Spreading the astro economy and excellent service….

[h0ughy (David)]

Spreading the astro economy and excellent service….

I don’t normally do this type of thing BUT I will have to say something here. I ordered some gear to help me set up my gear in the observatory from BINTEL and MYASTROSHOP on the same day (Thursday last week). I received all the items I needed the next day from both establishments – Brilliant service. It was interesting as the phone calls were about 10 minutes apart at lunch time…..Next on the list is Frontier Optics…….though I am still waiting to find out about the availability of an item there. The main upshot is the service has been pretty good. It’s getting hard to find stuff now – very specialised items – just glad that they carry the stuff.

Now I did order a cloud filter…..but they had none in stock

Wished they traded in wife dollars

[mercedes_sl1970]

Ditto. My experience with Myastroshop and Bintel has, similarly, always been very positive - excellent advice and service.

Andrew

[Robert9 (Robert)]

Agree. Both Myastroshop and Bintel are excellent and reliable suppliers.
Robert

[avandonk]

I sent Bintel $14K by bank transfer purely on an agreement by phone and email. I have received about half of my order $14k worth but have paid for the outstanding in full another similar amount because it will take time to make the PMX mount.

Astronomy alive has also been sent $6k for the RH200. Balance will be paid on delivery.

I have no hesitation in trusting our reputable Australian dealers.

It is far cheaper than wife dollars.


Bert

[Stardrifter_WA]

Likewise, I find that Bintel, and Extravision, give the best service in astronomy in Australia. I only deal with firms, astronomy or otherwise, that give excellent customer service. I do not tolerate poor service and often voice these concerns to management, to give them the chance to improve service. But, I give them once chance only.

With global shopping a reality, it is just as easy, and sometimes easier, to buy products from overseas. If I get great service, I will always choose an Australian company first, even though they can be a little more expensive. After all, giving excellent service, which includes support services, costs and this is why we can pay a little more. But, if I have to pay more and don't get that level of service, then I don't see why I should support an Australian company over an overseas company. I know I am protecting Australian jobs by dealing with an Australian company, however, I would never reward a company that doesn't give me excellent service.

I am reminded by the quote from the English critic John Ruskin (1819 - 1900):

"It's unwise to pay too much, but it's unwise to pay too little. When you pay too much you lose a little money, that is all. When you pay too little you sometimes lose everything, because the thing you bought was incapable of doing the thing you bought it to do. The common law of business balance prohibits paying a little and getting a lot. It can't be done! If you deal with the lowest bidder it's well to add something for the risk you run. And if you do that, you will have enough to pay for something better."

Cheers

[mithrandir (Andrew)]

The only complaint I have with a couple of dealers mentioned, and another one often recommended, was not telling how long an out of stock was likely to take to arrive and then not contacting me when it came in, even though I had given them a firm order.

At least they didn't charge me until I followed up, and I did get apologies.

[Stardrifter_WA]

Originally Posted by mithrandir

The only complaint I have with a couple of dealers mentioned, and another one often recommended, was not telling how long an out of stock was likely to take to arrive and then not contacting me when it came in, even though I had given them a firm order.

At least they didn't charge me until I followed up, and I did get apologies.

Unfortunately, the dealers don't often know when they are going to get there goods and therefore cannot advise the customer. The Chinese, for example, won't make the 100 items that the Australian importer needs, for example. Instead, the Australia importer has to wait until the Chinese manufacturer decides to do a production run on that item. This is for economies of scale. Also, I have been reliable informed, that many Chinese manufacturers don't back order items, making it extremely difficult for your supplier to give a firm delivery time. The Chinese dictate the trading terms and the importer just has to live with it.

On the other point that it takes some time for you to be advised of deliveries, is another difficult issue. Many importers often have a full container load come in and it takes time for them to work through the back order list. When a customer rings up and enquires about their order, this often prompts the dealer to move them up the list, at others expense, and deliver it earlier than they anticipated, whilst they work through the back orders. I have recently cancelled an order, as it appeared that it was going to take some time to come in. I wasn't prepared to wait, but that was my decision. That is just the way it is. It is not the suppliers fault. They get as frustrated as we do, after all, they are losing business that they just cannot afford to lose.

It also must be recognised that many businesses have limited number of staff to handle these orders and they just cannot perform miracles. Putting more staff on would only add to costs, which would have to be passed on. Many firms are reducing staff in order to cut costs, so that they can remain as competitive as they can, in a very difficult market.

I too have experienced these delays and as I have an understanding of why, I am a little more tolerant. But, whenever I have called to enquire about my order I have always found them to be honest about the delays. These dealer are not in control of deliveries to Australia. We are just not a big enough market.

It does make it hard when we want the item now!

Cheers