[UniPol]

I decided to buy an FLT 132mm APO off eBay last Friday as WO was offering the OTA for $3198 USD "Buy it now" price inc. free shipping. With the current favourable exchange rate the scope came out to be a little over $3600 AUS inc. the Paypal fee. I received an email from WO the same day offering the Feather Touch focuser upgrade for an extra $500 USD which I decided to do as the standard focuser has had mixed reports regarding slippage particularly with larger imaging equipment. WO sent an email with a tracking number from UPS on Monday. The information on the UPS site was very clear and detailed so it was easy to track the movement of the shipment.

I received a call from UPS on Tuesday to confirm my delivery address and payment of customs duty. I paid GST and fees of $448 AUS by credit card over the phone.

The telescope arrived this morning by courier and the boxes were in great condition as shown in the photos. The UPS customs paperwork and receipt arrived in the post as well. So, from deciding to buy the scope last Friday, the whole process took one week, what a great service from eBay, UPS and WO.

In short, the FLT132 OTA, case rings and focuser arrived in perfect unmarked condition, a real credit to the excellent manufacture and packing by WO. The Feather Touch focuser is certainly something to behold, the graduated focuser tube measures around 4 1/4" in diameter and has an exceptionally long travel. The finish is simply superb and needless to say is absolutely super smooth. The overall length of the OTA with the dewshield retracted is around 785mm which in anybodies book is pretty compact.

All up the outfit cost around $4600 AUD which is a great price compared to our local vendors. Without the Feather Touch upgrade the scope would be a little over $4000 AUD delivered.

For those who have doubts about buying goods from O/S, particularly off eBay, I can only say that I have had a very positive experience.

It will be interesting to compare this scope with my Tak TOA-130 as it is nearly half the current cost of the Tak. I will most likely leave the FLT with my son in Blackheath so he and I can use it when visiting and save me carting my gear along.