Paul Murphy wrote:

snip

Here's the letter I sent Celestron support and I'm wondering if I'm
over-reacting and most SCTs ship in such a state or if I really got an
unreasonably bad example. How clean should I expect an SCT to be?

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"[...] How did this telescope make it out of your factory in such a condition
and what is your explanation for the total lack of quality control?
I await your response before I pack it up and send it back to
Astronomics for a full refund and move on to Meade."
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I think it a little intemperate to threaten them with the competition
in your initial letter. Although your disappointment sounds quite
justified, if you present yourself as expecting to get nothing less
than the prompt and fair response you deserve, you'll be less likely
to provoke defensive stonewalling or buck-passing. So I'd have
reserved the aggressive stance for replying to a potentially
unsatisfactory response.

--
Odysseus