Orion Obit

It's been a couple weeks now since the news broke that Orion Telescopes & Binoculars, a well known and loved retailing resource for the amateur astronomy community, had shut the doors to its California brick & mortar store. It some ways it came as a shock - how could such a giant and long established vendor go under? And yet there seemed to be signs along the way that this was a possibility.

A couple years ago Orion successfully sued Meade for price fixing, driving them to file for bankruptcy. On the heels of that Orion opted to buy the company and bring it under their umbrella, setting up a manufacturing plant in Tijuana, MX. While that was certainly a boon to Meade owners (no one wants to see their warranty dissolved or not able to obtain support), I have to wonder how good of a fit that was for Orion. It can be challenging to be competent at both being a vendor of astronomical products as well as a manufacturer of a large line such as Meade.

I have bought items from Orion for probably the better part of three decades. They had good prices, shipping that was very reasonable, and a solid inventory of desirable products. If I ever had a problem or question they were able to help. As recently as last year I purchased an extended Wratten filter set that I have been very pleased with.

I suspect that part of the problem was that Orion increasingly only sold Meade and their house brand. As a result, when I wanted to purchase a new planetary camera I spent time on Agena and Highpoint Scientific websites because they offered a range of products from which to choose. And both of those vendors also were very good about shipping my products and standing behind them. I also especially liked Highpoint's offering of very reasonable financing of more expensive items. In short, being exposed to alternative vendors with a wider variety of offerings did change my habits, causing me to check their online store first when looking to make a purchase.

Perhaps Orion is planning to go the way of Bed, Bath, & Beyond and convert to a strictly online outlet. I have not heard anything definitive in terms of the plant in Tijuana. If that has been shuttered as well then there will be no new Meade telescopes rolling off the assembly line and some orders might go unfulfilled. Then again, we may see a "fire sale" of Orion's inventory or (more likely) it may be acquired by a competitor. 

It is sad to see such a storied entity in our hobby go under. And I do feel for Meade owners who now may have trouble getting support. While the good news is that we have other vendors available to take our orders, I personally will always have fond memories and an appreciation of purchases from Orion that furthered my exploration of the heavens.