Astro Marketplace?

"Dave Jessie" wrote in message
.. .
Ryan Walters wrote in message:

-Ryan Walters

I lost 127 pounds five years ago on the Atkins diet. A low carb diet IS
the
way to eliminating the diabetes epidemic.


I don't disagree with your comments, Ryan...only your sig line.
It should read '...eliminating the Type II diabetes epidemic."

Ah, very true, I'll change it, thanks! It wouldn't help type I, in fact it
would be disasterous for anyone going on the diet with type I.

-Ryan Walters

I lost 127 pounds five years ago on the Atkins diet. A low carb diet IS the
way to eliminating the type II diabetes epidemic.

Ryan Walters wrote in message:
Ah, very true, I'll change it, thanks! It wouldn't help type I, in fact
it
would be disasterous for anyone going on the diet with type I.

Hi again, Ryan,

Yup, I know. I just turned 55 and have been a type I for 53 of those years.
Thanks for taking my 'criticism' as it was meant, instead of turning it into
some kind of flame war, as is so common in usenet. My best to you, and if
your Atkins died helped you through a type II situation, my hat is off to
you...and I mean that.

Your friend,
Dave Jessie

To solve a lot of these problems, I think a requirement should be that a
star test pattern is posted at the same time the scope is being sold.

The beauty of the market place is that each of us gets to set our own
requirements. If you want a star test prior to purchase, that is your choice.

All I'm saying is that I think if someone sells a telescope using that or any
other webservice, there should be some minimal requirements to be met before
sellingis allowed.

Buying and selling second hand is "buyer beware" whether it is a telescope,
bicycle or car. The only real guaranty is dealling with folks that are
trustworthy.

From my point of view, the issue with your scope should have been resolved
between you and the seller, he made a claim that that optics were excellent and
apparently they were not, so something should have been arranged to take care
of this. Of course as we know from previous threads here, SA in an SCT is a
function of the position of mirror so it may even be that the optics are quite
good when the mirror is in the correct position.

jon

"Dave Jessie" wrote in message
...
Ryan Walters wrote in message:
Ah, very true, I'll change it, thanks! It wouldn't help type I, in fact
it
would be disasterous for anyone going on the diet with type I.

Hi again, Ryan,

Yup, I know. I just turned 55 and have been a type I for 53 of those
years.
Thanks for taking my 'criticism' as it was meant, instead of turning it
into
some kind of flame war, as is so common in usenet. My best to you, and if
your Atkins died helped you through a type II situation, my hat is off to
you...and I mean that.

Hi Dave,

Seven years ago I was diagnosed as a pre-diabetic for type II. My brother
already had it and so did my father, so I knew I was in trouble. The doctor
said he had just found out about a new on the market plan called Atkins that
was really working with many of his patients. I thought "what the heck,
I'll try another diet" and I started the plan. Two years later I had lost
127 pounds, have maintained my new weight ever since, and have avoided
diabetes so far. The key with this diet is almost the total elimination of
refined sugars/ starches/ flour. Once those are out of the picture and the
blood sugar (and blood pressure, amazingly) stabilize, you no longer feel
hungry and can easily pass the desert trays or the donut trays at the job
meeting. I no longer crave any sweets. When I first went on the diet I was
alarmed as both cholesterol types went high, but after a year they dropped
to almost below normal levels and have been that way ever since (well, the
"good" one is higher). It really has worked as a permanet solution to
weight loss, something every other diet I ever tried failed to do. Once
you're on the plan for a year, you can basically eat a sufficient amount of
carbs to maintain weight. So, unlike what many folks say, it isn't a
"total" elimination of carbs. They creep back in, but in such a way that
the body absorbs them at a slow pace, instead of the quick, candy bar too
fast pace (and fast weight gaining).

I'm truly sorry you have type I. You'd never be able to do three phases of
this diet, although you could, with care, do the lifetime phase. However,
I'm sure you already have a carefully maintainted diet complete with the
carbs and sugar that you must have. My hat is off to you for surviving
successfully after all these years! You must really be taking care of
yourself. My father has had Type II for over 40 years and can barely walk
now and lost a toe at one point, so I know how difficult it can be. All the
best for your continued health and sorry to anyone upset about this being
off-topic.

Best,
-Ryan Walters

I lost 127 pounds five years ago on the Atkins diet. A low carb diet IS the
way to eliminating the type II diabetes epidemic.


Your friend,
Dave Jessie

"Paul Lawler" wrote in message
ink.net...
"101" wrote in message
news:87HKc.8783$%p4.1819@okepread04...
Where to go to buy 'n' sell now that AstroMart has basically bitten the
dust?

You are obviously misinformed.

No, he's just a troll.

Clear Skies

Chuck Taylor
Do you observe the moon?
Try http://groups.yahoo.com/group/lunar-observing/
And the Lunar Picture of the Day http://www.lpod.org/
************************************

Jon Isaacs wrote in message
...
To solve a lot of these problems, I think a requirement should be that a
star test pattern is posted at the same time the scope is being sold.

The beauty of the market place is that each of us gets to set our own
requirements. If you want a star test prior to purchase, that is your
choice.

All I'm saying is that I think if someone sells a telescope using that or
any
other webservice, there should be some minimal requirements to be met
before
sellingis allowed.

Buying and selling second hand is "buyer beware" whether it is a telescope,
bicycle or car. The only real guaranty is dealling with folks that are
trustworthy.

From my point of view, the issue with your scope should have been resolved
between you and the seller, he made a claim that that optics were excellent
and
apparently they were not, so something should have been arranged to take
care
of this. Of course as we know from previous threads here, SA in an SCT is
a
function of the position of mirror so it may even be that the optics are
quite
good when the mirror is in the correct position.

jon


I too was once bitten on Astromart . I bought a C11 black tube OTA from
a seller with excellent feedback .
The tube was represented to me as being 2-3 years old , in excellent
condition, with "excellent and pristine optics ". It turned out to be a
dog, lots of SA and a less often encountered corrector defect that looks
like a number of radial spokes on the star test image .
To this day, the seller maintains that "his scope had excellent optics"
.. He declined to help me with the warranty because all of a sudden he was no
longer the first owner , did not have the original or a copy of the receipt
and the scope turned out to be much older than the 2-3 years he had
initially claimed .
When I contacted , Celestron offered me the opportunity to fix the scope
for free. The seller was really upset with me that I was "going through the
expense of shipping the scope to Celestron ". My conclusion was that he had
known of the problems all along but decided to avoid the same shipping costs
and rather sell it to an unsuspecting buyer .
All in all, now I decided to only buy from Astromart things that either
are known to be always good if the image shows them as being intact (for
example a dovetail bar) , or things that can be fixed under warranty or by
me , with little or no money spent on shipping or parts , or the seller is
local . If it doesn't match one of these requirements, then I don't buy .
In all fairness, this however has nothing to do with the auction forum
being called Astromart or otherwise . Every time you buy something sight
unseen, there's the potential to get shafted. In my humble opinion Herb is
doing an excellent job of keeping all known risk factors out of Astromart.
This includes bogus personal data, or well known free email addresses .
Otherwise , I wouldn't buy really anything on Astromart , the same way I
wouldn't buy a scope on Ebay .

best regards,
matt tudor

"Jon Isaacs" wrote in message
...
To solve a lot of these problems, I think a requirement should be that a
star test pattern is posted at the same time the scope is being sold.

The beauty of the market place is that each of us gets to set our own
requirements. If you want a star test prior to purchase, that is your
choice.

I know, imposing requirements doesn't set well and may not be the best
solution, but a suggestion. Scopes, more than just about anything else I
can think of, are extremely vulnerable to subtle errors that go unnoticed by
many.


All I'm saying is that I think if someone sells a telescope using that or
any
other webservice, there should be some minimal requirements to be met
before
sellingis allowed.

Buying and selling second hand is "buyer beware" whether it is a
telescope,
bicycle or car. The only real guaranty is dealling with folks that are
trustworthy.

From my point of view, the issue with your scope should have been resolved
between you and the seller, he made a claim that that optics were
excellent and
apparently they were not, so something should have been arranged to take
care
of this. Of course as we know from previous threads here, SA in an SCT is
a
function of the position of mirror so it may even be that the optics are
quite
good when the mirror is in the correct position.

I should have personally tested out the scope. That would have solved any
hidden known/unknown issues. Well, for now, I've decided to stick with new
so I can return if it fails the tests. You have some good points here
though.

-Ryan Walters

I lost 127 pounds five years ago on the Atkins diet. A low carb diet IS the
way to eliminating the type II diabetes epidemic.


jon

"matt" wrote in message
...

Jon Isaacs wrote in message
...
To solve a lot of these problems, I think a requirement should be that a
star test pattern is posted at the same time the scope is being sold.

The beauty of the market place is that each of us gets to set our own
requirements. If you want a star test prior to purchase, that is your
choice.

All I'm saying is that I think if someone sells a telescope using that
or
any
other webservice, there should be some minimal requirements to be met
before
sellingis allowed.

Buying and selling second hand is "buyer beware" whether it is a
telescope,
bicycle or car. The only real guaranty is dealling with folks that are
trustworthy.

From my point of view, the issue with your scope should have been
resolved
between you and the seller, he made a claim that that optics were
excellent
and
apparently they were not, so something should have been arranged to take
care
of this. Of course as we know from previous threads here, SA in an SCT
is
a
function of the position of mirror so it may even be that the optics are
quite
good when the mirror is in the correct position.

jon


I too was once bitten on Astromart . I bought a C11 black tube OTA
from
a seller with excellent feedback .
The tube was represented to me as being 2-3 years old , in excellent
condition, with "excellent and pristine optics ". It turned out to be a
dog, lots of SA and a less often encountered corrector defect that looks
like a number of radial spokes on the star test image .
To this day, the seller maintains that "his scope had excellent
optics"
. He declined to help me with the warranty because all of a sudden he was
no
longer the first owner , did not have the original or a copy of the
receipt
and the scope turned out to be much older than the 2-3 years he had
initially claimed .
When I contacted , Celestron offered me the opportunity to fix the
scope
for free. The seller was really upset with me that I was "going through
the
expense of shipping the scope to Celestron ". My conclusion was that he
had
known of the problems all along but decided to avoid the same shipping
costs
and rather sell it to an unsuspecting buyer .
All in all, now I decided to only buy from Astromart things that
either
are known to be always good if the image shows them as being intact (for
example a dovetail bar) , or things that can be fixed under warranty or by
me , with little or no money spent on shipping or parts , or the seller is
local . If it doesn't match one of these requirements, then I don't buy .
In all fairness, this however has nothing to do with the auction forum
being called Astromart or otherwise . Every time you buy something sight
unseen, there's the potential to get shafted. In my humble opinion Herb is
doing an excellent job of keeping all known risk factors out of Astromart.
This includes bogus personal data, or well known free email addresses .
Otherwise , I wouldn't buy really anything on Astromart , the same way I
wouldn't buy a scope on Ebay .

Yeah, good points, Matt. I have veered away from scopes on Astromart even
though I think a good job is done there maintaining the site. And then
there are all those things that I DO buy like lenses and non-astro items so,
for me, it isn't a total loss. I figure that most lenses have a good chance
being in the condition that the seller says they do with little trouble.

-Ryan Walters

I lost 127 pounds five years ago on the Atkins diet. A low carb diet IS the
way to eliminating the type II diabetes epidemic.

best regards,
matt tudor

I should have personally tested out the scope. That would have solved any
hidden known/unknown issues. Well, for now, I've decided to stick with new
so I can return if it fails the tests. You have some good points here
though.

-Ryan Walters


When it comes to buying scopes and astromart, I try to buy locally, that way I
can see the scope before I buy. When it comes to selling scopes, I also like
to sell locally, it avoids the shipping hassle and it allows the buyer to see
the scope first hand prior to purchase.

But I have shipped a few, I try to be honest in how I represent the stuff I
sell, I never claim "excellent" anything, just try to point out the defects I
have noticed and leave it at that. MY goal is to have a happy buyer so any
misrepresentation is counter productive. The last three scopes I have "gotten
rid of" have been gifts to family and friends, at least they are not unhappy
with the price.... G

In southern California, one option for used stuff is OPT, they usually have a
fair selection and the stand behind their stuff. I have bought a few scopes
from them and been quite happy both with the equipment and the price, generally
lower than Astromart.

Jon
Jon

"matt" wrote in message
...
Otherwise , I wouldn't buy really anything on Astromart , the same way I
wouldn't buy a scope on Ebay .


Hi, Matt.

It's a global market out there and if you want a chance at all the gear you
have to decide to protect yourself rather than relying on others. I've
purchased some excellent telescopes on eBay (a 20" Sky Designs truss Dob and
a complete C14 outfit among others). You just have to be a sophisticated and
prudent buyer.

John