Buying dilemma - used or new

Unless you knew very well the owner of the 40D and his/her reasons to sell a last model camera, I wouldn't run the risk.

I don't know either sellers, unfortunately. One of them said he had the camera for a backup and was rarely used so decided to sell. The other one wanted to sell because he doesn't have time to take photos and prefer to get cash to spend on other things.

In Germany, cameras are more expensive due to the rate of exchange. If you decide to buy it there I am sure you will find many good shops. I live in Spain and buy either in USA, bhphotovideo, or Europe, pixmania-pro.

You can see the prices in pixmania, one of the mort reputed sellers. If you had a corporation, you could buy at pixmania-pro, without 16% VAT.

http://www.pixmania.com/de/de/1662/xx/xx/1/1/criteresn.html

Concerning the used cameras, a saving of $200 is not worth your worries, even being the camera in perfect situation.

I meant "most", no "mort"

Monica, I just compared your prices for new items to those from online sellers here in Germany, and it seems that buying would be about 10 to 15 percent more expensive if you buy here. So, given that your OZ prices are reliable, it seems a good idea to buy there (at least pricewise).

As for warranty ... I'm pretty sure that a warranty from a non EU country is worthless once you're here. In case of trouble you would have to send the camera home for repair. (Eventually, a repair here on your cost and a refund of the amount from Canon OZ would be possible ... you could mail Canon australia for with this question).

Don't worry about your language skills ... if you're going to stay for 2 years, you will (no doubt) be prepared to learn, and once you're here that will develop quickly, on the other side, you'll find that you can get away with English very well.

I would advice you to buy in OZ (new) and to buy now, so that you have the camera 2 month before you start. Use it regularly. If a brand new devices has failures it usually break down quickly, so you can have it repaired before you start.

I believe Australia has a reputation for being one of the most expensive places to buy a camera on the planet. You are correct that you may find it impossible to get warranty service on a camera bought in Australia (whether second hand or new) from Canon in Europe. However, you also may need to consider customs regulations on the import of personal items for a protracted stay, which could result in you having to pay VAT (or BTW as it is known in Germany) on a camera less than six months old imported anyway.

Contrary to what Antonio says, some of the cheapest prices for the 40D have been available in Europe - it has been selling for less than 500 UKP after cashback (although the cashback offer expires 30th June there have been some hints it may become cheaper still), inclusive of VAT in the UK for example. You are entitled to buy from anywhere in the EU and have Canon service (and Canon cashback as an EU resident, if it being offered): moreover, I think that in Germany you will get 2 years warranty. Finding good deals is mostly a matter of internet searching. I'd look around when you get over to Europe - ask again here if you like. Besides, if you aren't actually travelling for a month or two yet, it's likely that competition will drive the prices down further.

I agree with Mark U. I forgot that UK is not in the euro zone and the prices are now lower due to the UKP (GBP) rate of exchange. Amazon.co.uk has the 40D body only in 630.00 GBP = 1,256.61 USD with a cash back of 150. It finishes tomorrow but normally they look for another way to continue reducing the price. And the customs coming from Australia is something to pay attention too.

(link)

I miss an English corrector in photo.net!

Link

photo.net changes the link!

Offtopic ...

Mark -- "VAT (or BTW as it is known in Germany)"

VAT is know as MwSt (Mehrwertsteuer) in Germany

I believe its highly unlikely that she will have to pay that on an item that belongs to her. And in that unlikely case, she could still have the camera's serial registered in her passport, to make sure she takes it out of the EU when she leaves. None of my US colleages had ever to pay anything when bringing equipment (notebooks, cameras, ipods and the like) into Germany.

Thanks everyone for your thoughts, really appreciate it. I'll try for the used equipment for the price that I'm happy to pay but no sweat if I miss them, I'll just wait see what happens in the next few months. Who knows prices may drop again with the 1000D due to arrive end of July (I think..). Would be nice to be able to play with the camera before I leave in September but if not, doesn't matter, it sounds like buying in Germany (or UK) is an option worth considering after all.

Won't it be nice if Canon offers international warranty like Mac does with AppleCare ..

Rainer T: quite right about BTW (it's actually the Dutch acronym for Belasting op Toegevoegde Waarde) - also going by the following BTW, Mehrwertsteuer, VAT, IVA, TVA, KDV, MOMS, FPA, ALV, AFA, Adokulcs, DPH, Kaibemaks, Mervardeskatt, GST in various EU countries!

The UK price actually works out cheaper than B&H even with the instant rebate by the time you allow for international shipping - and that is before adding VAT/GST/MWSt/BTW/NY sales tax to the B&H price.

Should the price of 40D fall, it won't be due to the appearance of 1000D (which is a very, very, very entry level DSLR.) IMO more likely is yet another round of price hikes across the board as the production and transportation costs are increasing daily. So far this year Canon has increased the price of most lenses and equipment (camera bodies were not included, but this may change.)

Competition implies cameras from competitors...and several can be expected around Photokina if not sooner.

It is interesting to note that in terms of basic specification, the 1000D is actually quite similar to the 10D (a $2,000 camera on launch) - very, very very entry level has come up a long way. It loses out on poorer viewfinder (and no rear control dial), no ability to set white balance by Kelvin, no 3200 ISO (which was almost unusable on the 10D and could probably be simulated at least as well by underexposing 1600). It betters the 10D on sensor resolution, maximum burst depth (burst rate is 3fps for both), Live View, LCD size/resolution and flash metering.

Price increases in the USA have more to do with the weak performance of the US dollar than transportation and production cost increases. Transportation cost is a small element for high value items such as cameras and lenses shipped in bulk quantities.

http://edituspro.luxweb.com/luxweb/AP/en/22-Leisure_culture_and_tourism/7052000-Cameras_Retailers/

Try this. Mirgain & Huberty, Studio Fey and Top Vision are the best photo shops in Luxembourg City. The above link gives you addresses, phone numbers and opening hours. Top Vision is actually in the Belle Etoile Mall to the west of town, follow the old road (not the motorway) to Arlon. The other two are fairly close together in the old town center. Mirgain is near the main post office. Standing in front of it on the Place Hamilius (central bus station), go to the right and turn left at the first street, Avenue Monterey. It's on the right side very close by. Fey is a few more minutes on foot. Continue in the same direction until you reach an open space. Then left and then right to the Grande Rue and go past the Neuberg store. It's also on the right side. Enjoy.

Luxembourg has a sales tax of "only" 15%. It's 19% in Germany. The difference is a lot higher than the obvious 4% 19% is actually 27% higher than 15%...

Also, many things are rather cheaper in Luxembourg than the surrounding countries. Motor fuel, alcohol, tobacco, supermarket items and a lot more as the difference is normally more than just the tax rate. Unless you will be in Berlin or somewhere as far away, it can be well worth the trip. I suggest you phone ahead to make sure they have what you want before you depart. Otherwise, German prices are some of the best in Europe. You'll also be under warranty the entire time you are there and may want to pick up more equipment during your stay.

On high volume camera products Australian retail is not too bad (but never very good). On lenses other than kit lenses and higher end bodies it is far cheaper to import from the US, by buying from Adorama or B&H.

Monica one thing you might try is shopping at JB HiFi and asking them to go as close to price matching Adorama as they can. That is what I did. When the staff at JB told me they would match prices, I told them I could import a 450D body from the US for about $A 860 from Adorama. They said they couldn't go quite that low but went down to $930, which seems like a pretty good price. I am not saying it will work, but it worked for me.

What way will you be traveling, flying via Hong Kong/Singapore. You may be able to strike a deal there and can get the tax back as you are exporting. Same counts for you buying in Oz , you will export it! For buying seccond hand, stick to new, all electronics could be risky.

Just a little update, well I missed both of those 2 items listed on my first post, but I did manage to get my hands on a used Canon 40D with the 28-135 kit lens from the US which worked out about AU$1390 delivered which I thought wasn't too bad, seeing that the best deal I've seen for those brand new would cost about $1750.

Though it did come at a cost that I am compromising the 1yr warranty since warranties are not transferrable in general, so I've got my fingers crossed that I won't have to do any repairs any time soon, else I'll definitely be out of pocket .. Well I've only had a short time playing with it but so far it seems to be working fine, which is a relief after such a long trip in a cardboard box..

Michael, I would like to think that is the case, but strangely enough the price of Canon 40D just dropped by about $90 with 1000D coming out. Might not be related, seeing that 40D was released in 2007 maybe it's just due for a price drop. Regardless, I did get a little annoyed the fact that I only missed it by a few days.

Joe, thanks for the tip, I'll keep these in mind when we're over in Germany. I'm sure we will be visiting Luxembourg one weekend, from my childhood memory (on holiday when I was 4 yrs old) I remember it being a really really beautiful place, so definitely keen to pay another visit.

Adrian, no such luck stopping by at these electronic gadget heavens as my hubby's company will be the one organising the itineraries and there's no such thing as sightseeing during transits. As much as we'd really love to.

Thanks again everyone for your thoughts and input, much appreciated!