Brand loyalty

[Paz]

I was considering options for a bit of astro kit recently and there's so many options sometimes it's hard to choose. So I narrowed it down to the brands I trust the most based on experience, in this case Baader and Televue and made a decision between their offerings.

I used to have no loyalties to any brand (because I had no experience to go on) but now it appears I have developed some.

Do you have a loyalty to any brands, where you would pick their products without considering the competition too deeply, or buy a product of theirs and not worry that you might get a lemon or that it might not live up to expectations?

[Carl Au]

Well I do like all things Baader, but obviously not enough to buy a ‘BAADER HYPERION 36MM ASPHERICAL’ I really wanted to buy and attempted to find a good reason why everyone was wrong and I should buy one, but they weren’t and I didn’t. I like things to match if I can too....

[Mr Spock]

Not really. Though I do like Vixen eyepieces,

[scarp15]

TeleVue, perhaps on reputation, innovation, performance etc, brand loyalty does come into it, maybe on ethics, standards, historic roots etc. Have chopped and changed eyepieces including other brands, currently 12 TV eps one frac. Brand loyalties on similar based grounds definitely is prevalent in other hobbies to. 

[Franklin]

Vixen and Baader for me.

[JeremyS]

No, I’m completely unbiased 

 

Edited March 12, 2022 by JeremyS

[Ags]

Explore Scientific eyepieces.

[jjohnson3803]

I'm somewhat the reverse.  There are some brands I absolutely will not buy, having learned from experience that they're poor quality or have poor customer service IMO.

 

Edited March 12, 2022 by jjohnson3803

[Stu]

5 minutes ago, jjohnson3803 said:

I'm somewhat the reverse.  There are some brands I absolutely will not buy, having learned from experience that they're poor quality or have poor customer service IMO.

 

I think that’s likely where I am too. If a product had a decent reputation but was a brand I hadn’t used before, I would still buy it. Conversely, there are one or two brands I’ve had less good experiences with so would likely opt out of those.

[dweller25]

I am taktfully completely unbiased 🤣

Edited March 12, 2022 by dweller25

[Astrobug]

Astronomiks

Edited March 12, 2022 by Astrobug

[JeremyS]

[Macavity]

3 hours ago, Carl Au said:

but obviously not enough to buy a ‘BAADER HYPERION 36MM ASPHERICAL’

Well, noone would be THAT stupid, right?
Checks minimalist eyepiece box... 😅
(I have the 31mm - Phew!)

Edited March 12, 2022 by Macavity

[dweller25]

22 minutes ago, JeremyS said:

Bless you 🤧

Edited March 12, 2022 by dweller25

[mikeDnight]

I think some brands win respect and acquire a following because they are consistently good. Takahashi, Vixen, TMB, and I think there's one called TeleVue, which are well thought of for one reason or another, but not all their products are great, so to blindly follow a brand simply because of its name can be a mistake. And sometimes, old or forgotten brands costing very little can give these more modern upstarts a serious run for the money. 

[mikeDnight]

39 minutes ago, JeremyS said:

I knew you'd cave in sooner or later! 

[MalcolmM]

I'm with @JeremyS and @dweller25 ... my mentors, though they probably don't know it

Malcolm

[ollypenrice]

I try not to worship brands.  The truth is, for example, that Takahashi (yes!) turn out a lot of junk, largely in the form of hopelessly mis-collimated FSQs. But they do very well on their other products. I've used three FSQs and they've all been good but, in my line of work, I've met a good number of others including a significant number of lemons. I've also had a stream of personal messages from people struggling with problematic FSQs. So I don't worship Takahashi but I certainly like the ones I've had myself. Their visual scopes get a consistently good press but I don't know much about those.

On the other hand I've been accused by retailers of endorsing what they considered to lemons supplied by competitors. Tough. I described the instruments as they were sent to me. Briefly, I don't think brands give a reliable over-view of what you can expect when you order. What matters more is the mentality of the supplier and that's where retailers like FLO stand out. If the customer isn't happy they'll accept that.

There is one brand I wouldn't touch with a ten foot pole but that will be strictly by PM.

Olly

[JeremyS]

15 minutes ago, MalcolmM said:

I'm with @JeremyS and @dweller25 ... my mentors, though they probably don't know it

Malcolm

Tormentors, more like 🤣

[JeremyS]

2 minutes ago, ollypenrice said:

I try not to worship brands.  The truth is, for example, that Takahashi 

Olly

For some reason this message comes out blank on my screen 🤔

[dweller25]

13 minutes ago, ollypenrice said:

I try not to worship brands.  The truth is, for example, that Takahashi (yes!) turn out a lot of junk, largely in the form of hopelessly mis-collimated FSQs. But they do very well on their other products. I've used three FSQs and they've all been good but, in my line of work, I've met a good number of others including a significant number of lemons. I've also had a stream of personal messages from people struggling with problematic FSQs. So I don't worship Takahashi but I certainly like the ones I've had myself. Their visual scopes get a consistently good press but I don't know much about those.

On the other hand I've been accused by retailers of endorsing what they considered to lemons supplied by competitors. Tough. I described the instruments as they were sent to me. Briefly, I don't think brands give a reliable over-view of what you can expect when you order. What matters more is the mentality of the supplier and that's where retailers like FLO stand out. If the customer isn't happy they'll accept that.

There is one brand I wouldn't touch with a ten foot pole but that will be strictly by PM.

Olly

Fetch the rope boys, we got ourselves a Tak hater 🤣

[Alien 13]

2 minutes ago, dweller25 said:

Fetch the rope boys, we got ourselves a Tak hater 🤣

Add me, dont hate them but I wonder how many users out there have not swapped out the focusser or other bits..

Alan

[JeremyS]

25 minutes ago, Alien 13 said:

Add me, dont hate them but I wonder how many users out there have not swapped out the focusser or other bits..

Alan

All mine have their original hand cast and skillfully hand assembled focusers. 😊

[dweller25]

41 minutes ago, Alien 13 said:

Add me, dont hate them but I wonder how many users out there have not swapped out the focusser or other bits..

Alan

Guilty as charged…..

My FS128 sports a Feathertouch 3035 focuser - in my opinion it is better than the original Tak focuser.

AND I added a RACI focuser to my Mewlon and FC100DZ because the Tak straight throughs hurt my back.

AND I replaced all the refractor clamshells with tube rings - one securing bolt is not enough for me.

Why ? - because the optics are worth it 🙂

Edited March 12, 2022 by dweller25

[Andy ES]

Celestron, Baader and Mercedes Benz 😁