Deliveries from ZHO direct.

[Spidy (Phil)]

I know there's a similar thread, but that one discusses deliveries from overseas generally.


I'm wondering if anyone has bought from the ZHO Website directly recently and can chime in regarding delivery times.

[Nikolas (Nik)]

It has been discussed in that thread and the answer is deliveries from zwo direct are not only cheaper even after the exchange rate but also if in stock come in 10 days or less if you pay the extra postage which is a must in pandemic times.

[Spidy (Phil)]

Originally Posted by Nikolas

It has been discussed in that thread and the answer is deliveries from zwo direct are not only cheaper even after the exchange rate but also if in stock come in 10 days or less if you pay the extra postage which is a must in pandemic times.

There is no option to select "Extra Postage".

[LewisM]

You don't need extra postage - they send with FedEx, which in Australia is also serviced by the TNT network (FedEx over-took TNT Australia).

My order from ZWO took 9 days - FedEx mis-handled it for 2 days (Sydney to Canberra then back to Sydney then back to Canberra....), and on top of that, came in $80 UNDER [insert name of large Sydney based retailer] (and that's local seller price without post, so roughly $100 cheaper).


Up to you how you do it, but ZWO was VERY professional, answered questions fast, and posted next day after placing the order.

[mswhin63 (Malcolm)]

Considering all the options, one thing that would need to be considered is support. Online is great but you would have to send it back if anything went wrong. For some it is worth it but the risk could be intimidating.

[Spidy (Phil)]

Originally Posted by LewisM

You don't need extra postage - they send with FedEx, which in Australia is also serviced by the TNT network (FedEx over-took TNT Australia).

My order from ZWO took 9 days - FedEx mis-handled it for 2 days (Sydney to Canberra then back to Sydney then back to Canberra....), and on top of that, came in $80 UNDER [insert name of large Sydney based retailer] (and that's local seller price without post, so roughly $100 cheaper).


Up to you how you do it, but ZWO was VERY professional, answered questions fast, and posted next day after placing the order.

Thank you for your response Lewis. That's what I wanted to hear. Can I ask how long ago this was?

[Spidy (Phil)]

Originally Posted by mswhin63

Considering all the options, one thing that would need to be considered is support. Online is great but you would have to send it back if anything went wrong. For some it is worth it but the risk could be intimidating.

Yes, but I wonder if by buying locally, all we're doing is adding a middleman, i.e. the vendor, who would in turn send back the camera to ZWO for repairs?

[LewisM]

Originally Posted by Spidy

Thank you for your response Lewis. That's what I wanted to hear. Can I ask how long ago this was?

About 2 weeks ago

[billdan (Bill)]

Originally Posted by Spidy

Yes, but I wonder if by buying locally, all we're doing is adding a middleman, i.e. the vendor, who would in turn send back the camera to ZWO for repairs?

I bought my QHY12 off an Australian vendor and when it failed during the warranty period, the vendor told me to ship it back to China myself. Only cost $60 air freight at the time from Aust Post. QHY paid for the return air freight postage.

So in future I will buy direct from China, as nothing is gained buying locally.

[LewisM]

Originally Posted by Spidy

Yes, but I wonder if by buying locally, all we're doing is adding a middleman, i.e. the vendor, who would in turn send back the camera to ZWO for repairs?

That is exactly what is happening. ZWO told me any issues, they'll resolve it directly. So, shipping it to a retailer does...nothing...as you had already suggested. Some retailers INSIST they are the only ones that can offer support, but that is INCORRECT if you buy from the manufacturer.

[LewisM]

Originally Posted by billdan

I bought my QHY12 off an Australian vendor and when it failed during the warranty period, the vendor told me to ship it back to China myself. Only cost $60 air freight at the time from Aust Post. QHY paid for the return air freight postage.

So in future I will buy direct from China, as nothing is gained buying locally.

Precisely.

[Spidy (Phil)]

Thank you Lewis and Bill.

Seems my suspicions are correct and there is no reason to NOT buy direct from ZWO.

I called a well known retailer today asking them about their lead times to get new stock in. They told me to buy QHYCCD as they can buy direct from them and t will be a lot quicker.

Uhm, I think not.

I'll place my order next week and report back to this thread on my experience.

Thanks again guys for your responses.

[mswhin63 (Malcolm)]

Thanks Phil,
I would really like to know your experience n this especially with CV affecting deliveries. I am not quite ready to buy yet.

Quick question, why not QHYCCD?

[Spidy (Phil)]

Originally Posted by mswhin63

............Quick question, why not QHYCCD?

A lot of people have been asking me this question lately, lol.


My answer is because there seems to be a general consensus that both driver support and tech support seems to be better with the ZWO cameras.

[mswhin63 (Malcolm)]

Good answer, thanks that is important.

[gregbradley]

I haven't used a QHY camera and have a ZWO 183mm.

When I was researching the 2 brands I would here about driver issues with QHY. Another poster said that was in the past and that it had been sorted.

Another common response was QHY has a higher build quality.

Depending on the model there are other differences.

The QHY600 for example has a 2gig DDRAM whereas the ZWO has 256mb.

The QHY600 has currently 3 different modes, one of which extends the full well depth from 51K to 75K or more.

That could be useful in high dynamic range scenes.

Other aspects seem similar but QHY are about US$500 more expensive for the QHY600 model compared to ZWO.

So still not that clear cut but its more data to consider.

Greg.

[AndyG (Andy)]

I just bought some adaptors from the ZWO site 20mins ago. I'll post again when it shows up.

[Camelopardalis (Dunk)]

I ordered from them a week ago. It entered into the country on Thursday and is doing a tour of the capitals thanks to Auspost

[Camelopardalis (Dunk)]

Go figure, it arrived this morning. The postal vortex must have been blowing this way

[Spidy (Phil)]

Originally Posted by Camelopardalis

Go figure, it arrived this morning. The postal vortex must have been blowing this way

So, around 10 days?