High Point ScientificReviews of highpointscientific.com

Avoid. Just Avoid.

On March 18, 2024 I ordered a William Optics RedCat 51 Gen 2 f/4.9 APO Refractor Telescope - Upgraded Version, from High Point Scientific. It arrived several days later via UPS in apparently good shape. I immediately unpacked the telescope and was quite pleased at the condition. I put it back without any other inspection or trial. My wife and I left on April 10, 2024, for a 2-½ month road trip through Idaho, Montana, North and South Dakota, Minnesota, Iowa, Missouri, Oklahoma, Kansas, Nebraska and Wyoming. I was hoping to find dark, clear skies along the trip to try out my new RedCat 51. Unfortunately, things didn’t work out very well. I had the foresight to try the telescope and my Canon EOS 4D DSLR camera during daylight hours. Nothing at all seemed to work as expected. The condition of the telescope left me wondering if I had accidently been sent a customer returned telescope or maybe a factory second. I never did get to use the telescope. I have contacted High Point Scientific only to be told by customer service rep Vincent that the problems that I have encountered are typical with William Optics products. I asked about the torn foam and Vincent said that they see that all of the time with William Optics products. I asked Vincent about the scratches and chipped anodization and he said that those problems happen all of the time and that "This is the quality we have come to expect from William Optics." I asked if the telescope could possibly be a customer return and he said that shipping me a customer return would have been impossible. He claimed that the telescope that I received was 100% new but of typical low quality from William Optics. Apparently Vincent from High Point Scientific has no problem telling customers that William Optics products are of low quality. I bought my RedCat 51 under the opinion that William Optics products were top of the line and of superior quality. I have spent over $800.00 (US) on a telescope that doesn't work and High Point Scientific (the seller) has told me that it's not their problem. They offered no solution whatsoever.

They ignore requests to cancel and then refuse to refund, in full no less, based on arbitrary details of the product like what kind you ordered. They also illegally refuse to refund the shipping and force you pay to return items which that too they will not refund.

I ordered a Celestron 6.5 SE telescope with additional lenses and SkyWIfi module. After months of waiting, and multiple follow ups for simple ETAs , finally got a shipment which had half of stuff. No cables for connecting to computer, no DVD software, no power charging cable, no additional lenses I paid for. On contacting customer service, got 2 different answers within a span of few minutes - SkyFi module is back ordered and then another person said it was already shipped. Still no answer for missing cables and DVD software. It has been a truly traumatizing experience as an amature telescope buyer. Instead of supporting, customer service is saying “we don’t know, contact the manufacturer”. What ? If I am following up for missing parts from manufacturer then why am I paying HighPoint Scientific. It has been a really long wait and traumatizing experience dealing with this company. What they don’t understand is that companies like this won’t last long the minute any competition starts offering a little bit of customer support. I don’t recommend dealing with them!