Price quotes from Telescopes.com (USA)

[Rob]

Hi All,

As I did some leg work on tring to buy the next scope. I'd thought I'd share some price quotes rec back from www.telescopes.com Hope it helps?.

Original email followed by response.

Sent: Friday, February 24, 2006 2:21 AM

To: info@telescopes.com

Subject: Re: Shipping to the UK

Importance: High

Thankyou for your reply Josh.

Ok Celestron to one side then. I'm going to look to buy a WO I think. Can you please give me a quote on shipping for the following 3 choices, thanks.

(1) William Optics ZenithStar 66mm SD Doublet APO Refractor OTA - Blue

sku: ZS66-SD-B $399.00

(2) William Optics ZenithStar ZS80 Package A

sku: ZS-80 Package A $499.95

(3) William Optics Megrez 80mm II ED APO f/7 - CLOSEOUT SPECIAL

sku: M80ED-OTA ONLY $769.00

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Email rec 27/3/06

Hello,

Thank you for visiting our site.

Shipping to your postal code (SO31) in the us for the Megrez 80mm II ED APO f/7 CLOSEOUT SPECIAL

$68.80 - FedEx International Priority (1-3 business days)

$69.80 - FedEx International Economy (4-5 business days)

for the ZenithStar 66mm SD Doublet APO Refractor OTA Blue

$34.80 - FedEx International Economy (4-5 business days)

$43.80 - FedEx International Priority (1-3 business days)

for the ZenithStar ZS80 Package A

$66.80 - FedEx International Priority (1-3 business days)

$67.80 - FedEx International Economy (4-5 business days)

Best regards,

Josh

Telescopes.com

info@telescopes.com

800-303-5873

[GazOC]

I was thinking about getting a few of the Orion Stratus eyepieces from there. They're pretty much half price.

[GazOC]

Oh dear, that doesn't bode well mate!

[FLO]

Devils advocate here :twisted:

What are you going to do if it arrives with a fault or is damaged in transit?

[Rob]

To be honest American service beats UK service hands down... if there was a problem I'm sure they would sort it fine!.

An I would always advise buying with your credit card for insurance purposes. Law has just changed on that which makes it even better for buying from over sea's.

[FLO]

Yes, but theres a big pond seperating us :?

[GazOC]

Send it back and insist they pay the cost?

[FLO]

It'd be an 'interesting' exercise...

[GazOC]

Not much difference between that and sending it back to a UK supplier?

[Greg]

From experience the customer service from over the pond is better than over here, a bigger market, more competition...

Iv'e bought bike gear from over the pond, one item was faulty.. One e-mail and it was on it's way back with a replacement within 10 days...

I'm still waiting a response from a UK mail order retailer about a product...even told em I want to buy the product, but they havn't got back to me ....That was 4 weeks ago!!!

Anyone try contacting a US Company by e-mail and see how quick you get a response..

[FLO]

One e-mail and it was on it's way back with a replacement within 10 days...

I am curious:

Who paid for the return postage, was it a high value item and how long was it (total) from original order to replacement goods on your doorstep?

[GazOC]

Surely any returns that are needed should be paid for by the vendor?

[OXO]

Some state that the cost of re shippment is down to the buyer i think?

[Greg]

Steve,

It was a Carlos Checca race rep helmet, in this country they are about £550-£600. If you can find one..

I got it from an American supplier for £400 shipped, when it arrived the visor was scratched and there was a mark in the paint. I e-mailed em. The following day I had a response and a returns number for DHL with an apology..

The replacement helmet was delivered to work about 10 days later with an aplogy from the Company..

[Greg]

Steve,

Out of interest it was the one which went skidding down the tarmac at 60mph - it did it's job!!

[GazOC]

Some state that the cost of re shippment is down to the buyer i think?

Seems a bit harsh. I'll start keeping an eye out for that, I'd always assumed the seller should pay for faulty goods to be returned.

[Greg]

Gaz,

I buy a lot of bike kit from the States and from Germany, I havn't had to pay for any returns yet...

[russ]

I've found Orion USA to be far better than their Skywatcher counterparts. Customer service was top notch. I had a fault with the dobsonian base on my XT10, it was all turned round in under 2 weeks and didn't cost me a penny. Optical vision just don't have that level of service.

Providing it's all legit, there's a worthwhile saving to be had and the stateside company has good reputation, it's a good idea to shop around over the pond.

Russ

[GordonCopestake]

Are imports from the USA not liable for import duty and VAT? Double check that you are not asked to pay VAT on the doorstep when your parcel arrives as you may find that it's not as cheap as you think...

[russ]

Anything with a value, inc delivery, over £18 will be liable for VAT and import duty. For optical goods that means working in 17.5% VAT and 4% import duty on the purchase price + delivery cost. There's usually a Parcel Force charge as well. All this means there's usually very little saving. I wouldn't bother personally unless the total saving was over £30. Certainly wouldn't be worth the effort for £10-20.

Russ

[GordonCopestake]

Doing a little Excel work gives me the following numbers:

	
		Cost (USD)	Delivery (USD)	Total USD		£'s (1.75USD)	Import Duty (4%)	VAT (17.5%)	Total £
ZS66		$399.00		$34.80		$433.80		£247.89		£9.92		£43.38		£301.18
ZS ZS80		$499.95		$66.80		$566.75		£323.86		£12.95		£56.68		£393.49
MegRes 80	$769.00		$68.80		$837.80		£478.74		£19.15		£83.78		£581.67

I dont know how these compare with prices in the UK.

Hmm didn't paste as well as i'de expected! But take a look at the number on the far right.

[russ]

There's a saving there without the Parcel Force charge of £18. Once that's taken into account the saving is £20-30.

Russ