Cannon eos 600D

Nolimits

I've decided I'd like to get myself a decent camera, after consulting with a mate who knows these things I've settled on the above. Now it's a case of where to buy it.

Amazon.co.uk are selling it at what seems to be amongst the best price at £425 or around €525. I know in general Amazon are a great company to do business with, with regards to returns etc http://www.amazon.co.uk/Canon-Digital-Camera-18-55-3-5-5-6/dp/B004MPQXZ0/ref=sr_1_1?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1356474142&sr=1-1


My question is, is there anywhere in Dublin that can come close to that price, in an ideal world I'd rather buy in a B&M shop but only if I wasn't paying too much of a premium. I know Currys are selling it at €619 which is a little higher than I'd like considering Amazon's price but I'm not sure about other than that.


Some searching on here and three names keep coming up, Birminghams who don't appear to have it in stock. John Gunns who don't appear to have an online shop and Conns who seem to be selling it at €699 with €50 cashback (that's with the 18-55m lense)

Is it even worth me shopping around, or is no one likely to come near to Amazon's price? I may purchase a second lense with it I'm not sure, and if I did it would be one of the cheaper ones.

Nolimits

In the unlikely even that anyone is interested, Amazon dropped the price by another £5 and I bought it tonight.

dirtyghettokid

fair play. i bought my 600D from amazon last month. was a great deal. better than anything on offer around here!

Syferus

I'd never even consider buying from shops here. If they ever see me darken the door it's to try before I buy online. Camera gear seems to particularly suffer from inflated in-store prices in this country, even more so than other electronics.

I understand the few extra percentage points of VAT we pay here (which is actually included in your purchase price from Amazon so that's not even an issue in this case), the economies of scale and the extra expenses brick and mortar have over exclusively online stores as well as anyone but in this day and age I really can't fathom why anyone would shy away from an online store, especially one as uniformly excellent as Amazon. If something is wrong they'll either arrange a courier to pick the item up from you or let you send it and they'll refund the postage regardless of what happens afterwards. I'd honestly be far more comfortable in their hands than a brick and mortar's if something goes wrong, indeed their turnaround can be significantly faster in a lot of cases.

Nolimits

Syferus wrote: »

I'd never even consider buying from shops here. If they ever see me darken the door it's to try before I buy online. Camera gear seems to particularly suffer from inflated in-store prices in this country, even more so than other electronics.

I understand the few extra percentage points of VAT we pay here (which is actually included in your purchase price from Amazon so that's not even an issue in this case), the economies of scale and the extra expenses brick and mortar have over exclusively online stores as well as anyone but in this day and age I really can't fathom why anyone would shy away from an online store, especially one as uniformly excellent as Amazon. If something is wrong they'll either arrange a courier to pick the item up from you or let you send it and they'll refund the postage regardless of what happens afterwards. I'd honestly be far more comfortable in their hands than a brick and mortar's if something goes wrong, indeed their turnaround can be significantly faster in a lot of cases.

I have no problems ordering from Amazon, I've been doing it for well over a decade, but I also realise that it's nice to go into a non souless shop and speak to people who care about what they are selling and have a passion for it and keen knowledge about it. I'd also like these shops to still be here in 15 years, the internet can never give you a feel for something in the same way holding it in your hands can.

Though truth be told, I don't want to pay too much extra of a premium for this. In this case, if I could have gotten it around €580 ish I'd have bought it from a B&M store here.


Also, getting it delivered to Parcel Motel in Antrim I assume I missed out on Irish VAT, though not sure.

dirtyghettokid

i don't like going into photography shops here at all.. some of the staff have this holier than thou attitude, which i could do without.
they aren't really into giving non biased advice either.
i'll stick with online retailers until irish shops get an attitude adjustment and the VAT rate comes down to a reasonable level!

Syferus

Nolimits wrote: »

I have no problems ordering from Amazon, I've been doing it for well over a decade, but I also realise that it's nice to go into a non souless shop and speak to people who care about what they are selling and have a passion for it and keen knowledge about it. I'd also like these shops to still be here in 15 years, the internet can never give you a feel for something in the same way holding it in your hands can.

Though truth be told, I don't want to pay too much extra of a premium for this. In this case, if I could have gotten it around €580 ish I'd have bought it from a B&M store here.


Also, getting it delivered to Parcel Motel in Antrim I assume I missed out on Irish VAT, though not sure.

And that's my other issue with brick and mortar. They generally manage to be more soulless and untrustworthy for advice than an online store and its reams of customer reviews. Most of the time you're talking to a sales person who cares more about foisting stuff on you than getting you a good deal or getting you what you really need. The whole system is weighted against you as the consumer, be it the prices, the pressure being applied by someone else's presence alone or questionable advice. It's just so much easier to make an informed choice searching out information online and finding a trustworthy retailer.

For camera specialists particularly I think the writing has been on the wall for some time. I don't think specialist stores of any hue are particularly capable of combating online sales.