How reliable is 2nd hand equipment

[Devon Yellow]

Hi! I am a long term observer now looking at starting down the road of AP. Fully aware what a financial pit it can be, so wondered what the opinions were on 2nd hand equipment, cameras/scopes etc. My current scope (10" Dob) totally unsuitable for the job. 

Also any tips on the kind of kit I need to be starting with. Happy to take the view that if I love AP, I can always upgrade kit later down the line. 

Thanks!

[dweller25]

Most Astronomers look after their kit and lets face it - in the UK it does not get much use 😂

Do your due diligence and you should be ok.

[Sunshine]

AP bits are usually very pricey, as mentioned above they tend to be cared for very well.

[nephilim]

I'v regularly bought second hand gear & never had any problems. If you look at say https://www.astrobuysell.com/uk/ and SGL's own classified section, you'll see that second hand gear usually costs around 70% of the cost new, that may seem a little high compared to other second hand markets but thats usually because the kit is (more often than not) in very good condition.
I'd personally always go & see it first or at least ask the seller to meet half way etc. Then you can check the condition yourself & also ask any questions regarding use/ set up/ tips etc. Also, even though the chances are that it will have been couriered to the seller the first time around, at least if your the one doing the transporting, you'll treat it with care.

Steve

[Cosmic Geoff]

Mechanical and optical parts will last indefinitely if well cared for.  Electronic parts may fail or become obsolete sooner than mechanics or optics. That includes older cameras - even if they work fine you may find that the utilities don't work on anything later than Winows XP.

But I expect you will be looking mainly at 'nearly new' gear in which case, as suggested above, if it looks good and the seller seems reliable, then the gear is probably OK.

[Devon Yellow]

Thank you all for your comments. I shall start to scour the sites now. Half the fun is in the research I think. 

[UKDiver]

I've mostly been buying my kit second hand. I've made a couple of mistakes along the way, but at least the financial impact is not as great as buying new and selling on second hand.

Flip side is I have had to re-tap a tripod leg clamp that was stripped, but that's the only fault I've had to cope with.

[rnobleeddy]

I've bought almost everything second hand, and not had any real issues.

[Ian McCallum]

I've bought quite a few things second hand, from this forum. I've no complaints and have saved quite a bit of money too. 👍

[Devon Yellow]

Wow that's awesome. Great to know, thanks. 

[Astro Noodles]

All of the second had equipment I have bought has been in perfect condition. Brand new equipment, I have had a couple of lemons which had to be sent back because they were faulty.

[malc-c]

My HEQ5 was purchased second hand in 2011 and is still (other than a few rust spots on the weights as it's in an observatory) like new and runs fine.  As "noodles" has stated, I've had some lemons when buying new !

[Pitch Black Skies]

For extra peace of mind and security. Post what you think you would like to buy in this thread for feedback.

Equipment is generally well looked after but as with buying anything online you need to have your wits about you. Not so long ago, a chap was scammed here on SGL but it was dealt with very well.

[Adam J]

On 09/01/2022 at 17:05, Devon Yellow said:

Hi! I am a long term observer now looking at starting down the road of AP. Fully aware what a financial pit it can be, so wondered what the opinions were on 2nd hand equipment, cameras/scopes etc. My current scope (10" Dob) totally unsuitable for the job. 

Also any tips on the kind of kit I need to be starting with. Happy to take the view that if I love AP, I can always upgrade kit later down the line. 

Thanks!

The main issues is not that people don't look after their stuff its that there is a lottery every time you buy equipment as not all equipment is made equal off the production line. 

In my time I have purchased new equipment and had to send it back twice due to imperfections (optical and mechanical), not a problem if you buy new. 

The main culprits in terms of this in my view are triplet refactors and flat field refactors. They are very precise bits of kit that too often have optical issues. 

All this is fine assuming that the individual that you purchased from is reasonably knowledgeable as if they received a poor scope then they would have sent it back for a exchange. However, in many cases people just starting out in the hobby do not notice optical issues until after they have run out of their warranty period or sometimes not at all. They then sell you the scope and you have inherited their issue. The way to combat this in terms of image is to ask to see some of their raw stacked images so that you can inspect them for aberrations. 

Mounts are the other big offender, they usually need tuning and some just track better than others. Not many ways around this, best way is to fire it up when you collect it and listen to it, how does it sound to the ear when it moves, are both axis smooth. 

It also seems that filters are starting to be more hit and miss now too. With some of the budget makes trying to move into the ultra narrow band filter market its not been going well as you really do need some precision in applying coatings and rigorous testing to ensure that they product delivers especially in the case of fast F-ratio optics. 

Electronic goods such as autofocusers, filter wheels, cameras etc. Are much less of a gamble and you will generally see very little variation between examples. 

One thing that has always gotten me worried is people who advertise the kit as "new and unused" or only used a couple of times. Often this is for very expensive items and I always ask myself why they are selling it so soon. 

One tip is to always buy from an known member (not someone who just pitched up to sell and has one post) or in the case of astrobuysell always have a chat with them before hand. 

For expensive equipment and perceptually OTAs always collect in person. If you look in the small print of any of the major delivery companies they will either specifically tell you that they do not insure telescopes or they will say they do not insure glass items of which a telescope is one. 

Never buy from overseas. 

If it looks too good to be true it probably is.

Despite the above post I would never buy a solar filter second hand. 

So how reliable is second hand kit? I would say that if you go in with your eyes open and take the required precautions then its normally a safe bet, but I have has some lemons in my time and had to send one item back to the vendor. It was a filter wheel and the threads on the scope side had been cross threaded and stripped, no chance that they would not have know about this I sent them a message and they refunded me. I know of others that have not been so lucky. In the end if you want zero risk buy new but it will cost you. 

Adam 

 

Edited January 11, 2022 by Adam J