The same mounts?

[gman]

For those that know EQ6 mounts, are the following 2 links showing the same mount.
I am looking for an EQ6 to mount a 10" dob on and looking to save as many $ as possible as I don't see any of these coming up for sale 2nd hand.


http://www.telescopeshop.com.au/Product-Details.asp?PID=35087

http://www.andrewscom.com.au/site-section-10.htm

Thanx

[Gallifreyboy]

They are the same, I bought my EQ6 at telescope shop online 4 months ago at that price and it hasn't missed a beat.

[dpastern]

I'd have usually said buy from Bintel, as neither telescope shop or Andrews are official distributors, and if anything goes wrong, you're in for a world of hurt, at least from what I've heard from others.

Interestingly, Bintel is carrying the NEQ6PRO, @ $2349. As little as Six weeks ago they had the older EQ6PRO for $1999, which was very favourable against Andrews, and carries a full Australian warranty. I'm not sure why the NEQ6PRO is more expensive, since by all accounts it's the same as the older mount version, and the Aussie dollar is now stronger against both the US $ and Japanese Yen. Very odd this $400 price rise is. I think the local distributor is getting greedy and has jacked the price up.

My personal thoughts are that governments should legislate that manufacturers must repair their products under warranty, irrespective of whether it's went through an official distributor or not. This would kill deliberate price fixing by local distributors, which is rampant imho. A point in example is a Canon 500mm f4 IS lens - I can get this from B&H Photo for US $5800. Even after paying cartage, import duty & GST, it's still 3-4k cheaper than buying it from within Australia, from a reseller that has sourced the goods from Canon Australia. And, the B&H sourced Canon lens comes with a worldwide warranty, which Canon Australia will honour. Doesn't that really make you wonder? I've had several retailers all advise me not to buy any of Canon's longer lenses from Australian sources, but to buy from B&H as they cannot compete with the price, as Canon Australia has set the RRP so high.

Dave

[Ian Robinson]

"neither telescope shop or Andrews are official distributors"

so they are (Tasco ? Skywatcher) dealers , not distributers , so what ?

Since Skywatcher probably can't be imported from o/seas except through "official" channels , like Celestron, Meade, Vixen, Orion US and TeleVue (did I miss any ?) then I don't see a problem with buying from telescope shop or Andrews if they are cheaper than Bintel or other biggies here.

Correct me if I am wrong on Starwatcher unofficial imports.

[dpastern]

Neither Andrews or Telescope shop source their products from the official Australian distributor. Therefore, you have no local Australian warranty. I've heard a few horror stories here on IIS about getting SkyWatcher mounts repaired from Andrews...true, they're pretty reliable, but is it worth the risk? If I knew back then, what I know now, I'd have bought from Bintel.

Don't get me wrong, Lee and his staff were very helpful, this is not meant as a slight on them.

Dave

[andrew2008]

Sorry but i was under the impression that Telescope Shop was run by NVT who are official importers.

[Gallifreyboy]

That was and remains my understanding from the time of purchase. They were nice people to deal with and did follow up with a phone call. As I said I have not had a problem with the mount to test the warranty side of things.:)

[dpastern]

NVT is an official reseller, yes, but I see no connection on the telescopeshop.com.au website between them and NVT. If they are the one and same, then yes, mounts etc that are purchase from telescopeshop.com.au would be covered by a local warranty.

Andrews is definitely not an official retailer - something that Tasco have confirmed for me.

Dave

[andrew2008]

If you click on the "Contact Us" tab at top of screen you will find that it is NVT.

http://www.telescopeshop.com.au/Contact-Us.asp

[sheeny]

If you have a look at the contact page on the telescope shop website is says they are NVT.

Al.

[dpastern]

Well in that case - buy it - at that price, it's a bargain. And with an official Australian warranty, even better!

Dave

[gb_astro]

Another option is York Optical.
They have it listed for $1999 but offer IceInSpace members discounts.
They are also offering a "XMAS 2009 Special Lay-By Price (Note Conditions Apply)" of $1799,
whatever that means.

If you could pick it up in Melbourne you would save the freight charge as well.

I see the York Optical discount for IceinSpace members has changed from a coupon method to a VIP membership system, (see add in right IceInSpace side bar).

Might be worth investigating.

gb.

[andrew2008]

I went in to York about other products and queried the lay-by. Basically they want (from memory i might add) a 20-30% deposit then the rest paid off in fortnightly installments for 3 months. Stock won't be here until about the start of November.