Posts Made By: Stacey Roberts

Hi Scott,

Scott Mortimer said:

Just FYI, new email group for Deep-Sky Refractor observing, should be fun.....


http://tech.groups.yahoo.com/group/deepspacewithrefractors/?yguid=187452887

I'm definitely interested - however as a visual-only observer, I am weary of joining yet another Internet astronomy group that ends up getting swamped with lots of "here's my latest attempt at the same stuff every single person with a camera stuck on the end of a scope post posts every_single_season".

This is sadly the case with Losmandy-Users, Gemini-Users and C14 groups.

I've read the initial post in Messages, and whilst I am encouraged by your vision, the fact that there is no statement specifically one way or the other on photography is a concern.

Are you in a position to comment at this time, please?

Regards,

S Roberts

Hello,
There is a current, developing situation that I am aware of being played out on another amateur astro site involving someone who is a member of Astromart.

The matter involves lots of unhappy people being owed lots of money for astro equipment transactions that didn't work out.

I figure its rather important that folks here do not innocently step into a mess here by deciding to respond to one of the person's current adverts.

Is this none of my business? Or is there some way I can point someone in authority to where they can view the situation for themselves, so that they can decide what is best for Astromart?

Regards..,

S Roberts

Hi,
I noticed that the Astromart Classifieds are loading extremely slowly (~2 mins) for me over the past hour or so - 31 July 20:45 GMT.

All other sections of the site (Auctions, Forums, News etc) load fine - fast, zippy. Its just the Classifieds pages that take a long time to load..,

Just wondering if its the same for everyone else?

Regards,

S Roberts

Hi,
So, I'm in the UK and a Brown Level Astromart Supporter, and never actually received my free mug or t-shirt. I emailed once asking about it, but never got a reply.

Now as I am considering renewing support, I'm wondering what exactly is it that I have to do to make sure I do get my free t-shirt or mug here in the UK.

Does anyone know?

Thanks.

Regards,

S Roberts

Hello,
Just wondering..,

I recently renewed my annual Brown Level support subscription that expires on Jan 3rd 2013. Now I'd like to get in on Herb's various prize draws that pop up every now and then for new support purchases.

If I were to buy say a new 3 month support package just for the fun of entering one of these competitions, would my current Brown Level support expiration date be correspondingly extended by 3 months?

Thanks.

Regards,

S Roberts

Hello Jim,
Basically, what the USPS supervisor has told you means: -

1] The shipping method paid for by the sender does not include door-to-door tracking

2] Because it is the SENDER that paid for the shipping (in Canada) then it is the seller, not the buyer who is "the customer

3] As a result of [2], an investigation into the whereabouts / fate of your package must be initiated by the SENDER

You have to: -

(i) Contact your seller
(ii) Confirm with your seller whether or not the lack of tracking described to you by USPS is actually true
(iii) Request that they formally initiate a query in Canada to the local authorities
(iv) Request that the seller provide you with all reference case numbers (CA/USPS) and a copy of all associated correspondence
(v) Request that the seller determine from the Canadian Authorities whether or not they are willing to have you assist in their investigations

That's about it that you can do at this time.

Sorry to hear this - for what its worth, non-expedited (that is shipping that is not FedEx or UPS) packages (6-10 day delivery class) to the UK via USPS or Canada Post can sometimes take up to SEVEN weeks to arrive to the door - Yes this happened to me twice. Takes 3 days max to get to the UK then they sit in UK Customs purgatory for weeks at a time before being released for delivery.

Hope your case is turns out as simple as that..,

Best wishes..,

Regards,

S Roberts

Hello Scott,
Good to hear from you..,

Scott Mortimer said:

Stacey - I am glad to see your post, I couldn't agree more, I am visual only too. A couple friends and I have actually discussed starting a new club called "NEVOS" (New England Visual Observer Society) due to the same "imaging overload syndrome" you refer to. NEVOS has yet to get off the ground, it's still gathering momentum at this point. (btw it could easily be expanded to "Northeast" without even changing the acronym)

Thanks so much for responding. As I said initially - I'm actually quite excited at the prospect that this group may be designated to visual-only observing. So its good to know that there are folks like yourselves that are still intent on fostering this very rewarding aspect of the hobby as best as is possible, to.

I didn't start this new Yahoo group, but I'm pretty sure the host's intent is for visual deep sky only. There won't any of usual silly talk about stuff like focusing for a hour or taking pictures with the lens cap on...those imagers do the darndest things!

That is in indeed very encouraging. I will try to contact the group owner and check it out further. I know that its easy to simply join up and "see how it goes", but I've been down that road so many times, I'd prefer to simply get the facts up front.

Thanks again, Scott!

Regards,

Stacey Roberts

Hello Michael,

Michael Miller said:

I'm new to selling on Astromart, and don't want to have any issues. I am selling a Cgem mount, and was contacted by a buyer in Russia. He has 28 transactions of purchases on here, and is willing to pay freight to russia. Is this safe, is it legal? Thanks for any help.

As a UK member of Astromart who has purchased everything from OTAs and mounts to eyepieces and dovetails from US / Canadian members, I can only advise you to: -

a] Secure quotes for secure, insured shipping with tracking
b] Clearly communicate total costs and your preferred payment method to your buyer
c] Clearly communicate to your buyer that THEY are responsible for local customs and import taxes
d] Obtain clearly stated acceptance from your buyer of the above
e] Await full payment
f] Pack responsibly and ship at your earliest convenience
g] Immediately communicate all relevant shipping tracking reference information to your buyer

Try as best as possible to do all of the above within the same, single email thread and make sure to keep a copy somewhere for your reference.

Best of luck!

Regards,

S Roberts

Derek Kuhl said:

What ever you have done to the site has made page refreshes very slow. It is especially bad at the login screen and when changing tabs from classifieds to the auctions or the forums. It is so slow that it frequently times out on me. This has been happening or the last 3 days. It really makes using the site quite unfun.

The site has been performing quite well (snappy response times when clicking through listings as well as switching between Forums, Auctions and Classifieds) for me this week.

I'm in Europe - for reference.

Regards,

S Roberts

Hi Vince,
Good to hear from you..,

VINCENT FLYNN said:

I'm new at selling on line. I want to accept an offer through paypal, but the buyer wants to give only 10% down before he receives the package. Is that standard practice? I thought all was paid up front before shipping.

Never heard of transactions that involved this sort of deposit-based procedure here on Astromart before. Then again, I've only been a member for a few short years, so maybe others with longer tenure will know otherwise.

I also got a much better offer from Italy. I saw the post about Bulgaria ... what do you all think about Italy? He would want to do a bank wire of money.

Thanks for your thoughts in advance.

I think that first of all, always keep in mind that it is YOUR item and you can sell it to whomever you want to. Most folks when starting off would really do well to keep their initial transactions straightforward and simple: -

1] Put the item up for sale with an asking price & your preferred payment methods
2] Buyer says they want your item as described
3] You two agree price & shipping
4] Buyer pays
5] You verify receipt of payment
6] You ship the item - provide shipping confirmation to buyer
7] Buyer receives item and confirms receipt to you
8] You and Buyer submit feedback

That's all to it.

For some sellers, the ultimate comfort-zone (that is, perceived least complicated approach) is to never do international sales - period. Like I said.., that's just some folks. There are quite a lot of Astromarters who will - but its a gut thing at the end of the day.

So, go with what you feel you're comfortable with, but still do your due diligence - make sure you describe your item accurately; provide good, clear photos; be upfront on your terms and conditions of sale (remember, its your item, after all) and of course.., make sure you receive payment before shipping your item.

Hope that helps.,

For what its worth, I'm in the UK and I buy my astro gear right here on Astromart

Best..,

Regards,

S Roberts