Astronomy Equipment Value

[Hertford Stargazer]

I was pondering money and investments in a daydream like state when a question arouse which abruptly derailed my ponderings.

Sitting staring at my small collection of scopes and mounts I began to wonder:

Is there any one piece of astronomy equipment or complete set up which could be seen as an investment for the future in terms of resell value years down the line?

Looking at some old brass scopes on eBay it would appear unlikely, I don't think that kind of investment would wash with the wife anyway 🙄

[niallk]

Think I saw a Zeiss EP being sold for $5k being discussed on CN... and it apparently sold fast!

[RobertI]

I’ve had similar musings over the years - I’ve got money in an ISA so surely there is a way to enjoy it by “investing” in a top quality scope which will also appreciate like my investments? But from what I have seen over the years, it’s very difficult to find a piece of astro equipment that’s going to appreciate. The rare stuff (Astrophysics refractors for example) are already premium priced. However scopes and eyepieces do seem to reach a lowest value of about 2/3rds new price. I reckon the best hope is to try and get a really good deal on a used high end scope,  and feel smug that it’s probably worth more than you paid! 

[StarryEyed]

Investment in astronomy. Resale value probably not. In the quality of experience and trouble free ownership yes. 

[Hertford Stargazer]

1 hour ago, RobertI said:

I’ve got money in an ISA so surely there is a way to enjoy it by “investing” in a top quality scope which will also appreciate like my investments? 

Yes, I was thinking along those lines. Given the current rate of returns I'd probably be happy enough just to get my money back having had the pleasure of ownership and use.

[Stu]

3 minutes ago, Hertford Stargazer said:

Given the current rate of returns I'd probably be happy enough just to get my money back having had the pleasure of ownership and use.

I think that’s about the best you could hope for. There may be some short term appreciation of kit due to shortages, but I would never view it as an investment. I’ve bought and sold hundreds of items, often it feels like renting something for a period and it hopefully costs you little more that postage costs when you sell on. Some things I’ve lost a fair bit on, most I’m fairly ok on and one or two I’ve done very well on.

As has been said, most premium items are already priced highly so unless you get lucky with a private sale or house clearance where someone doesn’t know the true value then it’s hard to buy at a level which will give any return.

I would thoroughly recommend looking for investment opportunities elsewhere, and just owning/using the scopes for enjoying the skies. Much simpler that way.

[Luke]

I'm not sure about making a profit but I think a smart way to keep spending down is to buy used gear at a good price. Then there's a good chance you can use it for some years and resell it for little loss or perhaps even a slim profit. In a sense you could probably stargaze for free, getting your money back when you sell the gear.

We got our money back I think on some eyepieces we sold that we'd bought from new, but I think that was partly down to currency fluctuations. Had it gone the other way, I guess we'd have lost quite a bit on them. One thing that's been nice for us is trading eyepieces and over time moving to more expensive ones. It's lovely how long astro gear lasts for and being able to sell things on for about 2/3rds upwards, to add to your funds.

[John]

Buying new items (which I rarely do) has invariably cost me money over the years when I've decided to part with the item. The used items I've bought and later sold have generally not cost me much apart from the postage costs.

I could probably have made a profit on some sales because I've had some great buys but I don't feel that's a good thing to do so I've just recovered my outlay and given someone else the benefit of a great value buy as well

I have seen Zeiss ZAO orthos being sold at substantially more than they were retailed and sometimes also TMB Supermonocentrics and the Pentax XO's at but I think they are exceptions.

I really don't think astronomy equipment is a good place to invest if you hope to make a profit of any sort from it. It's a great thing to invest in to have some fun with though

[johninderby]

In buying & selling astro gear if you can limit your loses to what you can afford you are doing OK.

Make a proffit………Ha Ha not a chance. 😁😁😁

Edited October 10, 2021 by johninderby

[Ags]

The second hand market is is the best way to limit astro losses. When people have been kind enough to offer me an item at a good price, I have always resold at the same price, doing otherwise wouldn't feel right. Sometimes I  buy new for tge guarantee though.

[HiveIndustries]

I have a really hard time understanding what the future of amateur astronomy is going to look like in 30 years. I almost kind of feel like anything that's uniquely suited to AP and camera tech is almost immediately going to date itself and limit its effective life and there doesn't appear to be too many "Mustang" telescopes out there for the sake of nostalgia unless it has historical value. I just bought a 20 year old Celestron Nexstar and I'm officially out of luck with a dead controller unless I can find one used (but they're all breaking apparently). I think that's the future of all these handheld devices. 20-30 years from now there'll be some bluetooth for your brain that these controllers can't do and that'll be it, once the hardware dies, no one is making new. Camera stuff itself moves at like 5-10x that speed, literally, in terms of dating and value.

So with all that being said, I think the only thing to really hold its value over 30 years will be visual astronomy stuff on the high end. That's only if manufacturing doesn't reach a point where optics are trivial and cheap. It's fairly amazing what we take for granted in our pockets these days. A lot of impressive glass even if they're not manufactured by Pentax.

That's an extreme new-comers perspective. I'm sure I said some ignorant stuff.

[Nigella Bryant]

In 30 yrs I'll probably be pushing up daisies, lol.