Astroboot Postage Charges

[johninderby]

Was going to order a little 6x30 finder bracket from Astrobbot which was cheap enough at £7.90 but then came the postage.

£9.00 !!!!  ?

Seriously nine quid for a padded envelope job that would cost less than three quid to post. Has Astroboot been into price gouging on the shipping for very long.

Might as well order from a proper dealer at full retail and pay for next day courier. 

[Knighty2112]

Last time I got anything from them postage was £4.50. That’s some hike in postal prices there! 

[Mark at Beaufort]

I was going to purchase 3 small weights for £13.50 but the post was an additional £13.50 so I made alternative arrangements. Even one weight was £5.60 but the post was an additional £9.

[Stu]

They changed their system a little while back. Heavy items can be very expensive! I thought there was still a £4.50 band which I would have thought the finder would fit into. Doesn't make sense at £9 I agree.

[Marky1973]

Been like it for a while....I wanted a £4 extension tube but, with the price of postage, it worked out cheaper to buy a lathe and make one myself.....

[johninderby]

I’d rather pay the extra 30p to a proper dealer.  ☹️

Just need the bracket for the polar finder for the AZ-EQ5 GT. Have a very nice quality polar finder and finder foot already so didn’t want to buy the whole Skywatcher one. 

[Alan White]

I had similar a while back, a new item from uk retailer was cheaper than the return item from AB and post from Sweden.

 

[wookie1965]

1 hour ago, johninderby said:

Was going to order a little 6x30 finder bracket from Astrobbot which was cheap enough at £7.90 but then came the postage.

£9.00 !!!!  ?

Seriously nine quid for a padded envelope job that would cost less than three quid to post. Has Astroboot been into price gouging on the shipping for very long.

Might as well order from a proper dealer at full retail and pay for next day courier. 

What does the finder bracket look like is it the one the finder goes into.

 

[johninderby]

It’s the bracket for holding a small finder.

 

[LukeSkywatcher]

1 minute ago, johninderby said:

It’s the bracket for holding a small finder.

 

I was going to say that someone is looking for one of those in the "Wanted" section. Its you. It looks very familiar to me. I THINK i might have one somewhere (under my bed). I'll get back to you tomorrow. If i have it, its yours (FOC).

Im not 100% sure though.

[Ricochet]

The £9 charge must mean they think it is a big item. You could probably get quite a few more bits at the same time for that postage. 

[johninderby]

7 minutes ago, LukeSkywatcher said:

I was going to say that someone is looking for one of those in the "Wanted" section. Its you. It looks very familiar to me. I THINK i might have one somewhere (under my bed). I'll get back to you tomorrow. If i have it, its yours (FOC).

Im not 100% sure though.

Fingers crossed then.  ?

[AdeKing]

I've stopped buying from them since the postage price hike. 

I know that they were previously ridiculously cheap on postage for large items (1.50 to ship a EQ5 steel tripod for example) but postage was about right for the useful small parts that they are a valuable source of.

Ade

[happy-kat]

I think it works out better if you get three things so I tend to save my odd things up and get in one go.

[johninderby]

Sorted out the finder bracket thanks to an SGL member. 

Thanks to wookie1965  ?

[saac]

I must admit I've had no problem using astroboot; I've recommended them on many occasions and will continue to do so. They are not a conventional retailer as made obvious from their business model so buying a single small item may not necessary be the most economical use of their service. I've  purchased both large items and expensive items (AZ EQ 6 GT, SW ED80 ) and a fair few smaller items, most recently a SW focuser and always found their service, including shipping costs reasonable. Sure if you are buying really small items you need to think carefully about the postage cost but it is all made clear before you hit the commit button so no surprises. 

Jim 

 

[LukeSkywatcher]

21 hours ago, happy-kat said:

I think it works out better if you get three things so I tend to save my odd things up and get in one go.

I agree. I used to buy a single meteorite at a time. P&P was costly. I should have bought 2-3 together. Postage would have been same as single one. 

[Jkulin]

A lot of the time the stuff on Astroboot is in Europe so that's why the costs are sometimes high.

[JimothyC]

I was about to buy a couple of things myself today. Got to the basket and thought, hell no. I'm not paying the same in shipping as I am for the goods, that just doesn't work out. I think they'd be better off inflating the sale price for items and reducing the postage down, at least people will have a clearer idea what they'll be paying up front.