January Astro Sales?

[SnakeyJ]

Just come in to a little bit of pocket money and considering new EPs and Barlow for my SW200P up to a max of £ 250 (perhaps Baader Hyperion Clickstop Zoom and Barlow). Always after a bargain, so does anyone know if FLO or other good retailers are doing a January sale? Or any other advice on a good alternative zoom/barlow (8-24 and 2-2.5 range) primarily for visual and perhaps some webcam/planetary?

Or just maybe someone's heard of a half price pentax or TV sales (tongue firmly in cheek ?

[Stargazer_00]

I think astro is quite the opposite to market trends at least of late.

With Stargazing Live imminent you can expect all mid to entry level stuff to go out of stock.winter is also when you get the best stars so june july sales are probably more likely when the nights are short and only the truly dedicated stay up late to play

[Capricorn]

Simply - No.

Not heard of anyone having a "January sale". Occasionally TV or ES have a sale/reduction of their eyepieces, but not what one would describe as regular or predictable.

If you were going then you might get a small reduction on an item or two at Astrofest in Feb. But it will not be a general "sale" by anyone. Means waiting until Feb and looking to see if anyone going there is advertising a 10% Astrofest reduction and if they have what you want.

[SnakeyJ]

Many thanks Stargazing and Capricorn - guess I'll have to bite the bullet on this and certainly don't want to scrimp a few pounds for an unknown dealer. The reviews on the Baader Hyperion MKIII Clickstop 8-24mm Zoom and Hyperion 2.25 Zoom Barlow do look very good and seem to suggest excellent performance even in an F5 newt - so pretty sure I'll go this way unless anyone else can suggest a better alternative for very similar price point. FLO were offering a bundle price for the two together, its currently listed as out of stock - I've sent through an e-mail to see if I've missed the boat on this.

Happy New Year,,

[Bizibilder]

If you want to make your money go further then the second hand Astro market is usually quite good (not fleabay - unless you are very wary!). Most folk look after their kit and the prices are often quite reasonable - Atrobuysell is a commonly used site or you can view our own classifieds as you have over 50 posts (you need 250 to be able to use them - see the code of conduct for details).

[SnakeyJ]

Thanks Roger - no problem with s/h, though had tried both the SGL classifieds and ABS (great site, but terrible site design/function). Lots of wanted adds, which seems a promising sign though very few for sale and when listed they seem to sell within 25% of the new price. I did have a close look at a s/h TV Powermate 2.5 barlow, which gets rave reviews - though beyond my budget new and slightly worried that the length may cause some infocus probs/ Not certain on this, but in the images I viewed it looked almost twice as long as the Hyperion 2.25 Zoom Barlow.

[Bizibilder]

Bide your time and things you want will appear.

[Mr Fiery Jack]

Not a chance of a sale. You should however he aware that if you want to order can't gear you better do it really quick, one Stargazing live hits the screens sales of scopes and what have you go through the roof, many items become unavailable for weeks.

[Stu]

The Telescope House 10% off Televue EP's doesn't end until 28th December. Not quite half price.... But a few days left if you are feeling flush!

Stu

[Mzungu]

Bide your time and things you want will appear.

true for so many things!

[M4lcs67]

In my experience suppliers like FLO keep their prices competitive all year round and don't feel the need to have a massive sale in January. Around this time of year is the height of the Astronomy season when demand is at it's highest, and supply is difficult, so they don't have to knock down the prices as demand is high. Also with the approaching Stargazing Live, that could compound the situation still further.

Hell. I ordered my latest scope (C9.25) in June which is technically the astronomy "off season" and it still took a month to arrive. FLO didn't have them sat on their shelves. If I had placed my order any later than when I did I would have had to wait even longer. Granted, it was a higher end spec scope, but there always seems to be a demand for that as well as the lower end stuff.

When it arrived at FLO's warehouse it was turned around and out the door to me within days.

[kirkster501]

No such thing as sales in AP land except for the odd one off for regular customers at Telescope House now and then. Its a market full of enthusiasts who are prepared to pay the money so no need for a "sale" in the conventional sense.

I was holding out two years ago for a "sale" and they never happen and that's true of all retailers I looked at. Nor did they last year.

A tip is to keep you eye on FLO announcements on this forum. Occasionally they'll have something that could be reduced in price due to boxes being scuffed etc and they knock a good whack of the retail price. I am holding out for another C9.25 offer

Steve

[E621Keith]

If you want to make your money go further then the second hand Astro market is usually quite good (not fleabay - unless you are very wary!). Most folk look after their kit and the prices are often quite reasonable - Atrobuysell is a commonly used site or you can view our own classifieds as you have over 50 posts (you need 250 to be able to use them - see the code of conduct for details).

However, you need to watch out for the Stargazing live effect in January. In the last two years, the prices in the second hand market go crazy for a few weeks after Stargazing Live. It wasn't uncommon to see popular beginner equipments selling more on fleabay than new, especially after the retailers' stock were depleted.

[SnakeyJ]

Thanks to all responders - much appreciated especially the tip on getting in before the Stargazing Live Effect. Always the optimist, a 'sale' would be nice, but am keen to support the better retailers, for the warranty but also want to see them here supporting the community in 2-3 years time.

Nice tip on the TV pricing at Telescope House, but guess the powermate and 3 of the naglers might just have to wait for next christmas - promise to be good, honesty ;p

[EBXL5]

Many thanks Stargazing and Capricorn - guess I'll have to bite the bullet on this and certainly don't want to scrimp a few pounds for an unknown dealer. The reviews on the Baader Hyperion MKIII Clickstop 8-24mm Zoom and Hyperion 2.25 Zoom Barlow do look very good and seem to suggest excellent performance even in an F5 newt - so pretty sure I'll go this way unless anyone else can suggest a better alternative for very similar price point. FLO were offering a bundle price for the two together, its currently listed as out of stock - I've sent through an e-mail to see if I've missed the boat on this.

Happy New Year,,

After much hunting through the forums I'm keen to get this bundle too. It's should make things pop pretty well on a clear night (gap in cloud more like). Not having much luck tracking them down though as like you say FLO are listing as being out of stock and I'm keen to get them whilst the missus is still "on side" with astronomy.

Hoping for a cloud free new year for everyone!

[SnakeyJ]

I've not had a response back from FLO just yet, though I think they're on a well earned break until the 2nd Jan - I shall give them a call first thing and find out what the score is.

[JB80]

Don't Wex photographic have some corker deals every now and then on their astro clearance page?

Of course it's a bit random and only a few specific items not the whole product range but it's worth keeping an eye on.

[SnakeyJ]

Don't Wex photographic have some corker deals every now and then on their astro clearance page?

Of course it's a bit random and only a few specific items not the whole product range but it's worth keeping an eye on.

Cheers Pibbles, had never considered Wex, though they don't seem to stock Baader at present. They do offer Pentax, Celestron, Skywatcher and Meade lenses/barlows, though on standard pricing FLO seem more competitive - will keep an eye on their offers in future.

[SnakeyJ]

After much hunting through the forums I'm keen to get this bundle too. It's should make things pop pretty well on a clear night (gap in cloud more like). Not having much luck tracking them down though as like you say FLO are listing as being out of stock and I'm keen to get them whilst the missus is still "on side" with astronomy.

Happy to say that FLO have fresh stock of the Hyperion 8-24 Zoon & 2.25 Barlow at £ 50 saving over the individual items - my pocket money is now blown and bargain hunting suspended for the immediate future!

[rwilkey]

Hi Jake, if you are looking for a bargain, then you could do no better than consider BST Explorers/StarGuiders, excellent ep's (work well at f/5) and great value for money, price doesn't need to be reduced, they are already giving them away at £47 each at 'Sky's the Limit', also Alan, the proprieter is an excellent guy to deal with, great customer service.

[SnakeyJ]

Robin, thanks for the tip on the BST Explorers - I've saw a comment on these EPs in another SGL thread and did a little browsing and found the get excellent reviews - so point noted for future purchases.

I'm only owned a telescope for four months, but already its time to rationalise on my growing collection of EPs