at the moment.

Be careful James, thats way to cheap.

That was my first impression too Colin, which is why I said make sure it's the right model (not the cheaper 500d). However you probably suspected something far more sinister when you said it was too cheap!

Thanks for the kind replys guys. My thoughts were also that it sounds too good to be true.

If however by some small miracle it was true, doesnt canon have a worldwide warranty policy?

So should it matter if it was purchased in spain?

Thanks
James

Quite a lot of Canon products out there, both new and refurbished, are grey market and are not covered by the warranty. You'll see this on eBay, often when you read the small print of the very cheapest deals, it will say 'warranty provided by us', but you will never receive a warranty certificate, so it's complete pot luck.

Be careful.

The 550D is around 859-879 euros with the 18-55 kit lens just about everywhere here (IVA or VAT included). The cheapest I have seen it is for 773 euros on special offer. This is the prices in the chain stores like El Corte Inglais, but usually pro dealers here are not much less. 350 euros seems way too cheap to me (even for body only) so be careful.

I have been looking at the 7D and 550D here and the best prices are definitely from the UK, including p+p, but then I can buy exempt VAT so it makes a difference for me.

Another point to bear in mind grey imports, as well as offering no proper guarantee will make you pay extra for the usually included items i.e. battery/charger, cables and strap. They are cons to be avoided.