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Equipment price rises.


Starlord19

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I have had my eye on a ES 24 mm ep for a couple of months now and was just waiting till the Xmas bills were all paid before splashing out £98 on this ep.

Anyway payday arrived and I went to buy it from FLO and it's now priced at £117, that's nearly a £20 price hike overnight! It made me think twice and now I'm going to shop around and maybe think about buying second hand. 

I was wondering if anyone else had noticed any other price rises recently and whether more increases are to be expected.?

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There have been a raft of price rises over the past months due to the changing value of the £ verses other currencies. I'm not aware of any specific rises in the past few weeks though :icon_scratch:

I buy most of my equipment used though so I might have missed them !

 

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Yes, I think most of us have noticed!

Last week a friend asked if I'd buy him a set of 1.25" spacer rings that would allow him to set his eyepieces to be parfocal (he was paying!). These were advertised on 365 Astronomy's site a couple of weeks ago at £17. When looking a few days ago theyed jumped up to £22. That is a rediculous price hike! So, I bought ten rubber 'O' rings from my local plumbers merchants which stretched over the eyepiece barrels and did the job perfectly for a total outlay of £2.

Mike ☺

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Yep I have noticed !  I plan to wait until Astrofest next week to see if there are any incentives, & the once or twice a year sales that some brands put on their items.

I spend lots of time scanning the 2nd hand websites more than ever these days, looking to save chunky sums.  I also find myself selling on what I consider the 'bells and whistles' & have an adapted mentality towards obtaining quality utility items whilst stream-lining all the time. 

I know for sure which items I will be keeping, and have a adopted a more buy to keep mindset nowadays.  I like it this way to be honest. 

Saying all that some items I would like probably rarely come up secondhand so buying new is not ruled out, its just done with a slightly heavier heart than before. 

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I have heard the reason being “Price of the £” 
In my opinion, I think there is the uncertainty of trying to judge where the £ will be in 3 months time. Ordering stock on that forecast cannot be easy.
However, I also think, checking some of the prices against the $, I see a few charging much more than the drift in the value of the £ and I wonder how many will be willing to reduce their prices now things have settled a bit….Or carry on enjoying the advantage of “uncertainty” for a little while longer!! 
At the end of the day, we all have a choice! If its too expensive then don’t buy it! :)

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It takes time for the fall in the value of the pound to work through to retail. Companies can hedge against currency fluctuations, and unlike us they may have bought their goods on 60 to 90 day terms, meaning that it could take 3 months or more for a price hike to work through. We are only starting to see the effect with general goods, e.g. "Marmite."

With nearly all astronomical goods being imported, it was entirely predicable that with a fall in the pound of 15% - 20%, within months there would be a corresponding price hike.

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1 hour ago, Starlord19 said:

I have had my eye on a ES 24 mm ep for a couple of months now and was just waiting till the Xmas bills were all paid before splashing out £98 on this ep.

Anyway payday arrived and I went to buy it from FLO and it's now priced at £117, that's nearly a £20 price hike overnight! It made me think twice and now I'm going to shop around and maybe think about buying second hand. 

I was wondering if anyone else had noticed any other price rises recently and whether more increases are to be expected.?

If it's the 24mm 68° you're after, there's one in the classifieds now!

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I believe FLO warned us a few moths ago that prices would most likely rise after the Brexit vote and the ensuing weak pound. Great for our exports, but bad for any imports coming in. With care you can get some great second hand deals for equipment on here and ABS. I bought a second hand 10mm Tele Vue Delos EP for half price in very good condition, and a mint 18mm Celestron X-cel LX EP at 2/3's of the price new, so with just those two EPs I saved nearly £190 on buying new. Just bought a second hand SW Explorer 200P-DS OTA in mint condition and saved £120 on new. Nice to buy new, but even better to buy second hand and save a lot of cash, especially when the equipment has been well looked after. :) 

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I had a feeling that the referendum result and the falling value of the pound might have something to do with it. It's just a bit frustrating, I suppose a lesson is; don't delay. If you see something that you want for a good price then go for it, (within reason obviously)! 

I've got a few items which are surplus to requirements so I think I'll try to sell some bits to raise the required funds.

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Yes. I noticed a big hike in new prices. No surprise really. We can't expect relatively small businesses to soak up big cost rises or carry loads of stock to hedge against big fluctuations in the currency markets. Looking on the bright side. Your existing gear will also be worth more.

Don't worry. The inevitable rise in inflation will eventually even things out ????.

Paul

 

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Unfortunately Lunt, Bresser and Explore Scientific prices have risen. We received details of the changes 1st Feb and were advised they were in affect immediately. We applied the increases last night. 

The timing is interesting because Astrofest is only a few days away and 10% discounts are often offered there to people attending, which reduces retail prices back to more-or-less where they were... 

Please don't shoot the messenger. 

Steve

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The experts say that the £ will plummet in March causing inflation to rise and the weaker the £ the more the bank of England like it because it helps exports. Unfortunately it does not help the prices on imported goods and Astronomy suffers along with everything else. Makes you wonder how much one of those fibre glass dome observatories will cost complete with automation.Mind boggling..............Dave 

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8 minutes ago, DAVE AMENDALL said:

The experts say...

There is so much uncertainty around at the moment I am not sure what/who to believe but I am confident business will find a way to continue doing business. It will adapt, because it has to. 

I am quietly confident the sky will not fall on our heads :smile: 

Steve 

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Without any politics: We are experiencing across-the-board price-increases here for just about everything. Including astronomy-equipment and even minor peripherals.

No wage-increases have surfaced though.

Going to Proxima Centauri b is looking more alluring everyday.....

Dave

 

proxima-centauri-bright-ANNOTATED.jpg

 

 

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38 minutes ago, Dave In Vermont said:

Without any politics: We are experiencing across-the-board price-increases here for just about everything. Including astronomy-equipment and even minor peripherals.

No wage-increases have surfaced though.

Going to Proxima Centauri b is looking more alluring everyday.....

Dave

 

 

 

 

1777! That is all I'm saying on the matter.

Paul

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I'm not a retailer, but do deal commercially with suppliers from all across the globe on a daily basis on supply of equipment costing up to £3m.  Each is saying exactly the same thing, which is they hold off price increases as much and as far as possible as they do not want to promote their own negative impact on sales, but at some point if their suppliers keep passing on the increases, then they must also.

It isn't all just about the £-$, it's also about the rising cost of raw material supply and production and global operating costs generally, which also includes the cost of energy supply (gas and electric) and shipping costs (barrel of oil $ is rapidly increasing in costs recently).

I think FLO in particular have been very open and transparent, and have not just put prices up across the board.  It seems the only increases are on items where they can no longer absorb the increase from their suppliers, and this unfortunately is not unique to them, nor is it unique to astronomy.

With the above said, it is still just about the most expensive hobby I've ever had, but I still love it :thumbright:

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