The genuine article: http://www.digitalcamerawarehouse.com.au/prod21.htm

$35 plus $11 freight = $46.00

The cheap clone: http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/IR-Remote...item33907eace7

$5.89, free postage = $5.89

As members may know, I'm not shy about mortgaging the cat to buy the best if the best really is better than the second-best. On the other hand, I hate being gouged just because some company thinks I can be gouged. I'm not having a go at Digital Camera Warehouse here: their $35 price for the Canon remote is very reasonable. You'd battle to find one for much less. But genuine Canon accessories are usually always mega-expensive. Canon cameras and lenses are, when you consider the quality, very decently priced. But they charge like wounded rhinos for accessories.

Now I'd like a reliable remote that gives no trouble. Could a $5.89 thing possibly do the job? On the other hand, given the usual Canon mark-up on accessories, anything they sell for only $35 couldn't cost then more than about $5 in the first place.

What to do? Pay $46 for the Canon one? Or $5.89 for one from Pheobe-G2009 on Ebay?

I have bought from Phoebe-G2009 before - things like lens caps and hoods and so on. In fact I ordered two off-camera flash chords and a CF card case from Pheobe-G just five minutes ago. Good range including some stuff that's hard to find, very cheap prices, prompt delivery, goods always as advertised. Happy to deal with Pheobe-G2009 at any time. But is a $5.89 control going to be OK?