High Point Scientific — Local services in Montague Township

I've generally had decent service from High Point in the past. My most sizable order, however, has gone differently thus far.

•Contact 1-After placing a ticket for a question about an adapter, I received a call back ~1.5days later, a Friday morning:

•Contact 2-I spoke with the rep for a while about my order, confirming that if it were placed in the next 55min, it would be shipped Fri. I also confirmed that all of the items were available to ship, before placing the order about 30min later.

•Contact 3-I called the company back after placing, as I had told the rep I would but after 10min of being on hold, I had other matters to tend to, and figured it was kosher, as it were.

•Contact 4- Saturday comes, and in the morning I call back to confirm the order was shipped. I'm on hold for 30min, and then choose leave a message asking about the status of the order. 30min hold during business hours?? Wow.

Contact 5- Getting a call back some hours later to learn that the order had not shipped because a (non-integral) item is on back order. They do not ship if any piece of the order is on back order (the Saturday rep got a little bitey when he apparently found pain in saying this to me twice), the opposite of which I had confirmed the day prior, when I had checked that all items were available, and the Friday rep had checked that all items were available (they were, but one was physically not, and this was not reflected in their databases viewable to either of us). I asked the rep on Saturday if they were going to make up for the 3days of missed shipping time, they said no and apologized for the other rep's misguiding, saying they would ship the partial order on Mon. Seeing as the Fri rep had told me that any partial order composed of at least the larger items we had discussed would ship Friday, I wouldn't be surprised if they manage to create more mess.

If you're a telescope company and I place an order on the full moon, after you tell me it will ship on the day of, I expect it to ship then and no later, especially not 3d later. This is generally poor service, and not upgrading the shipping to make up for the difference, or at least attempting to make up that difference does not reflect some of the great reviews I've read here. One more surprise, and they will pay return shipping so that I can place an identical order elsewhere. Why would I want to rely on you if something happens in regards to manufacturer warranty, after you treat my initial order in such a manner?

First rep: Engaging and friendly, but not in tune with company logistics. Second rep: Straightforward and somewhat amenable, but grumpy and uncaring. Me: Foolish to assume that 1) a single person at the company could handle an order inquiry (will get two opinions next time) and 2) that someone would automatically step up to ameliorate any issue their company had caused a customer.

I can't suggest against, or for, ordering with High Point, but I will caution others to not expect top-notch service- I found sub-par and I'll continue my usual practice of ordering from manufacture...

I am not one to write a review for a company or person that does what they advertise. I will write a review for those who are exceptional in helping their customers get the right items and doing right by their customers when things go very wrong. High Point Scientific is one of those exceptional, online companies who are severing those who want to get into astrophotography or just star gazing, beginners or advanced. I am very new to astrophotography and basically did not know the names of a lot of accessories. Now I know a little, but not much. I have called up the sales line and ask if I could get that thing that goes on the back side of a telescope (I knew the name and model of the telescope) for mounting stuff that can be taken off and on. They took the time, searching for the items, walked me through the site to the part, and then had me put it in my shopping cart. I received the items today and they are exactly what I wanted. That’s great but, that’s not the exceptional part. I purchased a newly advertised telescope from High Point, which I saw advertised on Instagram. This was my first telescope and could be considered upper midlevel. Not something you should start with. First time I took it out, an unusual sequence of events created fogging on one of the sealed inside lens. The only phone number that High point post is the sales number. You have to submit a service request for any problems like I was having. So, I thought, here we go, I’ll type this request in and never hear from these guys. Three hours later, a High Point technician called me on the phone. He wanted to help me find the best solution for the problem. It took me three months to get all the pieces of my system together, learn how to put them together, how to use the system, and make the first trip to use it. I was well past the return time frame. I had taken out an extended warranty on the scope, so the technician told me that the quickest way to get a replacement, was on file a claim. What happened should not have happened and was not going to be fixable. As soon as the claim went through High Point would ship me a new scope. Well, the claim was denied. Keep in mind that Extend (that’s the name of the warranty company) doesn’t know the equipment, the conditions that it is used in or how it’s used. They only know their policies and subsection that allow them to reject claims (that’s my take on all that happened). When I contacted the High Point technician and told him that Extend rejected the claim, he told me that he would get back in touch with me. Within a couple of hours, he called me back and told me that High Point had decided to ship me a new scope as soon as they received the old one. Emailed me a shipping from and instructions. What happened to the scope should not have happened and they would deal with Extend. Exceptional, Exceptional care for their customers. I don’t believe that it could possibly get any better than that. Customer for...

When I was 14, I received a small 2" dinky telescope for Christmas. It was perfect for me, I was a kid. When I accidently found Saturn and saw those rings, it changed me somehow. My life-long dream was to own a world-class telescope and shoot photos of the stars. After surfing a few websites, a family member told me to consider High Point Scientific since they have lifetime free technical support. That peaked my interest! After realizing I was entering a whole new profession of which I knew very little about, I was smart enough to know I was going to need a lot of technical support, so I researched astrophotography gear online, learned a lot by asking friends at the local astronomy club, built my dream rig, and made my decision. I built a large order and experienced sheer delight when my dreams came true and my telescope came together. I even custom-built a tripod-roller-table, so I just roll it out, plug it in, and BAM!!! Sky Surfing! My new ASIAirPlus and the Celestron AutoGuider are the icing on the celestial cake! These tools are my Favorites! I'm not sure if only the heavy hitters get Mr. Patrick Sutton for a technical support genius, but he is amazing. Having worked professionally with telescopes since 1976, he is very smart! I was obviously thrilled that Mr. Sutton was assigned to help me. I like the other tech-support gear experts too, as they are very helpful, but over time, Mr. Sutton and I have formed a friendship and he knows my dreams, shows me the gear, and points me in the right direction. The high-tech astronomy tools we have as options today are often so technical, they can be rather intimidating, confusing, and even frustrating. But with a team of Great Gear Experts, it takes the pain out of learning the hobby or turning it into a profession. They either know the answer or now where to get it. Look at these incredible photos! A couple months ago, I knew nothing about astrophotography. I didn't even know there were special cameras just for telescopes! (Even though High Point doesn't specialize in processing your digital photos and some of those technicalities, they still can point you in the right direction if you need that kind of help.) Now, with a little patience, practice, and training, I'm able to capture light that has been traveling for millions of years! It's Incredible! I have a lot to learn, but this new adventure is so exciting, it makes me WANT to get up at 4am and brave the cold, dark mornings to go out and catch what I have been missing for 45 years. I look forward to the years ahead as the High Point Scientific helps me achieve my wildest...