US dealers?

[dugnsuz (Doug)]

Hi all,
Which US dealers will ship to Oz?
Has anyone used them - positive or negative experiences?
Cheers
Doug

[Dennis]

I've had very positive experiences, none negative, with:

OPT at http://www.optcorp.com/ and..
Scopestuff at http://www.scopestuff.com/

Cheers

Dennis

[Merlin66 (Ken)]

Depends what you are after. Haven't found ANY which would sell and ship original Meade/ Celestron telescopes. There are a few which will sell accessories.

[janoskiss (Steve H)]

Lots of them will. But if you get something faulty you're probably stuck with it. I haven't been burnt yet but have been singed.

www.seansastronomyshop.com gets thumbs up from me along with scopestuff already mentioned by Dennis.

[RB (Andrew)]

I second what Dennis said.
OPT and Scopestuff, fantastic.

[astronut (John)]

Doug, I dealt with Sky Publishing, when I bought my Star Atlas 2000. They were very efficient & helpful.
In the last two weeks, I've bought a shroud for my LB from scopestuff and received it in 10days.
At the same time I ordered collimation knobs for the LB from astronomy shoppe, and again 10 day del.
All products received properly packaged and I was charged what I was quoted. I'm Happy.

[dugnsuz (Doug)]

Thanks chaps!
To clarify , I'm after EPs/Barlows - pans,nags,powermates.

How are shipping costs on small items?

Cheers
Doug

[Striker (Tony)]

Hi Doug,

I usualy deal with Rayna from OPT in the states.

Shipping via USPS for eyepieces will be around $30-40 USD depending on which eyepiece and value of item....UPS can also be selected but they will be around $50-70 USD postage.

Just remember what ever your buying keep the total value including postage to under $1000AUD or you will be hit with a custom fee of around $50 + GST 10% of the total value.

Hope this helps.

[dugnsuz (Doug)]

Hi,
Checked out the links - thanks.
For TV eyepieces, it doesn't seem worth the effort - savings of ~$20 on new EPs. Might as well buy from Bintel! Keep the money in Oz!
Thanks for the info.
Doug

[mickoking]

I,ve purchased stuff from the states both astronomical and non astronomical and I have never had a problem. The Americans may have a lamentable president but when it comes to customer service they leave us for dead.

Many of my books are from Sky Publishing and they are a pleasure to deal with

[toc (Tim)]

I used to get a bit of stuff from handsonoptics, and had great experience with them. Not sure if he still ships OS though.

Edit: yep, looks like he still does:
http://www.handsonoptics.com/ordering.html

[casstony]

There are good and bad places to buy from in the U.S. You can find more opinions about different shops here: http://www.excelsis.com/1.0/catalog.php?categoryid=3
I had the misfortune of dealing with astroptx some years ago - check out their rating.

Tony

[Miaplacidus (Brian)]

Scopestuff and Scopetronix both very good. Well packed and quick.

[Blue Skies (Jacquie)]

I've had mostly good experiences. JMI were the last people I dealt with, no problem there.
One company I wouldn't deal with direct is Kendrick's in Canada (he makes the dew heaters). Lovely products but their customer service leaves a lot to be desired.

[grl570810 (Graham)]

I know the thread's a bit stale, but FWIW.... I got unbelievably quick delivery from Alpine Astronomical when I bought a Baader rail and filter off them a little while back. They were actually cheaper than buying direct from Germany as well (work that out!). They can be found at www.alpineastro.com. Baader stuff is now available locally, so they may no longer be the cheapest option, mind you.

Regards,
Graham

[matt]

Are there any dealers in the US who will ship Meade and/or Celestron scopes to Australia?

[GrahamL]

seans astronomy is good to deal with IME

Postage is pretty reasnable to .. $12 .. what I have found over a few purchases of differant items from the states over the years is that the standard air delivery service is good enough for me ..
4 days seems the norm ... last couple have been order thursday
in my hands on tuesday.

[Striker (Tony)]

No Matt..well not without putting there account with Meade/Celestron in jeopardy.

They will send the item to a US address then get someone to send it here for you.

[Geoff45 (Geoff)]

My experiences with Optcorp and Hutech are both positive.
Geoff