Astronomics

I’ve made a number of purchases from Astronomics since 1992, when I bought my first TeleVue telescope — the Pronto. Since then I’ve bought a number of eyepieces, mounts and telescopes from Astronomics, and they’ve never given me any reason to look elsewhere for my astronomy needs. Delivery was always quick, and customer service was extremely friendly. Back when I bought my Pronto, I’d order over the phone from their mail order catalog; even then I found customer service to be quite helpful.
I am currently in the market for a TeleVue 85, and instinctively searched «Astronomics» and was surprised to such negative reviews of this place. My last order was probably around 2010 or 2011, but over a 20 year period as a customer of this shop and their «Christopher’s» binocular store, I’ve have nothing but praise for their service and handling of exchanges and refunds.

Not horrible customer service, just non-​existant. I’ve stopped into the old location 3 or 4 times over 10 years. Not once was I ever greeted or asked if I could be helped with anything. Once I was just stared at, as if I were intruding. It was not a very pleasant experience and I left pretty quickly. I’ve spent thousands on my telescopes and gear, all of it mail-​order and now online because this place is terrible and will never get my money.

Horrific customer service. Let me elaborate…
Ordered two eyepieces from them, along with a few other bits and pieces, on April 26. Everything showed as in stock, so had no qualms about ordering and pulled the trigger.
Two weeks later (ahh, FedEx Smartpost!), my shipment arrived. With just one eyepiece in there. Must be some mistake. I contacted Astronomics asking where the missing eyepiece was, and was told it would be around Memorial Day, about three weeks off, and was assured it would be sent FedEx (not SmartPost!)
So I waited.
And waited.
I emailled Astronomics AGAIN on July 6, asking for an update, and was told «they’re clearing customs, and we should have it out to you in a week or so.»
So I waited.
In mid July, I checked out their site. The eyepiece was showing as in-​stock, so I called the number and asked about it, and was told «Yep, we have them.» Asked why, in that case, had the one I ordered THREE MONTHS EARLIER not been shipped to me yet, and was told they’d look into it and get back to me.
So I waited.
And waited.
Finally, sick of all this, I sent them an email asking what was going on, and was told it was shipped out via Priority Mail, and it must have gotten lost. I responded, asking for a tracking number, or any sort of delivery confirmation number. The story then changed to «There was a mixup, we’ll refund your Paypal right away.»
So I waited.
And waited.
A week later, I asked them why my Paypal wasn’t refunded, and was told that since it was over 90 days since the transaction, they had to issue it by check. I mentioned that this wasn’t right away, and had the check been mailed, and was told «they’d take care of it.»
So I waited.
And waited.
Two weeks later, I emailled them AGAIN, letting them know I was STILL waiting on this refund, and was told «Sorry for the mixup» (There seems to be lots of these) «Mike will take care of it today.»
And finally, four months after the original order, and one month after telling them to issue a refund for the eyepiece that never came, despite them telling me they sent it and then furiously backtracking, a refund was issued.
But wait… it’s only for 75% of the amount? WHAT?!
So I once more contact them, asking what was going on, and the response was: «Since it put the order under the $ 100 free shipping so there was a shipping charge.»
I will never order from these guys again, which is a shame since I’m in the market for a new C-​11 and CGEM mount. Not only will *I* not order from them again, I would strongly urge ANYONE reading this to avoid them like the plague and look elsewhere, and will be reporting this «business» to the BBB,

To
see
the
sky
I have purchased several telescope eyepieces and various accessories and found the service and prices to be excellent. Once I called for some advice on a certain eyepiece and the person who took my call was knowledgeable and took the time to explain my options. They offer a vast collection of high quality astronomical equipment.