I started this topic because it just keeps popping up. A few here have had issues with Meopta’s Meostar’s quality control. I say a few, that’s it. One member’s here opinion says do not buy a Meopta Meostar because you will loose xxx many dollars. So what’s the deal ? My take on all this … you see many, many more of the top European brands, even Nikon being resold here on this forum. Does this mean these are not as good as the Meopta ? , definitely not. Though some here would argue they are equal to being in the same club, having Alpha quality Optics and I am one of those. Mine is a personal opinion. When it comes to liking and using one particular brand of binoculars over another it’s all personal. When it comes to reselling any brand of binocular, it’s also personal regardless of resale down the road. Excepting 30 to 50 percent off one’s original purchase price or more is personal. I am the first one to admit when it comes to resale, I have excepted prices way below what I paid but I have never said do not buy any one brand due to a loss. Here on the for sale section, the percentage of Meopta’s Meostar binocular being sold compared to all others is quite low. This does not mean the Meopta’s are better than any others that have sold or being sold here, only that those who own a Meopta Meostar will not part with them regardless of their resell value.
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Meopta’s Meostar 8x or 10x32’s older or Newer B1.1/Plus Versions Are They Really Hard To ReSell ? (2 Viewers)
- Thread starter gcole
- Start date
tenex
reality-based
"Hard to resell"... I considered this potential(?) issue before purchasing my S2 scope, and would break it down as follows:
(1) Under what conditions would you need to resell? Having found an excellent instrument, I consider it a lifetime purchase.
(2) What percentage of your initial cost will you recover? Meoptas go for less than Swaros and so would bring less in resale, but I wouldn't expect to have to discount them more steeply as well.
(3) How long may it take to resell? Here you might well find that fewer buyers are familiar with or looking for a Meopta, but with reasonable patience this shouldn't be a problem, especially on a forum like this one.
(4) Are bins any worse off than a scope? I think not; Meopta has made too many minor model changes lately, but anyone considering buying one knows how minor they are, and won't be concerned about the latest appearance.
Conclusion: the Classifieds are not full of unsold Meoptas. Fewer have been listed because fewer were bought, but that has more to do with marketing than with quality. Far too much has been made of this, notably by those who failed points #1 and 3.
(1) Under what conditions would you need to resell? Having found an excellent instrument, I consider it a lifetime purchase.
(2) What percentage of your initial cost will you recover? Meoptas go for less than Swaros and so would bring less in resale, but I wouldn't expect to have to discount them more steeply as well.
(3) How long may it take to resell? Here you might well find that fewer buyers are familiar with or looking for a Meopta, but with reasonable patience this shouldn't be a problem, especially on a forum like this one.
(4) Are bins any worse off than a scope? I think not; Meopta has made too many minor model changes lately, but anyone considering buying one knows how minor they are, and won't be concerned about the latest appearance.
Conclusion: the Classifieds are not full of unsold Meoptas. Fewer have been listed because fewer were bought, but that has more to do with marketing than with quality. Far too much has been made of this, notably by those who failed points #1 and 3.
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survivalistd
Active member
I have never owned a pair of meopta meostars but now I want to buy a pair to see. Everything I have read about them has always been positive. I have 3 pairs of Mavens, 2 pairs of GPO's, 3 pairs of Vortex and 3 of their scopes. I have a 2 ziess scopes and 1 pair of bino's. I have 1 pair of leupold binos and 1 scope. I have numerous range finders for all of them and swarovski. I love optics and by far am no professional.
I can’t reply as I never tried to sell Meopta… I do know I tried to sell a Zeiss 10x42 HT (alpha), and had to take a good loss. Bought for $2200 and sold for $1500. That is a third off. If a Meopta Meostar 8x32 B1 series ( all the same) can be had pretty easily for $900 + plus change, a third off will bring it down to $600. But as I recall, a seller on this forum was asking considerably more. Why? If Zeiss is a 1/3 off haircut, surely a Meostar? Also I just saw where reconditioned MHG’s (retail of $900 plus) was offered for $580. Again, about that price and 1/3 off.
My take: good used bins= 1/3 off price.
My take: good used bins= 1/3 off price.
tenex
reality-based
8x32, 10x42 HD, 12x50 HD, and 15x56 HD are the MeoStar models highly praised here. But prices aren't as attractive as they once were.
Prices up all over. …. Not sure how profitable Meoptas binocular division is but a price hike for those bins, given the quality … might be more warranted than Swaros getting an increase in an already inflated price
Totally agree
tenex
reality-based
I have to wonder. I hadn't looked for some time, but at meopta.store they now have four lines of binoculars:
- Optika - budget models, still claimed to be "European optics" (hmm?), 88% transmission is quite good
- MeoPro HD plus - a modest step up, 88% still looks OK (HDs were previously 86%)
- MeoPro Air - midrange, open bridge, $1100 now, but down to just 83%? What is going on with these?
- MeoStar B1 plus - premium, huge step up to $1750-$2100 now, but still 88%, no better than Optika. Also heavy, and often not the greatest FOV. I can't help thinking, for that kind of money you should be getting a MeoStar B2. Maybe it's not just a marketing problem.
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Interesting thread.
I'm a huge Meostar fan. They are alpha level optics, as far as image quality goes. Total edge clarity, and huge FOV are lacking in direct comparison to modern alphas, but these features do not bother me. But the image is absolutely stellar. Absolutely superb!
I do not like the case, and definately do not like the lens caps.... very poor.
The only other thing was how close to the ends of the barrels the objective lenses are.... I prefer a little more depth. No major drama.
I bought a Leica 8x32 as a second pair, to use alongside the Meostars.
I happen to prefer the 8x32 format these days, and am generally an 8x guy, so the 10x Meostars sat redundant.
They were better optically than my Leica BN's, but I'm a BN lover, and just couldn't stop using them.
So I sold the Meostars to someone who really wanted them recently, no problems at all.
I may live to regret that, time will tell, but I'm not a hoarder or collector, got a good price, and they went.
But I would have NO hesitation in recommending Meostars to anyone.
I'm a huge Meostar fan. They are alpha level optics, as far as image quality goes. Total edge clarity, and huge FOV are lacking in direct comparison to modern alphas, but these features do not bother me. But the image is absolutely stellar. Absolutely superb!
I do not like the case, and definately do not like the lens caps.... very poor.
The only other thing was how close to the ends of the barrels the objective lenses are.... I prefer a little more depth. No major drama.
I bought a Leica 8x32 as a second pair, to use alongside the Meostars.
I happen to prefer the 8x32 format these days, and am generally an 8x guy, so the 10x Meostars sat redundant.
They were better optically than my Leica BN's, but I'm a BN lover, and just couldn't stop using them.
So I sold the Meostars to someone who really wanted them recently, no problems at all.
I may live to regret that, time will tell, but I'm not a hoarder or collector, got a good price, and they went.
But I would have NO hesitation in recommending Meostars to anyone.
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Binocollector
Well-known member
Just bought one of these used for 270€ but it is almost new. Very good deal. They seem excellent. Very low chromatic abberation, fast focuser and very smooth, good color fidelity. Can't go wrong with these. I wrote a little "review" in the forum about my first impressions.
The price increase recently is pretty shocking. You might take a bit more of a percentage loss when selling a Meostar compared to a big 3 Alpha. Maybe 30% on a current model, excellent condition big 3 bino and 40-50% on a Meostar. Oh well, may be something to keep in mind if you buy and sell a lot.
You could also see it as a good brand to catch a sweet deal on the used market.
I have had my 10x42HD Meostar as my main bino for 7 years now. I only own my Meostar, a Swarovski 8x20 BN pocket bino and a cheap pair to keep in the vehicle glovebox. So mine has seen a lot of use and never let me down. I don't really care about resale, it will probably be my main for another 10-20 years.
You could also see it as a good brand to catch a sweet deal on the used market.
I have had my 10x42HD Meostar as my main bino for 7 years now. I only own my Meostar, a Swarovski 8x20 BN pocket bino and a cheap pair to keep in the vehicle glovebox. So mine has seen a lot of use and never let me down. I don't really care about resale, it will probably be my main for another 10-20 years.
