SVbony 12v dew straps, BEWARE

Jordan Morley:
I reakon some automotive polish will clean it up, the lighter duty stuff (:

No, I have tried it all mate, even strong cutting compound, and it’s made no difference, trust me I would not have posted this if I had not tried everything first, I worked for 3M and have all sorts of car paintwork chemicals and no this has worked…☹️

Alex Nicholas:
Same on my Askar 120APO. 

I am going to replace it with a Prima Luce Lab one... it certainly doesn't get hot enough to be a burn, but I think it might be heat transferred dye from the black of the strap...

Yes, I think your might be correct, it’s seems to follow the line of the stitching around the edge of the strap…
Contact SVbony and they will refund the cost of the dew strap, and are still talking with them on sorting it out long term..👍🏻

Brian Puhl:
Side note, I don't get why a telescope has to be 100% spot free immaculate for people.   It's silly.

Agreed.  Maybe astroimagers are perfectionists and that is where it comes from.  But function should be the word of the day and cosmetics are not the least bit critical.

I bought a "second" Paramount ME direct from Bisque way back in 2007 or so and the only issue was some blotchy anodizing. It served me wonderfully until I upgraded to an AP 1600 last year and I expect it continues to serve the buyer well. It also saved me $1000 compared to a "perfect" one.

Even optics with some minor  blemishes are not critical and I have a Stellarvue SVQ100 that I have had for sale at a big discount that has had no takers because it has some exceedingly minor spots on the coating that have zero effect on images.

IMHO Telescopes are not car show items . Images are what we are after and the rest is just unimportant.

Of course, having said that, a dew strap surely should not dew (pun intended) that and the information is good to have.

AstroStew:
No maybe what the scope looks like does not matter, but if you read my initial post you will see that I m annoyed as the scope was mint, and I took it off the mount to sell, and now I can’t sell it as mint condition, unmarked scope, so it’s actually devalued it by a lot, so I think I have every right to be upset and annoyed, if I was keeping it, then I would live with it, as it does not affect the usage of the scope at all…
that was my point

Presuming everything else is perfect, that scope is still mint in my book.

AstroStew:

Brian Puhl:

AstroStew:
No maybe what the scope looks like does not matter, but if you read my initial post you will see that I m annoyed as the scope was mint, and I took it off the mount to sell, and now I can’t sell it as mint condition, unmarked scope, so it’s actually devalued it by a lot, so I think I have every right to be upset and annoyed, if I was keeping it, then I would live with it, as it does not affect the usage of the scope at all…
that was my point

Presuming everything else is perfect, that scope is still mint in my book.

Absolutely not, mint is mint, and totally unmarked, simple as that, in the eye of the buyer.. 😉

I guess the difference in oppinion here, is that Brian, and myself for that matter, consider a telescope to be in perfect condition if the optics are in perfect condition, the focuser works perfectly, any accessories like correctors/reducers are completely clear and free of fungus, scratches etc.. 

I will HAPPILY pay the usual 'used' price for a telescope that has marks on the tube, sticky residue from stuck on controllers, custom modifications that aid in the telescopes performance etc... It looking pristine is literally the last thing on my list of requirements... As with Brian, I reckognise that my scope lives on a mount in a tin shed 24/7 and stays outside under damp, dewy conditions for 9h per night every night during winter... 

If I were buying something REALLY fancy and wanted it to be 100% pristine and unmarked, I'd buy it new... The fact is that if I buy something listed as 'mint condition', ANY signs of use AT ALL will make me mad, because that is not what was described. But I'm more than happy to buy a scope that says 'optically and functionally perfect, Its been in my observatory for the past 5 years and has seen MANY nights of use... 

Everyone is different I guess, I don't at all feel like the mark on my 120APO devalues it at all... Its annoying that it happened, but the scope provides BRILLIANT images. I'm not too concerned.