Another maker won't ship outside the US

Hi all

On February 15 I ordered a William Optics Zenithstar 80 from Adorama in New York, there was no problem and the scope was shipped.

I've been on the lookout for a 2" eyepiece and I thought that a WO Swan would fit the bill, I went back to Adorama's website, found the eyepiece and pressed the Buy Now button. At the checkout I asked to calculate shipping to Ireland and got the message that this item could no longer be shipped outside the US.

William Optics has followed the road blazed by the likes of Meade and Celestron and the market for European buyers is getting smaller and smaller. And, as a result, more and more expensive.

How long before they even restrict buying to the home country?

Paul

Paul,

This is something I do not understand as well since it monopolizes the market within each country in favour of the local dealer and at the expense of the local buyer.

We have a mini-revolution locally with the Celestron and Meade dealers who have even gone to the length to terrorize potential buyers with the statement they will not help with the service of a unit which was bought/brought from outside the country and in spite of the fact as official representatives they have an obligation to such matters.

This is very narrow-minded thinking by Celestron, Meade and now WO and which will only hurt their sales since many potential customers will be turned away due to the high prices and lack of competition.

I cannot understand why there are countless dealers in the US but only a single dealer in many european countries. Surely they do not expect the single local dealer to act with the best interests of the buyer in mind?! :evil:

If you have a trustworthy friend or relative in the US, you do have a way out of this mess. Another option is to buy from Astromart where sellers do not care (generally) about the buyer's location the way the manufacturers do.

Hi Anthony

With only a single supplier in each country the system is open to abuse as regards the price, as the only player in town they can charge what they please, as you state, and there's nothing that can be done about it.

I know that we can buy from the EU, but we are still restricted by the higher prices.

One final point, if something goes wrong with your piece of equipment it will most likely be shipped to the States for repairs, I can't speak for the tax system in Greece, but knowing our government we could be charged tax when it re-enters the country.

It's a situation that is not going to get better anytime soon.

Paul

One final point, if something goes wrong with your piece of equipment it will most likely be shipped to the States for repairs, I can't speak for the tax system in Greece, but knowing our government we could be charged tax when it re-enters the country.

Paul,

I had a similar problem when my SBIG CCD camera fell a couple of meters. The cooling would not work along with a few other minor problems and issues. When sending the camera to the US for repairs, I made sure I wrote down the serial number on the postal receipt.

When the camera came back, there was indeed a tax issue ... and which was resolved immediately when the customs official matched the serial on the postal receipt with that on the camera when the box was opened.

My only taxes and duties were for SBIG's repair bill ($150) plus the grotesque UPS charges ($210). I was fortunate I cleared the item myself (two hours of running around) or, otherwise, UPS would have enjoyed an even bigger winfall at my expense (I begged and pleaded with SBIG not to use UPS but it all fell on deaf ears).

I am convinced that if you were to pursue something similar, a LOGICAL customs officer (or his manager if necessary) would ding you only for the repair bill.

Consumers need to revolt against these restrictive trading practices by buying alternative products. Unfortunately the choice is somewhat restricted because we don't have European companies that are capable of challenging the likes of Meade and Celestron, but there are many alternative quality products available (particularly from China and Russia) and plenty of EU dealers capable of delivering them at a fair price.

I choose never again to buy an American brand unless it's sold for a fair price in an outlet like Lidl or American dealers are allowed ship it overseas. That's my answer to their anti-free trade dealership contracts.

On the home front, anyone who attempts to order a product from an EU dealer who offers Internet ordering or mail order and is refused because there is an 'Irish dealer' should complain to the regulatory authorities.

I say boycott them !!!! go get a good refractor from another manufacturer, god knows there are plenty out there to choose from, or get it on astromart.
Its not like the schmidt cassegrain situation where your stuck with either Meade or Celestron.