APO Telescope

[Satchmo]

You guys should look at a group buy. You might even get a *much* better price for 10 pieces. The organiser gets a free scope

[JohnH]

I am very much interested in this scope, has anyone taken the plunge yet?

[Astrod00d]

>has anyone taken the plunge yet?

Not yet. Waiting for some DSLR image test results.

The company has quoted me USD850 for a single unit plus USD200 express delivery. After GST and customs fees I would expect to pay a total of about Aussie AUD1450 landed.
They quoted USD810 for 10 units. If others on this forum have been given lower pricing then we should go with the cheapest quote

Cheers,

Rob

[Stephen65]

The company has quoted me USD850 for a single unit plus USD200 express delivery. After GST and customs fees I would expect to pay a total of about Aussie AUD1450 landed.
They quoted USD810 for 10 units. If others on this forum have been given lower pricing then we should go with the cheapest quote http://www.iceinspace.com.au/forum/..../winking70.gif

Provided the cost of the shipped item(s) is below A$1000 you will not pay GST, regardless of the shipping fees. The shipping fees are not taken into account in calculating whether the A$1000 limit is breached or not. It's thus highly desirable to have the shipper list the item cost and shipping fees separately on the declaration that accompanies the item.

However, if the item itself does cost over A$1000 then you will pay GST on both the item AND the shipping fees. For items charged in a foreign currency the conversion to A$ is done based on the RBA's published rates (you can find them on its website) on the date of shipping.

I ordered a Megrez 90 telescope from WO in Taiwan a few months ago. Customs held it up because WO didn't break down the item cost and shipping fees on the customs declaration and the total of the two in US$ converted to just over A$1000, and Customs wanted me to pay GST and fees on that total figure. After I faxed them the documents to establish that the cost of the item alone converted to just under A$1000 (about A$985 IIRC) they immediately released the scope to me with no charges and it arrived the next day.

The upshot of this is; if you order a batch of scopes as one consignment you will have to pay GST on the total cost and shipping. Since it looks like you will be able to import individual scopes GST-free then a batch order would have to attract enough discount to more than offset the extra GST to be worthwhile.

[netwolf]

So if it is the same scope as the Protostar then why does that cost $3100? Thats 3 times the price.

[Stephen65]

Originally Posted by Satchmo

That seems like a long time for a 5 inch scope. For a 'grab and go' class scope, it wouldn't suit me. I'd have gone to bed before it settled.

Well, it depends on the temperature delta between the inside of the house where I keep it and the outside, so it could be considerably less, but I don't use it as a grab and go - I have a 90mm refractor on a camera alt-az mount for that.

Setting up a 5" refractor on the mount it needs (an EQ-6) is not a grab and go proposition. A 5" really is too big for grab and go. I usually set mine up at dusk and leave it out to cool before using it.

[Karls48 (Karl)]

How do the customs calculate convertion rate to A$. On the date you pay for your import or on the date when it arrives here? Anyone knows?

[Suzy_A]

One of my friends goes to China regularly (every couple of months) for a business trip - the next trip is next Wednesday.

Unfortuntely they are not going to Nanjing this time, but said that next time if I want them to, they will book a flight through there.

So.... we'll see what happens.

[Stephen65]

As noted in my post above, it's calculated on the date of shipping using the RBA's daily exchange figure, which you can obtain here:

http://www.rba.gov.au/Statistics/exchange_rates.html

[prova]

Originally Posted by Karls48

How do the customs calculate convertion rate to A$. On the date you pay for your import or on the date when it arrives here? Anyone knows?

The customs fee's is negligible and 10% GST is only paid for every dollar over $1000.00 so again not much considering it costs 810USD.

I'm VERY close to taking the plunge with it ..

[Stephen65]

So if it is the same scope as the Protostar then why does that cost $3100? Thats 3 times the price.

At a guess - profit margin, costs, overheads and GST.

Prova

If you can buy it for US$810 then you will not pay GST or customs fees. You will just pay the US$810 plus shipping.

[prova]

Originally Posted by Stephen65

At a guess - profit margin, costs, overheads and GST.

Prova

If you can buy it for US$810 then you will not pay GST or customs fees. You will just pay the US$810 plus shipping.

Someone below got quoted USD200 for postage, so lets say the total is 810+200=USD1010 (AUD1075), you would pay GST on AUD75.00 which is $7.50 .. stuff all

The only way a group buy is worthwhile is if they can sell each unit for considerably less and somehow I don't think that will be the case .. waiting on 2 emails back regarding these scopes and if all is ok, will be placing an order by the weekend

[robgreaves]

Regarding the W/O FLT132, I would point out there have been some problems with this scope.

There were issues with the cell, causing pinched optics, and tri-lobed stars. Word on the street is one retailer in the UK was pulling his hair out a bit over this one, with a few unhappy customers.

I'm not sure if the problem was positively identified, fixed, or designed-out in later scopes.

In fact tried out the prototype FLT132, with William Yang (William Optics) stood next to me looking for feedback. Looking at some distant halogen lights in the Koln Messe exhibition hall in Germany, I was surprised to see as much purple fringeing of false colour as I did...

Just thought I'd mention it.

Regards,
Rob.

[h0ughy (David)]

Dear David Hough,

Thank you for your mail.
our ED APO127, f=952mm,
with dual speed adjust focus,
8x50 illuminating reticle finder scope,
2" 99% dielectric diagonal,
1.25" WA10mm/WA20mm,
aluminimu case,

FOB China USD850/set
the postage is about USD210,
if you buy a pc, you need pay USD50 as additional handle charge.

if add altaz mount with built-in goto system, GPS, steel tubular tripod,
add USD500/set,

Thanks

Gilman


^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

that was the response I got - another member and myself will be looking seriously at getting one - though the thought of sending money to china with no guarantees is daunting

[prova]

Originally Posted by h0ughy

Dear David Hough,

Thank you for your mail.
our ED APO127, f=952mm,
with dual speed adjust focus,
8x50 illuminating reticle finder scope,
2" 99% dielectric diagonal,
1.25" WA10mm/WA20mm,
aluminimu case,

FOB China USD850/set
the postage is about USD210,
if you buy a pc, you need pay USD50 as additional handle charge.

if add altaz mount with built-in goto system, GPS, steel tubular tripod,
add USD500/set,

Thanks

Gilman


^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

that was the response I got - another member and myself will be looking seriously at getting one - though the thought of sending money to china with no guarantees is daunting

Hey dave, does the part above that I bolded mean that it's an additional USD50 per telescope for postage? Because if so, there's a good saving there .. Just didn't know what it mean't?

[Stephen65]

Someone below got quoted USD200 for postage, so lets say the total is 810+200=USD1010 (AUD1075), you would pay GST on AUD75.00 which is $7.50 .. stuff all

No, you've got it completely wrong. Please reread my post at 12.11pm. The A$1000 limit is measured against the cost of the item only, however if the item cost exceeds A$1000 then you pay GST on the total of the cost of the item plus shipping.

So for example, if you buy a scope for A$999 you will not pay GST at all, no matter how much the shipping is.

But if you buy a scope for say $A1050 with shipping of say $200 then you will pay GST on A$1250, i.e, $125 of GST. That's why I paid no GST on my A$985 dollar scope at all when I imported it from Taiwan.

There's an FAQ on the customs site that explains all this.

[Stephen65]

Regarding the W/O FLT132, I would point out there have been some problems with this scope.

There were issues with the cell, causing pinched optics, and tri-lobed stars. Word on the street is one retailer in the UK was pulling his hair out a bit over this one, with a few unhappy customers.

I'm not sure if the problem was positively identified, fixed, or designed-out in later scopes.

In fact tried out the prototype FLT132, with William Yang (William Optics) stood next to me looking for feedback. Looking at some distant halogen lights in the Koln Messe exhibition hall in Germany, I was surprised to see as much purple fringeing of false colour as I did...

Just thought I'd mention it.

The problem you mention was, IIRC, the spacers intruding into the light path on one scope, not pinched optics.

The issue was extensively discussed on the WO yahoogroup early last year when the first examples of the scope were shipped. The scope affected was one of the first built, it was returned to WO and fixed. If you follow the CN refractor forum you'll see this is not an unusual problem with a brand new scope and other manufacturers have encountered it as well.

I'm not aware of this problem recurring on any other examples, including my own, and I've spoken to at least five other FLT-132 owners and I follow all the forums where this scope is discussed. Colorwise the FLT-132 is almost entirely color-free, there are quite a few excellent images taken with this scope available.

There was an interesting thread comparing the colour correction of this scope, the TEC140 and the TMB130SS on the CN refractor forum a while ago. Comparison of the CA graphs showed the TEC was very slightly superior to the other two while the FLT and TMB were almost identical.

[netwolf]

Here is another rebadged version by Astro-Tech in the USA reviewed by Gary Honis.
http://www.cloudynights.com/ubbthrea...l/fpart/1/vc/1
http://ghonis2.ho8.com/astrotech127mm.html

Stephen thats quiet a big profit margin.

[prova]

Originally Posted by netwolf

Here is another rebadged version by Astro-Tech in the USA reviewed by Gary Honis.
http://www.cloudynights.com/ubbthrea...l/fpart/1/vc/1
http://ghonis2.ho8.com/astrotech127mm.html

Stephen thats quiet a big profit margin.

Yeah so far, I've seen this APO labelled as a Meade, Astro-Tech, Maxvision and Prostar, decided to take a punt and place an order next week

[h0ughy (David)]

Originally Posted by prova

Yeah so far, I've seen this APO labelled as a Meade, Astro-Tech, Maxvision and Prostar, decided to take a punt and place an order next week

I have asked for bank details and payment methods and they have not replied yet - can you provide this information?