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Hello! I am behind in Christmas shopping as always and am now looking for a telescope for my son. I wondered if anyone has any ideas on where to get one? Are there any hobby shops around here? (Meaning near Raleigh) I would prefer not to buy one online I would love to have someone to ask questions to at a store. Thanks so much. Happy Holidays
I am sorry to say this, but much much much better to do this online nowadays. Many of the small shops have gone away. And, this happens to be an area where the really cheap telescopes from a Costco or Wal Mart or similar are just really poor quality optics.
There are many many online vendors. But here is a good one to take a look at:
Oriontelescopes.com
I have used them in the past. The reason they are pretty good is that in addition to the big names (Celestron and Meade) they carry their own brand, and it is usually cheaper and still decent quality.
Amazon.com is the best place, the prices are good and you can check the reviews to see which ones are worth it. Plus free shipping, and free 2 day shipping if you have a Prime membership (well worth it).
Amazon.com is the best place, the prices are good and you can check the reviews to see which ones are worth it. Plus free shipping, and free 2 day shipping if you have a Prime membership (well worth it).
I agree about Amazon. I just bought one for my son from a store called Optics Planet. through Amazon. I ordered it less than 3 days ago and it will be here tomorrow. The one I ordered for my 5 year old little guy was this: Celestron 21061 AstroMaster 70 AZ Refractor Telescope, $96.99. It got good reviews and I feel like I have some sort of an idea of what I am getting beforehand with all those Amazon reviews.
I bought one for my husband at the Discovery Chanel store in Crabtree mall a couple of years ago. I don't know if it is still there, but you can always order online. You could also try Hungates at the Cary Towne Center Mall...it is a hobby shop that might carry telescopes.
I bought one for my husband at the Discovery Chanel store in Crabtree mall a couple of years ago. I don't know if it is still there, but you can always order online. You could also try Hungates at the Cary Towne Center Mall...it is a hobby shop that might carry telescopes.
I think Discovery shut down its stores.
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