Buying guides
Read one of these before you buy. They cover checking a used telescope from the listing to first light, what a complete kit looks like when a listing is the tube or the mount alone, judging an SCT’s corrector, judging a Dobsonian’s mirror, and the factories and badges behind the big names. New to used telescopes? Start with how to check one.
How to Check a Used Telescope Before You Buy
What a used telescope listing does and doesn't tell you, from the optics under a flashlight to the mount, batteries, collimation and getting it home.
Read the guide →Tube Only, Mount Only: What a Complete Telescope Kit Includes
How to read tube-only and mount-only listings: payload, dovetails, hand controllers, power supplies, counterweights and the small parts that go missing.
Read the guide →Used Schmidt-Cassegrain Checklist: Corrector and Collimation
How to judge a used SCT's corrector plate from a flashlight photo, what you can clean, how collimation works, and what to check on fork-mounted GoTo scopes.
Read the guide →Used Dobsonian Buying Guide: Mirror, Collimation and Pickup
Judging a used Dobsonian's mirror coating and base, collimating it, solid vs truss vs collapsible tubes, push-to and GoTo models, and getting a big one home.
Read the guide →Who Made Your Telescope: Synta Rebadges, Meade and Orion
Which telescopes and mounts share a factory under different badges, what Meade's and Orion's closures mean for parts, and how to spot a mislabeled listing.
Read the guide →