Cheap scopes from the States

[malcvtr]

Has anyone ever taken the chance and imported a scope from the States? It's just that, looking at the Celestron CPC 800 GPS (XLT), several places in the US sell it for $1,999 which translates to £1020 at today's exchange rates. I know there'd be shipping to add and possible import duty and VAT, but it'd still be a lot cheaper than buying one here - I'm guessing at £1,400. Over here, they're £1899.

I suppose the biggest worry is what you do about warranty.

Any thoughts?

Cheers

Malc

[cygnusx1]

This whole question of the considerable additional cost of local astronomical equipment vs that in the US/Far East has come up before with some rather heated debate....i'll stay clear of that except to say:

Forget about importing new Meade or Celestron equipment to the UK - they won't ( and can't ) do it unfortunately.

As a Meade/Celestron retailer they are forbidden to sell outside the US, even to Canada.

Second hand wise, yes, that's another story. I personally imported my C9.25 at about 1/2 the price it would cost here locally from someone on AstroMart. Even with the $200 shipping and 20% import duty it worked out a deal.

Of course you take the risk of a dishonest seller, lack of warranty.

Investigate, ask questions, phone the seller to guage his trustworthiness, and do your back ground research.

Well looked after, astronomical equipment will last for decades, so a warranty didn't ultimately concern me, especially if it was outside the warranty period anyway!

[ottUp]

I'm in Canada, not UK, so can't comment on what other charges you'd face. But I can warn you about something that may shock you.

Many vendors like to ship via UPS because UPS has focused on being very easy for the vendor. As the receiver, you're in for a shock. UPS will handle the paperwork of getting the goods across the border and through customs, but they charge you a "facilitation fee" to do so. This facilitation fee is huge - often 30% or 40%. I have paid $50 facilitation fee on a $75 purchase.

So we Canadians generally

• 
  [li]First ask the vendor if they'll ship by some other means[/li]
  [li]If required to use UPS, pick the "air" not "ground/sea" option. While it seems more expensive, the handling fee is included in the price of air shipment, so you end up paying less (and getting the goods sooner too).[/li]
  

[malcvtr]

Many thanks, Kevin and Richard. Very helpful advice from both of you.

Thanks again.

Malc

[spacemonkey]

Hi.

12 years ago I bought an LX200 in Florida whilst on holiday, sorry 'vacation', over there and brought it back as excess baggage. The shipping case was liberally covered in 'Fragile - Glass' stickers and the scope survived unscathed. The whole process was surprisingly civilised, not unlike going to Turkey and bringing back an extra case of cheap 'designer' label clothes (been there, done that too.) I had spoken with the store before leaving the UK and paid a credit card deposit, with the balance paid on collection. I ended up paying £250 import duty, but I still saved about £1000 on buying new in the UK.

Quite a few people had said don't do it, you'll be asking for trouble, invalidate the warranty, blah blah, but everything worked out fine, and I still have the scope working well (for a Meade, at least!)

Also, my TV102 came mail order from Hands On Optics in Maryland; I can't praise Gary Hand (the owner) highly enough for the way he dealt with my order - bought on a monday, shipped over by DHL and set up on friday night. In fact, it spent longer clearing customs at East Midlands airport than actually being on the move. Total saving on new UK price - £1200.

Sooner or later my luck will run out, I know, but until then, I'm laughing all the way to the observatory.....!

Regards, Dave

[The Warthog]

I second what Richard has to say about UPS. I once paid $40 duty and brokerage for a finder that a friend had sent me for nothing. I always ask my US suppliers to ship by post, as it goes directly to Canadian customs, not through a broker, and most of the stuff I get has not had duty charged on it.

The best way around the export restrictions imposed by the vendors would be to come to the Cherry Springs Star Party in May-June, and take the stuff back with you.

[iancandler]

I really hate it when I see UK customers being charged duty on second hand scopes and eyepieces.

They come under secondhand photographic goods as both are lenses.

If you get your seller to declare it as such you shouldnt have to pay duty on it.

New you will get clobbered for 4% import duty on the price of the goods and shipping including any insurance fee paid, in Uk pounds, you will then pay VAT of 17.5% on that total.

If the goods are sent via USPS they will be handled by parcel farce at this end who will charge you £8 + vat for the privelidge of notifying you how much duty you have to pay.

Thus:

cost of scope + shipping/insurance £1400

Import duty £ 56

sub total £1456

VAT @17.5% £ 254.80

Parcel farce fee £ 9.40

Total cost £1720.20

Warranty wise, all you can do is call the uk importers and hope.. if you have bought a brand new scope whilst on holiday some will cover you for free, some want a fee to cover you and others will just tell you to take it or send it back to the dealer you bought it from.

You should ALWAY'S assume you will get clobbered for duty and have no warranty.

[George]

Malc the warranty is only any good if the dealers honours it, my own experiences with UK suppliers has been less than rosy. Anything I cannot source with Bern at Modern Astronomy from now on will be bought statside as the customer service still means something to most US suppliers.

Just my pennies worth

[daz]

I would imagine the UK will not honour warranties from abroad - and why should they? Its a lost enterprise for them at the end of the day.

Upgrader is right, customer service is paramount, but as customers, if we choose to circumvent the UK suppliers, or act in a less than professional manner ourselves, we cannot complain when we then don't get the service. Its a two-way street!

[George]

My rule of thumb from now on is if its not mechanical or electrical buy stateside

[SteveP]

I've never bought anything astronomy related from the US but I have bought several items of expensive hifi from the US. IMO, prices are certainly lower across the water and some dealers even offer discounts!

My advice for what it's worth based on my experience is

1 Assume you will pay duty and VAT on the purchase price, inc shipping costs

2 Use an experienced shipper - I use FedEx Express or BAX Global - and insure it for its full value

3 Make sure it will work in the UK - more important for electrical stuff like hifi, less important for scopes etc

4 BEFORE you arrange the purchase, check the warranty arrangements. From my experience, they are rarely transferable from the original seller's or distributor's region.

And finally, balance all that against the savings you will undoubtedly make from buying in the US. In short, once you've allowed for shipping costs, duty and VAT, you're balancing the overall saving against the need to resort to the warranty in the future, ie how robust and reliable is the equipment

Good luck with the decision

[malcvtr]

Many thanks everyone for the considered opinions and advice based on experience. Food for thought...