Orion selling Celestron stuff?

What's going on? Hardin is selling nearly everything but Hardin. Orion is
now selling Celestron stuff. It looks like we're losing the benefits of
competition....I hope Antares will will make a big splash with their new
refractor line....

What IS Hardin these days? Their website is weird. It's like a clearance
center. I don't even want to get into Meade---plastic over-priced CATS.
Whoopeeee!

Doink

Doink wrote:
What's going on? Hardin is selling nearly everything but Hardin. Orion is
now selling Celestron stuff. It looks like we're losing the benefits of
competition....I hope Antares will will make a big splash with their new
refractor line....

What IS Hardin these days? Their website is weird. It's like a clearance
center. I don't even want to get into Meade---plastic over-priced CATS.
Whoopeeee!

Given Celestron being absorbed into a larger company (sorry don't recall
which) I wasn't that surprised. Seeing TeleVue being sold by Orion
(again IIRC) did surprise me. Can't think that their other dealers will
be too happy with that decision.

Shawn

Shawn wrote:
Doink wrote:
What's going on? Hardin is selling nearly everything but Hardin. Orion is
....

What IS Hardin these days? Their website is weird. It's like a clearance
center. I don't even want to get into Meade---plastic over-priced CATS.
Whoopeeee!

Given Celestron being absorbed into a larger company (sorry don't recall
which) I wasn't that surprised.

Synta now owns Celestron now. Synta already made many of their smaller
scopes, including my Nexstar 114 GT. The 114 is decent for the $160
price I paid for it at Costco two years ago.

Incidentally, many of Orion's scopes are also manufactured by Synta.

--
Pat O'Connell
[note munged EMail address]
Take nothing but pictures, Leave nothing but footprints,
Kill nothing but vandals...

Sure, but even though Synta makes much of their stuff, they are still
competitors aren't they---Celestron and Orion? Or is this industry becoming
another Chinese Walmart as well?

Doink


"Pat O'Connell" wrote in message
news:i89Le.426$ct5.233@fed1read04...
Shawn wrote:
Doink wrote:
What's going on? Hardin is selling nearly everything but Hardin. Orion
is
...

What IS Hardin these days? Their website is weird. It's like a
clearance center. I don't even want to get into Meade---plastic
over-priced CATS. Whoopeeee!

Given Celestron being absorbed into a larger company (sorry don't recall
which) I wasn't that surprised.

Synta now owns Celestron now. Synta already made many of their smaller
scopes, including my Nexstar 114 GT. The 114 is decent for the $160 price
I paid for it at Costco two years ago.

Incidentally, many of Orion's scopes are also manufactured by Synta.

--
Pat O'Connell
[note munged EMail address]
Take nothing but pictures, Leave nothing but footprints,
Kill nothing but vandals...

On Fri, 12 Aug 2005 15:53:03 -0600, Shawn wrote:
Doink wrote:
What's going on? Hardin is selling nearly everything but Hardin. Orion is
now selling Celestron stuff. It looks like we're losing the benefits of
competition....I hope Antares will will make a big splash with their new
refractor line....

What IS Hardin these days? Their website is weird. It's like a clearance
center. I don't even want to get into Meade---plastic over-priced CATS.
Whoopeeee!

Given Celestron being absorbed into a larger company (sorry don't recall
which) I wasn't that surprised. Seeing TeleVue being sold by Orion
(again IIRC) did surprise me. Can't think that their other dealers will
be too happy with that decision.

Shawn

You do know that 7 or so years ago Orion sold most if not all of TV line
as well as other big names.


--
clear skies,
Joe

http://users.erols.com/jringer3/astro1.htm

Joe R wrote:
On Fri, 12 Aug 2005 15:53:03 -0600, Shawn wrote:

Doink wrote:

What's going on? Hardin is selling nearly everything but Hardin. Orion is
now selling Celestron stuff. It looks like we're losing the benefits of
competition....I hope Antares will will make a big splash with their new
refractor line....

What IS Hardin these days? Their website is weird. It's like a clearance
center. I don't even want to get into Meade---plastic over-priced CATS.
Whoopeeee!

Given Celestron being absorbed into a larger company (sorry don't recall
which) I wasn't that surprised. Seeing TeleVue being sold by Orion
(again IIRC) did surprise me. Can't think that their other dealers will
be too happy with that decision.

Shawn


You do know that 7 or so years ago Orion sold most if not all of TV line
as well as other big names.

Do I know that (what like in a biblical way or something)? No. As I
said I recall that Orion used to sell TeleVue, but I could be wrong. I
don't archive Orion catalogs. Musta been a customer though, because I
have a nine year old pair of binos from them (8x56, still love them).

Shawn

On Mon, 15 Aug 2005 09:00:11 -0600, Shawn wrote:
Joe R wrote:
On Fri, 12 Aug 2005 15:53:03 -0600, Shawn wrote:

Doink wrote:

What's going on? Hardin is selling nearly everything but Hardin. Orion is
now selling Celestron stuff. It looks like we're losing the benefits of
competition....I hope Antares will will make a big splash with their new
refractor line....

What IS Hardin these days? Their website is weird. It's like a clearance
center. I don't even want to get into Meade---plastic over-priced CATS.
Whoopeeee!

Given Celestron being absorbed into a larger company (sorry don't recall
which) I wasn't that surprised. Seeing TeleVue being sold by Orion
(again IIRC) did surprise me. Can't think that their other dealers will
be too happy with that decision.

Shawn


You do know that 7 or so years ago Orion sold most if not all of TV line
as well as other big names.

Do I know that (what like in a biblical way or something)? No. As I
said I recall that Orion used to sell TeleVue, but I could be wrong. I
don't archive Orion catalogs. Musta been a customer though, because I
have a nine year old pair of binos from them (8x56, still love them).

Shawn

Biblical? Since they sold TV before I just didn't understand your surpise.
I guess it's true about history repeating itself.

As far as catalogs, nor do I archive so my date might be wrong but I'm
sure somebody in SAA land could be more definite?


--
clear skies,
Joe

http://users.erols.com/jringer3/astro1.htm

"Doink" wrote in message
...
What's going on? Hardin is selling nearly everything but Hardin. Orion
is now selling Celestron stuff. It looks like we're losing the benefits
of competition....I hope Antares will will make a big splash with their
new refractor line....


Its funny, I was opening Orion's website and saw "SCT" and immediately
assumed that the Chinese had conquered a new optical frontier and were
producing SCTs. Then as the page continued to load I saw it was a Celestron
and realized I was right G.

Ed T.

I think Orion is making a huge mistake by abandoning their brand---by
bringing this other stuff, they might as well say in their ads, "no
difference, look for the cheapest".

Doink

"Ed T" wrote in message
nk.net...

"Doink" wrote in message
...
What's going on? Hardin is selling nearly everything but Hardin. Orion
is now selling Celestron stuff. It looks like we're losing the benefits
of competition....I hope Antares will will make a big splash with their
new refractor line....


Its funny, I was opening Orion's website and saw "SCT" and immediately
assumed that the Chinese had conquered a new optical frontier and were
producing SCTs. Then as the page continued to load I saw it was a
Celestron and realized I was right G.

Ed T.

Doink wrote:
I think Orion is making a huge mistake by abandoning their brand---by
bringing this other stuff, they might as well say in their ads, "no
difference, look for the cheapest".

Doink


Hi:

Orion has never had a brand. Not if you mean "scopes produced
in-house." In the good old days of the 80s, they sold some Orion
branded and even made stuff...largely small things like drive
correctors and other accessories, but mainly scopes from the majors,
including Meade, Celestron, etc. As far as scopes go, they have never
made a thing. The "Orion brand" was initially Vixen, and then Synta--in
a big way. ;-)

Peace,
Rod Mollise
Author of _Choosing and Using a Schmidt Cassegrain Telescope_

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for further info

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