consumer advice required - andrews communications

[Jeeps (Sam)]

Purchased my scope from Star Optics and a few items from Andrews. No problems. I had a faulty red dot finder that i mailed back to Andrews and another was sent out so they were fine to deal with.

cheers

[kitsuna (Adam)]

good to know.

[BlackWidow (Mardy)]

I live in Adelaide and purchased my first scope from Telescopes and Astronomy in Adelaide. He is the only place in Adelaide worth the title of a Telescope retailer. I have also purchased from Bintel with great service and support with items that I could not get support direct from the manufacture. I have some parts about to arrive from Andrews and find them to have Great prices, support and best of all they are very fast to act on my order. Most items arrive in Adelaide the next day. I have had problems with choosing the wrong part and they were happy to exchange without and question.. As with all suppliers you will always find somone who has not bben happy with thier service, however if you work on ave you will find these two dealers are very well respected and you can't go wrong.. I won't go into detail about the other dealers here in Adelaide, other than in my mind they no longer exist.


Seeing Stars
Mardy

[GeoffW1 (Geoff)]

Hi,

Andrews has low overheads, and they do cut margins as much as possible it would appear.

Their shop is so different to Bintel's, in Sydney, it is like chalk and cheese. Andrews' retail shopfront is a tiny little place, you would miss it if you blinked, and it is packed to the ceiling with cartons and gear everywhere. They are knowledgable tho . I went to Andrews to buy a AZ3 mount, and amid mutterings of "think it's here somewhere", boxes were brought tumbling down from on high. Voila, a new-in-the-box AZ3 .

Bintel's in Glebe here is in a new building, neat as a pin, not a carton in sight, with rows of high-spec scopes set up in a display window. No particular point to make about it, just a different business model.

As to warranties, after purchase here in NSW your first legal recourse is always with the retailer, to whom you gave the money. As I commented to another member, if there are problems you have the option as to whether you get refund, replacement, or repair, for the advertised time period, be it a year or whatever. Strictly speaking, you need not ever contact the manufacturer.

In reality, people often do, for various reasons, but in the case of Andrews, the average position seems to be that they do stand by and honour warranties. The word would get around so quickly if they did not, in this specialised market, they would be damaged. It is just that, as others have said, they will often be sending you on a manufacturer's carton unopened by them.

Cheers

[kitsuna (Adam)]

Originally Posted by BlackWidow

I live in Adelaide and purchased my first scope from Telescopes and Astronomy in Adelaide. He is the only place in Adelaide worth the title of a Telescope retailer. I have also purchased from Bintel with great service and support with items that I could not get support direct from the manufacture. I have some parts about to arrive from Andrews and find them to have Great prices, support and best of all they are very fast to act on my order. Most items arrive in Adelaide the next day. I have had problems with choosing the wrong part and they were happy to exchange without and question.. As with all suppliers you will always find somone who has not bben happy with thier service, however if you work on ave you will find these two dealers are very well respected and you can't go wrong.. I won't go into detail about the other dealers here in Adelaide, other than in my mind they no longer exist.


Seeing Stars
Mardy

As a fellow Adelaidian, Adelaidite? I do find it difficult to find a reputable dealer. I'm glad you've had generally good experience with interstate dealers. It's reassuring.

I'd also much like to hear about your experiences with Telescopes and Astronomy and the other local 'dealers' as it's good to know what's going on in my own backyard. I'd appreciate a PM if you feel more comfortable with that. As I'm trying to get a full rounded picture of what is out there, you can be assured that anything said would be in confidence.

Also; thanks to Geoff for your input. It's nice to have word from someone who's been into the actual retailer for both Bintel and Andrews. A nice contrast.

[snowyskiesau]

I've also dealt with both Andrews and Bintel, no problems with either company. I bought a binocular mount from Bintel that was missing one of the counterweights. I picked up a replacement from the store, no questions asked.

I've bought a few items from Telescopes and Astronomy also without a problem. The only compliant I would have about T&A is that damn website!

[mithrandir (Andrew)]

Originally Posted by snowyskiesau

I've bought a few items from Telescopes and Astronomy also without a problem. The only compliant I would have about T&A is that damn website!

A bit off topic, but if you think T&A's web site is bad with Windows, you should try it with Linux. Unreadable.

[snowyskiesau]

Originally Posted by mithrandir

A bit off topic, but if you think T&A's web site is bad with Windows, you should try it with Linux. Unreadable.

Only use Linux, never tried it with Windows.

[kitsuna (Adam)]

linux user here as well. Challenging, certainly. Probably why they're in the telescope business, not the web design business.

[mental4astro (Alexander)]

I've only had good experiences with Andrews, and Bintel. Both have also shown extraordinary patience with me, !

I've only corresponded through emails with Telescopes & Astronomy. They know their stuff though.

In South Australia, you can also try the Astronomy and Electronics Centre - there is a link to their site in the right-hand margin on this page advertising Takahashi. I've delt with Claude over the last 15 years. Good fellow. The ONLY problem has come from when he's on holidays at the end of the year. But, hey, I don't have a problem with that either. Would you like a call from work on your break? Claude too has been patient with me, .

[kitsuna (Adam)]

this has all been great advice. I'm very greatful for all the information that has been given to me.

I'm also quite glad that some people have been able to identify a few SA based dealers as well (as I hadn't found either of them!) and that definitely gives me other sources I can tap if I decide to stay within SA.

Thanks all, and keep it coming if you've got it!

[Darth Wader (Wade)]

Hi Adam,

I'd highly recommend www.theastroguy.com.au. I bought a 12" dob from theastroguy (Shane Ross, who is also a member of this site, IIRC) about nine months ago and his service and pricing was second to none. He beat the next best price by more than $100 and shipping to my door was free. Definitely worth a look - any saving can be invested in eyepiece upgrades! I should mention that I'm not affiliated in any way, just extremely happy with my experience.

Good luck with the scope purchase. The best advice I can give you is get as many prices as possible and research as much as you can. I looked for a few months before committing to the dob, and I haven't look back.

Cheers
Wade

[dannat (Daniel)]

the telescope & astronomy website is trying -but now i know my way around -have purchased all my last few access from matthew as his prices were really god & he sent me something on xmas eve eve express so i had it xmas eve. grea service. i have also always had great service from bintel -bought a few access off them.
andrews is usually cheapest: out of dozen purchases had 3 issues -one ep they would not change due to my change of mind (fair enough -but i hadn't used it), one pair binos sent out which were the wrong size, & lastly some ep's/diagonal which wouldn't reach focus in a little scope. not bi issues but just letting you know
As you are in SA telescope & astronomy would be my choice -though aec are having a bit of a sale

[joshhagger (Josh)]

Hi Adam,

I can also recommend Telescopes & Astronomy. Bought my scope from there last year, Matthew's service is fantastic, he's eager to please & has an answer to any question you may have. As Daniel said the website leaves a little to be desired, but nothing a quick email wouldn't fix.

[steve000 (Steve)]

My experiance with andrews has been great.. they provide honest cheap prices. I would imagine a local store only telling you different to spook you into buying from them instead. andrews are good. I base this on my single purchase from a $2600 12" scope.

[AG Hybrid (Adrian)]

Just bought a 12" collapsable dob from Andrews this morning. He had to go get it from storage - personally. They sell Telrads now too.!

[Keshdogga (Casey)]

Hey there Adam,

Reading your posts it seems that you're very into local buying, understandably, but my advice is don't let it concern you. I live in Mapleton on the Sunshine coast (SE QLD) which surprisingly doesn't have alot of, if any, retailers that I know of nearby. I've had to buy all my gear from Bintel, MyAstroShop and Fellow IIS members (All have been excelent to deal with) over the internet and any problems I've had have been resolved in a maximum of 3 days. So from my experience, although not as long as most ISSers, I can say don't let locality be an issue when buying a scope.

On the Andrews issue though, I've been refered to them many, many times when going through the buying process. Although I've never bought from them myself, they have a very reliable and credible reputation that I, personally, don't think should be under estimated.

Good luck

[kitsuna (Adam)]

Thanks again everybody for their input. It's been quite useful.

[M110 (Andrew)]

I bought a skywatcher dob from Andrews just before christmas because of the $50 freight cost was so good. Another seller quoted me Sydney to Hobart $165. A very big saving. It arrived in exactly one week and all in good order. No problem at all.

[dhumpie]

Andrew's is totally legit and having bought a great number of items from him, I say go with him. BinTel is great too...

Daz