or maybe they don't see the offers on the TV..............

You mean Spanish TV?

Good heavens - do they have adverts for things like that - I had no idea!

amazing isn't it

1. There are no warranty issues, goods bought in the UK still enjoy a full 2 year warranty within the EU (Neff man came out to repair a fault on my newly installed hob yesterday, repaired a fault yesterday actually caused by me...if I had made the same call out in the UK would have cost me £60, here FOC)

2. ignoring the bottom of the range stuff, white label goods and the occasional model retailers buy by the container load for their special offers. The UK ,influenced by some early movers on the internet, created a far more competitive, open market for these products. There was always two price tiers in the UK up until the late 90's the only way you would have discovered the lower prices would be through word of mouth and glancing through the classified ads at the back of something like the exchange and mart. By 2001 these two separate markets converged and became far more accessible as the entire country became used to buying online as web sites gave these smaller companies more access to the wider market without the need for their customers to pop down to the local newsagent.

This sort of business was nipped in the bud before it could spread to Europe hence why a search on the internet for white goods will bring up mainly UK web sites and very few from mainland Europe. Things are changing though which are causing prices to "head north" in the UK at the moment as the manufacturers reign in the people who brought these low prices to the mass market.

That depends entirely on the manufacturer.

The worst problems come with the store "own brand" goods which almost certainly won't have an international warranty.

PC Worlds PCs are the same - the Packard Bell brand especially. Even some mainstream suppliers like Acer or Asus only offer UK cover.

It's essential to check before buying.

Incidentally the EU 2 year warranty is a bit of a myth as you only get 6 months full cover before you are obliged to prove that the fault existed at the time of purchase. UK warranties are much better as they come under the UK Sale of Goods act rather than EU warranty law.

apologies but I did mention to ignore bottom of the range trash such as the brands you mentioned and anyway my comments were directed toward white goods since that was the theme of the thread...brown goods, computers etc are a completely different kettle of fish (not that I am talking about fish kettles here either)

Thanks for the advice EllisG. Very useful info, to help with our decision.