Cheers Asi
Sometimes I feel a little embarrassed to bang on about this particular subject but I feel so strongly about it mate!
The thing is, I've spoken to so many people who have been scared off from getting into astronomy because of bad experiences.
This is such a specialised hobby that there's a thin line between people sticking with it or jumping ship and they're often pushed over that line by poor advice and service.
Too many vendors are willing to take advantage of "suckers" just to make lots of quick dollars. Those people take this crap gear home and use it once and end up all bitter and twisted about something we know is truly the most fabulous pastime there is.
I could go on... and have actually, quite a bit. But it's good to vent!!!!
I know there's a certain amount of truth in "buyer beware" and "do your research" ... and some of the onus has to rest with the newbie, but it's not easy starting out and we're not talking about easy-to-understand stuff here.