[mic_m (Michael)]

Thanks for your responses.

Originally Posted by astronut

Michael,
My thoughts are: simply lack of competition due to a small demand for the scope.
Bintel lowered their price on the XX12 from $3199 to $2599 recently, though I noticed that it has just been removed from the website (maybe sold out)
Though I have to ask Bintel are selling the Skywatcher 12" Flexitube for $2099 and Andrews are selling it for $1399!!
The only difference is the colour!!

I agree that the lack of competition may play a part, especially given that Andrews who generally sells astro stuff pretty cheaply does not sell Orion scopes. In terms of the price variation you highlighted; the variation among Australian astronomy shops in the price of exactly the same equipment is pretty amazing, though my guess is that much of this is likely the result of exchange rate movements between the times of stock purchases which can’t be helped. Regardless of the cause though, the lack of piece stability even within one store undermines consumer confidence (at lest it does mine), and in terms of my op the price variability in astro gear in Australia doesn’t make solving my original question any easier.

I did speak to Bintel and Sirius (both of whose staff are always very helpful and informative) about the XX12 when it was ~AU$2600, but even AU$1000 above the converted US$ piece seems a lot when you consider the following:

If the LB is US$899 than when AU$1 = US$0.80, the LB = US$(899/0.80) = AU$1123.75. In Australia the LB sells for AU$1399, which is ~AU$275 above the converted US price. I assume that this AU$275 is a result of shipping costs which is very reasonable. So in comparison the AU$1000 odd for the XX12 above the converted US$ price seems to be a lot.

Originally Posted by glenluceskies

My only guess (and it is a wild guess), is that they do not keep them in stock and maybe they only order them in as required, thus the shipping is higher??

I agree, from the ads it look like a nice scope.

Good suggestion. I’m sure that this plays a part, but how much of a part is not clear. Perhaps Orion dealers need to increase their economies of scale in importing these dobs.

They sure do appear to be good scopes. I prefer the rigidity of an 8 truss support system to others on offer (especially in the low end scopes), plus the traditional 8 pole design is far easier to attach a shroud to than parallel struts or a 6 pole truss system. It also has a great primary cell and Synta optics like the SW, as well as a fan and a two speed focuser like the Lightbridge and GSO solid tube dobs; finally it has push to system which may come in handy if one is trying to find something more obscure. Also very few modifications if any are reported to be need to have a functional scope out of the box which I really appreciate. It’s definitely the best budget dob available as far as I can tell, the only problem is that it is not a budget dob in Australia!

Originally Posted by Calibos

Do all the rest ship to OZ straight from GSO and Synta in Asia where maybe the Orions ship from Asia to the USA before being Shipped back to the Asia/Pacific region??

Good insight - as I understand it all Orion dobs are indeed shipped to Australia from the US which would likely result in a higher price than if they were shipped directly form Asia. I'm sure that the SW and the GSO dobs come directly from Asia but what about Meade dobs; do they go to the US first or do they come straight form Asia too? If Meade (a US company like Orion) can achieve a reasonable price for their product in Australia than why can’t Orion? Why do the Orion dobs need to go to the US first? Even if the bases for example, are made in the US, surly the OTA could come to Australia directly form the manufacturer in Asia and the bases shipped separately form the US; this would reduce the cost of these scopes if this is the case.