Avoid these like the plague!

I just thought I would pass this along.....

This came up today in a Yahoo! forum I moderate (chinesereflectors). A poor chap had purchased one of those ultra-junk 6" EQ mounted newts being sold on the "other" auction website by a seller known as "taximarket".

The man had this to say about the telescope he purchased:

"I'm new to this but I have to agree [that it is junk]. I would like to salvage it if possible. My impression is the quality is as poor as it gets. The mirror was covered with paint overspray and there seems to be something embedded in it. I've been using it but compared to my friends 8" homemade dob it is pretty lame.
Well chalk it up to experence and move on...."

I know that most of us here on Astromart would have the sense not to bother with one of these junkers, let alone purchase astrogear off the "other" auction site, but I just thought I would post this here, since many folks are duped by the guy selling this junk.

Whenever anyone asks about purchasing their first telescope, always direct them to a reputable dealer.

-Jake

Every once in a while I'll do a search on that site and get loads of hits all selling the same no-name (or name unknown) scopes and all I can do is shake my head.

BUT, every once in a while there's an actual decent or even excellent piece of equipment and my first thought is, "You'd get a better deal for it at another site, buddy."