Customer ReviewsforMeade Instruments Corp

My experience has been similar to that of an earlier BBB poster. I purchased an * **** telescope for nearly $2,000 near the end of 2020. The mounts control system failed on its third use. After paying nearly $100 to ship it to Meade for warranty repair, its now been nearly 21 weeks and I have received nothing back but a long trail of excuses and promised (but unfulfilled) return dates. My recent request for a refund was denied. Hopefully ***** can get Meades business back on track, but itll be a very long time (if ever) before I consider another Meade (or *****) purchase.

During the past 10-12 years I have owned several Meade telescopes and liked them. However, the company's customer service is about as bad as one may find in any industry. Customer service telephone line never works, and email communication is slow and void of accurate information.My latest experience was about routine service and tune-up for my solar telescope. I sent multiple emails to their customer service to find-out schedule, fees, and logistics. After several attempts, finally a representative replied asking for my credit card information to charge nearly $200 service fee and said that it will **** * to 8 weeks to return the scope (that is for a routine service that normally should not take more than a couple of weeks). Not having any other choice, I agreed and paid the fee. But afterwards, weeks passed with no information or update from them. Periodically, I emailed the customer service rep inquiring about the service status, but got no clear response:Week 8 - "The scope was sent to ****** for service, dont know when it will come back." Week 10 - "Scope is still in ******, has not come back yet". Week 12 Good news! Service was completed, but now they have to do quality control. They would contact me when it is ready to send back. Again, nothing happened.Week 14 They are relocating their warehouse and cannot ship it until they settle down.Week 16 Companys ownership is changing; computers are down; cannot ship anything; etc. etc., one BS excuse after the other!At this point, I have lost all faith in this companys credibility or professionalism and may have to resort to legal means to recover my damages. I write this for the benefit of anyone who might be considering purchasing a Meade instrument. Please note that telescopes are precision instruments that need routine maintenance, service, and replacement for parts, but this company fails to provide any of these. Buying from a company that does not honor its words or support its customers is like throwing money away. Based on my personal experience, I would recommend skipping Meade and looking for a more responsive alternative.