2nd hand scopes are expensive!

[Meerkat]

I'm looking at getting a small portable scope for when on holiday and thought the Skywatcher Heritage-130P would fit the bill nicely.

Been looking at 2nd hand ones and of the two I have seen one went for £114 delivered and the other is up to £103 "collection only" already.

These are £125 delivered from FLO so it looks like new is the way to go.

It's all Professor Cox's fault

Steve

[JAO]

Where did you see them sell second hand? Second hand scopes on Ebay some times go for silly money because bidders get caught in the race to win without checking the new price!

[ollypenrice]

If you look on here or on UK Astroobuysell you should find bargains. I bought a TeleVue Pronto for a quarter of the new price, for instance, some TV eyepieces at half price and so on. With the exception of high end apochromatic refractors I think you should be paynig about 60 percent of the new price. Even so I saved nearly £2000 on the price of a TEC140 for an example indistinguishable from new.

I have never had anything to do with Ebay, which seems like a madhouse to me.

Olly

[yeti monster]

Ye Olde Baye De Fleases certainly is a madhouse, however, if one is prepared to bide ones time, a good many bargains are to be had. My problems are, that I can find it hard to resist such bargains or that I totally fail to place a bet on an item that goes through for 99p with no bids!

[stardad]

U.K. Astronomy Buy & Sell

Worth a look.

[russ]

Ye Olde Baye De Fleases certainly is a madhouse, however, if one is prepared to bide ones time, a good many bargains are to be had. My problems are, that I can find it hard to resist such bargains or that I totally fail to place a bet on an item that goes through for 99p with no bids!

I agree. It is a mad house and 85% of what is available is complete garbage. But the eagle eyed can spot a bargain, couple that with some patience and Ebay can work for you.

But to the inexperienced it's a minefield.

[spaceboy]

It has become almost funny to see how Joe Public has become so manipulated by advertising/media. Cricket season everyone wants a cricket bat and will pay the earth for one but come football season a bat will go for pennies. I have seen telescopes go for next to nothing on ebay but put on some episodes of Stargazing live on TV (selling machine) and astronomy equipment is going 2nd hand for almost the same as new. Like dangling the carrot in front of the donkey, he will chase it focused only on getting it. You can guarantee once the faze has wore off and sorted the devoted from those on the band wagon you will see a mass of astronomy equipment on ebay going for bargain basement prices.

SPACEBOY

[russ]

you will see a mass of astronomy equipment on ebay going for bargain basement prices.

SPACEBOY

Excellent can't wait, TV Ethos for £50

[Vargojones]

There will probably be a new peak now as we get "wonders of the universe". Could it be a good time to sell my scope and go for an upgrade?

I jest I love my scope, and will hold on to it, but that's not to say it won't be joined by friends at some point in the future!

[spaceboy]

Put it this way. I purchased my Helios 200p & EQ5 in September after the guy struggled to sell it. He give it to me for £125. I used it for 5 months kept what bits and bobs I wanted like slow mo controls, polar finder & vibration pads and later sold the mount in auction for £142 and the OTA within 5 minutes of listing for £100 Buy it now. In hind sight maybe I should have put the OTA in auction also but given how long ago Helios changed to SW and my failed attempts to clean the primary I felt this a fair price given the profit I had already made of the mount. The only difference between the original seller and me is Stargazing live and the interest it generated. If you are considering an upgrade this is probably the best time to do it in all honesty and eBay is the place to do it. Last November I saw a Helios Evostar 120 go for £125 on a EQ5 mount, the other day the almost identical SW blue tube 120 went for £350 all be it with a budget EP set included. And yes I really should get out more

SPACEBOY

[pete_l]

There will probably be a new peak now as we get "wonders of the universe". Could it be a good time to sell my scope and go for an upgrade?

The thing about selling into a popular demand (e.g. created by a TV series or celestial event/comet) is that the people who are inspired by these aren't the most discriminating buyers. So they are seduced by the "MASSIVE 600 times MAGNIFICATION" and "HUGE 70mm lens" sales pitches, rather than good quality stuff that's well made.

So if you have garbage to offload (and let's face it, we all have), it's probably a good opportunity - if your conscience permits. But I doubt that it has much effect on the "serious" amateur market.

[thunderbird]

U.K. Astronomy Buy & Sell

Worth a look.

Is it just me or is this one of the hardest websites to find anything on.I cant find any filters

[AndyH]

Is it just me or is this one of the hardest websites to find anything on.I cant find any filters

Hehe. Sods law ! Whenever you're after something specifically, it's never listed. Then, when you pay full dolla for said item, boom, there it is, waving at you from the for sale section. Has happened to me, many a time.

Andy.

[hamiclar01]

I keep a ball park figure of 50% when looking for a used scope.

Why, because this is what a Dealer once advised me to advertise my scope at. With the profusion of good optics are affordable prices these days, the second hand market isn't holding it's price for many things (not all)

[wozza]

I have found that when looking as well ,what i normally do when i see a scope advertised second hand is try and find it on the FLO website this then gives an idea of price and if its not listed then i don't bother as it's probably discontinued.

But all this would be out the window if i could view the for sale section on here but even though i have more than 50 i still can't see it

[thunderbird]

But all this would be out the window if i could view the for sale section on here but even though i have more than 50 i still can't see it

From what I understand posts made inthe Lounge dont count towards access to the For Sale section - perhaps some of your total post count has been adjusted because of this

[jgs001]

On ebay, patience and care is defo required, but get it right, and don't get caught up and you can pick up some amazing bargains... I got a NexStar 60 SLT (I only wanted the mount, never actually used the scope) for £42...

[thunderbird]

Hehe. Sods law ! Whenever you're after something specifically, it's never listed. Then, when you pay full dolla for said item, boom, there it is, waving at you from the for sale section. Has happened to me, many a time.

Andy.

Ha Ha - I was talking about search filters like distance, price etc not lens filters thanks for giving me a laugh

[rowan46]

I have found that when looking as well ,what i normally do when i see a scope advertised second hand is try and find it on the FLO website this then gives an idea of price and if its not listed then i don't bother as it's probably discontinued.

But all this would be out the window if i could view the for sale section on here but even though i have more than 50 i still can't see it

the requirement to view is 50+ posts and 1-month membership

[AndyH]

Ha Ha - I was talking about search filters like distance, price etc not lens filters thanks for giving me a laugh

Doh

Andy.

[wozza]

the requirement to view is 50+ posts and 1-month membership

Ahhh i see i still have a few days to go then ,can anyone tell me if there is anything good on there at the moment

[stardad]

But all this would be out the window if i could view the for sale section on here but even though i have more than 50 i still can't see it

You haven't been a member for a month yet so after the 11/3 that may all change.

Can you wait a week? Its like star gazing and the clouds come in, you just have to wait for them to clear away....

[LukeSkywatcher]

Can i ask...........Steve (Meerkat):

You say you want a Heritage to take on holiday?

Does this mean you plan to holiday in the UK or do you plan to take the Heritage base apart and put it in a suitcase to take on flights?.

Either is good with the Heritage i'm guessing. The base will break down to nothing really and the tube is certainly light enough and small enough to take on a flight as hand luggage.

Its a great scope. I dont know why they are so expensive 2nd hand. Best just to go with the FLO.

[LukeSkywatcher]

Hehe. Sods law ! Whenever you're after something specifically, it's never listed. Then, when you pay full dolla for said item, boom, there it is, waving at you from the for sale section. Has happened to me, many a time.

Andy.

I have lost count of the number of times i have bought something new only for the same to show up in the for sale section within 24 hrs.

I'm not a paranoid person but i think people put theirs up for sale only after i have said that i have bought new gear and paid full price for it.

Least that is what the voices in my head tell me is happening.

[spaceboy]

I have lost count of the number of times i have bought something new only for the same to show up in the for sale section within 24 hrs.

I'm not a paranoid person but i think people put theirs up for sale only after i have said that i have bought new gear and paid full price for it.

Least that is what the voices in my head tell me is happening.

Your not the only one Paul. I've paid out for new having given up on all the waiting only to find several days later the item I wanted pops up 2nd hand. peed off would be an understatement.