Orion Telescope & Binocular Center

Ratings:Top:Astronomy:Places To Buy:Orion Telescope & Binocular Center

 Info  Votes  Messages  More Stats  Up One Level
Vote
First Prev Page 5 of 6 Next Last

Orion Telescope & Binocular Center
Very good selection, excellent customer service and support.

Overall Rating: No Vote
Weight: <none>
Date:
By:
Link to this vote: http://excelsis.com/1.0/displayvote.php?voteid=45046

Orion Telescope & Binocular Center
I "ordered" an XT10 Dobsonian in early June. I was told that I was in line to get the scope by mid-July. Then, by checking the website, I noticed that the delivery date had been changed to mid-August. I called and was told that my scope was also in the mix to be shipped in mid-August and no one could assure me that the delivery would happen even then. Now the website says September.

I cancelled my order and placed an order with Discovery for a PDHQ

Overall Rating: 3
Weight: 1 (Unreliable Vote)
Date:
By:
Link to this vote: http://excelsis.com/1.0/displayvote.php?voteid=45047

Orion Telescope & Binocular Center
Service is good, but prices are variable. Some stuff (cases etc.) tend to be marked way up. Other things (Binoculars, Vixen Eyepieces) are just great. Definitely compare prices before you order.

Overall Rating: 7
Weight: 1 (Unreliable Vote)
Date:
By:
Link to this vote: http://excelsis.com/1.0/displayvote.php?voteid=45048

Orion Telescope & Binocular Center
Prompt delivery, easy ordering, good follow ups, good quality items, great discounts on sale items. Very professional company. Sends me free catalogs & emails me special deals on a regular basis. I have purchased from them many times and I have never had a complaint.

Overall Rating: 10
Weight: 1 (Unreliable Vote)
Date:
By:
Link to this vote: http://excelsis.com/1.0/displayvote.php?voteid=45049

Orion Telescope & Binocular Center
I have been a customer of Orion for several years; having bought two telescopes (8" and 12.5" dob), plus numerous accessories. Their customer service has always been top notch, and their sales staff has been knowledgable and friendly, spending as much time as needed with me on their toll free number, even when they weren't sure the call would culminate in a sale. I will admit their prices are sometimes high (on accessories, not on scopes), but I have always been willing to pay a little extra when I receive top service.

The first telescope I bought there was their Premium Orion Deep Space Explorer 12.5". It was an early production model and some mistakes were made. I contacted their technical support department and they worked quickly to resolve my problems. I also sent a letter to Tim Geisler (president) about my concerns with their quality control on that model. I received a personal reply within 10 days, detailing steps they were taking to address those issues.

Finally, their return policy assures the buyer that they can buy something that they are not quite sure is the right item, then return it if it does not meet their needs.

Larry Froberg

Overall Rating: 10
Weight: 1 (Unreliable Vote)
Date:
By:
Link to this vote: http://excelsis.com/1.0/displayvote.php?voteid=45050

Orion Telescope & Binocular Center
Have ordered several accessories, a ST80 and a pair of binocs from these folks.
Merchandise-A
Cust Serv-A
Website-A
Value-B
Have found their products to be exactly what they offered. Price may be a little high, but not too bad. Got each shipment very quickly and all were packaged with a lot of care. So far, I have liked what I see with Orion and will be a repeat customer.

Overall Rating: 9
Weight: 1 (Unreliable Vote)
Date:
By:
Link to this vote: http://excelsis.com/1.0/displayvote.php?voteid=45051

Orion Telescope & Binocular Center
I have had nothing but great service from Orion. They can be a bit expension so shop around. I have placed well over 20 orders with them and I will use them again.

Overall Rating: 10
Weight: 1 (Unreliable Vote)
Date:
By:
Link to this vote: http://excelsis.com/1.0/displayvote.php?voteid=45052

Orion Telescope & Binocular Center
I have nothing but praise for Orion. Every order I've placed with them arrived promptly and without damage. In one instance, where an eyepiece I ordered had a manufacturing defect(scratches on the lens). They exchanged it without any hassles whatsoever. When I got the new one, and discovered that it didn't work well in my scope and wasn't happy with it, I returned it for a full refund, again without any hassles. What else can you ask for in customer service? I would certainly recommend them to anyone, and will certainly use them again myself.

Overall Rating: 10
Weight: 1 (Unreliable Vote)
Date:
By:
Link to this vote: http://excelsis.com/1.0/displayvote.php?voteid=45053

Orion Telescope & Binocular Center
Have made three transactions via their website now, and been very satisfied. Never had to deal with a person directly, but so far the items were well-packed, shipped very quickly, and priced about average. Recommended.

Overall Rating: No Vote
Weight: <none>
Date:
By:
Link to this vote: http://excelsis.com/1.0/displayvote.php?voteid=45054

Orion Telescope & Binocular Center
Very very good service, they are quick to respond and are very courteous too. It took only 8 days to get the things i wanted from them and were pack just perfect. There prices are very competitive and they 99% of the time have the item you want in stock. i buy from them again. telescope8@hotmail.com

Overall Rating: 10
Weight: 1 (Unreliable Vote)
Date:
By:
Link to this vote: http://excelsis.com/1.0/displayvote.php?voteid=45055

Orion Telescope & Binocular Center
Good selection, excellent service and reasonable prices.

Overall Rating: 10
Weight: 1 (Unreliable Vote)
Date:
By:
Link to this vote: http://excelsis.com/1.0/displayvote.php?voteid=45056

Orion Telescope & Binocular Center
I ordered an 8" Dob from Orion three years ago and have been ordering various items from them overe the phone and web. Without fail, if it's in stock, I can order it over the web on Sunday and have it in my hands by Thursday. The prices are reasonable. I'll continue to order from Orion.

Overall Rating: 10
Weight: 1 (Unreliable Vote)
Date:
By:
Link to this vote: http://excelsis.com/1.0/displayvote.php?voteid=45057

Orion Telescope & Binocular Center
After being away from astronomy for awhile, I've decided to return by starting samll and seeing if my interest is maintained. I selected a Dobsonian 6" from Orion. The Orion web site noted that it was out of stock but I put my order in anyway. There was some difficulty in contacting me about the status of the order since they said they didn't have my email address - thought I'd included it. That was the only glitch. Contact by telephone was met with courtesy. Material arrived in two shipments and complete. Scope arrived in excellent condition, needing little collimation (though of course I messed with it for a couple of hours!). Even the already installed finder scope was very close to being in alignment. Complaints? They should say in the assemply instruction where various packages of nuts and bolts are stored - you get several boxes and one small bag was adhered to the foam packing and was overlooked when I emptied the box. I also ordered their collimator, which is a very nice device for extremely fine work. Probably over-kill but fun to work with.
Note: the one major problem was a pair of bolts used to anchor the ends of the springs supplying tension to the system were too small to reach the inserts - the ones supplied were measureably smaller than the instruction sheet and could not reach the inserts. I had to get longer ones from a hardware story. That cost them a point.

Overall Rating: 9
Weight: 1 (Unreliable Vote)
Date:
By:
Link to this vote: http://excelsis.com/1.0/displayvote.php?voteid=45058

Orion Telescope & Binocular Center
Yesterday I posted a 9-rating and explained it was because the wrong sized bolts were sent with my Dob. After posting, I returned home to find an envelope with the following note from Orion: "We inadvertently included the wrong correct tension bolts with your telescope. You received much smaller bolts when you should have received 1.75" bolts. We sincerely apologize for this oversight!... Please accept our apologies for the error and we thank you for your patience while we 'make it right.'" The bolts were included. They caught the error, probably because of other people calling though I did not, and ensured that anyone affected by it was helped. Thus I have raised my rating of their service. My only remaining complaint is that they don't handle other goods and services, such as real estate...

Overall Rating: 10
Weight: 3 (Unreliable Vote)
Date:
By:
Link to this vote: http://excelsis.com/1.0/displayvote.php?voteid=45059

Orion Telescope & Binocular Center
All companies should take lessons from Orion when it comes to customer service. They are great in every respect. Granted most of their product lines seem to focus on the beginner and intermediate, most of what I've seem I've been pleasantly surprised with. Their top end products all have solid reputations. I find myself looking in their catalog more and more. Website is so-so. More marketing hype than useful info. Used items and close-outs are a real plus as well.

Overall Rating: 9
Weight: 1 (Unreliable Vote)
Date:
By:
Link to this vote: http://excelsis.com/1.0/displayvote.php?voteid=45060

Orion Telescope & Binocular Center
I've ordered a SkyGlow Broadband filter. The product is quite good, the service very corteous and rapid. I raccomend for your orders Orion!

Overall Rating: 8
Weight: 1 (Unreliable Vote)
Date:
By:
Link to this vote: http://excelsis.com/1.0/displayvote.php?voteid=45061

Orion Telescope & Binocular Center
Never having owned a telescope before we decided to purchase the Skyview Deluxe 4.5" reflector as a beginner family scope. Their prices recently have dropped significantly, but normal pricing seems to be pretty reasonable. Everything went fine until it was time to mount the tube rings to the mount. One would not fasten tightly and the other would not even thread. Orion sent spare parts right away. So in the interim we end up using the scope with only one tube ring holding it. We were able to view Jupiter and Saturn and were very impressed with the clarity despite the wobble caused by a loose tube ring. The second night of use the declination axis worm gear started to get real sloppy and then finally stopped rotating. Called Orion and they told me to take off the piece that the holds the slow motion control shaft. Found tiny metal shavings and four of the gear teeth stripped. They prepared the part for shipment immediately. Rather than wait for another part to repair we decided to box it up and send it back. Optically, the scope looked great to us. Mechanically, (the eq mount) it was a major headache. Being a beginner the views it provided seemed to be a 9 or 10 to me but the problems with the mount drop it to 3 in my opinion. I would still consider Orion for a telescope purchase. I think we just ended up with one of the occasional lemons that come with a mass produced item. Customer service from Orion is a definite 10.

Overall Rating: 10
Weight: 3 (Unreliable Vote)
Date:
By:
Link to this vote: http://excelsis.com/1.0/displayvote.php?voteid=45062

Orion Telescope & Binocular Center
Probably more than 30 transactions in the past 15 years. Always professional, always courteous, always fast. A few problems with a few items over the years (damage in shipment); but Orion has always cheerfully accepted returns without a problem. They get a 10.

Barry Simon

Overall Rating: 10
Weight: 3 (Unreliable Vote)
Date:
By:
Link to this vote: http://excelsis.com/1.0/displayvote.php?voteid=45063

Orion Telescope & Binocular Center
I visted the store in San Francisco quite often when I lived there. They were always very helpful and friendly. The took returns with no problems. When I moved I had to call them to try and get screws for some mount cables, they sent them for free! No Complaints.

Overall Rating: 9
Price:8 Service:10
Weight: 1 (Unreliable Vote)
Date:
By:
Link to this vote: http://excelsis.com/1.0/displayvote.php?voteid=59619

Orion Telescope & Binocular Center
I purchased a Super EQ Mount with 6" rings. It arrived without a manual. The bolts to hold the rings would not go all the way in so they flop with about 1/4" of play. Call #1: Omitting the manual was an error, the Orion rep said, and he directed me to their website where I could download a PDF copy. I had to call back to talk about the rings. Call #2: The tech rep acknowledged the problem - "others have encountered it." He did not know if it was because they had not drilled the rings deeply enough or had the wrong sized bolts. He recommended getting additional washers, which I had already figured out but had hoped they had replacement bolts. This is the second product from Orion that has arrived with the wrong sized bolts, the first being a 6" Dob. In both cases the tech rep was already aware of the problem and in both cases the suggestion was to go fix it myself. Prices are good and service in terms of delivery time and telephone availability is good. But shipping products that require assembly without manuals is a pretty clear indicator basic quality control is lacking. Continuing to ship the wrong sized parts which make the product unuseable is worse. After 30 years of being an amateur astronomer, I have become convinced that the "amateur" refers not to the people doing the observations but the people selling us the gear.

Overall Rating: 5
Price:8 Service:8
Weight: 10 (Trustworthy Vote)
Date:
By:
Link to this vote: http://excelsis.com/1.0/displayvote.php?voteid=68928

First Prev Page 5 of 6 Next Last

[Click Here to Login]
Don't have a login? Register!

Starting out in Amateur Astronomy
 
How to use This Site
Why Register?
Voting Guide