Buyer's Market

[casstony]

I don't remember ever seeing so many nice scopes for sale in the classifieds, both currently and over the last few months. Buyers are spoilt for choice, just need the bank account to keep up.

We might need a few more mounts to balance things up - maybe an SXP and a CGX? T-Rex, DSV-3?

[Wavytone]

Agreed - and they're not selling fast, either. I'm going to hold off selling mine for a while.

[raymo]

Totally unrelated, but I frequently buy and sell stamps on ebay as I build
up my collection, and the number of bidders and eventual price realised
has tumbled in recent times.
raymo

[casstony]

Originally Posted by raymo

Totally unrelated, but I frequently buy and sell stamps on ebay as I build
up my collection, and the number of bidders and eventual price realised
has tumbled in recent times.
raymo

Perhaps you could trade a stamp collection for a nice refractor

I'd be interested in the NP101is or TSA120 if I didn't already own both scopes - both gorgeous scopes, both good for imaging and visual use.

Wavy, that TS130 is a relatively cheap scope for the quality - might be worth giving it a run?

[Wavytone]

Heh Tony it's a gorgeous scope optically. I couldn't tell the difference between it and a AP130 side by side.

But I'm waiting to see if I need a counterweight for what's going to be mounted next to it - a Santel MK91.

[raymo]

Tony, I recently finished selling off all my gear, after 63 yrs of owning
one scope or another.
raymo

[casstony]

63 years is a good run in the hobby raymo. I've got about 20 years up after surviving the previous 20 years in the high risk hobbies/sports of youth.

[Wavytone]

Well at least it isn't high risk ... Worst astro hazard is to be bitten by a diagonal spider ... the ones with three legs are the worst

[Nikolas (Nik)]

Uncertain times means that people up and sell to get some money, however uncertain times also means less people able to afford items as well.

[casstony]

Originally Posted by Nikolas

Uncertain times means that people up and sell to get some money, however uncertain times also means less people able to afford items as well.

Times are likely to get tougher too, but should one sell up or buy more telescopes to stay sane through the tough times? The wife will need a new low noise DSLR too to get her through

[LewisM]

I just reluctantly added one

[dbowie (Brenton)]

Its def a buyers market...As a newcomer to this hobby I have benefited from the IIS classifieds as Im sure many have. I have bought a C9.25 and 65quad refractor TV eyepieces QHY cameras plus many many high end accessories at around 1/2 to 3/4 cost and now have 3 full diverse AP and visual setups in under a year. The prices are fair and condition outstanding on all items. I see the classifieds as an honest fluid marketplace for the nube and more long termers wanting too switch it up a bit and get good homes for their pre loved items, patience, due dilegence and money in the bank at the ready are well rewarded..long live the IIS Classifieds...

[leon]

What you guys are saying is true, and i too had an Observatory and beautiful Tak sitting on top of a lovely G11, plus all the other stuff attached.

I did love it but at my age nearly 70 I just could not keep up with you young fellas and girls, and all the technical stuff

We sold the house and all that was in the back yard, the mount ended up In WA, and my Quad Fluorite Tak is in the hands of a friend ( IIS Member) in NSW, plus the other stuff that went with it.

We Alice and I bought a 5th Wheeler and now just tour Australia, and do some fantastic house sits in the best parts of this country.

Presently in Yeppoon QLD

Nothing lasts forever.

Leon

[Emc2 (Jon)]

Family commitments also make it hard to practice the hobby, I have found myself struggling to find any time to observe at all.
The days are already so full and tiring, I just don't have the energy to get up/stay up late. :/

[Atmos (Colin)]

Originally Posted by glend

After a recent trip to the hospital my observatory has been mothballed for an unknown period. The scopes are all sitting in my spare room in the house. I may have to sell off the heavier ones, including my wonderful MN190 Mak-Newt, as i can't easily lift it anymore. I can't move the CGX mount into the house, until next time my son visits. Its looking like i may have to let most of it go.

If you could set up the observatory for a proper permanent setup (dew control) so that you don't have to move it. It'll allow you to continue, once it's setup it's setup

[glend (Glen)]

Originally Posted by Atmos

If you could set up the observatory for a proper permanent setup (dew control) so that you don't have to move it. It'll allow you to continue, once it's setup it's setup

I deleted that Colin, too much like a whinge. It was well setup, the only manual effort was rolling back the roof, all operations conducted from inside the house. I just did not want the gear sitting out there through daily winter condensation cycles. With everything out, and the mount protected by my heated convection shroud, i don't have to worry about anything. I have lost my motivation for now. Maybe when my health improves and it warms up, i might open it up again. If not, there will be a sell off of the heavier stuff, if classified start to show promise.

[william123 (William)]

Is the economy in Australia not good at this time? Here in the USA, the economy is chugging along fairly well (despite the boob in the White House).

Bill

[casstony]

The economy is ok on the surface here Bill, but many Australians are labouring under enormous private debt due to the housing bubble inspired by decades of easy to borrow money. For the last few decades Wall Street has conspired to sink the entire World into unsustainable levels of debt, beginning with the brilliant idea of securitising loans to enable essentially limitless lending by banks.

Most people have a gut feeling that banks are the bad guys but they have no understanding of the ways in which the financial system is manipulated; most also don't think house prices ever go down, even though that has been plainly demonstrated in other western countries.

[william123 (William)]

Thank you, Tony, for that explanation. I read something about the high cost of Australian housing in the New York Times a while back.

In the States, housing is also quite expensive, every bit as high as it was during the "bubble" several years ago, only now no one says we're in a housing bubble. Why that is, I don't know.

The price of housing here fell a bit during the Great Recession, but it has bounced right back and more. I'm no economist, but I think the U.S. has too many people (too much demand for housing) and too many people with too much money (who buy housing for speculative purposes).

[croweater (Richard)]

Hi, Australia has large tax breaks for rich investors(negative gearing etc.) thereby pricing young families/first home buyers out of the market and letting rich get richer. Cheers Richard.