Somewhere amongst all the threads here there is one from a guy who was told by Mike at Astronomics that he got the last of the 80EDLs. I think he received it in late February or early March. Serial Number is 00047. It was about that time that another poster said it was now showing as "out off stock" and one poster at about the same date said that Mike from Astronomics said it was now discontinued. Given your link above it appears to be pretty close to 23 months from start to end of the 80EDL sales. I guess they averaged about two sold per month, but it appears to me that the vast majority of them were sold while they were on sale for $699.
In your link above, Astronomics Mike B. said about the 80EDL: "Not everyone wants a triplet and they want as high a quality glass as they can get. Couple that with a faster cool down time and it works a bit better as a visual scope in that respect. People have liked the EDL line, so it was a natural extension. It might work, it might flop. The public will decide and the doublet cost to us is quite pricey so the cost is in line."
In the end it sounds like a lot of people went for the 80EDT with a case for only a few hundred dollars more. The 80EDL, at least for Astronomics, appears to have wound up being a bit of a "flop" as far as profits go because it had to be discounted down to $700 to sell out and then it was discontinued.
I found the sales receipt for the original owner of my scope tucked in the instruction manual and he purchased it in early January of this year while on sale for $699 (Maybe a late Xmas present?). He also bought the 0.8x focal reducer/flattener at the same time for $130.
Why the fascination with the serial numbers on here anyway? Trying to figure out how many were made or what?
Edited by rnyboy, 29 August 2023 - 10:47 AM.
