Meade lense prices??

[crazyjedi]

How come the meade 4000 lense box set costs $249 and around £250??

$249 shoul come out at £171 according to my currency converter, so why the £80 offset?? The Meade web site in the USA quotes me at $249 but the english web sites are quoting £250 - Not right!!

Is the Celestron lens box set as good? Cuz it's about £100 less than the meade offering:confused:

[ollypenrice]

Good question, but it is the same with everything in the US, bicycles, astro gear, canoes... However, they do often quote prices ex tax.

Olly

[kniclander]

check out ebay -you can usually get the 4000s for much less - I think a few folk on here (including me) have bought from a guy called Coolman something or other. Also, 2nd hand they go for a lot lot less.

[johninderby]

If you take off the US taxes and then add the UK VAT and duty £250.00 is about right unfortunately.

Curiously enough astro gear imported directly from the far east isn't that different in the US v the UK and can even be cheaper in the UK. Example Megrez 90 in the US about £820.00 and in the UK about £730.00.

However one thing that really makes me see red is that the Meade and Celestron OTA prices are far, far higher in the UK than they have any right to be, even taking into account the various taxes and duties.

John

[GuillermoBarrancos]

However one thing that really makes me see red is that the Meade and Celestron OTA prices are far, far higher in the UK than they have any right to be, even taking into account the various taxes and duties.

John

Heh. You should see the prices here in Norway for Astro equipment.

It will push you close to a cardiac arrest.

That's why I import everything from Sweden.

[kniclander]

Heh. You should see the prices here in Norway for Astro equipment.

It will push you close to a cardiac arrest.

That's why I import everything from Sweden.

i paid £7 for a pint of lager in oslo in 2000 and never went back

[GuillermoBarrancos]

i paid £7 for a pint of lager in oslo in 2000 and never went back

Alcohol has always been expensive in Scandinavia tho. Plus Capital cities always have higher prizes due to tourism exploitation!

Altho since the Euro (I am from Holland originally. moved to norway 2 years ago) the price differences aren't that high anymore.

You pay 3 euro 50 for a small beer and 5-6 euros for a half a liter in Amsterdam these days. And it's even more in Paris.

While today in Oslo I pay around 60 NOK for a half a liter pint. That is roughly 8 euros.

Most stuff are at regular prices here in Norway tho. Like Electronics, computer equipment, clothes, etc.

Salaries are also a lot higher here in Norway. Especially compaired to the UK.

With only 5 million citizens and very few Astro shops (wich are often also the main importers), they can make any price they want. As long as a fool is willing to pay it.

It's a shame really. As it puts off a lot of potential people from getting into Astronomy.

[zhgutas]

You pay 3 euro 50 for a small beer and 5-6 euros for a half a liter in Amsterdam these days.

Well that's uncool:eek: I'm off to Amsterdam this evening..

[crazyjedi]

Does the Celestron lens set compare well with the meade 4000 set?? My local shop is doing a special on the Celestron set for £125 - sounds reasonable if they're good lenses

[kniclander]

imho you're probbaly better off buying one or two decent e/ps than a load of cheap ones. you'll probbaly find that you only use 2 or 3 most of the time anyway and for £125 you could get a couple of nice ones. in my experience, 50 or 60£ is about what you need to start spending to get a jump in quality form the e/ps that come with skywatcher/ celstron scopes.

[sardaukarr]

hi just to jump on the band wagon a bit here.

i know its probably not a straight forward answer but would you recommend going for celestron xcels or meade 5000?

thanks

(Won 70 quid on lottery and its burning a whole in my pocket)

[crazyjedi]

I couldn't say from personal experience but i have it on good authority that the xcels are fantastic for planetary viewing but the 5000's are the best all-rounders.

[crazyjedi]

Ok. If i were to get just a couple of higher quality/priced lenses rather than a set, what would the recommendation be?? Bearing in mind that i'm keen on planetary viewing and trying very hard to get some good deep sky results too.

Sounds an expensive proposition to get a couple of premium lenses for both deep sky and planetary.

I was hoping to get a reasonable budget set for now and then add a good wide angle lens at a later date.

Meade 5000 and celestron axioms look fab but very £££££££££££££££££££

I want them but My piggy bank is feelin really poorly right now

Lets cut to the chase, Exactly which lenses would be recommended?. I need a couple of standard field for planetary views plus a couple of wide field, deep sky lenses. Recommend in order of preference if you like. Bear in mind that i'm not going to spend £300 or more on one lens - otherwise, go nuts!!

TTFN