How does Canon think this will help there sales, not only have they subcontracted out there sales to small shops, but now sell online at prices less than they can supply us. Over the last 18years we have seen this once Wonderful, Helpful company deteriorate into a Telstra/Bigpond,Vodafone like company. No wonder warranty is no longer seen as important in the purchase of cameras and lenses for the general public. Why many small business are starting to purchase overseas through the net.

Great to see this warranty policy adjustment by Canon. This change gives our potential customers one additional reason to consider purchasing Canon from an Australian dealer. The variation will add a little more challenge for those resellers import/selling gray product into our market. We appreciate the change and are sure that the rest of the Canon Authorised resellers share our view. This is now the 11th reason to purchase Canon locally: 1. Well, first is being conned! It happens occasionally when you ship your credit card details off to some random offshore entity without a phone number or address. The danger shouldn't be overstated, but it is something to consider. And don't expect any interest from the local Fraud Squad! 2. When the shipping costs and shipping insurance are added to the purchase costs, the savings often aren't as impressive as they looked on first appearance. 3. Prices are usually non-negotiable – whereas real live salespeople can negotiate – not to mention providing sound advice on features and options. And you can come back to the store to seek more information and advice whenever you want. 4. There is no guarantee that the product is fit for local conditions - cables, plugs, voltage, accessories, etc, and certainly no local certification such as the C-Tick compliance which Australian consumer products are required to have. There's no guarantee for anything, really. 5. If there is an warranty, and it is honoured, you will incur a $50-$100 cost shipping the product back to some other part of the world. Non-refundable. 6. You will usually wait at least a week for the product to be delivered and if a repair is required, many more weeks for it to be returned - hopefully fixed and without long-distance disputes. 7. Tax fraud. If you're in Australia and purchase a product over $1000 without paying GST (which seems to be a common wheeze on EBay), you could be in trouble with Customs and the ATO. Avoid at all costs – Customs has recently been running a bit of a blitz on this. 8. If you're based in Australia, you deny yourself the protection of a whole swag of Australian consumer protection legislation, such as statutory warranties (standard consumer protection beyond the warranty supplied by the distributor), fit-for-purpose requirements - and simply protection from being swindled. The Australian Consumer Laws have been beefed up from January this year and now compare to the toughest in the world – whereas it's very much a 'buyer beware', no-refund environment in the global marketplace. 9. There are also some other considerations which aren't to do with the risk of a troublesome transaction or faulty product, and those revolve around supporting Australian retailers and in turn Australian jobs – with smaller operators in particular under a lot of pressure. And while there's a sentiment being aired that Australian retailers are overcharging for products, and so deserve to lose sales, the real facts are that we buy from local distributors, who often have no say over the wholesale price we are charged. We look forward to working with our distributors so that we can in turn offer prices far closer to global pricing to our consumers. 10. We would like to see you again! We are here to help you enjoy your photography – it's an interest we share. And if we can do that, we both gain. 11. Local warranty is valid only for Canon products that are distributed by Canon Australia Pty Ltd or Canon New Zealand Ltd. (If somebody has a comprehensive table detailing warranties offered by all manufacturers it would be very useful.) Peter Michael michaels - Melbourne