Out of stock

[Ama Noody]

So...

I went to buy a Takahashi FSQ-106ED. Yay!

Sorry, Sir, not in stock. None even in Europe. Give us a couple of months to make you one.

I went to buy an Atik Horizon. Hey!

Sorry, Sir. Not in stock. We only have our demo version. And that's not for sale. We'll have to put you on a waiting list.

I went to buy a Lunt 60. Wow!

Can you wait a few weeks Sir?

Er... no.

I went to buy a Lunt LS60FHa elalon.

Sorry, they won't be ready for two months.

Ad infinitum

 

Is this normal in modern astronomy? Apart from keeping the used market healthy, why are companies not keeping stocks any more?

 

[Pig]

It must be very frustrating, I had to wait a few days for my Tak but other than than this no problems for me. I guess the main reason is you are after top of the range gear.  I have a single speed Trek 69er mountain bike in stock if you want it ? ? it is also top of the range.

[Skipper Billy]

The Tak 106 are in stock at True Technology (or at least they were last week!) - http://www.trutek-uk.com/  Crummy website but they are the acknowledged UK masters of anything Takahashi.

Nobody seems to hold stock of anything now - we have a small retail shop - a Chandlery - on Sundays I place my orders to replace things sold in the last week - today I ordered just over 1000 items - less than 500 were in stock at the wholesalers.

Its not always the retailers fault!!

[Pete Presland]

It certainly has been the case for some of the Lunt products in the past few years.

[bottletopburly]

1 hour ago, Ama Noody said:

So...

I went to buy a Takahashi FSQ-106ED. Yay!

Sorry, Sir, not in stock. None even in Europe. Give us a couple of months to make you one.

I went to buy an Atik Horizon. Hey!

Sorry, Sir. Not in stock. We only have our demo version. And that's not for sale. We'll have to put you on a waiting list.

I went to buy a Lunt 60. Wow!

Can you wait a few weeks Sir?

Er... no.

I went to buy a Lunt LS60FHa elalon.

Sorry, they won't be ready for two months.

Ad infinitum

 

Is this normal in modern astronomy? Apart from keeping the used market healthy, why are companies not keeping stocks any more?

 

 Theres a lunt just come up on east midlands stargazers  https://www.eastmidlandsstargazers.org.uk/topic/14132-lunt-ls60tha-solar-scope/?tab=comments#comment-145039

[StuartJPP]

JIT - Just-In-Time madness. No doubt over-zealous accountants think it is better to not hold stock, great for some in the supply chain but not everyone in the supply chain can do JIT. Those who do hold stock will ultimately win.

Small shops can be excused from being expected to hold many large value items, but for suppliers to also not carry stock is just plain silly.

Doesn't help that the weather has been a bit rubbish for the past umpteen years.

[DirkSteele]

Clearly some working capital management. For all businesses, and in particular small ones, managing working capital is of critical importance to keep yourself solvent. There is only so much one can do with receivables and payables but tight control of inventory is something that can be monitored down to a single item.

 

While it is frustrating for all of us who are anxious to get our hands on a new piece of kit, the wait can be understandable, especially in the context of low volume, high value ticket items like all those you mentioned. Having to hold it on balance sheet waiting for an order to materialise means the business needs to finance that carrying cost which eats into margins, which are not that high in Astro retail to begin with.

 

I had to wait probably 6-8 weeks for my Takahashi scopes and the wait was 9 months for my APM LZOS 180 triplet Apo.

 

Still sucks though!

 

[25585]

FCs all over the place, but no FSQs?

Have you considered a Sky Watcher Esprit 100 sir? ?

 

 

 

 

 

 

[mikeDnight]

How much would it cost for Takahashi Europe to stock a quantity of FSQ's ready for potential buyers? I suspect its more sensible to order from Japan when you already have a buyer, even if it means the buyer must wait a few weeks for the scope to be shipped in. The FC's are currently very popular, so its a safe bet that buyers will soon snap up any stocks. Also, i think that True Technology who was the original UK Tak agent, gets deliveries from Tak Europe every four weeks, so it may be just by chance that a scope is in stock or not.

Easiest way to get round the problem would be to move to Japan! 

[pete_l]

21 minutes ago, mikeDnight said:

even if it means the buyer must wait a few weeks for the scope to be shipped in.

In the modern age there is no excuse for any product - let alone a premium one - taking more than a couple of days to be transported. Air freight takes about a day from anywhere in the world and customs clearance another day. Sure, you pay for that speed and telescopes are weighty items. However it isn't beyond ability of a global manufacturer to reduce those costs considerably with tie-ins to couriers.
I recently ordered some PoE adapters from Aliexpress: €12 worth. They arrived (with free delivery) in 10 days. Maybe Takahashi should sell their products there!

[tuckstar]

14 hours ago, bottletopburly said:

 Theres a lunt just come up on east midlands stargazers  https://www.eastmidlandsstargazers.org.uk/topic/14132-lunt-ls60tha-solar-scope/?tab=comments#comment-145039

I know the seller, that's a very well looked after scope.

[mikeDnight]

2 hours ago, pete_l said:

In the modern age there is no excuse for any product - let alone a premium one - taking more than a couple of days to be transported. Air freight takes about a day from anywhere in the world and customs clearance another day. Sure, you pay for that speed and telescopes are weighty items. However it isn't beyond ability of a global manufacturer to reduce those costs considerably with tie-ins to couriers.
I recently ordered some PoE adapters from Aliexpress: €12 worth. They arrived (with free delivery) in 10 days. Maybe Takahashi should sell their products there!

I feel pretty certain Takahashi don't use Air freight but literally Ship their products across the world from Japan. Im also fairly certain that UK distributors have to buy from the main European distributor, Takahashi Europe, rather directly from Tak themselves. It's also highly likely that batches of products may need to be ordered as opposed to single items. Once Tak Europe receive their shipment they must then distribute the order to the vendors in an organized way. Each vendor will then choose for themselves which inland courier company they use.

For a company that charges £13,000.00 for a 6" refractor tube assembly and in excess of £250,000.00 for a 10", I hardly think Takahashi will be in the slightest bit bothered about saving a few pounds on courier costs. They don't even advertise their telescopes like most other manufacturers do. Instead of involving themselves by blowing a trumpet ahead of a product release, they just dump it on the market and let the users advertise it for them. It can take a decade or more to receive an AstroPhysics refractor, which puts a wait of only a few weeks for a Takahashi into perspective. Even Tech have a significant waiting list. Anyone unwilling to wait patiently for a few weeks for such a truly first class telescope from Takahashi, can always buy an off the shelf apo from another manufacturer such as Synta. 

 

[Ama Noody]

3 hours ago, tuckstar said:

I know the seller, that's a very well looked after scope.

Hi Tuckstar. Thanks. I have one now though. I wonder if that was the tilt-tuned version that I saw elsewhere.

[Peter Drew]

4 hours ago, mikeDnight said:

How much would it cost for Takahashi Europe to stock a quantity of FSQ's ready for potential buyers? I suspect its more sensible to order from Japan when you already have a buyer, even if it means the buyer must wait a few weeks for the scope to be shipped in. The FC's are currently very popular, so its a safe bet that buyers will soon snap up any stocks. Also, i think that True Technology who was the original UK Tak agent, gets deliveries from Tak Europe every four weeks, so it may be just by chance that a scope is in stock or not.

Easiest way to get round the problem would be to move to Japan! 

Or get a job with Takahashi.    Anyone not patient enough to wait a few weeks isn't going to go far with astronomy in the UK.  

[Ama Noody]

18 hours ago, Skipper Billy said:

The Tak 106 are in stock at True Technology (or at least they were last week!) - http://www.trutek-uk.com/  Crummy website but they are the acknowledged UK masters of anything Takahashi.

Nobody seems to hold stock of anything now - we have a small retail shop - a Chandlery - on Sundays I place my orders to replace things sold in the last week - today I ordered just over 1000 items - less than 500 were in stock at the wholesalers.

Its not always the retailers fault!!

I emailed them some time back but didn't get a reply. I wasn't really surprised as the website didn't fill me full of confidence to I left it there.

[Ama Noody]

19 hours ago, Pig said:

It must be very frustrating, I had to wait a few days for my Tak but other than than this no problems for me. I guess the main reason is you are after top of the range gear.  I have a single speed Trek 69er mountain bike in stock if you want it ? ? it is also top of the range.

Ah, what a shame, if only you'd  told me last week as I just bought a nice bike from an ebay seller. A steal at only £36,100 too!

[Ama Noody]

18 hours ago, DirkSteele said:

 I had to wait probably 6-8 weeks for my Takahashi 

 

That's what I'd been quoted. Only a month to go... :)

[Ama Noody]

1 hour ago, mikeDnight said:

I feel pretty certain Takahashi don't use Air freight but literally Ship their products across the world from Japan. Im also fairly certain that UK distributors have to buy from the main European distributor, Takahashi Europe, rather directly from Tak themselves. It's also highly likely that batches of products may need to be ordered as opposed to single items. Once Tak Europe receive their shipment they must then distribute the order to the vendors in an organized way. Each vendor will then choose for themselves which inland courier company they use.

For a company that charges £13,000.00 for a 6" refractor tube assembly and in excess of £250,000.00 for a 10", I hardly think Takahashi will be in the slightest bit bothered about saving a few pounds on courier costs. They don't even advertise their telescopes like most other manufacturers do. Instead of involving themselves by blowing a trumpet ahead of a product release, they just dump it on the market and let the users advertise it for them. It can take a decade or more to receive an AstroPhysics refractor, which puts a wait of only a few weeks for a Takahashi into perspective. Even Tech have a significant waiting list. Anyone unwilling to wait patiently for a few weeks for such a truly first class telescope from Takahashi, can always buy an off the shelf apo from another manufacturer such as Synta. 

 

A decade for a AP refractor? I feel a lot better now about the Tak wait now. It seems that they are waiting for an even larger order to accrue before assigning resources. Clearly business is good for these companies.

 

[Ama Noody]

59 minutes ago, Peter Drew said:

Or get a job with Takahashi.    Anyone not patient enough to wait a few weeks isn't going to go far with astronomy in the UK.  

That's true. The scope may still arrive before a clear sky!

[25585]

20 minutes ago, Ama Noody said:

I emailed them some time back but didn't get a reply. I wasn't really surprised as the website didn't fill me full of confidence to I left it there.

Ring them. No company keeps its website bang up to date. If no luck try Ian King Tak UK instead.

[Demonperformer]

You're sure not to have a clear sky after it arrives! 

[Ama Noody]

Just now, 25585 said:

Ring them. No company keeps its website bang up to date. If no luck try Ian King Tak UK instead.

It's Ian who I went to in the end. Really seems to know his stuff too.

[25585]

1 minute ago, Ama Noody said:

It's Ian who I went to in the end. Really seems to know his stuff too.

I should hope so! So does Nick at True Tech. Both great for Tak knowledge. When buying my DL?, I got a better deal with TT, so they got my cash. ?????

[nightfisher]

5 hours ago, tuckstar said:

I know the seller, that's a very well looked after scope.

Its also listed on SGL and yes Phil is a top bloke  

 

[Ama Noody]

Ah, yes. That is the tilt-tuned. I was after the pressure tuned.