Brand
John Diebel founded Meade in 1972, selling imported refractors by mail before Meade started making its own telescopes. It entered the Schmidt-Cassegrain market in 1980, launched the computerized LX200 in 1992 and the little ETX Maksutovs in 1996, and switched its SCTs to Advanced Coma-Free optics in 2008. The later years were rough. Ningbo Sunny bought the company in 2013, Meade filed for bankruptcy in 2019, and Orion took it over in 2021. In 2024 the parent company closed its California operation and wound the business down, and meade.com no longer belongs to the telescope maker. So a used Meade has no factory support behind it. Third-party repairers and owner groups keep them running, and a complete, working one is still a good scope.
5 models we cover.
Meade
Schmidt-Cassegrain$1,200–$1,450 typical ask
9 on eBay
Meade
Schmidt-Cassegrain$2,750–$3,275 typical ask
12 on eBay
Meade
Schmidt-Cassegrain$2,500–$2,500 typical ask
4 on eBay
Meade
Schmidt-Cassegrain$2,100–$2,375 typical ask
2 on eBay
Meade
Maksutov-Cassegrain$775–$1,400 typical ask
9 on eBay