WO ships to Australia straight from their warehouse in Asia. If you want WO ZS61 or RedCat then buying from WO directly is the best thing.
AndrewsCom and other will simply order items from WO and then re-deliver to you. That explains long delivery times.
Actually no, it doesn't explain delivery times.
Currently, WO's site shows NIL stock on RedCat51's
.....but some Oz dealers actually have them in stock for immediate delivery...fancy that
Last edited by Peter Ward; 16-12-2019 at 12:28 AM.
Reason: typo clarification
Alternatively, I noticed My Astroshop sells the GT-71 which is a triplet and includes a field flattener as well, for only $1535. I’ve emailed them asking how much shipping is but they haven’t answered yet. I expect it to probably be about $50, so the total setup would be about $3000 with other accessories. But how noticeable is the difference between a triplet like the GT-71, and a doublet of the same size like the Skywatcher Evostar ED 72which is a lot cheaper. The difference is about $600 so I’m not sure if it’s worth it or not.
My Astroshop has very recently transferred ownership to an IIS member on here called Alex (mental4astro).. you might want to send him a pm.. I don't know what he does or doesn't have in stock first hand but, as he is a friend of mine, I am aware that the website may not be 100% accurate as yet as he is juggling this business, his main occupation & family but, he is working like crazy to get on top of it.
Send him a PM, you may get a quicker answer as to whether or not he has one in stock...
Actually no, it doesn't explain delivery times.
Currently, WO's site shows NIL stock on RedCat51's
.....but some Oz dealers actually have them in stock for immediate delivery...fancy that
And that's fine as well. Some items could be in stock here locally (at last they are official dealers ). But majority of WO items on AndrewsCom are not in stock here and will be ordered for you from WO. At least that's what they told me when I wanted to purchase mine WO ZS61 a year ago. And purchasing directly from WO was significantly cheaper for me with less delivery time. I ended up buying used one from an IIS member, but I did a very good shoparound before purchasing.
Ordering the ZS61 with flattener and dovetail directly from WO costs $1147 shipped, which is over the $1000 threshold before duties have to be paid. Does anyone have a rough estimate as to how much I would expect to pay in GST (which is 10%), and the other customs/duties? I was also eyeing a TS-Optics Photoline 60mm, which appears to be identical to the Zenithstar but without the built in bahtinov mask, and costs only $975 shipped. I will have to pay GST though.
Danh, it's all depends what shipping company you would use. If that's standard post then it's just 10% GST. If that's DHL/UPS/etc then they might take some small percentage for brokerage.
Have a think about splitting into two packages - scope and accessories. In this case you pay more for shipping but you can get below $1000 and therefore avoid GST etc. which at the end could be cheaper.
I've used Andrews a couple of time before. You should have no trouble with them. But just check they are an authorised WO seller as this may have implications to the warranty.
PS. I too have been looking at a WO scope from them.
So just checking, who had success buying a WO ZS or RedCat in Australia without a crazy shipping price?
What crazy shipping price?
In round numbers, if you order a RedCat directly from WO, you'll be waiting a month or so, it will cost you $US800 with shipping, pay with PayPal that will be $A1230. Add $123 for GST and $45 for the electronic entry fee. $1398.00
Local price $1299 plus post ($25) plus you'll have it by next week.
). But majority of WO items on AndrewsCom are not in stock here and will be ordered for you from WO. At least that's what they told me when I wanted to purchase mine WO ZS61 a year ago. And purchasing directly from WO was significantly cheaper for me with less delivery time. I ended up buying used one from an IIS member, but I did a very good shoparound before purchasing.
