conspiracy theory of ATMs undermining large telescope companies' profits

[Larry Manuel <lmanuel@sprint.ca>]

Atmj1@aol.com wrote:

> It is often stated that S&T is trying to curb interest in telescope making
> because their advertisers find telescope making a threat to their sales. At
> first glance, that might seem a logical assessment.
> [snips]
> Bill Cook
> Editor / publisher, Amateur Telescope Making Journal

Well said, Bill!  I believe the profit margin [and likely absolute profit] is far
higher on a Meade 14 mm UWA [or 20 mm Nagler] eyepiece than the lowest-priced 8
inch SCT.  We ATM's tend not to buy the scopes, and who among us makes all her/his
own Barlows, eyepieces, star diagonals, Newtonian secondaries [or primaries, for
that matter]?  I bet the average ATM spends more over a lifetime than an average
buy-and-use observer.  I suspect the longevity of an ATM in the observing side of
the hobby is longer than than an average observer's longevity.

The general tone of some letters, over the last few years, lamenting the death of
Kalmbach's ATM magazine, is that the ATM person is a renegade citizen, not tapping
into the commercial mainstream as a buyer.  I suspect this is just wishful
thinking on the part of "us" stereotypical rugged individualists.  Who of us, for
example own 1,000 to 2,000 [or more] dollars worth of Meade/Celestron/Astro
Physics/Tele  Vue / etc. eyepieces, focusers, Barlows, filters, coma correctors,
binoculars, finders, equatorial mounts, and still consider ourselves a 'threat' to
the commercial viability of the big companies?  I suspect the big companies just
love us!

Larry Manuel

--
lmanuel@sprint.ca
near Toronto, Canada.