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Used Telescope Equipment

Used Telescopes and Accessories from High Point Scientific

Want to save some money on your next telescope or telescope accessory purchase? Take a look at our selection of Used Telescopes, Used Telescope Cameras, Used Telescope Accessories and more! Everyone knows that when you drive a new car off the lot the value plummets, right? Well, while we are not talking thousands of dollars here, buying a used telescope rather than a new model is definitely gentler on the wallet!

You might wonder how we accumulate so many used telescopes and other pieces of astronomy gear. In a normal year, High Point will likely attend some astronomy events where we display product. Once that box is opened, however, we turn a new telescope, camera or eyepiece into an Open Box item that we sell at a discount. We also clean up our very large warehouse occasionally and find products that need to be sold as used or Open Box.

Condition Ratings for Used Telescopes & Accessories

Each Certified Pre-Owned Telescope or Telescope Accessory offered by High Point Scientific passes a rigorous, multi-point inspection process to make sure all optics and electronics, as well as exterior moving and weight bearing parts, work as they should.

Assigning a condition rating is an important part of the High Point Multi-Point Inspection for each used telescope or telescope accessory we offer for sale. The official rating gives the buyer an idea of the condition of the used item and establishes which warranty will be in effect as well. All Certified Pre-Owned Telescopes come with a High Point 90 Day Warranty, while Demo, Open Box and select Refurbished items come with a full Manufacturer's Warranty.

You will find a description of each condition below, or, if you prefer, you can download the High Point Scientific Used Condition Ratings and read them at your leisure.

  • Open Box: A telescope or telescope accessory is considered Open Box if a customer changed their minds after receiving shipment, opened the box, but did not set up and use the product. There may also be times when a member of our staff opens a box to check its contents or show it to a customer. Open Box telescopes or accessories will have their original boxes, are in like-new condition and come with the full manufacturer's warranty.

  • Refurbished: Sometimes a manufacturer will take a return from a customer, refurbish it in the factory, and then sell it back to High Point. The manufacturer lets us know the condition and whether that particular refurb comes with a warranty or not. Often factory refurbished telescopes or cameras come with the full manufacturer's warranty, but not always. If it doesn't, then High Point will provide a 6-month warranty of our own.

  • Used with Excellent Rating: A used item is given an Excellent rating if it only has, at the most, slight wear and tear visible under close scrutiny. All optical elements would be void of scratches or fingerprints and perform as expected. All of the original accessories, including software (if applicable), instruction manuals and quick-start guides would be included. The fully protective packaging may or may not be original. Used telescopes and accessories with an Excellent rating come with a 90-Day High Point Warranty.

  • Used with Good Rating: If a used telescope or other used item has a Good rating, it will have visible signs of wear that may include minor scratches, smudges and dings. Of course, the used item will still operate or function as it should! Unless we state otherwise, the original accessories that came with the product when new would be included. The protective packaging may or may not be original. Used telescopes and accessories with a Good rating come with a 90-Day High Point Warranty.

  • Used with Fair Rating: While we don't normally have that many used telescopes or accessories that warrant a Fair rating, this is where you can really save money if you do not mind cosmetic issues. A used product with a Fair rating will have multiple signs of wear that can include scratches, dings and smudges. As with all of our used equipment, a Fair rated product will be fully functional. The optics may have some dust or smudges but would still perform well. Original instruction manuals may be missing and some of the accessories may be missing as well. We would list the included accessories in any case and include pictures of any obvious scratches, dings, etc. Protective packaging will be supplied to ensure safe shipment. Used telescopes and accessories with a Fair rating come with a 90-Day High Point Warranty.

Used Telescopes for Sale

  • Used Refractor Telescopes: A refractor telescope is perfect for daytime and nighttime use, and of course if you can find the right used refractor, you will save some money! Enjoy terrestrial views through a refractor from your backyard, deck, or while on vacation. Think about portability if you like the idea of traveling with your used telescope. A used refractor is also a good choice for observing the Moon and brighter planets like Jupiter, Saturn & Mars. If you don't mind finding objects yourself, choosing a simple refractor on an alt-azimuth mount will save you even more money on your used telescope purchase. However, a computerized mount IS nice, so consider your budget and what you want to do with your used refractor before you buy.

  • Used Newtonian Reflectors: Newtonian reflector telescopes are the most economical when compared with other telescope designs of the same size, and so a used Newtonian reflector is even a better deal! When shopping for a used Newtonian reflector telescope, consider how important portability is to you, since they can get big and heavy. If you are lucky enough to find a used Dobsonian telescope, which is a Newtonian reflector on a simple box-style alt-azimuth mount, you will get a lot of aperture for the price. Aperture is king if you are interested in looking at galaxies, nebulae and other celestial objects that are beyond our Solar System. Want to do astro-photography? Look for a short-tube Newtonian of at least 6” on a sturdy computerized equatorial mount. The optics of a used fast Newtonian telescope, sometimes called an “Imaging Newtonian” will provide a wider field of view and shorter exposure times when imaging.

  • Used Schmidt-Cassegrain Telescopes: A popular used telescope is the Schmidt-Cassegrain, or SCT. Used Schmidt-Cassegrain telescopes are available in smaller apertures of 4”- 5” to as large as 16” for those who plan to house them in a personal observatory. Shop for a smaller used SCT if portability is super important to you or if you plan to use it as much for daytime as you will for nighttime observations. The most common used Schmidt-Cassegrain telescope has an aperture of 8” - big enough to delve into deep space but portable enough for most adults to set up and use. A used SCT on a computerized alt-azimuth mount will find and track hundreds of objects, making astronomy a breeze, even for beginners. Those who want to do astrophotography should look for a used Schmidt-Cassegrain on a computerized equatorial mount.

We would be remiss if we didn't mention the Celestron EdgeHD in this category. The EdgeHD is a Schmidt-Cassegrain that has been optimized for astro-imaging. It produces a very flat field for edge-to-edge sharpness, which is important when taking images, especially with cameras that have bigger sensors. The EdgeHD is also great for visual use, so if you can find a used Celestron EdgeHD telescope, you'd be very lucky! You can check our Used Celestron Telescopes category to see if any EdgeHD models are currently available.

Used Telescope Accessories for Sale

High Point Scientific offers a wide range of used telescope accessories for sale, from used eyepieces to used equatorial mounts. Our collection of used telescope accessories is so popular, however, that the best used astronomy accessories are scooped up quickly; sometimes within an hour of posting! We recommend you bookmark our Used Telescopes section and check back often, as we add used telescope equipment weekly. Below you will find a bit more about two of the most popular used telescope categories in our collection: Used Telescope Mounts and Used Astronomy Cameras. Everyone is getting into astrophotography, it seems, and if you in the market for a used equatorial mount, used OTA, or used astro-camera, stay sharp - the early bird definitely gets the worm when it comes to these products!

  • Used Telescope Mounts: Used telescope mounts are super popular and fly out the door almost the minute we post them! Amateur astronomers are always on the lookout for used mounts, especially used computerized equatorial mounts, to upgrade their current telescope so they can enter into the exciting arena of astro-imaging! If you already have a telescope OTA that you like and it is designed to attach to any mount by means of rings and/or a dovetail plate, upgrading your telescope system is easy. Just make sure the used telescope mount you choose has enough weight capacity to hold your OTA and any extra accessories!

  • Used Astronomy Cameras: Buying a used astronomy camera is a great way to dip your feet in astrophotography! Since High Point takes trade-in's, we get perfectly good used telescope cameras in all the time as users move up to a bigger sensor, a cooled camera, or another brand. Used ZWO cameras are often available in a good mix of price ranges and sensors, and the same can be said for used QHY cameras. If this will be your first astro-camera, it is a good idea to check in with one of our product advisors to get an idea of the sensor size that would work best for your telescope OTA. We are here to help!

Used Binoculars for Sale

While the most plentiful used optical equipment we offer for sale is telescopes, High Point does buy both medium and high-quality used binoculars from our customers on occasion, especially larger astronomy binoculars that have apertures of 80 mm or more. If you are looking for a good pair of used binoculars that come complete with a 90-day warranty, keep checking back! By the way, High Point also buys used spotting scopes and used microscopes occasionally, so keep a look out if you're interested. Like all of our used telescopes and telescope accessories, our used sports optics come with at least a 90-Day High Point warranty.