[Peterloftus]

I emailed Celestron a number of times expressing my frustration at such big price differences between Oz pricing and US pricing. I ended up getting the standard type of responses regarding local support and local warranty which are supposed to justify the doubling in price to Oz purchasers.

As there is no local dealer close to me I was going to have to have my purchase delivered anyhow so if the delivery came from the local Oz dealer or direct from the US it made no difference except for the price.

I think it really sucks that you cannot buy direct from the US.
In fact Celestron are clear in that they will not offer me a warranty if I purchase from a US dealer and than ship it back to Oz.

In the end I was lucky. A friend was on a business trip in California and was able to call in to a local dealer and buy me a Celestron NexStar 5SE. At the counter he was able to arrange a courier (DHL) to ship direct to my home address. Yes the freight was expensive and I do not have a warranty but I have enjoyed for the last 6 months exploring the night sky with my dad and I saved $800 compared to buying locally.

One of the things I really like with the internet is being able to compare and shop internationally. 15 years ago getting information on different pricing for overseas items was a lot more difficult. Not anymore.

Good luck.

peter