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I think you get a bit more with the GSO such as a 30mm Superview eyepiece and also two speed focuser as well as two other Plossl eyepieces. The GSO primary mirror cell has easy collimation knobs too. (Not sure if Saxon has this).
Bintel has knowledgeable staff and will not try and sell you something you won’t be happy with, (pity you cannot visit their store which is difficult now due to Covid anyway as they typically have floor stock on display). Bintel sell both Saxon and GSO so they are not going to talk down something they don’t sell. The GSO is a little cheaper too at Bintel. Perhaps ask the vendor in Melbourne to explain the features of the Saxon and see if they can show it to you if they have floor stock.
I bought a used 10” Skywatcher for the kids which has the black single speed focuser as the Saxon and the only problem I have found is that there is a stop preventing insertion of a 2” collimator as well as use of a Paracorr as it prevented focus. Now my kids don’t use the Paracorr but I found that for a f4.7 telescope to have this flaw was puzzling. I believe the later white focuser had this issue fixed, not sure if the Saxon is the same as the early Skywatcher focuser. In any case the 8” is f6 so collimating is easier by eye and you won’t need a Paracorr (unless you are very picky with coma and won’t know this for many years). You can also get a 1.25” collimator rather than 2”.
That said though you would be happy with either as a first telescope and whichever you choose I hope it brings you much joy observing the stars. I would consider a Telrad reflex sight as a vital accessory which you can ‘stick’ on the tube as the Telrad base has double sided tape. It will greatly assist you in pointing.
Whatever you choose, enjoy!
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