Orion Optics UK

[crashtestdummy]

I recently sent the primary and secondary mirrors from my skywatcher 300p off to ORION OPTICS for their hilux coatings as i hadnt headed warnings and had attempted to clean them myself and in the process of this i had scratched the coating on the primary.The scratches on the primary were only light,you literally had to look for them,they werent at all apparent but i knew they were there so decided on a recoat.I did some web based research and decided on ORION OPTICS and after a few emails back and forth explaining that i had damaged the coatings and getting various info and pricing decided to pay extra for their HILUX coatings.So i took the plunge,packed my mirrors up(after getting advice off here) and sent them next day to be recoated.They arrived at ORION OPTICS last tueday morning and i got a call on Thursday morning first thing to say they were ready to collect.I had decided to collect them to avoid trust white van man breaking my mirrors after spending £250 having them coated.I picked them up saturday morning and had a chat with two of the people there about my next step being either a 16" or a 20" and various options,they even warned me about the mirrors used by one of the custom dob makers which took me back a bit as i dont like suppliers slagging each other off.Anyway i did the 200mile round trip but didnt have time to open the package until Sunday night.I was greeted by a mirror that was covered in scratches that were far worse than the mirror i had sent off and also some blemishes and what looked like a rub mark.As you can imagine i was very annoyed at this so sent an email off to ORION OPTICS with a photo assuming that the scratches had either happened in transit or the caoting hadnt hardened properly.I was horrified to be told that my primary mirror wasnt in good condition and had been recoated several times in the past,likely at the skywatcher factory and had the scratches underneath the coating and that the hilux coating was exagerating the scratches.I asked why i hadnt been told about the mirror having a flaw before they had carried out an expensive recoating job and they said that because i stated that the mirror had scratches that they assumed i knew.The mirror to my knowledge didnt have scratches,the coating did and i stated that when i asked for the price.They have come back and stated than on their site it states that recoating will not cover up any blemishes the mirror may have on the glass surface but as far as i knew there werent any as they werent visible before recoating.I argued with them that they should have informed me especially as its states this(Re-coating your mirror will not cover up any blemishes the mirror may have on it's glass surface. If we consider any blemishes we detect significant enough to detract from the mirror's performance, we will endeavour to contact you and offer advice) on their site for recoating.They have told me that the fault lies with the mirror and that they will redo the coatings but will charge me if the scratches are still there but tbh im not willing to risk having to pay again.If they had advised me that the mirror was flawed i would have had it sorted out rather than waste hundreds of pounds on an expensive recoating process.I did say that i would pay to have the mirror refigured and polished to remove these flaws if they redid the coatings for free as a goodwill gesture but they have refused this.Also,my secondary mirror has two missing sections of coating where the mirror has been clamped for coating(this is what ive been told by others who have had the same process done there) but tbh im not fussed about that as it wont affect the mirror.

All in all i dont rate ORION OPTICS customer service,they failed to contact me when necessary about my optics instead carrying out the process anyway at my cost and they have failed to take any responsability.Im now left with a telescope that will be worthless secondhand when i come to sell it on and ive spent nearly £200 on a primary mirror that hasnt been done to the standards i expected.

Im currently trying to go through trading standards to see where i stand legally.

Anyone considering using ORION OPTICS please make sure you are aware of what you are paying for and make sure you ask them to notify you if there is any extra work that needs doing so you dont suffer the same problems i have gone through.

I have posted a picture of the mirrors current state.When i sent the mirror off i couldnt get the scratches to show up in a photograph.

These comments are my own and are not the views of stargazerlounge in any way

[philwright66]

Ordered a VX10L 10" F6.3 with 1/10 pv wave optics on the 3rd january and had an email from them stating it should be ready by the 20th january. With the VAT the total price was £950,which i found to be a great price for such a large,british made 'scope with excellent certified optics.i was considering several other 'scopes such as a celestron 9.25/11,or a skywatcher 250p,but went with the OO VX10L due to it's tiny secondary obstruction and reputation for great optics.

Received an email from OO on the 10th stating that my 'scope had shipped via UPS for next day delivery. On the 11th my partner waited in for the box to arrive. The huge box turned up around 3pm and the delivery driver stood it on it's end in the hallway. i put the box down on it's side and opened it. i was very impressed with the size of the tube still snugly packed. i left it an hour to acclimatise the cold 'scope to the warm room before i removed it from the packaging.

On removing the ota from the box, i noticed a piece of black triangular alloy left in the box at the primary end - and it dawned on me that it was a piece from the mirror cell. shock had already set in when two more triangular pieces were found unattached to anything. Grabbed a torch to have a good look at the mirror+cell and my worst fear came to reality. The primary mirror had come loose from the cell and had been tumbling around in the tube.Decided to disassemble the whole cell to secure the primary,and figure out how much damage was done. Shards of mirror-glass were in the tube as i took the cell out. On inspecting the primary mirror, the damage didn't seem too severe - a few scuffs,scratches and chips but nothing major. Yet the shards of mirror-glass didn't seem to 'fit' the primary damage. Shone the torch up the tube at the secondary assembly,and noticed one of the four vanes severely bent out of shape. Obviously been impacted by the primary mirror. took the protective wrapping off the secondary mirror and noticed a huge chunk of it missing. So that solved reason for the the shards of mirror in the tube.

Emailed OO notifying them of the damage.They stated that they would sort it out to my satisfaction straight away. I said i would send the damaged optics back ,instead of the whole 'scope. OO arranged for UPS to pick up the cardboard box containing the damaged items on the 14th january,and i received an email stating my replacement items would be sent out on the17th. Received the new mirrors +cell/secondary assembly on the 18th. Fitted the new mirrors today,and they are looking very nice! I'm happy now

So it seems that UPS must have been really chucking the 'scope package about to cause the primary mirror to come loose.Not good. Still, Orion Optics really were very rapid in sorting the problem and getting replacement parts back to me. Superb customer service.

Here is the new primary mirror prior to fitting in the tube:

Cheers,Phil

[Kieran Rooney]

I'd love to be able to do the review of the scope but as I still have not received it one month after anticipated delivery date and an e mail 3 weeks before delivery date to say scope would be ready early requesting full payment. A promise of next week on 19th September "scope was being tested" and 1st October scope will be sent this week "the main assembler had left and scope was being made by a TRAINEE and needed to be checked" still waiting and no apology or communication. What's next? Trainee's dog had puppies and had to take time off?

Kieran

[Physopto]

 

 

 

On the 11-03-2016 I ordered and paid for a Losmandy  DUP dovetail plate from Orion Optics UK Ltd.
The reply email stated that they had received my order and would get back in touch by email as stated below.
I have waited for 11 days without any word from Orion. So today I sent them an email including the original order reply from themselves, asking what was being done.

 

-------------------------------------------------------
Can you tell me where the order is please. I ordered on the 11/03/2016.
If you do not have the product please refund me the £67.00 I have paid you.

My Name.

 

Details of order:

Thank you for placing your order.

Date : 11 Mar 2016 - 17:00
Order ID : 4736315

Payment by PayPal

Product : Quantity : Price
Losmandy DUP : 1 : 56.00

Subtotal : 56.00
Tax VAT : 11.20
TOTAL    : 67.20

Purchase details:
 XXXXXXXXXX
 XXXXXXXXXX
 South Shields
Xxxxxxxxxxxxxx
 United Kingdom
 Telephone : XXXXXXX
 Mobile phone :
 E-mail : XXXXxxxx

Shipping address:
XXXXXXXXXXX
 XXXXXXXXXX
 South Shields
XXXXXXXXXX
 United Kingdom

We will contact you shortly to inform you of best shipping method and cost.

Please note: 11 days later is not shortly!

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

The answer I got:

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

Hello,

We did not have the product in stock and are still awaiting delivery confirmation from Losmandy to enable us to give you an accurate delivery date. Please confirm if you stil wish to cancel the order. If you so wish, we can refund your payment in a few days

Regards

Barry

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

And my reply :

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

Thank you for the reply.

Please cancel the order and refund my account.

 A simple email to the effect that you did not have the item in stock would have saved me considerable wasted time!

My Name

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

Refund in a few days!!! They have had my money for 11 days already!

I will not be ordering any item from them again. Their customer service is very poor. A simple email in response to my original order to say that they did not have the item would have been easy to accomplish and we both would have known where we stood.

Their very poor customer relations makes me think that they just do not need or want our business. So why do they bother at all?

I mostly deal with Ian King and to this day have never been let down, or left in the dark, about the state of any order. He has been courteous and responsive at all times. A man of his word and to be trusted.

This applies to other dealers that I have dealt with including, Telescope Service, The Widescreen Centre, FLO, Opticstar, Starlight Instruments and Optec. This list is not exhaustive. So why does a company like Orion Optics behave in such a manner? What do they hope to accomplish?

Well now I can add myself to the ever growing list of ex-customers.

Derek

[noah4x4]

OOD manufacture high end telescopes in the United Kingdom. But what I recently discovered is they will service and repair (if possible!) ANY make of telescope.

It was a (double) 400 mile round road trip to Stoke as I didn't want to risk couriers without OEM packaging. Then, the service cost me £108 including VAT, but my 8" Evolution SCT now has incredible optics. It's never been this good in four years of ownership! 

They disassembled my scope and professionally cleaned and polished all mirrors and corrector plate. They reaffixed and aligned my Fastar assembly which had come loose, also adding a sorbithane Hyperstar gasket (which I  acquired from Starizona) to prevent reoccurance. They recollimated my scope replacing the Phillips screws with easier to use Allen key bolts, and even trimmed my dust cover with felt as it was a tad loose. The latter going beyond the scheduled service agenda.

Their website publishes servicing costs, and if anybody has a scope out of warranty and in need of a bit of TLC, this company are masters of their craft. The can recoat mirrors, knock out dents (within reason) and I am delighted with the result. 

 

 

Edited August 20, 2020 by noah4x4

[Rob_UK_SE]

Hello everyone,

Before I share my experience with an Orion Optics UK order, I would like to say that this thread is not in any way intend to become a criticism of a manufacturer. It is more to raise awareness of a potential issue I am facing and to assist others who may be in a similar position to myself. I feel that it is important to be honest - therefore I will state that I am not particularly happy about my experience to date with this order, but from this point on I will try to provide a more useful factual account.

A little background, I have been without a scope since the new year, having parted ways with both my 130mm APO refractor and 12” ES dob. The resulting funds were used towards an Orion Optics VX12 dob with a 1/10 mirror. The size, weight and quality of optics make it very much my dream scope and one I had hoped to keep for a very very long time.

The expected delivery date has now elapsed and I am in a cycle of calling back every couple of weeks to see if we are any closer to a finished telescope. I do not yet have an adjusted despatch date or revised estimate of when I should receive the scope. All things consider, this is not unexpected given the current supply challenges and complexities companies are facing with staffing (the impact of team members self-isolating etc.). 

Anyway, to get to the point…

I purchased this telescope for £1833 back in March. Having just looked at the new Orion Optics website I will say that I was ‘surprised’ to see that Orion Optics prices have been reduced…considerably. The same 12” f4 scope with a 1/10 mirror is now £1348. This is only a couple of hundred pounds more than the equivalent Skywatcher model. It is also almost £500 cheaper than the price I have paid - having not yet received the scope (given that it has not yet been made either). If you don’t have an existing order with Orion Optics you may be reading this post with great interest and feeling rather pleased to see a price drop!

Given that the scope is delayed and there is now a significant price difference, it makes me question the quality of the new offering (presumably exactly the same as the one I would be paying £500 extra for?) and can’t help feeling that I am being rather over charged. I have not been offered a refund for the difference in price given the goods are still just in the order stage. I have therefore contacted Orion Optics and requested a refund and explained my reasoning. I am currently awaiting a response to this request.

If, like me, you have an order currently in process my Orion Optics UK it might be worth checking the current / new price against the one you paid too.

Rob

 

…I might be without a scope for a while longer!

[Bodkin]

I wanted a dobsonian mount for an old 8.5 inch Fullerscopes tube.  Orion optics provided me with a quote for a custom dob mount, with new rings.  It arrived within the estimated time, well packed and with good instructions for putting it together.  The mount fits perfectly and feels solid and moves well.  I will give some impressions of the mount in use when I next post an observing report.  In the meantime I am very happy with the service and quality.