Celestron CPC Price crash

kosh · #1 06-11-2007, 03:56 PM

Howdy all,

Does anyone know why the CPC series from Celestron has come down so much in price? As little as last month many celestron retailers had the 8" model for $3600 or so. This week i pick up that latest Aust S&T and the same unit is $2999!!

Is there a new model on the way, or is it just that they can't sell many due to their obsene price and the fact that they are at best on Par with the LX90 which was much cheaper?

wysiwyg (Mark) · #2 06-11-2007, 04:29 PM

It could be because the Aussie dollar is @ 92 cents US.

Lets go shopping!

mick pinner · #3 06-11-2007, 04:50 PM

makes me wonder why more products are not coming down in price, the dollar has been up for quite a while now and not much is changing although one site AEC does seem to be very good when it comes to following the change in the dollar.

MortonH · #4 06-11-2007, 05:07 PM

The price only comes down if the store can buy them from the manufacturer at the new exchange rate. Items that have been in stock for a while would have cost more, so their price isn't affected by subsequent changes in the exchange rate.

Morton

wysiwyg (Mark) · #5 06-11-2007, 05:08 PM

Youre not wrong there mate!

A number of these companies are still charging premium dollar for US goods and cashing in.
I myself have made many purchases direct from the US because of this reason. And as much as I would like to keep my hard earned dollars in OZ, these stores are not making it easy.
On occassions the price can vary in the hundreds, and its those hundreds that I would like to keep in my pocket.

MikeyB (Michael) · #6 06-11-2007, 08:03 PM

As well as the improved AUD/US$, maybe the other Aussie dealers are just responding to Andrews' heavy discounting?

Quote:

is it just that they can't sell many due to their obsene price and the fact that they are at best on Par with the LX90 which was much cheaper?

The LX90GPS is actually $2,970 at Bintel, only $29 less than the CPC 800 GPS. And doesn't the LX90 have plastic gears, versus the all-metal of the CPC? Gotta be some reason that the Meade is 2kg lighter.

Zuts · #7 06-11-2007, 08:44 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by MortonH

The price only comes down if the store can buy them from the manufacturer at the new exchange rate. Items that have been in stock for a while would have cost more, so their price isn't affected by subsequent changes in the exchange rate.

Morton

I dont understand this. No-one stocks CPC11's, LX200R 12 inch, FSQ's etc. If you want to buy one the wait is usually 2 to 3 weeks so the scopes probably come from overseas anyway.

Paul

timelord (Al) · #8 06-11-2007, 09:16 PM

Don't forget that most stores have ninety or sixty day trading accounts which also affect current prices. However it would be nice to see prices move more quickly as most goods imported to the country are paid for in US dollars including fuel which seems able to adjust to world prices almost imediately.

Stephen65 · #9 06-11-2007, 09:39 PM

About time, you'd think the Aussie dollar was still at 50 cents judging from Celestron pricing.

A CPC800 for A$3000 is better than A$3600 but they're selling over there for US$2000 = A$2173 so you're still facing a 38% markup.

kosh · #10 06-11-2007, 10:29 PM

Yes I had considered the exchange rates but the meade has been around $3k for some time, even when the aussie was hovering in the mid 80 cent range, i can't believe that even if we one day went 1 to 1 versus the greenback we would still probably be paying a grand more than the
states.

Quote:

Originally Posted by MikeyB

The LX90GPS is actually $2,970 at Bintel, only $29 less than the CPC 800 GPS. And doesn't the LX90 have plastic gears, versus the all-metal of the CPC? Gotta be some reason that the Meade is 2kg lighter.

Yes mikeyB that's my point; this $29 difference only happened days ago. Not sure whether the LX90 has plastic gears or not, but $600 i'm not sure it's justified.

I wonder if meade scopes will come down soon...

bonox · #11 07-11-2007, 02:19 PM

does any 8" fork mount have a plastic drivetrain? Even with good balance the flex you'd get in such a low modulous material would be extraordinary and make the PEC on the LX90 a pointless exercise.

My LX90 certainly doesn't have a plastic geartrain - are the new ones different? Sounds like a celestron marketing rumour to me

§AB · #12 07-11-2007, 02:40 PM

basically any telescope is almost 2x as expensive as equivalent products in the USA despite the fact that our dollar has been above 80 US cents for a while now. Generally the prices charged in Aus for astronomy gear is obscenely and disproportionately high.

Stephen65 · #13 07-11-2007, 10:29 PM

It depends on the brand, some brands, especially those imported from third countries like China, Japan and Taiwan can be the same price here as in the US or only a little more expensive. In rare cases they can even be slightly cheaper now,

MikeyB (Michael) · #14 07-11-2007, 11:02 PM

It's no rumour - Petersen Engineering has made a business out of replacing Meade's moulded plastic gears with machined steel ones. Even the high-end Meade RCX series and some Meade 14" SCT's use plastic!

http://www.petersonengineering.com/sky/bucks_gears.htm

http://www.petersonengineering.com/sky/buck's_14_gears.htm

"If your 7", 8", 10" or 12" Meade LX200GPS was manufactured before August 2005 the odds are 95 in 100 that it has molded plastic transfer gears in the drive train. Due to the failures and inaccuracies associated with the plastic transfer gears, Meade converted to precision brass transfer gears some time in August 2005."

bonox · #15 08-11-2007, 07:54 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by MikeyB

Due to the failures and inaccuracies associated with the plastic transfer gears, Meade converted to precision brass transfer gears some time in August 2005."

well bugger me!

I must have bought one just after the change. Did those plastic ones still have PEC?

citivolus (Ric) · #16 08-11-2007, 12:07 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by bonox

Did those plastic ones still have PEC?

Yes, they did have PEC. Mine also had a significant amount of backlash, but fortunately no stripped gears.

The Peterson gears weren't that difficult to install, taking maybe 3 or 4 hours in total. It gives you a chance to check for poorly routed wires, wear, etc, and left me with a much smoother running machine.

Eric

kosh · #17 08-11-2007, 01:29 PM

Wow that's disturbing, is there an easy way to tell when the scope was manufactured? All i know is that mine is a couple of years old but no details beyond that.

sejanus (Gavin) · #18 08-11-2007, 04:23 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Zuts

I dont understand this. No-one stocks CPC11's, LX200R 12 inch, FSQ's etc. If you want to buy one the wait is usually 2 to 3 weeks so the scopes probably come from overseas anyway.

Paul

I'm not sure at this very moment - but when I both my C11 from andrews, he had them in stock and said he always did.

Bintel seem to vary though on their stock of lx200r's.

citivolus (Ric) · #19 08-11-2007, 05:23 PM

I just noticed from Andrews that the 9.25 OTA is $800 less than the 11, while when purchased on the CGE the price difference is only $500. Maybe the OTAs will see a price adjustment some time soon.