Little help please guys and gals.....

[OssO_87]

Right ok, im a beginner, and i bought a telescope off telescopeplanet.co.uk and i done some research about the site and saw how badly people rated it, and i have to say, im regretting ordering off there now.

The thing is i bought a Meade ETX 60 its £179 off the site, and they took my money literally the next day, and they basically promise next day delivery and so a week later and 2 emails and 2 phone calls later still no scope.

When i phoned them the first time i left my name and address and number with some guy who said he will ring back later that day, and he never did. The next day i rang again and spoke to another bloke and i had said that i was promised a ring back yesterday and i said will you defiantly ring me back today he was like, yeh i'll put that straight through for you. Another thing is i didnt take down my tracking number as i thought they would send me a confirmation email after the order but nothing.

Thanks for reading my problem any help and advice would be muchly appreciated. My new found hobby which has been put on hold due to a very frustrating company!

[Doc]

I'm sorry to hear this and feel sorry for you. Telescope Planet does recieve some awful press and from what I have also read, does suffer from lack of customer confidence.

I just wish that people interested in astronomy become members of a decent forum first and seek proper advice, on where and what to buy.

Having said that, It's happened so all I can suggest is keep phoning them and if this does not help tell them that you want a full refund and you are going elsewhere.

Then talk to us and contact First light optics.

[Doc]

Also £179 is alot of money for just 60mm of aperture. £10 more will get you a 130p from FLO's, a much better scope.

Reflectors - Skywatcher Explorer 130P SupaTrak AUTO

[OssO_87]

Really? Awesome, thanks for the help DOC, i think i will phone them tomorrow and ask for a full refund and get the scope you just recommended, wish i had used this site first before buying! I take it that skywatcher scope has an auto finding feature like the GOTO one on the meade, is that why they call it autotrak? (sorry, im a beginner and not a very bright one at that!)

[TopHouse]

Osso, in the UK anyway you are covered by the distance selling laws, cancel the order, demand a refund and then come back to the guys on here for recommends of scope and supplier, they will NOT let you down.

[OssO_87]

Cheers TopHouse, just had a read of them laws and i think i'm pretty annoyed

[pvaz]

Not really the supatrack version only tracks objects (compensates for the earth rotation and keeps them in view).

The locating function is called GOTO, there is a version of the 130p with that function available:

Reflectors - Skywatcher Explorer 130P SynScan AZ GOTO

Once you get to learn the constellations and get a decent sky atlas (such as pocket sky atlas by sky&telescope) locating stuff ain't that hard, although it«s a bit of a learning curve at 1st. The aperture is actually more important as it defines how much light will be gathered making fainter objects visible. Most things (like galaxies and nebula) are faint and look just like gray smudges so any extra aperture is helpful. A 130mm aperture scope gathers 264% more light then the 80mm one.

A fancy GOTO on a small scope means it points to the object, but when you peek there is a great chance you won't see it cause there isn't enough aperture. GOTO is good to have, but it ain't very useful if you sacrifice aperture to get it.

[OssO_87]

wow, 264%, has my vote lol. Thanks for the help pvaz.

[pvaz]

The light gathering is based on the area of the primary lens/mirror.

The area of a circle is pi x radius^2 (squared) so you get:

(pi x (larger scope aperture/2)^2) / (pi x (smaller scope aperture/2)^2) x 100

The PIs cancel out so:

(larger scope aperture/2)^2 / (smaller scope aperture/2)^2 x 100

Comparing the 130 to the 80:

(130/2)^2 / (80/2)^2 x 100 = 65^2 / 40^2 x 100 = 4225/1600 x 100 = 2,64 x 100 = 264% more light gathering

The usual advice is "Get the largest aperture you can afford, transport and store easily.". No point in getting a scope so big you'll have trouble using frequently. Don't get the wrong idea. The 80mm will allow you to see planets, the moon and some of the brightest Deep Sky Objects (DSOs), but a 130mm will add a few more to those and allow you a maximum magnification of 260x while the 80mm will only allow for 160x which will make planets and the moon easier to observe when the atmosphere allows for such high mags.

[Jupiter Martin]

Osso Check your Junk e-mail box as their e-mails always seem to go there when I have used them in the past. I will not use them again after problems with them over 4 seperate items

[darlingtonskies]

if you paid by credit card contact bank and they will get money back for you and chase it from company as you do not have the item. hopefully it will turn up and ul be sat in like us waiting for clear skies

[OssO_87]

You know your stuff pvaz. And Martin, yeh i checked my Junk and theres nothing in there. I will give them a call tomorrow for sure. How long did it take you martin to get your items?

[OssO_87]

if you paid by credit card contact bank and they will get money back for you and chase it from company as you do not have the item. hopefully it will turn up and ul be sat in like us waiting for clear skies

I paid by visa debit card, theres something called chargeback isnt there? Yeh ive been waiting for the skies to clear with a cheap pair of binoculars to keep me occupied for now.

[Jupiter Martin]

2 weeks in the end I would not use them again

[Astro_Baby]

My firts purchase from them went ok - afterwards I wanted to check a stock item with them and they never returned my calls despite me calling about a dozen times. Coupled with the terrible press they get I have never used them since.

Talk to Steve at FLO (banner above) - he's always friendly and wont shove stuff at you.

[crepitis]

You should get a refund under the laws/rules that others have already outlined.

Anyway, who would be mad enough to argue with John dillinger ?

Good luck.

[darlingtonskies]

i looked at FLO for first time and they seem like a cheapish place.

I used harrisons and they were good but normally look for cheapest. might stay away from telescope planet

[mickyjd]

I know i'm going against the grain on this but i have bought 2 scopes from Telescope planet and both went through without a hitch both came as promised on next day delivery and i have had no problems with either scope. Cant say for their aftersales service as i have never used it yet.

[OssO_87]

Hey guys, had an email this morning at 10.30 saying :

Hello

So sorry for the delay with your order. We had the Astrofest in London Kensington most of last week so we were unable to ship orders. We did have some problems with stock of the ETX-60 telescopes at the time too.

Whilst we were away the new stock arrived, so I can get your order out today for delivery tomorrow. Here is the tracking number for you - xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx, you can check this at www.ukmail.biz.

ive checked the tracking number on the website given and it was dispatched today at 12.33pm should be in my hands tomorrow. But i wish i had of come here now before buying, thanks for your help guys, loving the site by the way and some of the pictures are phenomenal. I'll stick around if you dont mind.

[darlingtonskies]

thats good to hear. glad you haven't been taken for your money. you'll be like us now. sat in waiting for the clear skies.

[pvaz]

But i wish i had of come here now before buying, thanks for your help guys, loving the site by the way and some of the pictures are phenomenal. I'll stick around if you dont mind.

No worries.

The 80mm will allow you to experiment and see if you are into astronomy or not. Even if later on you decide to move on to something bigger you can resell it 2nd hand or keep it as a lite portable scope to take with you, so it's a good purchase.

Glad you enjoy the site and you'll find everyone will be pleased to give you a hand whenever you need.

[skye at night]

Right ok, im a beginner, and i bought a telescope off telescopeplanet.co.uk

Slow, through the teeth intake of breath and stroking of chin between thumb and forefinger....

"gonna costya mate".

Everyone has at least one bad purchase..

You quickly learn who the good guys are.

Steve

[skybond]

Hey guys, had an email this morning at 10.30 saying :

Hello

So sorry for the delay with your order. We had the Astrofest in London Kensington most of last week so we were unable to ship orders. We did have some problems with stock of the ETX-60 telescopes at the time too.

Whilst we were away the new stock arrived, so I can get your order out today for delivery tomorrow. Here is the tracking number for you - xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx, you can check this at www.ukmail.biz.

ive checked the tracking number on the website given and it was dispatched today at 12.33pm should be in my hands tomorrow. But i wish i had of come here now before buying, thanks for your help guys, loving the site by the way and some of the pictures are phenomenal. I'll stick around if you dont mind.

Maybe now is the time to ask for a full refund as per the terms and conditions on the Telescope Planet site .. "If your product is not delivered within the time stated, then a full refund can be given. "

It does not state anything about having to return the scope so I guess they have a policy of delivered late so you don't pay.

I am still waiting for my dew shield which was promised to me in October.