[g__day (Matthew)]

Maybe it's just me - but I've spent over $15,000 on Astro gear so far and had strangely very mixed dealings with all stores in Sydney.

Examples:

Everyone here - absolutely brilliant on all sold gear - about $5K so far
Overseas suppliers - e.g. Shoestring Astronomy, Specialist software - about $800
Camera - Canon - probably about $3,000

Astro Optical - about $2K

+ve - first 6" newtonian I every bought, plus many eyepieces - great
+ve - got me the SS2k serial cable I wanted instantly - no sweat!
+ve - kept a credit for me for years no issue, Warren is a top bloke!
-ve - no substantive help on how to mate a C9.25 to a Atlux, really limited suggestions
-ve - no help as the Australian Sky6 distributor confirming whether it would work fully with the SS2k

Synsopysis - great on many things, lousy on others

BinTel - about $1.5K

+ve - got many eye pieces, diagonals, DSI's, motor focusers - excellent quality and price
-ve - on mounting gear, sheer labour of repeatedly telling them in wiriting what I want with as much precision and pictures as I can over and over and at times repeating it all 2-3 times before all of the guys there start listening. I know I can be trying, I know they think best price and cheapest options, but sometimes I want high end and don't want to go low end. Once or twice I have been in the store agruing and pleading with the owner to sell me something he's holding in his hands! I've literally said "I have money in my hand and I want to give it to you for what you hold in your hand" - three times before he would reluctantly serve me. I'm sure he had my best interest (in a way I can't understand) in his heart, but it bugged the heck out of me - it was surreal really! And I like the guys there!

Synopysis - Great products, knowledge, and decent prices - but sometimes you can ask questions of the older guys that make you feel like they are trying to serve a Martian

Lee Andrews - About $1.5K, eyepieces, bino's, CG5 Mount, finderscopes, dovetails, binoviewers

+ve - best prices for quality gear - hands down, great warranty service
-ve - when order go astray - wait 6 months with no shows and inadequate explanations as to where the ball was dropped

MyAstroshop - About $3.5K - CF9.25 OTA and many Vixen LVW eyepieces

+ve - only positives from Steve, great guy, great prices, great help
-ve - none

ATScope - Never managed to get anything there - but not from want of trying!

+ve - none so far, but Peter obivously knows his stuff
-ve - never seems to return my multiple calls or e-mails, strange...

Astronomy Online - About $2K, 5" MAK, low end mounts, eyepieces

+ve - great gear, very friendly and knowledgeable
-ve - prices are too high compared to eveyone else on commodity gear

* * *

So rather than blindy defend who we've got, know that like us we all have our strengths and weakenesses. Call out that sometimes they are more than 1/2 to double the retail import price plus freight charges and taxes and wonder why. I certainly don't think we are being screwed, nor is it a simple argument, but maybe they get the shaft in how international providers sell to them vs direct.

Why couldn't Warren buy Sky6 six retail for me and split the difference vs buy at a wholesaler at twice the retail price? It's beyond me, its not Warren - it's his distributor that's shafting him.