Anybody purchased from telescopes-astronomy.com.au?

[vanwonky]

This is most possibly the worst / ugliest website that I have come across for a while but the question is - has anybody successfully purchased (if you have had the patience to persist with the goddamn awful site) from these guys?
Cheers
Dave

[snowyskiesau]

I've bought from him, no problems at all.

Just don't mention the website, he's a bit sensitive about that subject :)

[vanwonky]

LOL .. thanks Geoff. Mum's the word if the price is right!

[Visionoz]

Get him on the phone first and then email - have dealt with him and he is OK to deal with - he's always delivered though have to wait sometimes; not his fault

HTH
Cheers
Bill

[mswhin63]

Must admit, the website is extremely difficult to navigate.

Requires persistence and really best talk to them will get a lot further.

[stephenb]

Hi Dave,

Yes the website is a little "unique" but I've purchased gear from him with no issues.

Regards

[kitsuna]

I bought my spankin new megrez 90 from him only a few weeks ago.

I found that the best way to go about purchasing is to skim the website, and call to make sure Matthew can get the stuff for you (and to confirm prices due to exchange rates fluctuations).

The website does take a bit of getting used to, but once you work out it's foibles, it does have an awful lot of information as to what you can get through this mob.

I had to wait a little while to receive my order, but that's nothing unusual as it had to be shipped in from overseas. It would have been the same, no matter who I'd bought through. Matthew kept me up to date on the progress, and I'd almost always get a response to my email enquiries within 24 hours (often in less than 12. I was very impressed with how quick he'd follow up on my queries).

I have had a problem with my scope, but that appears to be a manufacturing issue, NOT the fault of the dealer. So far, Matthew has been quite helpful in assisting me and working with William Optics to get it sorted out. If it all goes horribly pear shaped with after purchase care, I'll let you know. :rofl:

However, I have to say that it's been very good so far. :thumbsup:

[joshhagger]

I purchased my CPC 800 from there last year, no problems & very helpful.

[vanwonky]

OK, thanks for the replies. I have a few PMs which are less than glowing but will take it all under advisement.
Cheers
Dave

[stephenb]

And that's all you can do, Dave ;). Take it all on board - both the good and not so good feedback and make an informed decision. If you go ahead and order, I would encourage you conside posting your experiences. When reviews are posted in a fair and diplomatic manner, they benefit everyone in the community.

Cheers,
Stephen

[Lester]

Purchased my Losmandy Titan through him, none other within Australia came within a bulls roar on price. I found him very honest and helpful.

[rally]

Stephen,

That assumes that negative reports are posted ?
Unfortunately negative reports are regarded as "Vendor Bashing" which is not permitted - hence they are not available.

So this means people affected would not be permitted to post in this thread.

I have raised this with the Mods in the past to no avail.

Not that I think Vendor bashing by emotional, irrational posters should be ever allowed, but if a thread by a genuine poster asks for opinions it should not be the case that the posts are necessarily always biased to the positive when there may in fact be more than just an occasional mistake or problem that will affect every retailer from time to time.

I personally fail to see how that is beneficial for the members - its not only misleading it is wrong and deprives members of information that they might or should need to know.

At the same time I also appreciate that IIS does not want to find itself in a predicament with vendors.

Maybe a poll - Was your shopping experience up to expectation Yes/No could suffice ? But this is still a rather unsatisfactory source of information.
Or alternatively no threads on Vendor performance at all - also less than satisfactory.

Or a "Please PM me with your comments", thread closed fpor comment.

I dont know what is best but I think it should be sorted out.

I'll duck now !

Rally

[stephenb]

Rally, point taken and well made. If that is the case then an unfair perception of a vendor is reflected, unless there can be some strict moderation and guideline on negative posts. Perhaps only opinions on vendors should ge received exclusively via PM? Anyway it appears Dave has received enough to consider his options.

Regards,
Stephen

[mswhin63]

I think that is not correct, there is a difference to being negative and objective. For an online information service the weakest link in any business stems from a number of things. In this case the website lacks significantly. I have tried to navigate but eventually the amount to time to access the information is prohibitive.

Hopefully the Vendor will take note and consider it as part of it's marketing strategy. Softly softly approach is not the way to get things done for a consumer based website. There are a lot of free CMS sites out there that can present well to consumers.

I have no argument with the owner and their price on the surface seem quiet reasonable but when you look for many products of similar specs this can take a lot of time and not prepared to waste too much time on it.

[Waxing_Gibbous]

I've found the bloke who runs it to be very helpful.
However I DO agree about his website! :D
Its horrific. Gave me a migrain!

[swannies1983]

Despite the website, I've had no problems buying stuff from Matthew. I got my second-hand EQ6, toucam and several filters from him. He also suggested the TAL 200K scope for me. He's fairly quick to reply to emails and lucky for me, I don't live far from him so I can go see all the equipment first hand. :)