The Astronomy and nature centre, Whats happening ?

[den12386]

I think what has happened is the Astronomy and nature centre has stopped trading and around October / November 2012 the Scopes n Skies and Pulsar Optical moved and operates from new premisis which are run by A10 optical Ltd which themselves began trading around September 2012. I say this as I had bought a few things from the Astroboot section of Scopes n Skies through the summer and autum of 2012 and all invoices had The Astronomy and nature centre heading on. In November 2012 my wife bought me a new telescope for my 50th birthday( From Scopes n Skies ) and thats when I first noticed the change as the invoice then had A10 Optical Ltd on it. It will probably be the same people running the sites as before. Given they have a youtube channel I had hoped they had by now put a video up about what has happened to them and the move to new premisis. Come on Mr Dalby give us an update please.

[michael24]

yeah I just purchased a few bits from scopes n skies, hopefully they turn up......

[Steve Ward]

The new shop should be up and running in a couple of weeks.

The on-line sales side is fine .

[baggywrinkle]

SnS and A10 Optical both have websites, so who owns who and are they reliable?

[brucen]

I bought a few things from Astroboot recently which took a couple of weeks to arrive but for what I paid it was well worth the wait. I did phone after 10 days and phone was quickly answered and they apologised for the delay and advised items had been dispatched the previous day which postmark confirmed.

[michaelmorris]

... This was right during the move though so I expect things will be back to normal soon if not already.

The problem for many people in the past is that 'normal' levels of customer communications for scopes 'n' skies is what others might describe as poor/very poor. Personally I only buy items from them which are very cheap and I'm in no particualr hurry for them. I would certainly think long and hard before buying anything expensive from anyone with this reputation for customer communication. As for not honouring warranties from previous incarnations of the business - that's a terrible way to operate. They're almost bound to lose sales from it (because you've posted your bad experience on sites like this) and the lost profit will almost certainly outweigh the cost of repair. - madness.

[optical thrombosis]

I've been having a problem getting some binoculars repaired under warranty by Pulsar and they claimed that Pulsar had gone out of business (hence warranty not valid) and A10 was a distinct business that had purchased the name. Any idea if this is true?

I will watch your case with interest as I returned a pair of helios binoculars for warranty repair on 10th March. I bought them on the premises at their old Ely warehouse, and I returned them due to mechanical failure. I rang up two weeks after they had received and signed for them, and I was assured that as they were not economically repairable, a new binocular replacement would be sent to me. I am still waiting. as I am on business tomorrow in the area I plan to doorstep them if no satisfaction.

[Mike150160]

I will watch your case with interest as I returned a pair of helios binoculars for warranty repair on 10th March. I bought them on the premises at their old Ely warehouse, and I returned them due to mechanical failure. I rang up two weeks after they had received and signed for them, and I was assured that as they were not economically repairable, a new binocular replacement would be sent to me. I am still waiting. as I am on business tomorrow in the area I plan to doorstep them if no satisfaction.

Update:

They will not repair, they will not replace and will not refund. And in fact, so far, they will not return (10 days and counting).

They are idiots, I was going to place over a thousand pounds worth of orders with them but I wouldn't trust them with the cost of the postage.

[badgerchap]

Update:

They will not repair, they will not replace and will not refund. And in fact, so far, they will not return (10 days and counting).

They are idiots, I was going to place over a thousand pounds worth of orders with them but I wouldn't trust them with the cost of the postage.

Well trust is everything when we're talking that kind of money. Oh well, I'm sure someone else'll happily take it off your hands!

[den12386]

Thanks for the updates. The Astronomy and nature centre is now in liquidation. Its a shame as the set up looked so good on there youtube videos. As for there customer service though it has seemed up and down from peoples feedback over the years (personaly I have always had good service from Scopes n Skies).

[Teslar]

They a still using SnS in eBay. I bought a set of rings from them and they arrived fast. Strange thing is I'd been watching them for a while on eBay but when I went to purchase they had nothing listed but they answered an email enquiry and said they were stock taking and would be listing again in a few days. All the listings are back and my rings arrived safely

However I'd never read this thread before until I got the invoice from A10 and made the connection. Sad to see they are not honouring warranty. They seemed genuine and helpful on YouTube

[badgerchap]

As far as I knew they were moving sites. I've now heard about 10 different ideas about what's going on! I'd love to get some info direct from source but I don't reckon they'd be too happy to fill us in, especially if it is indeed liquidation.

Posted via Tapatalk on an ageing iPhone so please excuse any erroneous spellings or accidental profanities!

[Helen]

Remember if you bought by credit card then you can pursue your claim with the credit card company too

Helen

[Mike150160]

Remember if you bought by credit card then you can pursue your claim with the credit card company too

Helen

And PayPal looked like such a good idea at the time....

[garethmob]

They should remove the whole connection with the previous company and start fresh with a10 as this is gonna hurt more than its worth

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk please ignore any spelling typo thingys

[den12386]

I didn`t know Scopes n Skies also trade on ebay, I have just bought some binoculars from ebay from a shop called "Bargin Binoculars" which is also based in Ely and they sell the same stuff as Scopes n Skies but on the binocular side and use the same info pics and discription as Scopes. They have great feedback and My binoculars came within 3 days of ordering ( orderd Saturday delivered Tuesday) great service and good binoculars to. Wonder if they are conected in some way to Scopes n Skies.

[Mike150160]

They should remove the whole connection with the previous company and start fresh with a10 as this is gonna hurt more than its worth

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk please ignore any spelling typo thingys

They would have to change their behavior as well: Answer the phone, reply to emails, send stuff they promised to send (still waiting for the return of my binoculars).

[optical thrombosis]

Update on my situation: Yes, I did get a replacement for my binoculars. Thy did make it clear that it was a goodwill gesture as A10 optical is a separate company who bought out the websites and some of the stock of The Astronomy & Nature Centre. The directors are 'new kids on the block' the old directors of A&NC have nothing to do with the new company.

I agree they should now start to trade as A10 optical, the association with bad service in the past is too great.

If you want to trade with someone else I can vouch for Neil & Lee at Green Witch. Always helpful, knowledgeable, and run a good business to boot!

[Steve Ward]

Just like to say that I've bought all my kit from "S 'n' S" and never had a problem in four years of purchasing from them.

Hopefully the new shop will be open soon and they get back on track , there are too few outlets as it is.

[David Smith]

Have to second what Steve said, got my PST from them this time last year and a number of items since. Anything I have order from them has been delivered promptly and has been in good order. When I have had any cause for complaint (missed an item from my order) they responded quickly and efficiently.

[Mike150160]

Have to second what Steve said, got my PST from them this time last year and a number of items since. Anything I have order from them has been delivered promptly and has been in good order. When I have had any cause for complaint (missed an item from my order) they responded quickly and efficiently.

I'd love to know what they have against me then!

They do seem to have 2 gears: A good service and an appalling one, with no middle ground.

If the directors of A10 are genuinely distinct from SnS then perhaps they should have made some changes to the working practices of their staff.

[Cornelius Varley]

If you wish to post dealer reviews please use the section provided.

[Dave Dubya]

If the directors of A10 are genuinely distinct from SnS then perhaps they should have made some changes to the working practices of their staff.

Indeed. They're also sending out some rather mixed messages - to most people who have used them in the past, it still looks like the same company operating under yet another trading name.

[Roo]

I've bought a few minor bits and bobs from the Scope'n'Skies website, mainly from the Astroboot section. Although everything that's arrived has been as ordered, nothing has thus far arrived within 2 weeks, and on one occasion, one of the items wasn't in the package. To be fair, I phoned them and when I DID get a reply, they sorted it fairly quickly. I have seen numerous horror stories and I'm not sure I'd buy anything major from them until they sort their act out. 'Shambolic' is a word I've seen used elsewhere, and it seems to be the experience of most users. Like many, I saw the You Tube videos and expected something a bit more professional. They have, I'm sad to say, been something of a disappointment.

[den12386]

Thanks for all the replies to the thread. The main point of the thread was to try and find out what had happened to the astronomy and nature centre in Ely as all of a sudden it had stopped trading.

I to had found them on youtube and they did some good informative videos / reviews on there youtube channel "Astronomy and Nature tv". Lets hope once they sort everything out with the winding up of the business they will inform us all via there youtube site what happened.