David Hinds

[Rob]

Whats the story here?.. gone?

telescopesplus

Rob

[SteveL]

Adam Hinds posted on UKAI on the 27th Dec

David Hinds Ltd has taken the decision to close all retail operations including Telescopes+ and Amazon.co.uk

All new product enquiries and purchases need to be made through our UK Dealer network.

A dealer listing and details of all Celestron products can be found here: www.celestron.uk.com.

All of us at David Hinds Ltd would like to thank all of our loyal customers for their custom over the years and wish everyone clear skies and a Happy and Healthy New Year.

Note that is RETAIL operations... they will still be doing distribution to the dealers AFAIK.

[Catanonia]

So that basically means you can't buy direct from David Hinds anymore ?

[Rob]

Shame.. never good to see a business go. If you ever read this Adam.. I wish you all the best for the future.

Rob

[Cornelius Varley]

The business hasn't gone, they are still the distributors for Celestron.

Peter

[johninderby]

I think that David Hinds is the Celestron distributor for the UK, Scandinavia and Ireland. Perhaps it's as simple as there is more profit for them now in distributing than retail.

John

[MishMich]

Probably healthier for other retailers - It would have been difficult to compete with some of the prices the distributor was offering retail. Wish I'd picked up one of those 9 1/4" SCTs with CG5 mounts selling at £200 less than the OTA now...

M.

[Capricorn]

Read that Hinds had ceased being a retailer, seems a shame as they had some good offers at times. Also they stocked the range of Celestron items not a selection.

Retailer local to me has dropped their range of scopes over the last couple of years to such an extent that it is no longer really worth visiting. Last time I rang them it seems that they are not bothering with things like WO SWAN's, they now just have the UWAN's. Nice EP but double the price of a SWAN. So I bought elsewhere.

The Hind's site keeps mentioning the offers that their retailers should be offering but I suspect that the offers available will be fewer then when Hind's were a retailer.

[Deneb]

Also they are the Sole Importer for Baader Products in the UK.

Nadeem.

[brianb]

Not sure what the implications of this are. When I bought my CPC1100 in March this year I got a better price from a local dealer than Hinds were advertising for retail sales, and free delivery too ... but the boxes came direct from Hinds, the local dealer never touched the physical product. Maybe removing the retail arm is just crystallizing this approach.

I don't like to see the choice being restricted / competition removed and, on principle, I think it's a bad idea to have too many layers between manufacturer and end user. But my princpal concern is that the Hinds retail web site was a good indication as to what is in stock as well as a source of leverage on local dealers when there were special offers.

[Space Bat]

I can not speak for Adam or the business, but it does seem a shrewd buisness decision.

I have not been on the scene for a while - but as part of a business that were Celestron distributers, I think Rob would have been in heaven with the amount of retailers that are under the Hinds umbrella.

Looking at the retailer list that Hinds have - why would you directly compete in the market place against it - for me it doesn't stack up and if I was in Adam's position I would have considered this option to improve cashflow and profit margins.

Inventry stacking in a turbulent marketplace with a global downturn is a No No....why bother when you can supply to demand from the dealer network - without actually having inventory?

Good Luck Adam

[brianb]

why bother when you can supply to demand from the dealer network - without actually having inventory?

Good for business, bad for customers ... especially when there are rogues out there who will charge your card & then forget to supply. Whilst there are many good reliable retailers on the dealer list linked to on the new Hinds site, and a number of whom I have no personal knowledge, I regret to say that one of the linked dealers has a reputation which has frequently been described as poor to awful in this respect.

[Rob]

I agree a box shifter is a good money spinner.. Just a shame we are losing the more human touch if you like. Adam has bags of experience, and I just fear this is looking to be way many of our established astro shops & business may look to go in the near future.

Yet again I fear the UK is becoming a major global box shifter & service centre.. lets hope others can ride 2010 (which I feel will be a major test for business, more so than 2009) through.

I understand Hinds decision.. just a shame its come to this.

I also want to wish FLO & the other UK retailers every success for 2010, and for them to know we as amateur astronomers care that they are there to supply our kit and expert advice needs. Thank you!

Rob

[steve_bham]

Would they still offer repiars of Celestron scopes or would you have to go else where?

Steve

[JAO]

They are on the list of traders for the 2010 Astrofest so I guess there will be an opportunity to put questions directly to them.

Adrian

[FLO]

There are inevitable conflicts of of interest when an importer has their own retail outlet so, speaking as a Celestron dealer, their decision to close their retail arm to concentrate entirely on promoting Celestron and maintaining a dealer network is a good one. Good for Celestron, their dealers and customers. It works very well for Optical Vision Limited and I see no reason why it shouldn't work equally as well for DHinds.

Also, Celestron is Synta's premium product-line so deserves the kind of attention that only a distributer-proper can provide.

Manufacturers manufacture, distributors distribute and retailers retail. When each concentrates on the task in hand the result is better for all concerned

[Space Bat]

Well put

[MishMich]

That is what I was trying to say - but you put it much better than I could, speaking as a customer. However, I have to say that in the short time I have been buying equipment, Hinds have been one of the suppliers I have enjoyed doing business with.

M.

[Nexus 6]

Good to see the views on David Hinds. I was slightly concerned were it might leave me with regards support having bought the Celestron cpc 925 very recently (my second scope from them)

Also purchased quite a few other items. I tend to try and buy as often as I can from the same supplier, when you are spending thousands of pounds its good to feel you can TRUST who your dealing with. I have only been using SGL for a few months and have noticed some indifferent views on certain companies which has put me off buying from them.

Time to use First Light Optics for all future purchases

I wish all at David Hinds thanks for all their help and advice over the last couple of years

Alan

[LukeSkywatcher]

My only gripe with David Hinds was that they would not ship Celestron products to the Republic of Ireland because we already have a main Celestron dealer here (Astronomy Ireland). I dont bother buying from AI now cus it is cheaper to import from the UK or USA (including shipping costs) then it is to buy from them to send stuff from one side of Dublin to the other.

[chuenmanc]

You can't blame them for that - it's a restriction placed on them by Celestron I believe.