New Telescope Shop in Dublin

flyer2oo8

Hey guys,

I found this on Facebook which I found very interesting. Its an online/retail shop called Scopes & Space Ltd. It seems to have some pretty cool equipment on it. http://www.scopesandspace.ie

flyer

DubOnHoliday

Looks great. Best of luck to them!!!

Novaman

I'll check the site out, thanks for the notice.

NM

Novaman

I Should also add that this is the same contact address as the address supplied on the Astronomy Ireland website.

NM

username123

The WHOIS gives:
domain: scopesandspace.ie
descr: Scopes And Space Limited
descr: Body Corporate (Ltd,PLC,Company)
descr: Corporate Name
admin-c: AQU888-IEDR
tech-c: AAM456-IEDR
registration: 30-April-2013
renewal: 30-April-2015
status: Active
nserver: ns1.blacknight.com
nserver: ns2.blacknight.com
source: IEDR

person: Karl Brady
nic-hdl: AQU888-IEDR
source: IEDR

person: Blacknight.ie Hostmaster
nic-hdl: AAM456-IEDR
source: IEDR


and a quick google shows that Karl Brady is a Sales Executive at Astronomy Ireland.

Just a very quick comparison:
scopesandspace:
Celestron Skymaster Binoculars 15x70 - 99 Euro (I dont know if there is postage to be added to that).

Amazon.co.uk:
Celestron Skymaster Binoculars 15x70 - 60.05 Sterling - no postage charge on orders over £25 to Ireland.
Conversion on £60.05 = 70.69 Euro

scopesandspace:
CELESTRON - SkyProdigy 130 - 999 Euro

Amazon.co.uk:
Celestron Skyprodigy 130 Reflector Telescope - £639.99 = 753.40 Euro

Gremlin

Before I get shot, I am in no way affiliated with the shop mentioned above in any shape or form. I do however, know the guys who are. These guys are former AI employees who have decided to start up a whole new business in no way associated with AI in any shape or form. They decided to rent the former AI premises in swords on the basis that the rent was the best value they could find for their fledgling business. Just wanted to clear that up.

flyer2oo8

Thanks for the investigation username123 but I have a question though, if one were to purchase a telescope from Amazon and say for instance, there was a fault with the hand controller on the telescope, how could it be resolved? Do Amazon deal with this issue?

I might also add that they do appear to have a huge range of products and from the website, appear to be in a different ball game altogether. I know for sure that the last crowd, Astronomy Ireland, definitely did not have a nice variety as this store seems to have.

username123

flyer2oo8 wrote: »

Thanks for the investigation username123 but I have a question though, if one were to purchase a telescope from Amazon and say for instance, there was a fault with the hand controller on the telescope, how could it be resolved? Do Amazon deal with this issue?

I was only using them for price comparison, but in my experience Amazon are great on after sales service on all products. Ive never had an issue personally.

username123

Gremlin wrote: »

Before I get shot, I am in no way affiliated with the shop mentioned above in any shape or form. I do however, know the guys who are. These guys are former AI employees who have decided to start up a whole new business in no way associated with AI in any shape or form. They decided to rent the former AI premises in swords on the basis that the rent was the best value they could find for their fledgling business. Just wanted to clear that up.

I have to admit - this seems a bit odd.

Here is the summary company info for Scopes and Space Ltd:

Scopes And Space Limited was set up on Mon the 16th of Jul 2012 in Co. Dublin. Their current status is Normal. The company's current directors Jamal Sharif and Karl Brady have been the director of 0 other companies between them. According to our records, Scopes And Space Limited has not had judgments registered against it for Bad Debts in the past 6 years.

Here is the current info on Astronomy Irelands Facebook page:
Location Unit A8, Airside Enterprise Park, Swords, Dublin
General manager Jamal Sharif

I understand it can take time to update Facebook pages etc, but 10 months?

Also - if you were trying to disassociate yourself from your previous employer, it would seem kind of silly to stay in the same premises and deal in exactly the same products!

disco girl

username123 wrote: »

Just a very quick comparison:
scopesandspace:
Celestron Skymaster Binoculars 15x70 - 99 Euro (I dont know if there is postage to be added to that).

Amazon.co.uk:
Celestron Skymaster Binoculars 15x70 - 60.05 Sterling - no postage charge on orders over £25 to Ireland.
Conversion on £60.05 = 70.69 Euro

It is great to see another shop, but very similar binoculars can be found here http://www.ktectelescopes.ie/Binoculars/Revelation-15x70-Binoculars.html for €85 including delivery.

mickmackey1

€179 for the power tank is seriously saucy.

flyer2oo8

I took a spin around to the shop to see if it was open and this was on the window.

Gremlin

Hi Username123,

Yes Jamal was the manager at the AI shop until the three guys decided to go their own way. Karl Brady worked there too as did Carl O'Beirnes who are the three guys behind the new shop. Really I don't think these guys need explain themselves to you, me or anyone. They took a business decision to lease the premises formerly occupied by AI. They did that for their own business reasons, good luck to them.

Bottom line is if you go trawling through a website like theirs of course you will find scenarios where they are better or worse than competitors on certain products.

We now have a situation where we have good honest and knowledgable guys like Stephen at Ktec and the three guys at S&S who between them have all the major brands. Isn't that infinitely better than the situation we had only a year ago when there was only one retailer and only one brand? The difference between all of these guys and Amazon is they have a face, someone you can talk to. People who know what they are talking about. I'm sure these guys would let you look through one of the scopes before you bought it if you asked.

So they can't compete with Amazon who buy stuff by the millions? Go see if you can get all the other brands that these guys have on Amazon.

Personally I wish Ktec and Scope&Space every success. Finally we have independent honest retailers. We should rejoice in that.

username123

Gremlin wrote: »

Hi Username123...................

In fairness, not many can compete with Amazon. I didnt trawl btw, I just picked the first thing I saw to do a check.

Personally if I was spending any kind of money on equipment (and I dont mean just a pair of binos for under 100 euro), Id be shopping around and checking online and bricks and mortar prices anyway.

Sometimes when you are going to spend a lot of money there is some comfort in knowing that the people you are buying from exist right there in person to assist in the event of a problem later.

Hopefully they can distance themselves from their former connections.

jfSDAS

Hi all,

I'll echo Gremlin's comments. I've been talking to Carl on and off over the last while about the new venture. Basically, the guys decided to stay in the existing premises because rents for places they looked at elsewhere were proving prohibitive.

John

ZeRoY

Gremlin wrote: »

So they can't compete with Amazon who buy stuff by the millions? Go see if you can get all the other brands that these guys have on Amazon.

Barely. Amazon is nowadays just a platform for UK shops to sell their gear, lower tax, etc.. hence lower pricing.

I have to agree on the after sale service, its something the guys in S&S or Ktec can really capitalize on if not on prices.

Best of luck to them!

nuttyboy79

I think more power to them I know the 3 guys that are taking a chance on this from going in and out of the shop when it was A.I. and 3 nicer guys you couldn't hope to meet and their knowledge of the equipment they were selling was great. They worked very hard to distance themselves from any of the issues that people had with A.I. in the past and I think they were successful to a point and this now is the new stage of their business lives so for astronomy in Ireland this is a good thing.

Pat Dunne

The very best of luck to the 3 lads at Scopes and Space, they'll be getting my custom in future. I bought a T-Ring and an Adaptor for my CPC 925 the week before last and it arrived in the post 2 days later and was very competitively priced against the UK and German websites

My preference is always to try and deal with a bricks and mortar retailer. At least if something you buy doesn't perform to expectations, you can always physically bring it back to the shop and deal with the guys over the counter face to face.

Now hopefully the clouds will clear tonight so I can try and get some good shots of the "Strawberry Moon". Ah yes, the slippery slope of astro photography

Zubeneschamali

Pat Dunne wrote: »

My preference is always to try and deal with a bricks and mortar retailer. At least if something you buy doesn't perform to expectations, you can always physically bring it back to the shop and deal with the guys over the counter face to face.

Unless the same faces are in the same bricks-and-mortar store, but have a new name over the door next time you call.

username123

I just got an email from Astronomy Ireland (I ended up on their email database a long time ago).

I notice the address at the end of the email is:
Unit A8, Airside Enterprise Centre, Swords.

And I see on scopesandspace.ie, the Contact Us address is:
Unit A8,
Airside Enterprise Centre,
Swords,
Co. Dublin

Are there now two businesses running out of the same physical address? I find it very difficult to believe that scopesandspace have no connection with Astronomy Ireland when they share the same business address.

jfSDAS

Hi username123,

Got that mail myself this afternoon. Basically, it is saying that Astronomy Ireland are moving out of there and need to dump/clear a vast amount of stuff. The Scopes & Space guys have pallets of stuff they need to move in. That's all that's happening ... one leaseholder moves out, another gets organised to start afresh.

John

username123

The mail actually says

We are clearing our warehouse of old items and now have a number of things to give away free of charge to anyone interested. Items will be available to pick up from tomorrow, Tuesday, June 25th, for a day or two, from 10am to 10pm.

So are you saying that scopesandspace are actually using the same warehouse as well as the same retail outlet as Astronomy Ireland? Is Astronomy Ireland going out of business or something?

nuttyboy79

A.I. are out of business AFAIK that is the shop part of it, the astronomy club part of it A&S I think are still going. Scopes and Space is a different business being run by the guys that worked for A.I. in the shop. In a very real sense (and in the nicest way possible) the lunatics are running the asylum . The only connection they have is they used to work on the premises for a different company.

Linguo

Having had enough dealings with AI and the shop over the years I'd be very surprised if the former shop owner doesn't have some part in it, seems a little shady to me! Wish them all the best with the new venture and hope my initial feeling is wrong.

At the moment it says the AI shop is currently under construction (on their website) which seems odd if a new crowd have already moved in.

To be honest I'd be more inclined to deal with the shop if they had no association with AI at all having been given enough reason to dislike the organisation over the years.

jfSDAS

Hi all,

If anyone was ever in the AI shop before then they'll know there's a warehouse with the offices to the front and all part of the same building -- all the units in that area of Airside Business park are the same. AI are completely moving out and as I mentioned on the first page of this thread the S&S guys are going for a lease on the same building as the rental for the location is far cheaper than they were quoted elsewhere. Nothing suspicious about that ... it's just sound economics.

Basically, AI are going to set up elsewhere and MAY have some sort of shop. That is why their page page is "under construction" as the idea of an AI shop is just being mooted.

In short, Scopes and Space is 3 guys deciding to make a very brave decision to go out on their own. The whole venture is completely new and in no way associated with AI.

Hope the above helps clear up the queries ... especially as to why the address is the same.

John

username123

Linguo wrote: »

To be honest I'd be more inclined to deal with the shop if they had no association with AI at all having been given enough reason to dislike the organisation over the years.

Personally I find it difficult to swallow the "sound economics" story. If you wanted to disassociate yourself from a previous venture I don't think you'd keep the same premises. I find it difficult to believe there are no other premises that could have been used. I agree it seems shady. It also strikes me as bad business for AI. Why shut down a shop that was doing fine, it must have been doing fine else the new people would be super crazy to set up same business in same location. Why would AI close a viable going concern? The whole thing smells like a situation where someone tries to escape bad publicity by changing name tbh.

Gremlin

Am I the only one starting to get very irritated by some of the posts in this thread?? It seems some people will just never be happy. I don't think S&S or anyone else should have to explain themselves to anyone. My suggestion is that if you don't want to do business with a company then dont.

I will say this again, one last time. Scopes and Space are a company with absolutely no association to AI, its chairman or in any way have any affiliation with ANY organisation. The three guys (who are close friends of mine) have invested a HUGE amount of time and effort and their own personal money in getting to this point. What I find irritating, is idle speculation attempting to undermine their credibility before they even open their doors.

If anyone has any suspicions go over there next week when they open, see if you find AI memberships on sale. You won't. The onloy remaining business AI has S&S is to clear out AI stuff asap so that S&S can get on with their business without.

username123

Gremlin - this is a discussion forum. If you find yourself irritated by posts why post in the thread? People are entitled to question what seems like a strange set up - ie, same premises doing the same business under a different company name yet claiming no association with the previous business, a business and organisation that many have had negatives experiences with.

I havent seen anyone ask S&S to explain themselves but I think anyone would agree - something seems a bit "off" about the whole set up. People are entitled to discuss that.

Gremlin

Just as you are entitled to post, I am entitled to be irritated. Debenhams took over from Roches Stores. Same business, same premises, different owners. It happens.

jfSDAS

Completely agree with Gremlin.

I was getting seriously fed up with explaining the situation with Scopes & Space v. A.I. over and over again.

Good point about Roches Stores & Debenhams!

I was out with the guys at the shop and there is a HUGE amount of magazines to be cleared out. They are emptying the warehouse of ALL of Astronomy Ireland's gear over the next few days so they will have room for their own stock. So, if you fancy a magazine collection or a telescope tube (sans mirrors) for building your own scope then get thee to Airside.

To reiterate, this is a completely new venture. Forget any association with A.I. ... it's essentially a buyout by the three guys.

... and that's the last I'll say about the matter,

John

username123

Gremlin wrote: »

Just as you are entitled to post, I am entitled to be irritated. Debenhams took over from Roches Stores. Same business, same premises, different owners. It happens.

As far as I am aware, Debenhams didnt work for Roches Stores or have themselves listed as managers and sales executives for Roches Stores before the buyout?

Same business, same premises, same people, different company name seems to be more the situation here.