Beginning Of The End for TeleVue?

On 2 Jan 2005 15:54:34 -0800, wrote:

Hello all,

After spending a couple years out of the hobby and now getting back
into it, I'm amazed at the quality you can now purchase and the low,
low, low prices associated with these products. Apos and eyepieces in
particular.

This used to be TeleVue's bread and butter, and boy did they know it
with the prices they charge! But now that we, as consumers, have
options where we get 98% of the ultra high quality performance for 50%
of the cost, what does it mean to the company that has been holding us
over the coals for the past 20 years, wringing every red cent out of us
for a high quality eyepiece? Could this competition be the beginning
of the end for them?? Or will there always be status-seekers in this
hobby that decide on purchases based on the name printed on the
eyepiece, as opposed to the quality/price ratio?

I just don't see this company doing well with the price wars that are
being waged right now. Deservedly so? Maybe. That's up for debate.
I'm just saying that I wouldn't want to be the most expensive company
in astronomy right now....

Nice to see you back! I'll wager one thing; TeleVue WILL be the
company effected by things like Meade's eyepieces and low priced apos.
They've never been able to crack into the optical realm occupied
by Tak, AP or TMB, companies that are not immediately threatened by
things like the Orion EDs. This in not to say TeleVue refractors
aren't as good, they just don't have the "cache" the people who buy
APs are after. As for eyepieces, I can tell second-hand
that TeleVue's "sale" prices on the line are here to stay, perhaps
after a momentary upward jump to "pretend" that the sale actually
ended. They may even move lower, thanks to Meade.
-Rich

On 2 Jan 2005 18:05:22 -0800, wrote:


wrote:
Hello all,

After spending a couple years out of the hobby and now getting back
into it, I'm amazed at the quality you can now purchase and the low,
low, low prices associated with these products. Apos and eyepieces
in
particular.

This used to be TeleVue's bread and butter, and boy did they know it
with the prices they charge! But now that we, as consumers, have
options where we get 98% of the ultra high quality performance for
50%
of the cost, what does it mean to the company that has been holding
us
over the coals for the past 20 years, wringing every red cent out of
us
for a high quality eyepiece? Could this competition be the beginning
of the end for them?? Or will there always be status-seekers in this
hobby that decide on purchases based on the name printed on the
eyepiece, as opposed to the quality/price ratio?

I just don't see this company doing well with the price wars that are
being waged right now. Deservedly so? Maybe. That's up for debate.
I'm just saying that I wouldn't want to be the most expensive company
in astronomy right now....


Good grief, what a tirade. TeleVue the most expensive company in
astronomy?? Not even close. If you call Al Nagler's long history of
innovation "holding us over the coals", well, so be it, but that's
quite short-sighted. Don't you have anything to say about eyepieces
and scopes that are more expensive that TeleVue's? How about Zeiss or
Pentax eyepieces? Do other brands offer 98% of the performance for 50%
of the price of those as well? Maybe to your eyes, but that's the
qualifier you left out. TeleVue products cost what they cost. If
you don't want them, don't buy them. Same with AP, Zeiss, Pentax,
Takahashi,,etc.

Clyde

TeleVue is the number one name in eyepieces of higher quality, no
question. However, the dealers hate them due to pathetic margins,
and they obviously have good margins themselves or they wouldn't
be able to have a "sale" which saw prices drop substantially.
A sale BTW, which is going to STAY. Meanwhile, Meade comes out with
new eyepieces apparently offering as much as TV for far cheaper
prices. More than one person has said to me that customers, at least
subconsciously will be saying, "TeleVue really got their money's worth
out of me, when they had their virtual monopoly." Rational or not,
it's reality.
-Rich

Now if we could get the Chinese to provide us with housing, health
care, a President, sane foreign policy, sane domestic policy, and
jobs!

John




wrote:

Hello all,

After spending a couple years out of the hobby and now getting back
into it, I'm amazed at the quality you can now purchase and the low,
low, low prices associated with these products. Apos and eyepieces in
particular.

This used to be TeleVue's bread and butter, and boy did they know it
with the prices they charge! But now that we, as consumers, have
options where we get 98% of the ultra high quality performance for 50%
of the cost, what does it mean to the company that has been holding us
over the coals for the past 20 years, wringing every red cent out of us
for a high quality eyepiece? Could this competition be the beginning
of the end for them?? Or will there always be status-seekers in this
hobby that decide on purchases based on the name printed on the
eyepiece, as opposed to the quality/price ratio?

I just don't see this company doing well with the price wars that are
being waged right now. Deservedly so? Maybe. That's up for debate.
I'm just saying that I wouldn't want to be the most expensive company
in astronomy right now....

"RichA" wrote in message
...
A sale BTW, which is going to STAY.

Huh? Check your facts. The sale has been over for days.

wrote:
Hello all,

After spending a couple years out of the hobby and now getting back
into it, I'm amazed at the quality you can now purchase and the low,
low, low prices associated with these products. Apos and eyepieces
in
particular.

This used to be TeleVue's bread and butter, and boy did they know it
with the prices they charge! But now that we, as consumers, have
options where we get 98% of the ultra high quality performance for
50%
of the cost, what does it mean to the company that has been holding
us
over the coals for the past 20 years, wringing every red cent out of
us
for a high quality eyepiece? Could this competition be the beginning
of the end for them?? Or will there always be status-seekers in this
hobby that decide on purchases based on the name printed on the
eyepiece, as opposed to the quality/price ratio?

I just don't see this company doing well with the price wars that are
being waged right now. Deservedly so? Maybe. That's up for debate.
I'm just saying that I wouldn't want to be the most expensive company
in astronomy right now....


Good grief, what a tirade. TeleVue the most expensive company in
astronomy?? Not even close. If you call Al Nagler's long history of
innovation "holding us over the coals", well, so be it, but that's
quite short-sighted. Don't you have anything to say about eyepieces
and scopes that are more expensive that TeleVue's? How about Zeiss or
Pentax eyepieces? Do other brands offer 98% of the performance for 50%
of the price of those as well? Maybe to your eyes, but that's the
qualifier you left out. TeleVue products cost what they cost. If
you don't want them, don't buy them. Same with AP, Zeiss, Pentax,
Takahashi,,etc.

Clyde



right on clyde...nobody, not even televue, is holding a gun to our heads

sean nolan

wrote:

Hello all,

After spending a couple years out of the hobby and now getting back
into it, I'm amazed at the quality you can now purchase and the low,
low, low prices associated with these products.

Just in case anybody has any doubts, this post is *not* by the
Tony Flanders who has been posting to s.a.a. for many years, and
who now works for Sky&Telescope.

- Tony Flanders

I don't know the name Tony Flanders as a writer, either online or at
S&T.


Hi Clyde,

Tony Flanders is a long time poster here on SAA. About a year ago he
was named associate editor for S&T and has written quite a few pieces
for them. Take a look at your latest Sky and Tel and you will see him
listed under associate editors, though I didn't notice any articles
written by him for February.

Randy

And, without taking away our civil liberties.

"Bolond" wrote in message
...
Now if we could get the Chinese to provide us with housing, health
care, a President, sane foreign policy, sane domestic policy, and
jobs!

John




wrote:

Hello all,

After spending a couple years out of the hobby and now getting back
into it, I'm amazed at the quality you can now purchase and the low,
low, low prices associated with these products. Apos and eyepieces in
particular.

This used to be TeleVue's bread and butter, and boy did they know it
with the prices they charge! But now that we, as consumers, have
options where we get 98% of the ultra high quality performance for 50%
of the cost, what does it mean to the company that has been holding us
over the coals for the past 20 years, wringing every red cent out of us
for a high quality eyepiece? Could this competition be the beginning
of the end for them?? Or will there always be status-seekers in this
hobby that decide on purchases based on the name printed on the
eyepiece, as opposed to the quality/price ratio?

I just don't see this company doing well with the price wars that are
being waged right now. Deservedly so? Maybe. That's up for debate.
I'm just saying that I wouldn't want to be the most expensive company
in astronomy right now....

After reading the responses so far, I can't help but mention the following:
this goes to show that the reason Televue and the other high end companies
survive is because astronomers, on average, are making significantly more in
annual salary than the remainder of the population. Kind of like the doctor
who almost always drives the Mercedes. If the money is there, they spend it
no matter what. Some may not agree, but that's how I see it (BTW, I make
about $28-32K a year so the high enders are a no-no for me.... what's the
average amateur astronomer make these days... used to be around $80K but
several years ago)

JD

wrote in message
ups.com...
Hello all,

After spending a couple years out of the hobby and now getting back
into it, I'm amazed at the quality you can now purchase and the low,
low, low prices associated with these products. Apos and eyepieces in
particular.

This used to be TeleVue's bread and butter, and boy did they know it
with the prices they charge! But now that we, as consumers, have
options where we get 98% of the ultra high quality performance for 50%
of the cost, what does it mean to the company that has been holding us
over the coals for the past 20 years, wringing every red cent out of us
for a high quality eyepiece? Could this competition be the beginning
of the end for them?? Or will there always be status-seekers in this
hobby that decide on purchases based on the name printed on the
eyepiece, as opposed to the quality/price ratio?

I just don't see this company doing well with the price wars that are
being waged right now. Deservedly so? Maybe. That's up for debate.
I'm just saying that I wouldn't want to be the most expensive company
in astronomy right now....

Jim Duncans wrote:
After reading the responses so far, I can't help but mention the following:
this goes to show that the reason Televue and the other high end companies
survive is because astronomers, on average, are making significantly more in
annual salary than the remainder of the population. Kind of like the doctor
who almost always drives the Mercedes. If the money is there, they spend it
no matter what. Some may not agree, but that's how I see it (BTW, I make
about $28-32K a year so the high enders are a no-no for me.... what's the
average amateur astronomer make these days... used to be around $80K but
several years ago)

I don't think anyone can know for sure what the average salary is today,
or what it was several years ago. It's not a scientific survey, but a
reader survey with the usual selection biases. I suspect quite strongly
that one is more likely to fill in the salary range if one's salary is
high.

One step toward getting a better handle on salary distribution would be
to make up six salary ranges, and ask the reader to flip a coin and roll
a die. If the coin comes up heads, fill in the proper salary range; if
it comes up tails, use the die to select which range you fill in. Of
course, I doubt that any actual survey would make their readers go through
all that rigamarole.

All in all, I rather think the mean salary is below $80,000 US. Mine
happens to be above that, but I know plenty, even here in the relatively
affluent areas of Los Angeles, that make below that (just because they
happen to work in areas that the powers that be think don't need to be
paid very much, like teaching grade school children). I guess (but do
not know for sure) that the recent introduction of low-cost, decent
telescopes that don't get put in the closet right away has perhaps even
decreased the mean salary of the amateur astronomer (at least in the
US).

Brian Tung
The Astronomy Corner at http://astro.isi.edu/
Unofficial C5+ Home Page at http://astro.isi.edu/c5plus/
The PleiadAtlas Home Page at http://astro.isi.edu/pleiadatlas/
My Own Personal FAQ (SAA) at http://astro.isi.edu/reference/faq.txt