[janoskiss (Steve H)]

Lacey, I got the 8" GSO Dob from Andrews in January. It's not without its flaws, but it is unbelievable how much telescope you get for such a modest investment. Way better than anything else in this pricerange. Yes you will see much much more than in those overexposed photos.

Other things you may want to consider:

Filters
Don't know much about filters, but everyone agrees that the cheap colour filters are useless. Apparently, the only remotely useful ones are over $100 a pop (some a lot more) and Andrews does not stock them.

Collimation
What you will need is a collimating tool for aligning the mirrors when you get the scope and occasionally thereafter. When I got my scope I also got the return-beam laser collimator, which is easiest to use, but error prone. A Cheshire is a simpler and cheaper tool ($29) which I've ordered since. I found alignment problems with the both the tools themselves, but these are easiest to work around with the Cheshire.

Eyepieces
Now if the adverts in current AS&T are correct, you'll only get two eyepieces (EPs) with your scope; probably a 25mm and a 9mm. You should get one more, the 15mm GSO Plossl (don't go for the Andrews Ser. 500s; Lee will tell you they're basically the same, but they're not as good.). It's been rumoured on this site that these are down to $39. If you do get four EPs with the scope, then great. Go with 9,15,20,25mm.

Barlows
You could also get a barlow for more flexibility with magnification, and for the extra power when seeing is good. I don't know how good the 1.25" GSO achromatic barlows are, but they are quite cheap (<$50), and will probably stop you from spending more on eyepieces for a while. Don't know if long or short barlow is better, but I'm sure some fellow iceinspacer will know.

and finally...
Milk jug washers
Though they are highly recommended by other Dob owners, they didn't seem to do much for my scope. My azimuth motion is still too stiff but I can live with it. I'm still looking for the ideal solution (formica laminate, magic sliders, mosaic tiles, lubes, bearings ...)