Astronomy sales during the pandemic. Update.

[gilesco]

8 minutes ago, Hellsmk2 said:

Hi Flo- has there been any movement on the Skywatcher shipment yet? 

 

The anticipation is killing me 😁

Yes, here to, although the weather forecast says I won't be missing out, unless I move to the desert.

[FLO]

We were expecting and preparing for a large delivery of Sky-Watcher to arrive at our warehouse around the 28th. Unfortunately the importer/distributor says IT problems at Felixstowe will likely delay unloading so we are now expecting the delivery around the first week of November. 

Deliveries from ZWO and IOptron are also expected to arrive over the next week or two. 

HTH, 

Steve 

[Hellsmk2]

13 hours ago, FLO said:

We were expecting and preparing for a large delivery of Sky-Watcher to arrive at our warehouse around the 28th. Unfortunately the importer/distributor says IT problems at Felixstowe will likely delay unloading so we are now expecting the delivery around the first week of November. 

Deliveries from ZWO and IOptron are also expected to arrive over the next week or two. 

HTH, 

Steve 

Thank you so much for the update! Super excited for this... 

[ollypenrice]

In rather doom-laden era it really is great to see FLO thriving and employing new staff. Well done. Behind your update lies a phenomenal amount of professional retailing skill and creative thinking.

Round of applause!

Olly

[johninderby]

A success that is fully deserved. 👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻

 

[Paul M]

I'd agree with Oly, I think a lot of people have turned to their telescopes during these bleak times. Even though my work has been continuous as a key worker I too have got involved more. A solitary hobby is just perfect for these times of social isolation.

Having just been to Halfords to buy a couple of kid's bikes we weren't too surprised to see empty shelves! Any kind of business is difficult to conduct right now so it is good to see FLO fighting the good fight with a positive outlook!

Yet again we find ourselves unable to travel to or stay at our Luxury Cumbrian Villa. No pub lunches for a family of five this weekend or next, so to fill that lost time and spend that saved money I'm going to order myself an NEQ6 belt mod kit instead and the kids can have fish finger butties 

[FLO]

3 hours ago, ollypenrice said:

In rather doom-laden era it really is great to see FLO thriving and employing new staff. Well done. Behind your update lies a phenomenal amount of professional retailing skill and creative thinking.

Round of applause!

Olly

 

2 hours ago, johninderby said:

A success that is fully deserved. 👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻

 

2 hours ago, Paul M said:

Any kind of business is difficult to conduct right now so it is good to see FLO fighting the good fight with a positive outlook!

Thank-you for your kind comments 🙂

Steve 

[Ken82]

I don’t see any point complaining about delivery times especially during the current economic climate. Virtually every industry that relies on imports has been affected. 
 

Just try and get some plasterboard during April or may and you’ll know what I mean ! 
 

What’s important is that vendors are honest and also communicate any issues. 
 

As yet I haven’t found an astronomy vendor who hasn’t fulfilled this. 
 

I’ve got a powermate and moonlite nitecrawler on order from the US and some bits from APM in Germany. They get here when they get here, I've got a lifetime to enjoy them. 
 

 

Edited October 24, 2020 by Ken82

[JamesF]

35 minutes ago, Ken82 said:

I don’t see any point complaining about delivery times especially during the current economic climate. Virtually every industry that relies on imports has been affected. 
 

Just try and get some plasterboard during April or may and you’ll know what I mean ! 

You're not kidding.  We've been absolutely crucified by prices for some stuff for our barn conversion this year.  "White goods" have been an absolute nightmare and the prices just seem to keep going up.

Mind you, our builder told us he knew someone who had driven a 300-mile round trip to get six bags of plaster that cost him twice as much as he'd have paid this time last year because it was that or not finish a job.

It's not just down to the C-word causing manufacturing and delivery issues either.  I was looking to order some seeds earlier this week and the supplier whose website I was looking at had a message up saying that because of the B-word and in particular uncertainty over supply and regulations their garlic supplier has stopped dealing in it so they have none to sell this season.

I suspect it is going to take quite some time before things are back to anything vaguely resembling what passed for normal, say, eighteen months ago.  Until then I think a very hefty dollop of patience is going to be required when trying to source pretty much anything with a dependency on imported goods and materials.  Frustrating as that is, sometimes I can't help wondering if it's actually not such a bad thing...

James

[gilesco]

The one thing that's keeping my frustration at bay... is the weather... that is, if anything arrived I could not use it, just some basic setup preparation and then look to the rain to stop.

[JamesF]

1 minute ago, gilesco said:

The one thing that's keeping my frustration at bay... is the weather... that is, if anything arrived I could not use it, just some basic setup preparation and then look to the rain to stop.

It was too grey and dark here today to even be able to see what the weather was like.

James

[johninderby]

Maybe we should be following the various weather station threads? 🤔

Not seen anyone complaining about the lack of weather. 😁

[Mr Flibble]

I placed an order for a dew strap with FLO yesterday at 13:45 expecting it to arrive sometime after the weekend.

I got home from work today to find it laying on my door mat!!!

Brilliant service  🥇

[faulksy]

that is great news flo. so hopefully my wifes little 8" bresser dob could be here soon 😁

[orions_boot]

Hi

Is there any update on Bresser stock?

Also how does it work if I have been waiting a couple of months on a multi part order.  For example one item in my order was out of stock for weeks, then loads came in and now it is nearly sold out.  On my account it is still yellow so not completed for that part.  Was one of the parts assigned to my order, or when my scope comes in at some point that other stuff is out of stock again, am I back to square one?

[Starwatcher2001]

I ordered a load of kit in July and FLO said it would be 30-40 days. It was bang on. Of course I would have liked it earlier, but they can't sell what they don't have and kept me in the loop with a realistic and accurate timescale.

I've been thinking about getting the Celestron RACI finder. On Friday FLO's site said they had a single one in stock, so at lunchtime I bit the bullet and ordered it. The stock on their website immediately changed to 30-40 days. It arrived Saturday lunchtime, and I got to play with it Saturday night.

In my view that's exactly how a good supplier with a proper stock system should operate. If they've got it they send it PDQ, if they haven't they give an accurate a timescale to when they can, and if things change beyond their control they let you know.

@orions_boot I can't speak for FLO, but my first order was for 5 items with different delivery times, and like you I watched some of them come into stock and then out again whilst biting my nails. However everything arrived on time, so in my experience there's no "going back to square one".

 

[gilesco]

2 hours ago, orions_boot said:

Hi

Is there any update on Bresser stock?

Also how does it work if I have been waiting a couple of months on a multi part order.  For example one item in my order was out of stock for weeks, then loads came in and now it is nearly sold out.  On my account it is still yellow so not completed for that part.  Was one of the parts assigned to my order, or when my scope comes in at some point that other stuff is out of stock again, am I back to square one?

Logistics, and and the problem of fulfilling everyone's order in the shortest possible time, is actually a really complicated task. If you have a large order of many parts with different wait times, then it depends. If the distributor for a particular part is unreliable in their lead times then it will throw the retailers out on their planning to fulfil orders. If you have a single part with a very long lead time, with other parts with shorter lead times, then yes - it is acceptable for the short lead-time part to go out and come back into stock in the early stages of the initial order. I am certain that, in the last few weeks before a long lead time part is due to be allocated to your order, that the other shorter lead-time items will get allocated to your bin.

If you have particular concerns then the best thing to do is to communicate with your supplier, they will often be happy to part-ship existing items in stock (although if you don't have a use for them before your other items arrive, then not necessarily worth the bother).

FLO recently part shipped some items on my order, and I was grateful for getting the Sesto Senso 2 early, as it has allowed me to check the INDI driver, and work out how to modify the code so that it uses a particular hold current which is going to be needed when I get the OTA and Focuser, which is known to slip without a hold current set.

So I'd just say, talk with the retailers about your particular order, if they know your requirements for each part, then they will try their best to accommodate you.

[MrFreeze]

34 minutes ago, Starwatcher2001 said:

If they've got it they send it PDQ, if they haven't they give an accurate a timescale to when they can, and if things change beyond their control they let you know.

I'm not sure how you managed this, as I have never been given a timescale on any out of stock orders,  or been 'let know'. The only method I know is to repeatedly check stock on the items I ordered (which on my current order has been given as 10-14 days for the last several weeks).

Yes I am very aware there is a pandemic, which is why I haven't made a fuss or emailed them (being a 'key worker' I will be VERY lucky if I get a chance to use up my annual leave - all holidays (except Christmas day) over the season are banned, 6 day weeks compulsory in December, and I can only dream of being furloughed)

David

[johninderby]

Re: Bresser availability.

A few weeks ago I asked Bresser aboit availability of stock and received this reply.

“The latest information from the factory is that we will get a new delivery around November to December.But there are still some problems with international supply chains because of the Corona crisis. Therefore, unexpected delays can unfortunately still occur.

Freundliche Grüße · Kind regards 

Your Bresser service team

Checked Telescope Express and they are saying mid November now.

Edited October 25, 2020 by johninderby

[orions_boot]

45 minutes ago, gilesco said:

 

So I'd just say, talk with the retailers about your particular order, if they know your requirements for each part, then they will try their best to accommodate you.

FLO is the retailer so I believe this is the right place to ask a question why others may want to know the answer to.

[gilesco]

15 minutes ago, orions_boot said:

FLO is the retailer so I believe this is the right place to ask a question why others may want to know the answer to.

Yes, I was just replying to your "am I back to square one" question and the query about multiple-part orders.

[orions_boot]

16 minutes ago, gilesco said:

Yes, I was just replying to your "am I back to square one" question and the query about multiple-part orders.

I see, in that case thank you for explaining it!

[FLO]

On 25/10/2020 at 07:22, orions_boot said:

Is there any update on Bresser stock?

Based on information received from Bresser, I think our websites current dispatch estimates for their telescopes are realistic. 

On 25/10/2020 at 07:22, orions_boot said:

Also how does it work if I have been waiting a couple of months on a multi part order.  For example one item in my order was out of stock for weeks, then loads came in and now it is nearly sold out.  On my account it is still yellow so not completed for that part.  Was one of the parts assigned to my order, or when my scope comes in at some point that other stuff is out of stock again, am I back to square one?

If you email us your order details then myself or a colleague will happily find your order then reply with an update. 

Generally speaking, the dispatch estimates displayed on our website product pages are for new orders so it is the dispatch estimate provided when you place your order that matters. When you place an order, if an item is in stock then it will be automatically reserved for you then dispatched. If an item is out of stock then it will be automatically assigned to your order when it becomes available. Items are assigned according to date (our inventory system monitors your position in the queue for each and every item). We dispatch orders when complete so if you have ordered multiple items (some in stock, some out of stock) but need an in-stock item urgently, please email us. If asked to split an order we might request a small payment to cover the increased delivery cost. 

On 25/10/2020 at 10:06, MrFreeze said:

I'm not sure how you managed this, as I have never been given a timescale on any out of stock orders,  or been 'let know'. The only method I know is to repeatedly check stock on the items I ordered (which on my current order has been given as 10-14 days for the last several weeks). 

Our website displays a dispatch estimate on every product description page. Also when viewing your shopping cart you can see dispatch estimates for every item. It is not possible for someone to place an order at FLO without seeing our dispatch estimates but we freely admit they are only estimates based on information available to us. During the pandemic information from manufacturers and distributors often changes with little or no notice so if you suspect your order might be delayed please email us for an update. 

HTH, 

Steve 

[orions_boot]

1 hour ago, FLO said:

Based on information received from Bresser, I think our websites current dispatch estimates for their telescopes are realistic. 

If you email us your order details then myself or a colleague will happily find your order then reply with an update. 

 

Thanks for explaining the process.

 

Re: Bresser I meant to ask about orders already placed rather than placing a new order.  In that case then, are orders already placed not going to be fulfilled until Jan 2021?  Its not an issue just nice to know.  I ordered mine early September 2020.

Edited October 26, 2020 by orions_boot

[FLO]

49 minutes ago, orions_boot said:

Re: Bresser I meant to ask about orders already placed rather than placing a new order.  In that case then, are orders already placed not going to be fulfilled until Jan 2021?  Its not an issue just nice to know.  I ordered mine early September 2020.

Without your name, email or order number I cannot answer that. Please email us, we can then find and check your orders progress. 

If you prefer us to check then update you here please PM me your order number. 

HTH, 

Steve