8" Fever and Failed LX90 deal

[Airconvent]

after catching 8" fever since looking at YL Low's Nexstar 8 some months back, I finally found a chap who was willing to ship to Singapore.
finalised the deal yesterday only to be informed that he changed his mind as " he did not have a good feeling transacting halfway across the world" which means he did not trust asians....sigh....

anyway, looking at alternatives and have short-listed the following few scopes that fit my price range...thought of getting the 8" Ultima 2000 that Mr Au's friend wanted to sell but asking price of $4000+ is way beyond my budget
Here are the finalists in similar price range (they all have to have goto cap) :

1. 2nd hand LX90 - anyone has one to sell? Can always consider a trade in with my ETX105 for someone looking to downgrade to a smaller scope..

2. Meade LXD55 SC-8. Heard the mount is terrible although the optics are ok. Mounted on an equatorial mount, I'm not sure if there would be excessive vibration, making astrophotography useless. Is the mount very heavy and unwieldly?

3. Nexstar 8/Nexstar 8i. Single fork arm version. Heard the single forkarm means alot of vibration even for visual viewing. anyone can comment?

4. Celestron Advanced Series C-8SGT model : How does the performance and mechanicals compare with the LXD55? Again, this is an equatorial mounted scope, so the counterweights would be unwieldly? How about optics?

anyone familiar with the above care to give their 2 cents worth?

cheers!

rich

[harlequin2902]

after catching 8" fever since looking at YL Low's Nexstar 8 some months back, I finally found a chap who was willing to ship to Singapore.
finalised the deal yesterday only to be informed that he changed his mind as " he did not have a good feeling transacting halfway across the world" which means he did not trust asians....sigh....

On the other hand, if you trust him and don't want to let go of this so easily, you can contact him again and try offering to pay him 100% in advance by wire transfer and tell him to ship only when the payment is in his bank. That may change things a bit. Americans are usually more comfortable with wire transfer vs other methods if you are dealing with them from somewhere else in the world.

[VinSnr]

after catching 8" fever since looking at YL Low's Nexstar 8 some months back, I finally found a chap who was willing to ship to Singapore.
finalised the deal yesterday only to be informed that he changed his mind as " he did not have a good feeling transacting halfway across the world" which means he did not trust asians....sigh....

On the other hand, if you trust him and don't want to let go of this so easily, you can contact him again and try offering to pay him 100% in advance by wire transfer and tell him to ship only when the payment is in his bank. That may change things a bit. Americans are usually more comfortable with wire transfer vs other methods if you are dealing with them from somewhere else in the world.

Sam, sometimes it's not the money issue. I think most would want the money in their hands before they ship it out regardless whether you are Americans or Asians.

Some americans are worried about damage, loss, and all other kind of mishaps when they are shipping it halfway across the world. So they rather not deal with it unless they are sure that no one wants to buy their scope in US.

[VinSnr]

after catching 8" fever since looking at YL Low's Nexstar 8 some months back, I finally found a chap who was willing to ship to Singapore.
finalised the deal yesterday only to be informed that he changed his mind as " he did not have a good feeling transacting halfway across the world" which means he did not trust asians....sigh....

anyway, looking at alternatives and have short-listed the following few scopes that fit my price range...thought of getting the 8" Ultima 2000 that Mr Au's friend wanted to sell but asking price of $4000+ is way beyond my budget
Here are the finalists in similar price range (they all have to have goto cap) :

1. 2nd hand LX90 - anyone has one to sell? Can always consider a trade in with my ETX105 for someone looking to downgrade to a smaller scope..

2. Meade LXD55 SC-8. Heard the mount is terrible although the optics are ok. Mounted on an equatorial mount, I'm not sure if there would be excessive vibration, making astrophotography useless. Is the mount very heavy and unwieldly?

3. Nexstar 8/Nexstar 8i. Single fork arm version. Heard the single forkarm means alot of vibration even for visual viewing. anyone can comment?

4. Celestron Advanced Series C-8SGT model : How does the performance and mechanicals compare with the LXD55? Again, this is an equatorial mounted scope, so the counterweights would be unwieldly? How about optics?

anyone familiar with the above care to give their 2 cents worth?

cheers!

rich

Rich, I can comment on the LXD55 8" SC. The mount is actually stable enough, the only problem is the weight hitting the legs. I got myself a portable pier and got rid of the aluminium legs. It's now very stable.

The other thing you have to worry is the LXD55 mechanics. I got my mount hypertuned and what a difference! Even after paying the hypertune price, i think it's still a bargain.

[harlequin2902]

Sam, sometimes it's not the money issue. I think most would want the money in their hands before they ship it out regardless whether you are Americans or Asians.

Some americans are worried about damage, loss, and all other kind of mishaps when they are shipping it halfway across the world. So they rather not deal with it unless they are sure that no one wants to buy their scope in US.

If money's not it, then you can try using the VPOST thing discussed here on the forums sometime ago. Get him to send it to the US address you are able to provide with this vpost thingy.

[VinSnr]

Sam, sometimes it's not the money issue. I think most would want the money in their hands before they ship it out regardless whether you are Americans or Asians.

Some americans are worried about damage, loss, and all other kind of mishaps when they are shipping it halfway across the world. So they rather not deal with it unless they are sure that no one wants to buy their scope in US.

If money's not it, then you can try using the VPOST thing discussed here on the forums sometime ago. Get him to send it to the US address you are able to provide with this vpost thingy.

anyone tried this vpost thing before?

[chrisyeo]

anyone tried this vpost thing before?

Hi. I haven't actually used it yet, but I've registered and it looks pretty competitive and secure.

Its a singapore post service and 15% is ok postage for certain smaller and cheaper items. (i was considering buying a viewfinder from amazon at S$12 postage). They take about a week to send through. (they ship every thursday i think).

I've not asked about their insurance policy though.. rich, maybe you might want to consider this option if the money issue can be settled?

[addy]

Hmm.. the 8 inch fever.. Just for curiosity sake what price would you think is fair for the following -

1) C8
2) C 9.25
3) Portaball 200mm (without electrical packages).

and which one would you prefer to buy..

cheers
Addy

[nF]

I have use the vpostusa thing but not for shipping a scope but a air mattress hehe. The service is fast as they will email you the whereabout of our parcel. But one thing for sure the immigration & checkpoint authority, singapore will open up the box and see what does the parcel contains, closes it back then paste their sticker on the box.

[VinSnr]

Hmm.. the 8 inch fever.. Just for curiosity sake what price would you think is fair for the following -

1) C8
2) C 9.25
3) Portaball 200mm (without electrical packages).

and which one would you prefer to buy..

cheers
Addy

if visual, definitely the Portaball. For photography purposes, it will be C9.25

For the Portaball, fair price would be around 3K (I sold it for 2.7K even with electrical packages)

For C9.25, a fair 2nd price should be around 1.6K.