Or maybe not, the price of the remaining 10x30's has been increased by £70 now (from £810 to £880), which must have been done deliberately.
Makes one wonder what kind of margin Zeiss stockists have to play with.
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UK binocular deals, special offers and bargains (6 Viewers)
- Thread starter normjackson
- Start date
Makes one wonder what kind of margin Zeiss stockists have to play with.
Hope someone has got a good deal out of this.
I will say, I'm suspicious, I had a very good offer from a reputable optics shop just before Christmas.
The binoculars were "new, price matched", when I bought them online, but on arrival they were faulty and covered in a substance, like talc?!
On returning the binoculars, the subsequent correspondence from the shop was listing them as "ex-demo".
I no longer have much trust in such shops, and their deals lol
I will say, I'm suspicious, I had a very good offer from a reputable optics shop just before Christmas.
The binoculars were "new, price matched", when I bought them online, but on arrival they were faulty and covered in a substance, like talc?!
On returning the binoculars, the subsequent correspondence from the shop was listing them as "ex-demo".
I no longer have much trust in such shops, and their deals lol
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beacon hill
Well-known member
That 3rd line made me chuckle.
Speaking as a small dealer, I often wonder to myself if a small few know how to use a calculator
when working out the difference between trade buy and retail sell.
But have been guilty of human error myself when inputting prices.
One product that I was part way through adding to the website went live before I realized
the price was still £0.0 . Someone clicked on the buy button. But with the correspondence
that followed they saw the funny side of it.
My tip for grabbing a bargain. Don`t search on-line. Go direct to the shop to make an offer.
By all means have your phone showing a link. As the saying goes from when I started out
selling memory cards at car boot sales . Be fair with the dealer and they will be fair with you.
(Well that`s just my experience)
And that made me chuckle.
You clearly have the dealers' best interests at heart.
😇
beacon hill
Well-known member
To put another way.And that made me chuckle.
You clearly have the dealers' best interests at heart.
😇
Not being fair with the dealer.
Asking them to take several sets out the box. Making an offer on the fav set.
Dealer accepting. Then buyer says "I`ll think about it" and never come back.
Being fair with a dealer.
Asking them to take several sets out the box. Making an offer on the fav set.
Dealer accepting. Then buyer says "Great. Do you accept card"
Thankfully the 1st scenario is by far the exception rather than the rule.
Though I have become quite thick skinned with all the years trading behind me.
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The 8x40 SFL arrived in Northamptonshire at 09:30hrs via Royal Mail 24 tracked from Stirling. I placed the order online yesterday at 15:21hrs
Inside was the original box complete with its outer sleeve and all the contents that should be there, carry bag, straps (still wound up) manual and safety manual. The lens caps were fitted to the Binoculars and inside the bag. I suspect these have been used as demo or possibly returned ones.
The Binoculars are in first class condition, clean clear lenses, body work with any marks( I have looked). Focus wheel is perfect for me and the diopter easy to adjust and stays put. Overall very very happy with them.
I had the same ones on a 48hr Zeiss try out sessions last year. I was very pleased, unfortunately I couldn't afford them. Now I can
Thanks to Bentley03 who flagged them up and mulligatawny owl for the discount code.
David
You struck gold there I think. Notice they are back to full price today!The 8x40 SFL arrived in Northamptonshire at 09:30hrs via Royal Mail 24 tracked from Stirling. I placed the order online yesterday at 15:21hrs
Inside was the original box complete with its outer sleeve and all the contents that should be there, carry bag, straps (still wound up) manual and safety manual. The lens caps were fitted to the Binoculars and inside the bag. I suspect these have been used as demo or possibly returned ones.
The Binoculars are in first class condition, clean clear lenses, body work with any marks( I have looked). Focus wheel is perfect for me and the diopter easy to adjust and stays put. Overall very very happy with them.
I had the same ones on a 48hr Zeiss try out sessions last year. I was very pleased, unfortunately I couldn't afford them. Now I can
Thanks to Bentley03 who flagged them up and mulligatawny owl for the discount code.
David
mulligatawny owl
Well-known member
Not so much luck with my 8x30 pair I'm afraid. A very well handled demo pair by the looks of things with a big ding exposing bare metal on the strap attachment. They have obviously been dropped or bashed at some point.
A quick test out the window while it's still light and they seem ok, although the dioptre needs turning quite far off from my usual roughly central spot to get a good view.
Probably still worth the money I guess if they are ok but I'm not even going to bother giving them a proper test I'm just sending them back tomorrow.
Oh well, you win some you lose some. Fingers crossed others will receive better samples.
Just wish things would be described properly so you know what you're getting.
A quick test out the window while it's still light and they seem ok, although the dioptre needs turning quite far off from my usual roughly central spot to get a good view.
Probably still worth the money I guess if they are ok but I'm not even going to bother giving them a proper test I'm just sending them back tomorrow.
Oh well, you win some you lose some. Fingers crossed others will receive better samples.
Just wish things would be described properly so you know what you're getting.
Well, I'm very pleased (for me and sorry for mulligatawny owl) to say that, like David with his 8x40's (and 10x40's?), I also appear to have hit the jackpot with the 8x30's I ordered on Wednesday afternoon (for £702).
They arrived carefully packaged this morning and are, as far as I can tell, a brand spanking new pair of binoculars. Accessories all appear to be unused (none of them attached and no signs of them ever having been attached), as do the binoculars themselves (unmarked throughout and lenses have that sparkling pristine look of never having been wiped or cleaned). The focus wheel movement is smooth in both directions with perfect tension, diopter appears to be spot on, packaging is all in perfect unspoilt condition etc.etc.
I've checked their history and Zeiss sold them (brand new) to a retailer last October.
I'm absolutely delighted with them, although it would appear that I very much lucked in with this pair, as there was clearly considerable variation in the condition of the heavily discounted SFL's they were selling.
They arrived carefully packaged this morning and are, as far as I can tell, a brand spanking new pair of binoculars. Accessories all appear to be unused (none of them attached and no signs of them ever having been attached), as do the binoculars themselves (unmarked throughout and lenses have that sparkling pristine look of never having been wiped or cleaned). The focus wheel movement is smooth in both directions with perfect tension, diopter appears to be spot on, packaging is all in perfect unspoilt condition etc.etc.
I've checked their history and Zeiss sold them (brand new) to a retailer last October.
I'm absolutely delighted with them, although it would appear that I very much lucked in with this pair, as there was clearly considerable variation in the condition of the heavily discounted SFL's they were selling.
mulligatawny owl
Well-known member
That's a relief! Glad a took the hit with the dodgy 8x30 so you didn't have to, I didn't really need them anyway, it just seemed such an incredible deal I couldn't resist.
Had another quick test before I send them back on Monday and wow they are bright for an 8x30!
Spoke to chap on the phone about sending them back and he told me they only sell new bins and was very surprised when I described the state of my pair, so goodness knows what sort of mix up happened. The fingerprints and obvious handling I wouldn't have really cared about but the big ugly chips on the strap attachment I wouldn't even have been happy with in a binocular described as well used.
Did he offer you a replacement?
mulligatawny owl
Well-known member
I asked if they had a replacement they could send and he said no.
Which to me is suspicious. They have (New) stock.
If you'd paid full price they would have replaced.
I think we have to keep a very close eye on online optics purchasing, going forward.
It's becoming as unpredictable as the 2nd hand car market!!
mulligatawny owl
Well-known member
To be fair, I don't think they have stock in, they'd have to order another in. Probably they were just clearing old stock for some reason and I got unlucky with a well used demo pair. 🤷♂️
You weren't sold ex-demo though, you were sold new.
They have a separate category for ex-demo items.
You can buy new 8x30 sfl from them, so why can't they send you another new pair?
Answer, because they weren't new.
My experience, with a different retailer, was advertised as new, very cheap / price match.
Turned out they were not new, lens cover missing, covered in talc(?!) and faulty focus, so I sent them back.
They continued to correspond with me saying they weren't faulty, and by the way they were ex-demo.
Like I say, the whole industry of online optics retail is starting to get a reputation equivalent to that of dodgy used car salesmen.
I'd insist on a replacement, and don't mind waiting a week for the new stock. But it has wound me up lol.
They have a separate category for ex-demo items.
You can buy new 8x30 sfl from them, so why can't they send you another new pair?
Answer, because they weren't new.
My experience, with a different retailer, was advertised as new, very cheap / price match.
Turned out they were not new, lens cover missing, covered in talc(?!) and faulty focus, so I sent them back.
They continued to correspond with me saying they weren't faulty, and by the way they were ex-demo.
Like I say, the whole industry of online optics retail is starting to get a reputation equivalent to that of dodgy used car salesmen.
I'd insist on a replacement, and don't mind waiting a week for the new stock. But it has wound me up lol.
mulligatawny owl
Well-known member
Agree, they definitely should have been listed as ex demo and the issue described.
I've had bad luck with a few dealers sending me totally out of collimation bins, scratched lenses etc.
I think that internet binocular dealing is worse than secondhand car sales.
It is awash with blatant lies and completely unregulated.
At least with a secondhand car you probably get the car advertised but probably with many unspecified faults.
You don't get 5000x22 binoculars for £15.
Regards,
B.
It is awash with blatant lies and completely unregulated.
At least with a secondhand car you probably get the car advertised but probably with many unspecified faults.
You don't get 5000x22 binoculars for £15.
Regards,
B.
