Celestron US no longer selling parts

[Louwai (Bryan)]

I have to say that the excessive cost of Celestron stuff in Oz is the main reason why I don't buy it.
And won't be buying it any time soon.

[asimov (John)]

Thanks for your comments all.

I've gone as far as I can go on this. I've voiced my total disgust & my dissapointment on this issue to the appropriate people (Celestron in the US & the 'steak knife' distributor here ) & it seems they think they have me over a barrel.

The bottom line is, fork over $500 plus or don't get it fixed. Another interesting thing is that after the brand manager at Sheldon & Hammond gave me the official $499 quote, he then went on to say I would have to organize the order with an authorized Celestron retailer. No doubt they'd want their cut as well..

Hell, I've been a loyal Celestron customer for a reasonable length of time, but no more. I'm now on a one man Celestron embargo mission. I have friends in the US that will never deal with Celestron again over this (& other matters not published on forums).

Here's the statement issued by Celestron tech. support BTW:

"We have indeed changed the parts policy very recently.

Many parts will no longer be available outside of either a warranty or non-warranty repair.
However, we have been told by management that some "electronics" will still be available. We will seek clarification on this and get back with you.

Clear skies,
Celestron Technical Support"

Whatever

[multiweb (Marc)]

I'd be really peed too. Not sure what's going on with Celestron in Oz. Something's not right. Shame coz they got some real good gear upcoming. I'm hearing more and more of these stories though.

[bmitchell82 (Brendan)]

skies might be clear but you can USE YOUR EQUIPMENT TO CAPTURE THE MOMENT :d argh

[casstony]

Asimov, might be worth giving Andrews a call to see if they can assist; AFAIK they are not associated with Celestron Australia and source their Celestron gear directly from overseas.

[marki]

Brand loyalty should only apply when it's earned e.g. the consumer has a good experience with both products and support channels provided by the supplier at competative prices. I think the main problem here is that we as consumers of astro goodies have always had reasonable prices and access to all bits celestron when compared to their competition. It is obvious that this is no longer a priority for either the manufacturer (celestron) or their designated distributor (the steak knife and fork mob) and as consumers we need to make a firm decision not to purchase their wares at inflated prices. Celestron products are no better then their direct competition so why pay more for the same quality product?. Perhaps they have decided that telescopes are not profitable enough at competitive prices and are looking to produce other items such as steak knives and kitchen ware who knows? I have no doubt the celestron retailers and distributors themselves read these posts and their response to our complaints has been zero. Simple answer is to make them keep their products on the shelf leaving them to foot the bill. If they are stubborn enough the celstron brand will die in OZ but who cares, there are far too many other options to give it a passing thought.

Mark

[asimov (John)]

I have it on very good authority that Celestron are also stating they are having 'warranty issues' ATM.

Here's an extract from a phone convo. with tech support. My American friend doing the calling who won't mind me quoting this (This is specifically about the board I'm wanting: original part# NXW411, replacement part# NXW432.)

'He replied, (tech support) "Celestron is no longer selling parts, I would have to ship them my mount for repair."

I said, "Is this some sort of new policy? I just purchased one about a month ago."

He replied, "Yes, they were having warranty issues and no longer sold parts."

I said, "All right, Thank you very much.'

So, it could be that Celestron will cancel the new policy once the 'warranty backlog' on their mounts etc. are out of the way.

[mithrandir (Andrew)]

It should still fall under the "statutory warranty" and "fit for purpose" rules of the various Departments of Fair Trading.

The manufacturer's warranty of x years does not stop you making a claim after that if it would be reasonable to expect the device to last longer than the manufacturer's time, given the price and purpose.

[Ian Robinson]

My approach would be to ignore the local distributer and dealers and Celestron's stupid restrictions on imports and simply approach ScopeCity in the USA and ask for a replacement board from them.

Here's the email : sales@scopecity.com

[asimov (John)]

I probably should clarify that the CGE mount was purchased in the US 3 yrs ago & is obviously out of warranty, so in actual fact this has nothing, or very little to do with the distributor here.

[asimov (John)]

Originally Posted by Ian Robinson

My approach would be to ignore the local distributer and dealers and Celestron's stupid restrictions on imports and simply approach ScopeCity in the USA and ask for a replacement board from them.

Here's the email : sales@scopecity.com

Been there done that Ian. These retailers source their parts from Celestron. I emailed 4 seperate retailers in the US & received basically the same reply: "Sorry, Celestron no longer selling parts, try your local distributor"

Anyway not to worry, I was over my particular mount yonks ago. My main concern is other folk buying mounts in the near future & being forced to send the mount back for repairs & replacement of 10 dollar parts, & that's precisely what's going to happen from indications, weather it's under warranty or not.

[bloodhound31]

I would like to say, "Thank you John" for this information. It is very good to know these little things behind the scenes of reputable manufacturers, when considering buying gear that you know may need upgrades/add-ons in the future.

Bless ya mate!

Baz.

[asimov (John)]

Thanks Bazza. I know a lot more than what I let on about & that can be unfortunate sometimes! LOL.

[asimov (John)]

And this, just in from OPT the place of purchase in my case.

"Hi John,

I just received a reply from Celestron and they state that they will only repair the parts at the facility and not sell parts directly. This is unfortunately how they the support system works. The customer needs to send in the telescope to a Celestron dealer (in or out of warranty) and they will estimate the repair costs and proceed accordingly.

I do apologize for the issue and I think that the best option would be to try and locate the parts on Astromart.com or another “e-bay” classified style of website.

I hope this helps and please let me know if you have any other questions or concerns.

Thanks again,

**** *******
OPT Internet Sales
Technical Support Manager
918 Mission Avenue
Oceanside, CA 92054"

[sejanus (Gavin)]

thats really disgraceful

[casstony]

It occurs to me that this new policy may be an attempt to deal with rogue operators (dealers that bypass the official distributor). Celestron may refuse to service equipment that was not purchased through official channels.

It might be self defeating in the long run though, with buyers choosing to buy a Losmandy, etc instead of dealing with a difficult company.

[asimov (John)]

Well, for whatever reason Tony, I'd doubt we'll ever get told the whole truth.

I wouldn't say there's an official 'embargo' going on as such, but it's looking on the cards for the near future.

For anyone wanting to voice their concerns, here's the address:

http://www.celestron.com/c3/support3/index.php

[casstony]

Originally Posted by asimov

For anyone wanting to voice their concerns, here's the address:

http://www.celestron.com/c3/support3/index.php

I would write if I thought it would do any good, but the business is of sufficient size that their sole motivation is profit; a few whinging customers from the end of the earth are easily dismissed (as is amply demonstrated by pricing here).

I like smaller companies; you have a chance of talking to someone who cares and they don't have a strict 'rules are rules' policy.

[Jaybee (John)]

Originally Posted by asimov

Another interesting thing is that after the brand manager at Sheldon & Hammond gave me the official $499 quote, he then went on to say I would have to organize the order with an authorized Celestron retailer. No doubt they'd want their cut as well..

John, chances are that the $499.00 that you were quoted is the dealers RRP in Australia, Sheldons would not quote trade prices to the general public, thats not to say that a dealer would stick to that as its the 'Recommended' Retail Price. I know some dealers that pay no attention to it and put huge markups on things. While I'm not an authorized Celestron Dealer, I do have an account with Sheldons, as they are also the Australian Distributor for Zippo, Maglite, Barksa & Vitrinox, among others, that we sell in our business. If you want to pursue the part, let me know and I'll see if I can get it for you at my cost plus any postage. Markups vary but If $499 was the RRP, my buy price would be less than that. Send me a PM if you decide this is what you want to do.

[wasyoungonce (Brendan)]

Originally Posted by Jaybee

. Send me a PM if you decide this is what you want to do.

That is very decent Jaybee