Looking for reliable telescope companies that sell in the US

[Gutross]

over here all i can find is Meade, Celestron, and Orion.  now i have seen yall mention your love of Vixens and TAL's  are they readily available in the US? with out a HUGE import tax?

[ronin]

They will be available but I suspect a big import tax is applied.

Celestron, Meade and Orion are all (or were all) US based so get the advantage of avoiding the import taxes or duty.

Would have thought Vixen may have been US based.

TAL's are Russian and Russia/US are not best friends at present.

These http://www.talteleoptics.com/tal100rs.html

seem to be on US site for TAL's, just they omit a price. Based in Southeast Michigan.

They seem rare in the US, or well hidden.

Guessing the used side as in Astromart etc may be the better option - there is one group called Worth Point but cannot decide if they sell them or not.

[LukeSkywatcher]

Vixen Optics is the North American Distributor for Vixen Telescopes, Mounts, Binoculars and Spotting Scopes. 

http://www.vixenoptics.com/

I think i heard somewhere before that Vixen are originally a Japanese company. I may be wrong. But they seem to be available in the USA.

[Gutross]

thank yall

[xtreemchaos]

do thay sell skywatchers in US?

[Gutross]

not sure if they do , ive yet to search for all the brand names i see on this forum,

[xtreemchaos]

in uk skywatchers are best buy for the money, "you get a lot of bang for you bucks" and thay have a good resale value too.

[Physopto]

OPT sell Vixen scopes.

[John]

The irony is that Skywatcher, Celestron and many Orion scopes are made by the same company now - Synta, who are based in China. Vixen are still a Japanese company as far as I know. Some of their manufacture is outsourced to China though.

You also have access to brands such as Astro Tech and Explore Scientific in the USA, which have good reputations.

This US based dealer seems to stock Skywatcher and a number of other brands:

https://www.astronomics.com/

TAL scopes are not being imported into the UK much, if at all, these days. I think dealers got a bit fed up with the varying quality control ?

[Steve Ward]

TALteleoptics do have prices , just the Tal 100RS and Tal 250K are special orders ... 

http://www.talteleoptics.com/

[Steve Ward]

http://www.skywatcherusa.com/dealerlocator

[Steve Ward]

http://www.takahashiamerica.com/

[Steve Ward]

APM at Optcorp .... http://www.optcorp.com/manufacturer/apm/

[Steve Ward]

Bresser ... http://www.bresser.com/telescopes/messier_telecopes_1.html

[Gutross]

thank yall very much for this, i have plenty to look at now.!

[Highburymark]

The irony is that Skywatcher, Celestron and many Orion scopes are made by the same company now - Synta, who are based in China. Vixen are still a Japanese company as far as I know. Some of their manufacture is outsourced to China though.

Just like Volkswagens, Audis, Skodas, and Seats are basically the same car - all part of the VW group, and a very successful way to reduce costs in a global economy.

[John]

The irony is that Skywatcher, Celestron and many Orion scopes are made by the same company now - Synta, who are based in China. Vixen are still a Japanese company as far as I know. Some of their manufacture is outsourced to China though.

Just like Volkswagens, Audis, Skodas, and Seats are basically the same car - all part of the VW group, and a very successful way to reduce costs in a global economy.

I agree