APM

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APM
Looking for those hard to find items? APM just might be the answer! Extremely fast service(I'm located in Casper Wyoming) and everthing is exactly as described every time.

Best regards,
Bill

Overall Rating: 10
Weight: 3 (Unreliable Vote)
Date:
By:
Link to this vote: http://excelsis.com/1.0/displayvote.php?voteid=46085

APM
A big disappointment!!
I ordered and paid via personal check for an in-stock Mak-Newt six weeks ago from APM and it has still not arrived. APM states they shipped via US Parcel Post (lowest priority and slowest method of shipping) and the whereabouts of the scope cannot be tracked! The only thing Markus keeps telling me is that it should be there "soon". Regretfully, he has refused to reimburse me and accept a credit card number so that he can charge me if and when this scope ever arrives.
I recommend that you do not order from this dealer unless you are willing to "roll the dice and take your chances".

Overall Rating: 1
Weight: 1 (Unreliable Vote)
Date:
By:
Link to this vote: http://excelsis.com/1.0/displayvote.php?voteid=46086

APM
Very easy to deal with, and considering the location (Germany), Markus Ludes often has better customer service than some American companies. He is willing to haggle, and be sure to factor in the import duties and shipping costs when negotiating a price on expensive items.

Overall Rating: 8
Weight: 1 (Unreliable Vote)
Date:
By:
Link to this vote: http://excelsis.com/1.0/displayvote.php?voteid=46090

APM
Prompt response, fast delivery. Good for hard to find products.

Overall Rating: No Vote
Weight: <none>
Date:
By:
Link to this vote: http://excelsis.com/1.0/displayvote.php?voteid=46092

APM
Markus was prompt in his responses tp my queries. But he needs to come into 20th century e-commerce and accept credit cards. He also needs to improve his English skills considerably. English is the language of commerce in the 21st century. I didn't go through with an order from him because (1) I couldn't understand him (2) he wouldn't accept credit cards.

Overall Rating: 5
Weight: 1 (Unreliable Vote)
Date:
By:
Link to this vote: http://excelsis.com/1.0/displayvote.php?voteid=46093

APM
I have had some very poor experiences with Mr. Markus Ludes of APM which might be appropriate to relate here. I ordered a deluxe GR-2 altazimuth mount from ITE for use with my Astro-Physics Stowaway telescope. ITE gets these mounts from Markus in Germany. Only 15 minutes after I received the mount I noticed that the arm was very hard to turn in the up and down direction, so I wrote an eMail to Markus. His reply was that he had shipped out 15 of these mounts and they were all perfect and had no problems so therefore my mount was perfect. I wanted to exchange my mount for another one. Markus refused stating that all of his mounts were without any defects. ----- Luckily, I had bought the mount from Bill Burnett at ITE. When I called him up while he was on a trip to North Carolina he was very understanding, and stated that he would make it right even if Markus refused to stand behind his product. While I was on the phone with Bill Burnett, he suggested that I remove the arm to see what the problem was. We removed the two small allen screws, pulled out the arm and found out what the problem was. The inside of the main mount had 20-30 deep circular grooves and pits which were approx. 1/32" deep. These deep circular grooves were in the mount when I received it, and they were discovered by me during the first one-half hour after I had received the mount. These grooves and pits were causing the arm to bind up and not turn smoothly at all. ----- I then sent Markus another eMail about what we discovered thinking that when he knew the problem that he would be more understanding. Markus responded that since I had disassembled the mount, that there was no longer any warrenty or any guarantee. I stated that I removed the arm with Bill Burnett's (ITE) permission and while he was on the phone with me. He said that he didn't care. He stated that all of the grooves on the inside of the mount had been made by me! I replied that I just received the mount less than 30 minutes before, and that I had never even put the mount on a tripod, or even put my telescope on the mount! Markus responded that this was not he concern. ----- After talking to Bill Burnett at ITE Mr. Burnett stated that he would exchange my mount for a new one irregardless of Markus not willing to stand behind his own product. I was very fortunate that Bill Burnett of ITE was so honest and willing to stand behind the mount that he sold me. ----- I also bought two Baadar Moon and Sky-Glow filters from ITE and they are preforming wonderfully!! Especially in the polluted skys of Los Angeles. They greatly increase the contrast, and I recommend them highly. ----- Based upon this experience, I would never deal with Mr. Ludes again. He only appears to be interested in the money that he can make from selling products, and is very unwilling to stand behind his products -- even when there is a manufacturing defect. ----- Based upon my experienc, Mr. Bill Burnett of ITE does stand behind the products that he sells -- even if the manufacturer doesn't. Mr. Bill Burnett was a pleasure to deal with during this experience. I exxpect Mr. Burnett to follow through and send me a replacement mount soon as he agreed to, although I haven't received it yet. ---------- I hope that this information will be helpful to other amateur astronomers. Sincerely, Richard Lapides in California

Overall Rating: 0
Weight: 4 (Unreliable Vote)
Date:
By:
Link to this vote: http://excelsis.com/1.0/displayvote.php?voteid=46094

APM
Had a good experience buying a Giro mount from Markus. He answered my several questions by email, was always pleasant and responsive, and did not pressure me at all. When I decided to buy, he accepted payment by credit card, which might be a new adaptation as I read above that he did not accept credit cards in the past. The package arrived promptly without import duties. The mount itself is outstanding and works like a dream.

Overall Rating: 10
Weight: 1 (Unreliable Vote)
Date:
By:
Link to this vote: http://excelsis.com/1.0/displayvote.php?voteid=46095

APM
To the above post. Markus must have paid you good to say what you did. This man is no good. He likes to talk a good storie, but can not back it up. I bought a scope from him when I was in Germany. He said he would ship it out the day I leave to go back home, and still no scope that I seen and paid for in his place of business. That was seven months ago. Every time I e-mail him he states that it was sent out and that it must be in the US some where, and its not his problem. I've asked him twice for tracking numbers and he can not find them. I ask him for my money back because he knows that he did not ship the scope, and he said in his words, to bad no money I give back because scope is some where on the way. I took this as to bad I (Markus) will keep your money and the scope you paid for. Markus its far from over, I'll be back in Germany in one month.

Overall Rating: 1
Weight: 1 (Unreliable Vote)
Date:
By:
Link to this vote: http://excelsis.com/1.0/displayvote.php?voteid=46096

APM
I Ordered a Megrez 80 From Markus. Had a business-like and very pleasant conversation about the order. OK My scope took a little longer to deliver, but I am very satisfied with it. When I lost some parts he said he would try and find them for me.

As I am dutch and work in a german firm with only german colleagues I got to know the average german worker. In my opinion he's just the typical german. Precise, and he wants to get the job done without any problems and insecurities. Hence no refunds for instance.....until proven beyond a doubt that something went wrong and the scope is returned (if possible)

He's a german NOT an american. If you can live with another business attitude than the american service-attitude he is just a very good person to do business with.

Keep it up Markus!

Your Customer
Marco Meiling

Overall Rating: 9
Weight: 1 (Unreliable Vote)
Date:
By:
Link to this vote: http://excelsis.com/1.0/displayvote.php?voteid=46097

APM
I bought a Meade LX200 8 (F/10 scope) from Markus Ludes End 2000.
The LX200 is certainly not Markus'top selling scope: he is giving clear preference to APO refractors, or Mak-Cass and Mak-Newt that he imports routinely from Russia.
Anyway, the scope was on his product list; it was not in stock but he was able to get one for me in less than a week, at a very attractive price.
One good argument for buying the scope at APM is that its optics would be inspected and collimated by Markus.
As I live about 300 kilometers away (Belgium), Markus proposed to ship it but I preferred to drive and pick it at APM in Reifenberg.
All was arranged via email; Markus always answered quickly but briefly to each mail, in English.
Payment had to be made in advance by bank transfer as credit cards were not accepted; this was not very comfortable but gave me a chance to check my bank's services; all went well.
Markus accepts major credit cards now, which is more convenient but probably not more advantageous (currency conversion).
We arranged to meet on a Saturday (his shop is normally closed but he kindly accepted to make one exception) and after he performed the collimation of the optics, we repacked the scope and I drove home.

There, I noticed a few problems the same day:
- the DEC motor refused to work; I gave Markus a call (remember, it's Saturday) and the problem was quickly fixed by phone (DEC cable not properly plugged)
- the tripod was damaged: two screws out of the six which attach the base to the legs were broken; I sent an email with a picture of the screw and Markus promised to ship me some screws for replacement, which I received one week later (the problem was anyway cured in-between by a visit to a store which happily had some of these US screws)
- the transport case from Meade was for a 10 inches scope and not for a 8 inches; this could have been checked at APM but apparently was not; I returned the case to Markus, who arranged with Meade Europe to get one shipped directly to me; a few weeks passed (Xmas time) and still no bag; I asked Markus to check with Meade and he was told that the case was shipped; again two more weeks, no case; I insisted that Markus rechecked with Meade...which admitted that the case was just being shipped only and indeed I received it a few days later.

The scope works fine since then and I am quite satisfied. Collimation did not suffer from transport from Reifenberg to home.

I give APM an 8: the service is really fine but the web site needs improvement. Emails should also be answered with more details. I assume that Markus does it for equipment that he really promotes (I know he loves to abundantly talk about these).

Overall Rating: 8
Weight: 1 (Unreliable Vote)
Date:
By:
Link to this vote: http://excelsis.com/1.0/displayvote.php?voteid=46098

APM
I have attempted to buy from APM on 2 occassions. After a few e-mails asking technical questions that were promptly answered, I made my decision to buy from him. On both occassions I replied back that I'd like to buy from him. That's when the replies stopped coming. Did I miss something here? If I can't even throw money at him can you imagine what any possible needed service might be like? Try yelling into an empty coffee can. The website is a redeeming factor but he is too busy to keep the correct info on it. Perhaps APM-USA will be better. The APM-USA website is a bit weaker however.

Overall Rating: 6
Weight: 1 (Unreliable Vote)
Date:
By:
Link to this vote: http://excelsis.com/1.0/displayvote.php?voteid=46099

APM
This site contains EP reviews for a Nikon 7mm-21mm Zoom EP, which are pretty excellent BTW. When I went to the APM-USA site, they did not have a 7mm-21mm available but rather a 9mm-21mm. I sent three emails regarding a possible oversight/typo or possibly whether a 7mm-21mm might have been but is longer available. The last email was not answered. I also sent an email to APM-Germany which went unaswered. I is frustrating to see such wonderful products available but not be able to clarify a detail. (The 2mm difference is 50X extra in my scope). Before making a purchase.

Overall Rating: 9
Price:9 Service:9
Weight: 10 (Trustworthy Vote)
Date:
By:
Link to this vote: http://excelsis.com/1.0/displayvote.php?voteid=69627

APM
Markus is a nice guy. I think he keeps the best stuff for himself however... (oh well ;)).
You also got to be careful about what you get and be sure to do your research before
you order something. Some of his eypeieces, for example, are originally made for spotting
telescope, so that the focus position will not be the same as that of most
telescope eypeieces (usually with too much infocus). I've been satisfied with his service
however.... A nice guy, just a little bit clueless, I think...

Overall Rating: 10
Price:9 Service:10
Weight: 10 (Trustworthy Vote)
Date:
By:
Link to this vote: http://excelsis.com/1.0/displayvote.php?voteid=85393

APM
Don't confuse this site with APM-USA. This vendor is honest, reliable and most generous with free and friendly advice.

Overall Rating: 10
Weight: 5 (Veritable Vote)
Date:
By:
Link to this vote: http://excelsis.com/1.0/displayvote.php?voteid=194515

APM
I've purchased a TMB-105F/650 and an ortho eyepiece from APM over the last year. Both products were ordered from stock, and both arrived in a reasonable time once they had received the payment. APM is accomodating, and very helpful. You may have to ask for distinct details, but I'vealways got a quick response to the questions. I've heard some complaints about the English... but APM's English is a LOT better than my German!

Overall Rating: 10
Price:10 Service:10
Weight: 5 (Veritable Vote)
Date:
By:
Link to this vote: http://excelsis.com/1.0/displayvote.php?voteid=243222

APM
Markus is a great guy! I bought too many things from him so I can remember everything :)
Everything always arrived in great packaging and very fast (shortest delay was 24H - longer was 72H)
Prices are very good, so APM is surely one of the best Astronomy dealer's available in Europe.
Highly recommended !!

Overall Rating: 10
Price:10 Service:10
Weight: 10 (Trustworthy Vote)
Date:
By:
Link to this vote: http://excelsis.com/1.0/displayvote.php?voteid=253435

APM
I would'nt recomend any person to buy anyting from that man.
His warranty is completely worthless. Sending me a broken mirror and did not answered mails! Calling the customers idiots
and other nice names.

Overall Rating: 0
Price:3 Service:0
Weight: 5 (Veritable Vote)
Date:
By:
Link to this vote: http://excelsis.com/1.0/displayvote.php?voteid=304244

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