Where to buy from?

[Alcyoneus (Prashaant)]

Hi, I was just about to buy my first telescope and I just wanted to know some good online sources to buy them from in australia. Thanks.

[Startrek (Martin)]

Prices are fairly close between Astro suppliers in Oz in a small competitive market , they do vary but not by much 1 to 5% ( unless they have a stock clearance sale etc... )
Avoid using retailers !!! Eg: National Geographic shops
Bintel is a popular supplier , so is Andrews Communications
Both are located in Sydney and both have great service and support
You can buy Direct from overseas websites too but it can be troublesome with no local support.

I have purchased from both over the past 5 years with no issues

https://www.bintel.com.au/

There’s a few in Brisbane and Melbourne too

Hope the above helps

[chrisp9au (Chris)]

I have had some good buys, and saved a fair bit of money, buying here on IIS.
Just check out the Icetrade Classifieds, then do some online research on the things you like.
Can't go wrong with Bintel either.

[Saturnine (Jeff)]

Hi Prashaant

Welcome to the forums, hope they can be of help to you. Do you know what type of telescope and mount you want and what size. What budget you are working with helps to narrow, or broaden the choices available as well. Also, what type of objects you want to observe can mean some telescopes are more suited to your needs than others. The three main categories are refractors, reflectors and cassegrain.
The retailers that Martin mentioned are reliable and there are others, like Testar, also in Sydney and several online retailers too, along with interstate stores, but then shipping costs come into play if wanting larger telescopes.

[floyd_2 (Dean)]

+1 for Andrews and Bintel, and I'd like to throw in Testar for good measure - they get an extra star for fast shipping.

[mura_gadi (Steve)]

Hello,

Andrew's, ProAstroz and Bintel are local and allows you to look at various scopes in varying price brackets.

If your willing to look at second hand join a local club for the advice on purchases within your area. Trying before you buy is well worth the effort and the club may help you identify pro's and con's of any purchases.

AstroAnarchy, Astrodog(Brisbane) and even ozscopes have good specials from time to time.

[AdamJL]

Testar!
Bintel are okay but Testar’s service leaves them all for dead IMO.
Bintel have given me the run around a few times, stuffed up a couple of orders. Being the “biggest” store they sometimes come across that way; service could be better but that’s common for most big stores. It’s the smaller ones that work for your money and for me, that’s Testar. Plus I think he has a much bette range of kit. More brands that we don’t get here in Australia normally

Good runner up is Sidereal trading. Both can source overseas brands as well and Sidereal customer service has been great

[AdamJL]

Edit: and yes, AstroAnarchy in brizzie are great as well. I bought my Skywatcher stuff from Pete

[sil (Steve)]

Locally i’ve had good experience with Bintel and stuck with them over the years with no complaints. I also bought some stuff on sale from Ozscopes years go just fine. I agree with others about avoiding Nat Geo and Aus Geo stores they don't make any scopes they rebrand them and advertise with a lot of hype bordering on misrepresentation and they arent the bargain they claim to be. For the same reasons avoid ebay specials full of hype. Buying locally second hand is a great option and lots of great bargain in these forums at times and we astronomers of all levels typically look after our gear very well, but still you get duds here from people who bought garbage deals, suckered in by the hype only to find how useless the gear is. Local clubs best for second hand really so you can try first.

Do you have experience and understand the different types of scopes? Or are you still ignorant expecting to be able to zoom in to fill the eyepiece with mars or jupiter? A lot of us were ignorant starting out with regards to the view we’dhave through the eyepiece and get sucked into buying something that looked impressive but was bad for the job, plus many people expect to see giant bright colourful galaxies and Nebulosity as well as closeups of planets all from the one telescope. There is NO One Telescope To Rule them All, They all excel in some regard to the observation targets and look/operate differently in accordance to that. Anyway make sure you check out guides on choosing a telescope (there are plenty around) so you can make an informed first choice that you’ll actually use and enjoy. If you can get to Bintel or similar in your area maybe you can get some explanations in person. If you just buy something because it looks like a cool telescope You are almost certainly buying the wrong thing and You won’t understand why and so be turned off the hobby before you get to try it. The correct purchase will please you and encourage you to learn and to use the scope. We all typically end up with a bunch of telescopes for different uses which can become costly. Good luck with your purchase and clear skies to you!

[xelasnave]

Andrews and Bintel.

I spent over half an hour today talking with Jack at Bintel a nice man.

I was talking about my selling career and he came out with the words I like to hear but rarely hear from a salesman .."I like to listen to them so I can help" ..he is your man... tell him I spoke highly of him and I am sure you will get the best service you can imagine.

Andrews...the boss at Andrews personally delivered my first EQ6 many years ago...sure there are new guys and I have used one and very impressed but the reason why any newcomer has to offer outstanding service is because Andrews and Bintel have set a very very high standard of service...they deserve support because they have earned it.

If you outlined what you have in mind I and others would be happy to guide you.

Alex