No Grey Imports

We Sell Only Certified European Stock

We check prices everyday to try and bring you the best prices on our range of over 1,000 photographic products; sometimes we find a price that seems too good to be true, and often that's exactly what it is!

We deal only with stock that has been imported through official channels, and certified under strict EU safety standards. This means that all import duties due have been paid, and warranties are supported by manufacturers through their official european engineers.

There are retailers who will ship products to customers in the Ireland from outside the EU, often while appearing to be based in the UK or France. If you buy a product from one of these sources you should be aware that there are risks associated with buying a "Grey Import". Grey imported goods are products sourced from outside the normal European distribution channels, usually from America, Asia or the sub continent, either shipped in directly to specific customers or imported in bulk for resale.

The potential pitfalls of buying a Grey Import

There are several potential drawbacks with buying a Grey Import:

In virtually all cases the manufacturer will not support the standard warranty

A grey import would not qualify for any additional warranty period offered by some manufacturers upon registration of the equipment. 

• As they are not designed to be sold within Europe a grey import may:
• Have a charger incompatible with Irish 230V electrical supply
• Not have proper English instruction manuals or software disk
• Not have an Irish three pin plug
• A grey import will not be eligible for any cashback or other promotions that are run by the manufacturers or official distributors.
• Sometimes manufacturers will not undertake chargeable repairs on grey imports at their official repair centres
• You can be liable for import duty and VAT on your purchase if shipped directly to you
• Some online grey-import retailers may leave you liable, and out of pocket, if the parcel goes missing in transit
• It will be more difficult, and perhaps impossible, to return an item which has a problem.
• You will not be protected by the "cooling off period" of 14 days allowed for under EU law. 

Buy from Whelan Cameras with Confidence:

At Whelan Cameras you can buy with confidence in the knowledge that:

• You are buying from Ireland's oldest, family-run camera shop
• We only sell official European sourced stock, or import directly from the manufacturer where there is no European distributor.
• We live by our commitment to Customer Service, and will always go as far as we can to resolve the issues which customers have.
• You can call our shop 6 days a week (061415246), or drop in to 30 O'Connell Street (we are open 9am to 5:00pm, Monday to Saturday).
• You will always get the full European Manufacturer's Warranty, and our unique back-up guarantee.