NEAF deals

I'm going to NEAF for the first time and heard that there are
sometimes pretty good deals on eyepieces. I was thinking about
getting a decent mid power EP (12mm to 18mm range). Any suggestions
of what would work well in a f6 8" dob (I usually wear glasses when
observing but not always)? Roughly how much would it cost at NEAF
(I'd like to keep it under $200 if possible)?

Your help is appreciated!

The "pretty good deals" are a relic from past years. It use to be that you
could buy a Nagler or Panoptic for nearly half price, and everything went
along just fine. About 4 years ago (maybe longer), some guys went to these
NEAF sales and bought as many eyepieces that they could with the amount of
money they had. They then sold many of these eyepieces on astromart or ebay
for a nice profit, but certainly less than the new retail price. When guys
who lived too far from the east coast to attend this sale found out about
this, they became incensed with anger. We had threads on this topic which
were peppered with flame wars that lasted more than 30 days. Some of these
guys telephoned Al Nagler and complained about these sales and how unfair
they were. Well, that's what put the cork on the "pretty good deals."

Al


"Al" wrote in message
om...
I'm going to NEAF for the first time and heard that there are
sometimes pretty good deals on eyepieces. I was thinking about
getting a decent mid power EP (12mm to 18mm range). Any suggestions
of what would work well in a f6 8" dob (I usually wear glasses when
observing but not always)? Roughly how much would it cost at NEAF
(I'd like to keep it under $200 if possible)?

Your help is appreciated!

"Al" wrote in message
et...
The "pretty good deals" are a relic from past years.

Your source isn't accurate. Nothing has changed. I bought three Naglers
there last year for half price or less. Maybe Al wasn't intimidated by the
phone calls?

I was there last year too, and you could _NOT_ buy a Nagler or a Panoptic
for anywhere near 1/2 price. I don't know what your agenda is, but your
story is bull! What you are saying may lure some poor guys to drive hours
in the hopes of finding a deal such as you describe, and it's not fair to
them. So to all you guys who are considering going to NEAF _only_ for the
TV sale, do yourself a favor and stay home. I'm not saying that NEAF is not
worth visiting...I am saying that you're not going to find any cheap TV
Naglers or Panoptics there.

Al


"John" wrote in message
...

"Al" wrote in message
et...
The "pretty good deals" are a relic from past years.

Your source isn't accurate. Nothing has changed. I bought three Naglers
there last year for half price or less. Maybe Al wasn't intimidated by the
phone calls?

"Al" wrote in message
et...
I was there last year too, and you could _NOT_ buy a Nagler or a Panoptic
for anywhere near 1/2 price.


Sorry, guys. I didn't realize Al was trolling; just thought he was
misinformed. I bought what I bought there and paid what I paid. I just
checked current prices on Astronomics and the three I got were just under
half price. Al's clerk was busy all day with others doing the same. Anyone
who was there and couldn't do the same didn't have any money with them.

I don't intentionally respond to trolls; I'm officially gone from this
thread.

Okay John, would you care to tell us exactly what you bought and what you
paid for them? My guess is that you will not. Are you a member of the
Astronomy Club which sponsors NEAF? If yes, I'm sorry I stepped on your
toes, but that gives you no license to pass off a falsehood to some
unsuspecting people.

Al


"John" wrote in message
...

"Al" wrote in message
et...
I was there last year too, and you could _NOT_ buy a Nagler or a
Panoptic
for anywhere near 1/2 price.


Sorry, guys. I didn't realize Al was trolling; just thought he was
misinformed. I bought what I bought there and paid what I paid. I just
checked current prices on Astronomics and the three I got were just under
half price. Al's clerk was busy all day with others doing the same. Anyone
who was there and couldn't do the same didn't have any money with them.

I don't intentionally respond to trolls; I'm officially gone from this
thread.

I was there last year too, and you could _NOT_ buy a Nagler or a Panoptic
for anywhere near 1/2 price.

Al-
I haven't been to NEAF, but am considering going this year. My
understanding is that TeleVue still sells their blems there.

Maybe the root of the disagreement is lack of specificity. Are you
saying that the blems are no longer on sale, or simply that the
discount (off new price) is less than 50%? If it's the latter, what
is the discount that you saw last year there? Maybe there are timing
issues that account for the difference - such as someone arriving
earlier (for the better deals) and someone arriving later (when the
better deals have dried up).

Chris Nicholl

"Chris Nicholl" wrote in message
om...
I was there last year too, and you could _NOT_ buy a Nagler or a
Panoptic
for anywhere near 1/2 price.

Al-
I haven't been to NEAF, but am considering going this year. My
understanding is that TeleVue still sells their blems there.

Maybe the root of the disagreement is lack of specificity. Are you
saying that the blems are no longer on sale, or simply that the
discount (off new price) is less than 50%? If it's the latter, what
is the discount that you saw last year there? Maybe there are timing
issues that account for the difference - such as someone arriving
earlier (for the better deals) and someone arriving later (when the
better deals have dried up).

Chris Nicholl

Hi Chris,

You should certainly go to NEAF and the TV sale should not be a factor in
your judgment to go or not go. There is much to do and much to see aside
from buying TV products. However, if you plan on buying bargain TV
eyepieces, you should plan on getting there long before TV opens their
doors.

The blems are still on sale, but the 50% sales are not what they use to be.
To be perfectly honest, I have given up on the sale long before last year.
Consequently, I did not get myself to NEAF very early last year, nor did I
take any large amount of cash with me, so it's possible but not very likely
that some eyepieces were sold at bargain prices before I got there.

I've been attending NEAF shows and the Tele Vue sales there for many years
(9 years or more). I have bought and still use every Nagler ll and Panoptic
made, and I love them. In the past, eyepieces were sold at slightly more
than 1/2 price. As an example, a 20mm Nagler type 2, which retailed for
$395 was selling at the TV sale for about $225 with no limit on number of
pieces you purchased. As a result of the lengthily and very emotional
threads right here on SAA (about 4 years ago...maybe 5), many people
telephoned Al Nagler and expressed their displeasure regarding these sales.
They complained that people were buying up these eyepieces early (leaving
none for people who only wanted one for their own use) and selling them on
line at much higher prices. In other words, the eyepieces were purchased
early expressly for the purpose of turning a quick profit for a few.

As a result of the complaints (this is my conclusion and not something I
actually heard from Al Nagler or any TV people), future sales were modified
by (a) limiting the number of any style available to one person, (b) all
NEAF eyepieces were identified by a "dot" appearing with the logo on the
eyepiece barrel, (c) a reduction of available eyepieces for the sale, and
(d) an increase in price. The last time I looked, the prices had increased
closer to 75% of retail value or more. In my judgment, it was no longer
worth the effort to wake up early, drive to the sale and wait on line. If
there were 15 people on line ahead of you, the limited number of "nice"
eyepieces were sold by the time you got to the head of the line.
Additionally, if you bought something new and found you didn't like it, it
was difficult to sell...even for the price you paid for it, as all NEAF
eyepieces were now identified.

Al

"John" wrote in message ...
"Al" wrote in message
et...
The "pretty good deals" are a relic from past years.

Your source isn't accurate. Nothing has changed. I bought three Naglers
there last year for half price or less. Maybe Al wasn't intimidated by the
phone calls?

See http://www.astromart.com/viewad.asp?cid=212164. I bought this
Nagler T6 from a fellow who bought it at NEAF. He sold it to me for
what he paid for it - US$190. New, they are US$280. Not quite 1/2
price, but certainly a good deal.

Cheers,

- Craig

my email address in the header of this post is no longer valid

"John" wrote in message ...
"Al" wrote in message
et...
The "pretty good deals" are a relic from past years.

Your source isn't accurate. Nothing has changed. I bought three Naglers
there last year for half price or less. Maybe Al wasn't intimidated by the
phone calls?

Whoops! I traded a Panoptic for it, but he was going to sell for what
he paid, US$190.

- Craig