Show us your Telescope shipping box

[F15Rules]

Just a little light relief on a Monday night - inspired by our resident comedian, Jeremy S😊👍, and a quick visit to the loft..

It was going to be a "Show us your Tak shipping box" - but that's a bit elitist, and we want to be inclusive, so, if you have the original box your scope was shipped in, whatever scope it is, let us see it, and if you have any small stories or anecdotes associated with it that you can share, so much the better!

To get the ball rolling, here's the original box for my FS128 which dates from 1999. No triple boxes here, although it is a good solid outer box, with a thinner inner skin which is reinforced with slabs of foam/polystyrene. And it's quite a big box!

I'm the second owner of this scope, and I acquired it in spring 2017. It had hardly been used and is in lovely condition. It also came with the original Tak EM2S equatorial mount, which I also still have.

Over to you..

Dave

Edited July 20, 2020 by F15Rules
Photo added

[John]

Skywatcher ED150 - oh dear !!!

They have since improved the packaging a great deal thank goodness !

[JeremyS]

Sky-Watcher’s double boxed packaging for the Heritage 150p is exemplary (even when the scope is on its side 🙂 )

Edited July 20, 2020 by JeremyS

[JeremyS]

Then there’s the sublime. Triple packed from a certain Japanese company

[DaveS]

Some telescopes come in boxes. Others come in crates

[maw lod qan]

As I'm typing this I'm hoping you all realize how fond I have grown of your wisdom and E. friendship.

But the idea of having a shipping package ten years old along with sitting in frigid temps for hours to watch something the size of this . move through the eyepiece borders very heavily on OCD!

God! What am I part of??

[JeremyS]

5 minutes ago, maw lod qan said:

As I'm typing this I'm hoping you all realize how fond I have grown of your wisdom and E. friendship.

But the idea of having a shipping package ten years old along with sitting in frigid temps for hours to watch something the size of this . move through the eyepiece borders very heavily on OCD!

God! What am I part of??

We’re only mildly eccentric! Well, most of us anyway 🤣

[maw lod qan]

12 minutes ago, JeremyS said:

We’re only mildly eccentric! Well, most of us anyway 🤣

Well, except for the shipping box, this crazy old man fits in perfectly with this group!

And thank you for accepting me the way I am!

[DaveL59]

might as well join in, tho I did collect these certainly the cardboard one would have been the shipping box for the 100RS and from what I've read the TAL wood boxes were used to ship the scopes...

 

so yep, more than 10 years here, the wood box is 1996 and the card one unknown but more than 10 years, I think it was from 2003 or earlier.

[F15Rules]

1 hour ago, DaveL59 said:

would have been the shipping box for the 100RS and from what I've read the TAL wood boxes were used to ship the scopes..

That's right Dave. My first ever Tal was a 100R 100mm Refractor plus equatorial mount. It came from Warehouse Express in 1999 and was c £249 (scope AND mount, eyepieces etc) in a sale.

It arrived at my work office at the time and took two of us to manhandle it into the lobby from the courier's van. Thereafter it was always referred to as the "Siberian Coffin". But it literally travelled from Novosibirsk, Siberia overland and the scope arrived in perfect condition (although the coffin bore many outward signs of hard handling). And when I opened the package it had "that smell" of the Tal manufacturing plant.

Great memories 🌝

Dave

[dweller25]

My TAL 100RS......

[F15Rules]

Nice, David!

I loved the way Tal attached the OTA to that stiff sheet of plywood for added security 👍🌝

Dave

Edited July 21, 2020 by F15Rules

[Barry-W-Fenner]

300p shipping boxes, I mean play houses, I mean sports cars! I don't know what they are anymore..
😁 

Baz

 

[F15Rules]

3 hours ago, Barry-W-Fenner said:

300p shipping boxes, I mean play houses, I mean sports cars! I don't know what they are anymore..
😁 

Baz

 

Er... Ship's funnel containers perhaps?? (I see you have a young chimney sweep inside one of the boxes..) 😋😂🤣

Dave

[Barry-W-Fenner]

1 hour ago, F15Rules said:

Er... Ship's funnel containers perhaps?? (I see you have a young chimney sweep inside one of the boxes..) 😋😂🤣

Dave

Actually I have two chimney sweeps in there. My youngest daughter was hidden away in the smaller box at the time 😂

Baz

[Alan White]

Is it cloudy again? and have you all been taking your meds?
🤣

You have to love this place, nice thread @F15Rules.

[Guest]

Since you insisted!😋

[andrew s]

Enough already, but where do you stand on the rigid foam v cardboard inserts v poly chips v bubble wrap great debate?

Does it split opinion like refractor v reflector?

Show us your stuffing.

Regards Andrew 

[Alan White]

@merlin100, I think you must take pictures of empty boxes to follow the trend here 😉

[Alan White]

2 minutes ago, andrew s said:

Enough already, but where do you stand on the rigid foam v cardboard inserts v poly chips v bubble wrap great debate?

Does it split opinion like refractor v reflector?

Show us your stuffing.

Regards Andrew 

Edited July 21, 2020 by Alan White

[andrew s]

1 minute ago, Alan White said:

Paxo?

The true smell of tacky hashi. 😊

[JeremyS]

Paxo?

8 minutes ago, andrew s said:

The true smell of tacky hashi. 😊

You called?

[johninderby]

A Breeser 10” dob box with foam ends to hold the OTA.

[F15Rules]

2 hours ago, andrew s said:

Enough already, but where do you stand on the rigid foam v cardboard inserts v poly chips v bubble wrap great debate?

Does it split opinion like refractor v reflector?

Show us your stuffing.

Regards Andrew 

Well, I DO like chips and stuffing..not Bubble wrap so much, more Bubble & Squeak really..

Regarding foam v cardboard, I don't have rigid opinions on that, and get board with the endless debates about it..but I don't foam at the mouth as some do when debating packaging..

I'm going for a lie down now, my head hurts.. maybe I'll curl up in Baz's nice funnel for a while..

Can you tell we've been shielding my mother in law for 18 weeks today??

Lately I feel like this...

Dave

[Alan White]

@F15Rules, your ditty has expanded my packaging expectations,
perhaps I have now wrapped this up, but I am getting board with this now.

Sorry best I can do.