orion Orion telescopes not available in the UK?

[deanchapman2705]

Hi,

I'm relatively new to the whole telescope thing but have done my research and was fixed on getting the Orion skyquest XT8i or XT10i. By spending that much money, I didn't like the idea of purchasing it online from their website without seeing it in person (and not having the reassurance of being able to take it back) and looked for stores in the UK that would supply them. After plenty of research, it seems like they don't exist anymore and they are only in the US? Is this right or could anyone help me?

(I've looked at the Sky-watcher 250PX/200PX flextube skyscan goto but it is significantly heavier and the noise of the goto mechanism sounds like a table saw so that's put me off of it...)

Any help would be much appreciated,

Thanks

[johninderby]

The Orion USA brand is intended for the American market and there isn’t an official UK ditributor. They are available on Amazon mainly.

The big problem with selling Orion in the UK is they are expensive compared to brands like Skywatcher that are directly imported from China unlike the Orion that are imported into the US first then on to the UK which adds a lot of extra costs.

Telescope Express in Germany sells them though.

https://www.teleskop-express.de/shop/index.php/cat/c2_Dobsonian-Telescopes.html

Edited July 9, 2020 by johninderby

[nfotis]

It's my impression that Orion and Sky-watcher are two brands from the same group of companies (Synta), with a large amount of overlap in their ranges.

(I *think* that most of the products are the same, just with a different paint scheme/badges, and some difference in accessories)

 

N.F.

 

[DeathWarpedUp]

https://uk.telescope.com/home.jsp?gclid=Cj0KCQjwgJv4BRCrARIsAB17JI4HBmQ2UqmRvAaaDzyCEjKgVP_r1AJBiErn22HIhOZ3oWqaLd3lMX4aAqEIEALw_wcB

I have a feeling some of it they ship from the netherlands (don't ask me why). Even on cheap eyepeices theres £0 shipping costs which would make more sense being shipped from the EU than the US. If you look, theres a live chat option, probably a good idea to go and ask them direct about delivery and returns. Put a dummy order through and see if it provides any additional info regarding shipping.

 

 

 

Edited July 9, 2020 by DeathWarpedUp

[johninderby]

32 minutes ago, nfotis said:

It's my impression that Orion and Sky-watcher are two brands from the same group of companies (Synta), with a large amount of overlap in their ranges.

(I *think* that most of the products are the same, just with a different paint scheme/badges, and some difference in accessories)

 

N.F.

 

Orion USA does buy in a lot of stuff from Synta among other Chinese manufacturers but they are an indepenant American owned company and not part of Synta.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Orion_Telescopes_%26_Binoculars

Edited July 9, 2020 by johninderby

[deanchapman2705]

Thanks guys,

I would normally buy things online but when it comes to something this expensive, I wouldn't want to take the risk of losing my money. If I needed to return it and Orion said no or just ignored me, then there's not much I can do but if I buy it from a store, then I can physically take it back.

Looks like I'll just have to get the sky-watcher without the goto to avoid the noise and use that money I'll be saving to get the 10" with better eye pieces. 

[JG777]

https://uk.telescope.com/  seem to stock Orion with prices in £s I suppose these days with few showrooms around its hard to see stuff beforehand. Never used the site myself so maybe search out some reviews.

[johninderby]

2 minutes ago, JG777 said:

https://uk.telescope.com/  seem to stock Orion with prices in £s I suppose these days with few showrooms around its hard to see stuff beforehand. Never used the site myself so maybe search out some reviews.

It’s the Orion USA online shop and their offices are in California so all the ordering is done through the US.but many things are shipped from a warehouse in the Netherlands to the UK and EU.

[Tenor Viol]

You could opt to have a belt drive modification to reduce noise, or opt for an alternative mount?

[johninderby]

How aboit one of the Omegon push to dobs. Look quite interesting and not too expensive. Just need a smartphone.

https://www.omegon.eu/?q=omegon+push+too

[deanchapman2705]

I didn't think about having a different mount actually... That's a good idea. The Omegon dobs look good and are cheaper than the Orion push-to as well. Just a shame they're in Germany 😞 

I've found this company: https://www.tringastro.co.uk/dobsonian-91-c.asp and they have a store roughly an hour drive away (opening 16th July) and they have a decent range of dobs so I will be visiting them next weekend. They said they have a Sky-watcher 300 flex goto on show so I can see how loud they are in person. Haven't looked into Bresser dobs yet but looks like it could be another possibility if the goto is too loud. 👍

Edited July 10, 2020 by deanchapman2705

[johninderby]

You’ll find the GOTO is very quiet when tracking. It’s only when slewing at high speed that they are a bit noisy so most of the time not noisy at all.

Edited July 10, 2020 by johninderby