Doug:
I couldn't agree with you more.
I've been up and down the greasy pole with various manufacturers and more by luck than design have narrowed my 'collection' down.
The hell of it is, one can't even rely on top-shelf companies to produce a consistantly good product (I speak here of readily available gear).
I've had rubbish Taks and Televues and super Meades and Skywatchers.
The provision of 'extras' is getting to be a bad joke.
I was contemplating the purchase of a high-end GEM recently and it turned out that the tripod was a $500 extra!
In what world is a mount useful without a pier or 'pod?
But almost nothing annoys me more than the optional finderscope!
Almost invariably the scope you purchase will not be compatible with the FS you have (or vice-versa) and you will be forced to buy at the least an extra set of rings. More often I wind-up having to buy a $10 mounting plate that cost $20 to post. AAARRRRGGGGHHH!
Small beer I know, but MOST annoying!
