Svbony 8-3 zoom

[DaveL59]

the more I see this thread pop up the more I find the trigger finger itching, must resist! 😉 

[DaveL59]

On 27/10/2022 at 20:27, Ags said:

On pre-order now, shipping at end of November.

€ 183,21  19%OFF | SVBONY SV215 1.25" 3mm-8mm Planetary Zooms Eyepiece for High Power Lunar and Planetary Observing
https://a.aliexpress.com/_mLsd5Yy

hmmm, unusually in current times prices seem to have lowered a bit...

or £105 for GBP, damn why did I go look at their website! 🙄

[Ags]

Also in stock 10 days earlier...

...although my internet still shows the old price 🤨

Edited October 29, 2022 by Ags

[DaveL59]

Not sure they pre-charge the VAT & duty tho so that may be an extra surprise when it lands? Here (UK) in theory it'd pass just fine as at that price it'd be under the £135 threshold, I think?

and no, so far I've resisted temptation, just!

Edited October 29, 2022 by DaveL59

[Louis D]

It's $9 cheaper in either the UK or Europe than in the US on the Svbony site.  I'm a bit peeved by that.

[Telescope40]

Nope, nope, nope, John.   Keep repeating to yourself  😜😜😜 

[Zermelo]

38 minutes ago, DaveL59 said:

hmmm, unusually in current times prices seem to have lowered a bit...

or £105 for GBP, damn why did I go look at their website! 🙄

 

It's showing me £132.37.
Did you include one of the discount coupons?

(no, I'm not interested either. definitely not.)

[DaveL59]

2 minutes ago, Zermelo said:

 

It's showing me £132.37.
Did you include one of the discount coupons?

(no, I'm not interested either. definitely not.)

nope, just opened the web page and looked it up. Am vaguely interested tho can't really justify it as it'd push my scoped a bit far. I've 0.965 EP's below the 7-8mm of my existing zooms, down to 4mm if I ever really want to so am resisting temptation, well so far at least.

[RT65CB-SWL]

Checked the progress of my order earlier this evening and SVBONY are saying it may take longer [upto] 30 days [ie 01 December 2022 at the earliest] before they start shipping them as they say: “…are still pre-production…” and apologise for the delay. I have politely sent them a message and asked if they are going to keep the buyers/customers updated with status updates, etc.

[Zermelo]

I've decided to take a punt, and pre-ordered.

Stocking date was given as Nov 20th, and I was offered a choice of delivery/customs options that ranged from 3 business days to 35 business days. I'm taking all of that with a pinch of salt, but I'll be pleased if it arrives for Christmas.

[RT65CB-SWL]

6 hours ago, Zermelo said:

I've decided to take a punt, and pre-ordered.

Stocking date was given as Nov 20th, and I was offered a choice of delivery/customs options that ranged from 3 business days to 35 business days. I'm taking all of that with a pinch of salt, but I'll be pleased if it arrives for Christmas.

Same here!

I paid with a credit card via PayPal, so at least I have some protection if it goes pear-shape. 

Edited November 1, 2022 by Philip R

[Zermelo]

Well, one has just been listed on the Bay ... for £350!

[DaveL59]

32 minutes ago, Zermelo said:

Well, one has just been listed on the Bay ... for £350!

yikes! Wonder if that's a pre-prod model and they're looking to make a quick buck?

[Shimrod]

19 minutes ago, DaveL59 said:

yikes! Wonder if that's a pre-prod model and they're looking to make a quick buck?

It's a listing from Lithuania and shipping from China - so more likely someone drop-shipping and gambling on availability. If they didn't have reasonable feedback I would have said scam.

[Zermelo]

For those not following the CN thread, Ernest has posted a review (pre-production?) here: https://astro--talks-ru.translate.goog/forum/viewtopic.php?f=32&t=4585&sid=7fadd2525038bf84fe69c16aeaea49e4&_x_tr_sch=http&_x_tr_sl=ru&_x_tr_tl=en&_x_tr_hl=en-US&_x_tr_pto=wapp

(bottom quarter of the page)

[Shimrod]

7 minutes ago, Zermelo said:

For those not following the CN thread, Ernest has posted a review (pre-production?) here: https://astro--talks-ru.translate.goog/forum/viewtopic.php?f=32&t=4585&sid=7fadd2525038bf84fe69c16aeaea49e4&_x_tr_sch=http&_x_tr_sl=ru&_x_tr_tl=en&_x_tr_hl=en-US&_x_tr_pto=wapp

(bottom quarter of the page)

Interesting review - it doesn't fair so well against the Nagler 3-6mm. I know it's probably the closest comparison zoom but it does also cost around 3x the price of the Svbony. Ernest does mention that the eyepiece tested is pre-production so maybe the anti-reflective coating and polishing (two of his criticisms)  will be addressed in the production model.

[Prador]

Currently £105.92 on the Svbony website if people are interested.

[Louis D]

1 hour ago, Prador said:

Currently £105.92 on the Svbony website if people are interested.

Aaarrrggg!  It's still $129.99 before sales tax here.  After subtracting VAT and converting, your price is $104!  All I can figure is the 25% extra tariff for stuff from a certain country is inflating the price here.

[Prador]

Svbony price doesn’t state if the price is inc VAT or other taxes.

I tried adding to basket but it wants me to set up an account. The final price in the UK might be higher than the £105 I posted - oops

[Telescope40]

Got to be a quarter as good as a TV 3-6 zoom don’t cha think ?? Ker ching 💲💲
I may be in for one of these once a couple of reviews done. 
 

John 

[Louis D]

My thinking as well.  Hopefully, it has a usable FOV at 10mm to 12mm of eye relief.  Any closer, and my long eyelashes grease the eye lens.  This assumes I take off my eyeglasses and live with my residual astigmatism at these small exit pupils.

[Zermelo]

4 hours ago, Prador said:

Svbony price doesn’t state if the price is inc VAT or other taxes.

I tried adding to basket but it wants me to set up an account. The final price in the UK might be higher than the £105 I posted - oops

When I ordered mine, I was given three different options for delivery/duties.
I went for the middle-priced one, which said "shipping 8-15 business days" and "Includes customs clearance and taxes".
That added on £20.92 to give a total price £126.83.

[Zermelo]

I've just been emailed by Svbony to say that it's been shipped.

[bosun21]

2 hours ago, Zermelo said:

I've just been emailed by Svbony to say that it's been shipped.

I am looking forward your thoughts on this.

[Louis D]