Eagle Optics revamp their web site

[Kevin Purcell]

Eagle Optics have redone their web site

http://www.eagleoptics.com/

and broken their old links too

e.g. http://www.eagleoptics.com/hot_deals.asp

Not a good idea especially when some parts of the site still refer to it. I suspect all the BF links to their site (when people are referring to a bin) will be broken (so cryptic ... see this + a link will be all the more mysterious).

But they have hot deals at this link

http://www.eagleoptics.com/binoculars?specials=hot-deals

but I'm not to sure it's easier to read (the all on one page was quite handy).

It looks like they've brought back the filtering too which is nice. And I think it looks nicer (a bit more modern). Plus they've added in ratings and reviews.

But time will tell about its usability.

[Tero]

The Stokes E and W field guides, if you like photos, are really hard to find in store shelves. I found one discounted to 3 dollars, but it was West. I already have E and W. Not sure if they plan a new edition. Maybe just in time after the lumpers start lumping recent splits again.
http://www.eagleoptics.com/books-and-guides?page=2&sort=best-selling&specials=all

The Stokes Warblers book, my favorite warblers book, is also there
http://www.eagleoptics.com/books-and-guides/stokes-guide/stokes-field-guide-to-warblers

I always wanted to see how many birds are here
http://www.eagleoptics.com/books-and-guides/princeton-illustrated-checklist/birds-of-south-america
It is usually very crowded, I have a few in the series. The title is misleading. It is not ALL the birds, just Birds of South America: Non-Passerines: Rheas to Woodpeckers with the subtitle. It sells for 18 dollars plus shipping on Amazon.

The 8.5x looks good, I do not have 700 just now. ;)
http://stores.ebay.com/Eagle-Optics_Used-Demo-Refurbs_W0QQcolZ4QQdirZ1QQfsubZ12874368QQftidZ2QQt Zkm

[Steve C]

I saw the notice they were down for maintenance yesterday. What I hoped was that maybe the specs for some of the new glass from Vortex and Pentax might go up. Doesn't look like it. Not sure if I like the new layout or not. Reminds me of a store moving everything all around. You have to learn it all again. I guess they figure you might shop some more in the process, just like the stores.

[BobinKy]

I really liked their previous approach. More personal. Anyway, I guess the revision is here to stay.

--Bob
Kentucky, USA

[FrankD]

Nice catch. I haven't hit their site for a few days and it looks like I missed alot.

[OwenM]

The gallery or "grid" view vs. "list" only is nice, and the website is faster, but other than than I pretty much hate everything about it. Main disappointment is that the search criteria that let you choose/add/delete price ranges, brands, sizes, and magnifications, and made comparison shopping so easy, is gone.

[FrankD]

Hmm, Kevin is on the ball. I just now received an email from them confirming that they revamped the site.

...on another note I still haven't received a return email about that free GPS I was supposed to get with the Legends....

...and no smart-alleck comments about only getting it if you don't return the bins cuz I didn't and don't plan on returning them.

;)

[Kevin Purcell]

Hmm, Kevin is on the ball. I just now received an email from them confirming that they revamped the site.

...on another note I still haven't received a return email about that free GPS I was supposed to get with the Legends....

Odd, the GPS was in the box and on the recipt with mine.

When did you order them?

[FrankD]

It was right between Christmas and New Years. I went back and double-checked before I sent the email and they were still listed as eligible for the free GPS. Now that they revamped the website....

[Kevin Purcell]

It was right between Christmas and New Years. I went back and double-checked before I sent the email and they were still listed as eligible for the free GPS. Now that they revamped the website....

They should have been good for a jacket up to 12/31 and for the GPS up to 1/5 (IIRC).

Odd that they should mess this up (and not reply -- they've always been quite prompt in replying to email for me). Perhaps time for a phone call.

[Kevin Purcell]

I said earlier that they would break their old product links (assuming that because they broke their single static page link for hot deals they wouldn't make the effort to fit the old PID links).

Turns out I was wrong. Their web devs are smarter than that! They're redirecting their old product links to the new pages.

Very handy both for us and the large number of items still index by google.

e.g. the old link for the Eagle Optics Triumph 7x35 Binocular

http://www.eagleoptics.com/index.asp?pid=4037

redirects to

http://www.eagleoptics.com/binoculars/eagle-optics/eagle-optics-triumph-7x35-binocular

Having the name in the URL helps with "search engine optimization" i.e. getting your pages higher ranked. That's why I think they made the change.

[mcdomik]

All,

We appreciate the attention you are giving our website and your feedback is something that we value. Feel free to contact us with questions or comments at 1-800-289-1132 or info@eagleoptics.com.

Thank you!

Mike M.

Mike McDowell
Eagle Optics
www.eagleoptics.com

[FrankD]

Don't you love it when the reps pop in here?

;)

I haven't really done much on the new site yet. I did leave two product reviews but not much more.

[mcdomik]

Birder first, EO Representative second.

http://www.birddigiscoping.com/

Cheers,

Mike M.

Mike McDowell
Middleton, WI U.S.
www.birddigiscoping.com

[FrankD]

Either way...it is nice to have folks such as yourself around.

:-)

Now about that GPS.....

Sorry Mike, couldn't resist.

[mcdomik]

FrankD,

Someone is on it.

Mike M.

[FrankD]

Mike,

I was jokin' seriously....

...but if you are serious then you have my thanks.

You da' man!

[mcdomik]

FrankD,

Of course I'm serious! :)

Mike M.

[bcl05]

Mike -

Any chance of EO adding some of the much-hyped chinese ED bins (Promaster/Hawke/Zen-Ray/whatever is next)?

Thanks!

[FrankD]

Good question. I wonder if conjecture about a Vortex Razor "II" might fill that niche or if they are considering one of the other ED open-bridge models on the market.

[mcdomik]

I'll never tell!

Mike M.

[bcl05]

Ah well, thanks anyways. By the way, I love your blog - required reading for me... Very inspiring photos, too.

[FrankD]

I guess we will just have to wait and see Mike.

...unless you are feelin' generous one of these days.

;)

[Steve C]

I was just looking over the new Eagle Optics website. I finally noticed there was a sort by best selling button. Yeah I know, I'm probably the last person here to figure that out. ;) But after using it a little, I noticed something interesting. Every manufacturer who sells both porro and roof prism binoculars has more porro prism glass in their top ten sellers than roofs.

I think this is solely a price consideration, as when the manufacturer, like Vortex, has no porros, the cheap ones are at the top. However, it does seem to run counter to the oft heard comment that "porro prism binoculars don't sell". It seems to me to say yes they will, particularly when the 6x and then the 8x Yosemite are the top selling thing listed for Leupold. I think that is largely a quality vs price thing that the Yosemite just about whacks all comers.

[FrankD]

Hmm Steve, interesting observation. I think I am going to give that one a try myself. As you commented on it is probably because of the price issue. But you have to somewhat consider that folks must be reasonably pleased with the porros' optical performance at that price point in addition to the less expensive price point.

I know the Vortex guys laughed at it but I seriously wonder what they could come up with if they put some effort to an Internal Focus porro design in multiple configurations and a moderate to large field of view. As always I think they would have the market cornered.

[Steve C]

I think I need to edit the above post a bit. I had not looked at Pentax, and they have only one porro in thier top sellers. The more porros should probably be a "number of porros in their best sellers". What I did earlier was too quick of a look. Oops. But the basic point seems to remain.

[Kevin Purcell]

Clearly Eagle are fixing the minor bugs they had after launch.

I see the old link (which was gave a generic file not found page just after web site relaunch)

http://eagleoptics.com/hot_deals.asp

now correctly redirects to

http://www.eagleoptics.com/products/hot-deals

where you get an "old style" but "new look" hot deals page i.e. the deals are hotter than clicking on the "hot deals" selector from the main binoculars page.

[ceasar]

You can't sort by size or magnification anymore. Makes it tougher to do comparisons. Or even find comparisons, for that matter.
Bob

[FrankD]

I did tinker with it a bit more and left a few more reviews but I haven't seen any of them actually become "Active" at this point.

[ceasar]

I have deleted my previous post relating to "specifications" because it was wrong, but I still have a bit of a problem with what I see as the confusing method of getting information on the specifications and the description of the binocular.

As an example, sometimes the Specification section appears first and may not disclose if a roof prism binocular is phase coated. Then if you go to the Description section you MAY or MAY NOT find out if it is phase coated. Other times the Description section pops up first, with a partial statement of the specifications. In short, the Specifications sections too often don't contain ALL the specs. I think the 2 sections should be merged into one, if possible.
Bob

[FrankD]

Ok Bob, you are giving me a headache just thinking about trying to use the search feature. Is it really that bad?

I will have to give it a go when I get to work tomorrow.

[ceasar]

No, it is manageable, Frank. But the old site was more efficient in dispersing information relating to the binocular's stats. You now have to make a couple of more clicks in order to get all the pertinent info and sometimes you forget to do this. And, as I noted before, alot of Roof Prisms do not have info on whether they are phase coated or not.
Bob

[FrankD]

That last part could be an issue. However, realistically, how many roof prism bins over $150 aren't phase coated at this point?

[ceasar]

Yes, I guess so. If you really need to confirm it you can always go to the manufacturer's web site or ask the sales person. But, then again, they are a phone/mail/e-mail order dealer and they can save time by having this info in the spec description.
Bob

[FrankD]

No argument there.

Related to that issue, I love buying from Doug at Cameralandny but I always hate the fact that the listing on there for any given bin don't have all of the specs listed. Though I feel pretty familiar with most of the bins he sells it is nice to have the specs there for a point of reference.

[Kevin Purcell]

A month on and I think they just did a minor tweak on the "front page" (the root page of their site).

http://www.eagleoptics.com/

They added the hot deals banner below the title banner and have fewer "featured products". I think ... I don't recall it looking like this a couple of days ago.

They have also added (in addition to all hot deals ... which was too many for me) a spotting scope and a binocular specific hot deals pages

http://www.eagleoptics.com/binoculars?specials=hot-deals
http://www.eagleoptics.com/spotting-scopes?specials=hot-deals

And they have made their eBay store a bit more prominent on the front page.