22 replies to this topic

[Avitam]

Hello all

 

I wasn't sure where this question fits so figured I would start here. Moderators: please feel free to relocate if necessary.

 

I am fairly new to AP and visual and was in the market for some accessories for my mount and came across this website: https://telescopes.us.com/

 

It's not a website I am familiar with, but then again I have not been in the AP community for too long. 

 

Is anyone aware of this website and have they ordered from here ? Just wondering if they are legit or questionable. Some of the prices I saw here seem a bit too good. 

 

I have not ordered anything yet but I was "testing" this website. There is no address listed and the payment redirects to a Chinese sounding entity. 

 

Thanks.

 

Avi 

[Jim Waters]

I would run the other direction. Buy from a known store.

[Jay_Reynolds_Freeman]

The skeptic's rule is that when things look too good to be true, they aren't. I will be quite curious about that site but I do not want to be the first to order from them.

[RalphMeisterTigerMan]

I would err on the side of caution. Also, see if you can find any history of this company and if anyone has purchased anything from them. They should have some kind of phone line for customer service and actually try calling them. Someone should answer.

 

Clear skies and keep looking up!

RalphMeisterTigerMan

[Avitam]

I was wrong. They have a listed US address and phone number. 

 

https://telescopes.us.com/about-us/

 

Good point on calling them and seeing who answers. But I do agree....I don't think I want to be the first person to order from them  

[Jay_Reynolds_Freeman]

I claim no expertise in detective work, on the Internet or anywhere else. Notwithstanding ...

 

o This company's "about" page lists an address of 1942 Broadway, New York, NY 10023, and a telephone number of (259) 333-9950‬.

 

o Google Maps, Apple Maps, and an official New York city street map suggest that 1942 Broadway is a triangular-shaped "street corner" lot, at the intersection of Broadway and Columbus Avenue, with no building on it.

 

o Googling in search of "259 area code" suggests that this area code is not in use in the United States. The only "259 area code" that I could find was in Zanzibar.

 

Clear sky, my dear Watson ...

[TOMDEY]

The "About Us" would typically show a few pictures of the building, showroom, employees and describe the company from inception 'till now. Otherwise it's all generic boilerplate. An actual visit to the address would be comforting. Otherwise, it's like buying something from someone on e.g. Astromart who has no history whatsoever. I've done that before with no issues --- but have been working optics for over half a century, so a brief friendly telephone chat quickly reveals the pedigree of the business and/or individual.  Tom

[TOMDEY]

I claim no expertise in detective work, on the Internet or anywhere else. Notwithstanding ...

 

o This company's "about" page lists an address of 1942 Broadway, New York, NY 10023, and a telephone number of (259) 333-9950‬.

 

o Google Maps, Apple Maps, and an official New York city street map suggest that 1942 Broadway is a triangular-shaped "street corner" lot, at the intersection of Broadway and Columbus Avenue, with no building on it.

 

o Googling in search of "259 area code" suggests that this area code is not in use in the United States. The only "259 area code" that I could find was in Zanzibar.

 

Clear sky, my dear Watson ...

Funny! --- thanks for checking. On the other hand... that might just be their secret Bortle 1 observing field.    Tom

[Jon Isaacs]

I was wrong. They have a listed US address and phone number. 

 

https://telescopes.us.com/about-us/

 

Good point on calling them and seeing who answers. But I do agree....I don't think I want to be the first person to order from them

 

Look at the prices.. They are clearly fraudulent.  One example:

 

The Skywatcher 150 Esprit.  It is 150mm FPL-53 triplet.  Their price, $1.237.  The going price: $8250.  

https://telescopes.u...plet-refractor/

 

https://www.highpoin...elescope-s11430

 

What telescopes.us.com has done is copy the High Point Scientific website.  Look at the reviews, both have one review by Anthony C. 

 

https://www.highpoin...elescope-s11430

 

Look at used telescopes.  Both sites have the same open box iptron mount.  Highpoint is selling for about $3000, Telescopes.us, a bit over $500.   

 

https://www.highpoin...20ecan-open-box

 

https://telescopes.u...0ecan-open-box/

 

This a no doubter scam.  

 

Jon

Edited by Jon Isaacs, 11 March 2025 - 04:01 AM.

[Jay_Reynolds_Freeman]

This a no doubter scam. 

I agree ... though I do want to know how good the sky is in Zanzibar ...

 

Seriously, as a precaution, anyone who has been looking at this site might do well to remove cookies and make sure your anti-virus software is up to date and running.

 

 

Clear sky.

[Avitam]

Wow!! Thanks folks!! I have started sprinting in the opposite direction

[Plane91]

Unknowingly bought from this website, I was able to get most of my money (lost $6 over transactions by PayPal) refunded via my bank from PayPal as EK designs / Emma Shawcross never processed the authorisation or sent a shipping transaction. It's an inactive website with a payment terminal, but still lesson learned it's not a real seller just an empty website that's probably phishing my email and location . 

[WillR]

I did look at it out of curiosity. Maybe a mistake. The prices are impossible, and I looked at two products, both of which have “No reviews yet”. 
 

Slick website for a scam, though.

Edited by WillR, 12 June 2025 - 08:31 AM.

[Asbytec]

Clicked on the link...

 

"Hmmm… can't reach this page
Check if there is a typo in telescopes.us.com.
DNS_PROBE_FINISHED_NXDOMAIN"

[kopite]

Telescopes.com was the old website address of Orion Telescopes who are now out of business.

[Landau]

Took a look, even their regular prices are too low to believe. Lots of pictures but no description of anything. 
 

In my other hobby (scuba diving) we see very similar sites pop up on a regular basis.  
 

There must be some unlucky people that put in their details and card numbers, otherwise the scammers wouldn’t put so much effort into it.

[Genda]

I understand that they have an AHFO delivery policy.   (Arrives the date after hell freezes over!)

[louisr65]

I understand that they have an AHFO delivery policy.   (Arrives the date after hell freezes over!)

Hmmm... better check your Dante. According to him - it's not entirely clear just how he knows this - the inner 2 [or is it 3... i forget, now] circles of Hell are frozen solid.

 

Not that I'm encouraging anyone to venture into a transaction. A frozen Inferno may be a necessary condition for delivery, but I would think it's not sufficient.

[Genda]

Variation of Occam's Razor.....if it appears too good to be true .....you are right......scammers are everywhere......

[aeajr]

Looks like a bad site to me.

 

 

Looking at the product prices and they seem too good to be true.  And the product descriptions are very suspect.  Sky-watcher 8" Flextube   $290

 

Tags - Tags: dobsonian telescope, galileo telescope, giant telescope, radio telescope at arecibo, reflecting telescope, Reflecting Telescopes, refractor telescopes, saturn through telescope, Sky-Watcher 8" Flextube SynScan GoTo Collapsible Dobsonian, Telescope

 

Some of those are pretty odd search tags for this scope.  Others have similar strange search tags. 

 

 

 

The links at the top of the page to Facebook, Instragram, Twitter don't work.  That is very suspect. 

 

I ran a scan through Scam Advisor

https://www.scamadvi...lescopes.us.com

 

Trustscore
50 / 100

 

telescopes.us.com review is somewhat low according to our Scamadviser algorithm. The rating is given automatically based on data we could find about the site on the Internet such as if an SSL certificate is used, which country the website is hosted and if the website is listed on spam and phishing lists.

 

While we rate the website rather low, this does not mean the website is a scam or fake. As the review is done automatically, the score may be to low or high. We recommend you check each website manually yourself before you buy.

 

Why does telescopes.us.com have a relatively low trust score?

telescopes.us.com might be a scam. We found several indicators for this.

 

Positive highlights
The SSL certificate is valid

 

Negative highlights
The owner of the website is using a service to hide their identity on WHOIS

According to Tranco this site has a low rank

This website is (very) young.

We tried to analyze the content of the site but failed

 

This says nothing about the content, only looks at characteristic of the website.  It could all be legit, but ...

Edited by aeajr, 30 June 2025 - 03:49 PM.

[Bearcub]

Reading website address MUST BE done from direction right to left.

 

so the real address is us.com

 

the telescopes is a sub-domain. never read websites from left to right!

 

Always ignore subdomains.

Edited by Bearcub, 01 July 2025 - 02:24 PM.

[ed100]

Last week I saw an Instagram ad for this website. Advertised a C14 for about $1400. Completely impossible, but someone is actively advertising the site - it's not just a passive trap. Buyer beware.

[CrazyPanda]

Reading website address MUST BE done from direction right to left.

 

so the real address is us.com

 

the telescopes is a sub-domain. never read websites from left to right!

 

Always ignore subdomains.

Agreed.

 

If you visit us.com, it's clearly a company who bought the domain us.com and is selling subdomains to morons who think having a ".us.com" site instead of just a ".com" site is somehow better. The us.com site itself is also a scam, claiming it's "The global domain for America".

 

Nonsense. This is in stark contrast to ".co.uk". The ".uk" is the top level domain literally owned by the UK. The ".co" domain is intended to designate commercial enterprises. So ".co.uk" is an "official" UK commerical website.

 

Meanwhile "us.com" is just nonsense. It's no surprise then to find scammy websites hooked up as subdomains of a similarly scammy parent domain...

Edited by CrazyPanda, 08 July 2025 - 08:33 PM.