197 replies to this topic

[Illinois]

I have several telescopes but I don’t buy all at the same time. Since 1975 and some sold and donated so now I have 5 telescopes. 16 inch dobsonian is great for deep sky objects in dark sky in northern Wisconsin and 150 ED refractor is great for planetary in my backyard (Bortle 5). 80 and 100 ED is nice for grab and go at last minutes like comet or whatever rare night like Jupiter and Saturn was so close each other in December of 2020.   Telescopes is like golf clubs and I have lot of fishing rods and reels for various fishes like panfish, walleye, bass, catfish and ice fishing. Lures for shallow, medium and deep and weedless and on and on.   Just buy one good telescope and good eyepiece for one at a time and good equipment will last in lifetime. 

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[scotsman328i]

I’ll add a caveat to selling scopes…

 

For instance, my Explore scientific 12” Gen II Truss Dob. That scope was $1999 new. It is absolutely pristine. Owned it for 3 years now and used it only twice in my backyard, due to worsening crushed spinal disc issues and a problematic shoulder. It’s made a beautiful centerpiece to a spare room that collects dust. I’ve added the counterweight system (sold separately), the light shroud (sold separately), a Rigel Quikfinder with custom dew cover (both sold separately) threw in a Baader Click Lock, threw in a SVBony laser collimator, threw in a HPS 2” ED Barlow, gave extra focuser extenders, threw in the battery pack (sold separately) for the twin cooling fans and a brand new still boxed 9x40 finder if the new owner wanted to install a traditional finder over the Rigel Quikfinder. I added all these accessories in hopes of my physical disposition improving, which it hasn’t, nor ever will. The stark reality hit me about a year ago, that the day of the Dobsonian that isn’t an 8” full tube or less, is over for me. You can see images of it in my gallery on my profile.
 

My asking price for local pickup by a buyer or delivery by myself to a buyer was $1200. That’s a steal and everyone knows it. Even at a steal of a deal, one person called interested but never called back. 
 

Now, if I said “ok folks! $500 and ALL OF IT IS YOURS!” Oh, you’d better believe I’d have folks driving up from Florida or down from New York for a ‘scope giveaway’…but you have to sit back and ask yourself, at what cost and what price are you willing to let things go just to have it gone and free up some space in a spare room? Is it worth spending $2500+ in total on a telescope, to let it go for 1/5 the price? 
 

 

Edited by scotsman328i, 18 May 2025 - 06:19 AM.

[VA3DSO]

For the last decade or so I've had just two scopes. Like the Sith in Star Wars there is a master (main scope) and an apprentice (travel / grab 'n' go scope). That has been my Meade 2080 LX3 8" SCT and my Sky-Watcher Mercury 705.

 

My main motivation in life in regards to "stuff" is to keep the clutter to a minimum. I'm not a collector.

 

Recently I bought a 102mm refractor (Celestron Omni AZ 102) which has really, really good optics for an achromat. I initially thought it would replace the 70mm but its honestly too large to serve the function as a travel scope. So for now, I am content with having 3 telescopes. But my long term plan is to pick up a 70-80mm APO which will replace both my refractors and I'll go back to just 2 scopes.

[NinePlanets]

I'm not a collector, but an accumulator.

Scope stuff seems to settle on me like dust on a shelf. It's awful. I need a big feather duster.

[Michael Edelman]

Collecting scopes often seems like a hobby in and of itself. There’s a fascination with mechanical devices common to many amateurs, and there are some scopes- Questars, for one- that are just such fascinating pieces of gear that you can’t bear to part with them, even if they don’t meet your current observing needs.

 

In my earlier days I could only afford one scope at a time, and every new scope meant one had to leave. Then for almost 30 years I owned two scopes:  A Q3.5 and a Pronto. Today I own four scopes: A TV-85 that was a logical step-up from the Pronto, a TV-60 that’s more portable than the Pronto, a Ranger that I take places I’d worry about damaging or losing the TV-60, and because I can’t bear to part with it, the Pronto.

[justfred]

There’s probably a medical term for it; my wife just says we’re all sick in the head….

 

But it sure is fun.

 

Fred

Edited by justfred, 18 May 2025 - 08:54 AM.

[Jon Isaacs]

For instance, my Explore scientific 12” Gen II Truss Dob. That scope was $1999 new. It is absolutely pristine. Owned it for 3 years now and used it only twice in my backyard, due to worsening crushed spinal disc issues and a problematic shoulder. It’s made a beautiful centerpiece to a spare room that collects dust.

 

 

Scotsman:  

 

I am sorry to hear of your spinal disc issues.  My sister has two crushed discs and they are debilitating.  Selling a Dob is difficult because shipping has gotten so expensive, that means you are pretty much limited to your local area.  

 

I hope your back improves and that somehow, someway, you are able to part ways with your 12 inch ES Dob.. Larger Dobs are not for everyone.

 

Jon

[gene 4181]

There’s probably a medical term for it; my wife just says we’re all sick in the head….

 

But it sure is fun.

 

Fred

 Yeah , but its the good kind !

[rjacks]

I’ll add a caveat to selling scopes…

 

For instance, my Explore scientific 12” Gen II Truss Dob. That scope was $1999 new. It is absolutely pristine. Owned it for 3 years now and used it only twice in my backyard, due to worsening crushed spinal disc issues and a problematic shoulder. It’s made a beautiful centerpiece to a spare room that collects dust. I’ve added the counterweight system (sold separately), the light shroud (sold separately), a Rigel Quikfinder with custom dew cover (both sold separately) threw in a Baader Click Lock, threw in a SVBony laser collimator, threw in a HPS 2” ED Barlow, gave extra focuser extenders, threw in the battery pack (sold separately) for the twin cooling fans and a brand new still boxed 9x40 finder if the new owner wanted to install a traditional finder over the Rigel Quikfinder. I added all these accessories in hopes of my physical disposition improving, which it hasn’t, nor ever will. The stark reality hit me about a year ago, that the day of the Dobsonian that isn’t an 8” full tube or less, is over for me. You can see images of it in my gallery on my profile.
 

My asking price for local pickup by a buyer or delivery by myself to a buyer was $1200. That’s a steal and everyone knows it. Even at a steal of a deal, one person called interested but never called back. 
 

Now, if I said “ok folks! $500 and ALL OF IT IS YOURS!” Oh, you’d better believe I’d have folks driving up from Florida or down from New York for a ‘scope giveaway’…but you have to sit back and ask yourself, at what cost and what price are you willing to let things go just to have it gone and free up some space in a spare room? Is it worth spending $2500+ in total on a telescope, to let it go for 1/5 the price? 
 

Things are worth what you can get someone to pay for them, in the market in which you find yourself. Easier to sell astronomy gear if you live in a location with a lot of astronomers. Easier to sell if you take them to a big star party. If you aren't using the scope anymore, you aren't getting any value from it and it's taking up space, but you could free up room AND have $$500-$700 in your pocket. I think one of the most non-intuitive economic lessons is that sunk costs shouldn't factor into decision making. I would try again at $900 and be open to offers.  Good luck. 

[Mike Spooner]

There’s probably a medical term for it; my wife just says we’re all sick in the head….

 

But it sure is fun.

 

Fred

I try not to over analyze it since I’ve figured out a treatment plan!

 

Mike

[Jon Isaacs]

I try not to over analyze it since I’ve figured out a treatment plan!

 

Mike

 

My wife is very supportive.  I hide nothing, when I am considering a significant purchase, I consult with her.  I do want her opinion and I want her to know.  Generally, I am the reluctant one, she is telling me to go ahead.. Of course any time I part ways with a scope, she is happy.

 

When I see a scope on Craigslist or Astromart, she will often accompany me.  We were at our place in the high desert when I saw the ad for the 25 inch F/5 Obsession up in LA.  She said: "Lets go, I am ready."

 

One time she accompanied me to look at an Celestron Nextstar 5 that had been advertised on Craigslist.  She was sitting in the truck, I was looking it over.  In a moment of temporary sanity, I had decided not to buy the scope, I really didn't need another scope.  I was explaining to the seller that I thought the price was right, the scope was in good condition, I just didn't really need another scope.  

 

Suddenly there was a booming voice behind me:  "AH COME ON JON, YOU KNOW YOU REALLY WANT IT !!"

 

Well, I didn't really want it but after that, I had to buy it.  

 

Only one time has she put a condition on a purchase.  I had decided to downsize from the 25 inch F/5 to something faster and smaller.  We were at a Christmas party, I checked Astromart and there was the ad for a 22 inch F/4.4 Starsplitter that had never been assembled. I contacted the seller, I was first in line.

 

I asked Francis to come outside so we could talk..  "Sure, go ahead but you can't keep them both."  That had been my thinking as well.. 

 

When I was taking the photos for the Astromart Ad to sell the 25 inch, I had to get the other scopes out of the garage so it seemed like a perfect time for a selfie.. 

 

 

Jon

[scotsman328i]

Scotsman:  

 

I am sorry to hear of your spinal disc issues.  My sister has two crushed discs and they are debilitating.  Selling a Dob is difficult because shipping has gotten so expensive, that means you are pretty much limited to your local area.  

 

I hope your back improves and that somehow, someway, you are able to part ways with your 12 inch ES Dob.. Larger Dobs are not for everyone.

 

Jon

Thanks so much, Jon. I knew that was the nature of the game serving 20yrs in the U.S. Army and after two deployments and a tumble off an 8ft wall with 100lbs of gear on, that is what pretty much sealed my fate with weight factors the rest of my life. 
 

Writing my post was by no means not budging from a $1200 sale, it was more of myself equating in my mind of how low will I really end up going to let it go, you know? Eventually it will get to a point, like pretty much everything in life, where I just won’t care anymore and let it go for whatever price someone is willing to pay.

 

I mean, let’s all be honest here for anyone reading this response to Jon…it’s not like throughout the span of our lifetimes we haven’t spent nor lost silly money on things we couldn’t show one cent for down the road, you know? Plus…I wonder how much money folks who sell yachts or helicopters lose when selling them used? LOL! Oh yeah, my whining over $1200 is NOTHING compared to some things. 

[scotsman328i]

Things are worth what you can get someone to pay for them, in the market in which you find yourself. Easier to sell astronomy gear if you live in a location with a lot of astronomers. Easier to sell if you take them to a big star party. If you aren't using the scope anymore, you aren't getting any value from it and it's taking up space, but you could free up room AND have $$500-$700 in your pocket. I think one of the most non-intuitive economic lessons is that sunk costs shouldn't factor into decision making. I would try again at $900 and be open to offers.  Good luck. 

Oh you are absolutely right, rjacks. There will come a time when it will matter more to let it go to a good home to someone that will actually USE it. When you think about a $1200 price to ship it out insured and everything else, you’ll probably wind up with $900 in pocket, so you’re right. Eventually I’ll try again locally at a $900 offer and see who is interested. I’ve witnessed some Obsessions offered at around 40% of the cost of a new one. I also understand the market right now is also a buyers market on day, and a sellers market the other day…but that is also within reason. Purchasing a used telescope doesn’t fall under the same market as buying or selling a house, you know? lol.

[scotsman328i]

 

My wife is very supportive.  I hide nothing, when I am considering a significant purchase, I consult with her.  I do want her opinion and I want her to know.  Generally, I am the reluctant one, she is telling me to go ahead.. Of course any time I part ways with a scope, she is happy.

 

When I see a scope on Craigslist or Astromart, she will often accompany me.  We were at our place in the high desert when I saw the ad for the 25 inch F/5 Obsession up in LA.  She said: "Lets go, I am ready."

 

One time she accompanied me to look at an Celestron Nextstar 5 that had been advertised on Craigslist.  She was sitting in the truck, I was looking it over.  In a moment of temporary sanity, I had decided not to buy the scope, I really didn't need another scope.  I was explaining to the seller that I thought the price was right, the scope was in good condition, I just didn't really need another scope.  

 

Suddenly there was a booming voice behind me:  "AH COME ON JON, YOU KNOW YOU REALLY WANT IT !!"

 

Well, I didn't really want it but after that, I had to buy it.  

 

Only one time has she put a condition on a purchase.  I had decided to downsize from the 25 inch F/5 to something faster and smaller.  We were at a Christmas party, I checked Astromart and there was the ad for a 22 inch F/4.4 Starsplitter that had never been assembled. I contacted the seller, I was first in line.

 

I asked Francis to come outside so we could talk..  "Sure, go ahead but you can't keep them both."  That had been my thinking as well.. 

 

When I was taking the photos for the Astromart Ad to sell the 25 inch, I had to get the other scopes out of the garage so it seemed like a perfect time for a selfie.. 

 

 

 

Jon

 

Good Karma comes to good people, Jon. You’ve also simply given scopes and eyepieces away to many over the years. I’ve always said you’re a good guy, Man…even though you break my spherical masses sometimes. 

[scotsman328i]

There’s probably a medical term for it; my wife just says we’re all sick in the head….

 

But it sure is fun.

 

Fred

Fred, if this is a sickness, I have no desire to get better! 

[Jon Isaacs]

Good Karma comes to good people, Jon. You’ve also simply given scopes and eyepieces away to many over the years. I’ve always said you’re a good guy, Man…even though you break my spherical masses sometimes. 

 

Scottsman:

 

Sometimes it's easier emotionally to give a scope or eyepiece to someone who can make good use of it than to sell it.  

 

A gift is a not only a gift to the seller but also a gift to the giver and a warm memory... A special connection.

 

And your 100% right.. it's not a house. But $1000 is still real money for most of us . You'll find a buyer..

 

Jon

[Mike W]

A couple of years ago I got fed up with rain, smoke, clouds, so I donated my 10" dob to the boy scouts rather than sell it. The scouts meet at the club house at our dark site. Now I'm back to a 102 refractor. 

[scotsman328i]

Scottsman:

 

Sometimes it's easier emotionally to give a scope or eyepiece to someone who can make good use of it than to sell it.  

 

A gift is a not only a gift to the seller but also a gift to the giver and a warm memory... A special connection.

 

And your 100% right.. it's not a house. But $1000 is still real money for most of us . You'll find a buyer..

 

Jon

Absolutely right, Jon. We have special bonds with our telescopes. It’s like owning a much beloved dog and she has puppies, you know you wouldn’t just give them away to anyone. You want to know those puppies will be loved, cared for and appreciated. Same kinda goes for those scopes that provided so many years of wonderful memories. 
 

On the sale of the scope. I know me also. If a young potential buyer showed up with a family and newborn in tow and said he only had $500 and if that would do. Yes…it would. Me taking a hit on the gear at this time in my life when I already own another 4 scopes, is not a big deal. If it got this young man under the stars for $500, I’d do it without a thought.

    However, don’t show up here driving a Corvette wearing a Cartier watch and expect to talk me down to $500. 
 

Words of the day:- “Mitigating Circumstances!” 

[PKDfan]

I've got two telescopes, one spotter and 5 pairs of bins and all serve a unique observing need and quickness is a top priority and equally the quality of the views.

I want to be carried away (and very far) and when i get there i want to be stunned by the unimaginable details i'll see and while engrossed in detangling all of the ancient light i'll hopefully forget about all of the present lights scenes.



CSS
Lance

[daveb2022]

 We have special bonds with our telescopes. It’s like owning a much beloved dog and she has puppies, you know you wouldn’t just give them away to anyone. You want to know those puppies will be loved, cared for and appreciated. Same kinda goes for those scopes that provided so many years of wonderful memories. 

Boy, that's true for me. Hard to just give one up. I have some loaner scopes I let my buddies and kids use. I still kinda cringe when I see some of my buddies kids rough handling my ST80 achro. It's 25 years old but I still treat it with respect. Out of all my scopes, if things went sideways, I guess my NP101 purchased in 2001 would be my most heart breaking loss. It's the only scope I have that I had to wait for it to be released and it has been with me all for hundreds of miles during my off road adventures. I've been told more than once, if you'd keep the house as clean as those scopes...
 

[scotsman328i]

Boy, that's true for me. Hard to just give one up. I have some loaner scopes I let my buddies and kids use. I still kinda cringe when I see some of my buddies kids rough handling my ST80 achro. It's 25 years old but I still treat it with respect. Out of all my scopes, if things went sideways, I guess my NP101 purchased in 2001 would be my most heart breaking loss. It's the only scope I have that I had to wait for it to be released and it has been with me all for hundreds of miles during my off road adventures. I've been told more than once, if you'd keep the house as clean as those scopes...
 

Haha right? “You keep those scopes of yours meticulous! Now go look at the garage!” I’ve heard that more than once in this household! 

 

It is hard to give scopes up that have been well used and have a sea of memories attached to them. The 12” ES Dob of mine doesn’t fall in that category though. I’ve owned it three years and used it twice! This emotionally is like giving away a bag of sod as far as I’m concerned. lol. However, I’d like to get some form of money for the scope, I mean, we all would. Then again, that’s why I have no issues dropping the price more on it. 

[Tony Flanders]

I'm not quite sure how many telescopes I own. (That's a bad sign in its own right.) Certainly more than I would like to, but probably not quite ten. I plan to sell or give away some of my scopes and mounts soon; at 71 years old, it's time to simplify my life.

 

Like Jon, I own two homes, which does complicate my situation. I obviously can't schlepp all my astro gear back and forth each time I go, especially since I sometimes go by public transport or get rides with other family members. So I'm stuck with a certain degree of redundancy if I don't want to get trapped without an appropriate instrument on a beautiful night.

 

I do most of my astronomy at the country home, and it really does need three scopes at a minimum -- in fact, that's precisely what's here right now as I type this. There's my 12.5-inch Dob for hard-core observing, my 80-mm APO for quick looks, wide fields, and terrestrial use, and the 7-inch Dob as a compromise when I don't want to hassle with the 12.5-incher or want wider fields of view than it can provide. Oh yes, make that four scopes, since I recently bought a Seestar 50 on a whim. I'm not sure it really counts as a telescope, since it cannot be used visually. I'm also not counting the various pairs of binoculars that are currently here.

 

My biggest practical problem with owning too many scopes is storage space. (The Seestar blessedly counts near zero hassle on that count!) Storage space at my country home is limited because I share the house with my two sisters and their families, and storage space is obviously limited for my 3rd-floor walk-up city apartment.

 

I also have a philosophical objection to being encumbered with too many possessions. As far as I'm concerned, he who dies with the most toys is the biggest fool.

Edited by Tony Flanders, 18 May 2025 - 01:46 PM.

[skysurfer]

Indeed, for me who is almost 60 years in this hobby, I have only 3 scopes.

1. An 80mm f/6.3 achro. I purchased it as a Polarex / Unitron spotting scope in my high school days in 1973. Eyepieces were crappy, four Huygens .965" ones in a turret with a tunnel vision of AFOV of only 40º. And the objective cell had stress in it resulting in haze around planet images. So after a couple of decades I refurbished it with new optics, a better objective lens, a 1.25" Baader Amici diagonal (to avoid mirror image) which allowed using my TV eyepieces. This scope, despite being modded strongly, has an emotional value and I still use it. Simple table tripod so a very quick G&G scope. I put an Arca Swiss on the original tripod, so I coold detach it easily from the original tripod and attach it on a photo tripod and vice versa.
2. A 110mm 4.3" ED f/7 scope bought in 2015 second hand. I use it for both visual and astrophotography. And this is mostly my travel scope, the OTA weighs only 4kg / 9lbs. Its Vixen SP mount of 1991 still works very well and survived checked luggage handling many times during trips all over the world, mainly South Africa and Australia.
3. A 16" F/4.4 Dobson with a wheel cart. It replaced an Orion XT-10 which I had to carry, so bonus. More aperture and easier te deploy. For deep sky and faint objects or sometimes for daylight observations of planets.
And only 5 eyepieces (TMB Planetary 4mm, Vixen LV6, Vixen Plössl 22mm, Nagler 13T6 and Panoptic 24).
And only one bino: Nikon Monarch 16x56 which is a weight (1.2kg) compromise between a too heavy 2,5kg premium 15x70 (which I don't have). I have had 15x70s of only 1.4kg, but these had almost square exit pupils because of undersized BK7 prisms and had poor mechanics. The Nikon is very good, sturdy and stable and sharp.
 

[BKBrown]

Although I have accumulated a lot of scopes and other gear over the years, none of it is neglected or remains unused for long. I use my gear for visual observing and astrophotography, lunar/planetary, solar, and deep sky work...a whole range of varying interests. Some of my gear is housed in my observatory on two permanent mounts, with 7 or 8 scopes in play and ready for immediate use. Others are more portable and get used for quick looks in the backyard and/or experimenting with new cameras and other gear, outreach sessions, or travel to dark sites and vacations. Stuff I don't use gets sold or passed on to others, it doesn't languish. The variety I enjoy gives me many viewing or imaging options, and no single scope can be perfect for every application. People do not balk at folks who have roomfuls of fishing gear, golf clubs, guns, cameras/lenses, stereo gear, or various types of expensive vehicles. So why wonder about a person who has multiple scopes, particularly of varying sizes and types? Different strokes for different folks.

 

And to address the question of why some of us post information on our gear, for me it is so that others who might be interested in a particular scope, camera, or other item can request my personal insights on something in my stable. This has happened more times than I can remember, and I am always happy to answer such inquiries. We are after all here to assist and inform our fellow CN associates. 

 

Clear Skies,

Brian 

[Astrojensen]

I try not to over analyze it since I’ve figured out a treatment plan!

 

Mike

I'm not addicted to collecting telescopes, and can stop whenever I want to. 

 

But I don't want to! 

 

 

Clear skies!

Thomas, Denmark