If you come across something you feel we should add here then please let us know.

Sometimes it's just not worth saving a few dollars on an unsupported 2nd hand telescope with an unknown history that may disappoint and end up being unused and collecting dust in the back shed. We have no problem with encouraging purchases of 2nd hand scopes so long as you know your buyer and can get an honest appraisal of its history. If you are unsure, please feel free to e-mail a link and ask for our opinion. We also have a very good network of reputable amateurs around Australia who can be contacted nearest your area for advice.

Such a small mount is only suitable for smaller telescopes like a light-weight 114mm reflector of small refractor up to 80mm.

Advertised as a 750x power telescope and only used once out of the box! - Hmmm little wonder, this scope is not practically capable of anything more than 125x power and with its shocking eyepieces the views are terrible.

Sounds like a great idea however the lenses in a good ocular are designed to perform best at a specific magnification. Many cheaper zoom-eyepiece designs do not maintain focus when zooming and out and have poor optical correction.

Only the top line brands like Vixen®, ProStar® and William Optics for example perform very well in the Zoom eyepiece stakes.

Along with the poor scopes shown above, unfortunately there are still so many innocent consumers who'll go for a low priced 2nd hand scope that they can't physcally inspect from places like E-bay and others. We still hear horror reports of these telescopes coming with highly illegal sun filters that screw in to the eyepiece. Never use this!!! They get hot and can crack causing permanent eye damage. Only use appropriate full-aperture safety solar filters. Some telescopes have been dropped causing damage to the optics and tube being way out of collimation (see our collimation gude) and don't have the original manual to help sort out the problems. It's far better to purchase new where possible unless you know the indiviual selling the scope is reputable and will help you after the purchase.