Hello Friend,

    We get many people coming into the store with some unrealistic budgets
for buying a first  telescope.

Like $69 or $99.

We try to discourage them completely from buying those types of   "telescopes" and encourage
them to either hold off and save up for a better one, or increase their budget.

"It's just for my kid" some will say, or  "it's a gift for a niece or nephew" they will say.

Some listen to our advice  and some don't.

That is just human nature.

They have been warned, and that is all we can do.

Realistically today,  the most basic decent telescope is going to cost around $300 for starters.

A better one that is going to give a beginner a fighting chance?

    Right here:

http://khanscope.com/productdetails.cfm?productID=5760

This is a new model from the folks at Celestron, and they really got it right.

• Excellent aperture and quality optics
• Sturdy tripod
• Slow motion controls
• an easy to use and quality finderscope.

Those are just some of the features.

   I personally took one of these instruments up
to Manitoulin Island to check it out when we got our first shipment in.

Nice job Celestron!  

Providing features that make the whole experience
a real joy for a novice starter.

Clear Skies,

Ray Khan

PS As with most things in life, you get what you pay for. No different here.