Telescope stores are all out of telescopes...

[Aston]

Hello!

I have had a warehouse type telescope for a couple of years, and used it a lot. This year i saved up some money and had planned to buy a 8" Sky watcher Dobsonian, but to my big disapointment, none of the scandinavian dealers has got any telescopes at all, they are all out! The ones i spoke to said i might get a 8 or 10" dobsonian by the month of june. Its a long wait... Is there situation as bad everywhere? 

[Knighty2112]

Yes, pretty much the same in the UK too. 

[varius21]

i got mine from "widescreen-centre" in the UK at a good price. it's in stock. I was searching for stock online for hours and hours for several days and I was fortunate to find them. Good luck

[Sunshine]

Same here in Canada, my local telescope shop said they have over a hundred thousand dollars worth of orders waiting to be shipped. Called several other scope shops and they say their showrooms usually loaded with used scopes are bare and orders are through the roof. It makes me wonder about the used market after Covid, there will be so many people who bought telescopes on impulse which will end up on the market once everyone is back to their daily routine. Save for us few dedicated amateurs, there are certainly many who have taken up the hobby out of boredom which they’ll forget about post Covid. That being said, if the issue is a supply chain shortage mostly then maybe there areas many new amateur astronomers as I think and it’s just a replenishment issue at store level.

Edited December 26, 2020 by Sunshine

[John]

7 minutes ago, Sunshine said:

Same here in Canada, my local telescope shop said they have over a hundred thousand dollars worth of orders waiting to be shipped. Called several other scope shops and they say their showrooms usually loaded with used scopes are bare and orders are through the roof. It makes me wonder about the used market after Covid, there will be so many people who bought telescopes on impulse which will end up on the market once everyone is back to their daily routine. Save for us few dedicated amateurs, there are certainly many who have taken up the hobby out of boredom which they’ll forget about post Covid. That being said, if the issue is a supply chain shortage mostly then maybe there areas many new amateur astronomers as I think and it’s just a replenishment issue at store level.

I think the pre-owned market will be awash with equipment in a couple of months time.

 

[richard ashbee]

been waiting 3 months for my scope

[Sunshine]

1 hour ago, richard ashbee said:

been waiting 3 months for my scope

Boy I hate waiting for scopes, my child like enthusiasm never faded when it comes to scopes.

[SStanford]

13 hours ago, John said:

I think the pre-owned market will be awash with equipment in a couple of months time.

I certainly hope so!

Aston, have you considered the second hand market? There is a "wanted" section on the board. 

[Aquavit]

It is a big problem everywhere, although these have 8" Sky-Watcher Dobsonian in stock: https://www.astroshop.eu/telescopes/skywatcher-dobson-telescope-n-200-1200-skyliner-classic-dob/p,4440

[Second Time Around]

1 hour ago, Aquavit said:

It is a big problem everywhere, although these have 8" Sky-Watcher Dobsonian in stock: https://www.astroshop.eu/telescopes/skywatcher-dobson-telescope-n-200-1200-skyliner-classic-dob/p,4440

Yes, but at a hugely inflated price - just 1 Euro less than the 10 inch model that  of course they don't have in stock!!  

I've got a long memory.  I'll never buy from Astroshop ever in the future.  That's the only way to deal with such immoral "price gouging".

[Aquavit]

50 minutes ago, Second Time Around said:

Yes, but at a hugely inflated price - just 1 Euro less than the 10 inch model that  of course they don't have in stock!!  

I've got a long memory.  I'll never buy from Astroshop ever in the future.  That's the only way to deal with such immoral "price gouging".

I know🙈

Yes, they are expensive, but they will do a price match if you email them the link to the cheaper product listed elsewhere. It's an option in the less than ideal world of very limited choice that we currently inhabit!

Edited December 27, 2020 by Aquavit

[Second Time Around]

But does this apply only to items in stock elsewhere?  Their website doesn't say, but this proviso is quite common.

[Aston]

I finally found one! A dealer i found had a 10" Skywatcher Flextube 250px, basicly the last telescope they had left  Now i just halfto wait for it to arrive some time next week.

If i could have picked any one of the Dobsinan scopes i would probably have gone for the 8" rigid-tube, will the 10" flex-tube be a big hassle for a beginner?(collimation perhaps is a skilled you need to learn quickly).

Edited December 30, 2020 by Aston

[fifeskies]

Its an excellent scope and though big it isnt so difficult to move around.

You might want to make a flat trolley for it so you can just wheel it out for use , there are examples on here of people who have made one up.

Basically a flat board with 3 wheels , 3 is best as it cant wobble on uneven ground.

 

Dob Dolly for Orion 4.5 10 inch Dobsonian Telescopes - Orion Telescopes - YouTube

 

 

Collimation isn't that difficult , you will soon be able to check it in about 5 to 10 minutes , look at uTube videos.

 

This scope can take some much better eyepieces than those supplied so once you get used to using it that is a good first upgrade

 

 

Edited December 30, 2020 by fifeskies

[Aston]

The trolley sounds like a good idea!

I am really excited to get my new scope, it will probably be a lot better than my diy 130mm "dob". The new one has a real spotting scope, instead of the red-dot one i have now(never had much luck with that).

Edited December 30, 2020 by Aston

[fifeskies]

I have a 10 inch dob as well , though I now use it on an EQ pier.

I found that a right angle finder was a lot easier to use than the straight through one, I also used a Telrad with it and this was also very good.

Align the finder with the main scope during the day before first use at night, use something a few km away like a church spire.

 

That's a cute DIY dob , and it will still be handy to take out to dark sites , the 10 inch is less car friendly in that respect, but a flextube can still be transported without too much trouble compared to its fixed tube brother.

 

[Louis D]

On 30/12/2020 at 07:26, Aston said:

The trolley sounds like a good idea!

I am really excited to get my new scope, it will probably be a lot better than my diy 130mm "dob". The new one has a real spotting scope, instead of the red-dot one i have now(never had much luck with that).

That's a very similar design to Starmaster's 7" Oak Classic which is very well regarded:

Were you inspired by such designs?

[nephilim]

On 27/12/2020 at 14:14, Second Time Around said:

Yes, but at a hugely inflated price - just 1 Euro less than the 10 inch model that  of course they don't have in stock!!  

I've got a long memory.  I'll never buy from Astroshop ever in the future.  That's the only way to deal with such immoral "price gouging".

I've just seen this thread & that price is absolutely outrageous & a cut & dry case of taking advantage of a shortage in scopes brought about (in part.....a big part) by a deadly disease, that's a disgusting way to trade. Its over £250 its usual RRP.
I'd never heard of these rip off merchants before & most definitely will never use them .

[Ande]

Noticed another trend amongst certain retailers too. The habit of showing “low stocks, please call” or words to that effect. And then when you do call, they immediately tell you they don’t have the item, they don’t even need to check as they know full well they’ve hardly got anything. But then they instantly proceed to try and prise your details out of you so that they can procure an order for when stock does eventually arrive. I don’t appreciate people trying to trick then trap me, and will actively seek to avoid those places in the future.

[Spile]

The expected arrival time was clearly communicated to me by FLO.

[Ande]

I have no issue with FLO. They are fully transparent with their stock situation. 

[Tiny Clanger]

10 hours ago, Ande said:

Noticed another trend amongst certain retailers too. The habit of showing “low stocks, please call” or words to that effect. And then when you do call, they immediately tell you they don’t have the item, they don’t even need to check as they know full well they’ve hardly got anything. But then they instantly proceed to try and prise your details out of you so that they can procure an order for when stock does eventually arrive. I don’t appreciate people trying to trick then trap me, and will actively seek to avoid those places in the future.

I don't think it is really intended as a trap, so much as the result of  less than impressive attempts to integrate online shopping sites with existing bricks and mortar shops. If they have some legacy stock system which doesn't instantly interact with their online shop , or if they have a cheaply set up online shop which doesn't have that integration, they have to check their office computer !

FLO have it all set up so beautifully because they are only online , and don't have some legacy shop stock system to bolt the website on to.

[alacant]

On 27/12/2020 at 15:14, Second Time Around said:

I'll never buy from Astroshop ever in the future

 

[Louis D]

On 01/01/2021 at 02:49, Ande said:

Noticed another trend amongst certain retailers too. The habit of showing “low stocks, please call” or words to that effect. And then when you do call, they immediately tell you they don’t have the item, they don’t even need to check as they know full well they’ve hardly got anything. But then they instantly proceed to try and prise your details out of you so that they can procure an order for when stock does eventually arrive. I don’t appreciate people trying to trick then trap me, and will actively seek to avoid those places in the future.

Or reverse this, and put yourself on the waiting list for 15 different shops and see who comes in first with new stock.  Just don't provide any payment details such as a CC number to any of them.  You shouldn't have to put down money to join a waiting list, even for custom made items like AP scopes.  You might wait 10+ years on an AP list, but if they decide to build a scope again, they'll work their way down the wait list and ask each person if they're still interested enough to put down a deposit at that time.

[JemC]

On 27/12/2020 at 15:05, Aquavit said:

Yes, they are expensive, but they will do a price match if you email them the link to the cheaper product listed elsewhere

Not on everything, They wouldn't price match me on the ASIAir Pro when i contacted them ☹️