Where to buy telescopes in India? (2021)

In India, Hobbies are not much appreciated. I mean, you will not get your stuff for hobbies easily in the market except a few common hobbies like painting/drawing, for that everything is available in stationary shops. But for hobbies like stargazing, astrophotography you need some equipment and for that you will see very few offline options and many non-authentic expensive online options. It’s not a serious business in India, not even on Amazon. I will tell you why.

On Amazon, you will find various telescopes but all those are overpriced and have very limited stock to choose from. But don't worry, I will tell you two authentic offline cum online stores where you will get a lot of choices. I rely on these websites/stores for my astro needs. I researched and read a lot when I was going to purchase my first telescope and I found these two stores doing serious business in it. So, here are the options. GoScientifics (Call/Whatsapp +91-9790203011)

First one is GoScientifics (https://goscientifics.com) from Madurai, Tamil Nadu. This is my favorite place to buy equipment/accessories related to stargazing and astrophotography. Because of their service, safety measures to deliver packages, price and after-sale service. Their team is very polite and they really believe in customer satisfaction.

In the initial Corona times, they delivered my telescope, when there was a lockdown. Also, I was very much impressed by their packaging of the goods. We all know these telescopes are very fragile. So, they put the already packed cardboard box into a wooden box and deliver it with maximum safety. I have seen many times how courier services treat their packages. So, this was a big point for me to get convinced. It shows their intensity of working hard to achieve customer satisfaction. 

GoScientifics is an authorized dealer of Orion, ZWO in India. You will see many telescopes and accessories on website. If you want some specific one telescope or any accessory from Orion official website. They will get that product for you from Orion but you have to wait for it to get delivered at your location. 

Tejraj & Co. (Call +91-9870203730, Whatsapp +91-9833974700)

Tejraj (https://tejraj.com) from Mumbai, is my second goto website. You will find a variety of products here. From big telescopes, mounts to small filters, you will see a lot of varieties. Many brands like Orion, Celestron, Bresser, iOptron, Explore Scientific, William Optics etc. are available here. Tejraj is a very old and trusted name in professional astrophotographers in India and specifically in Mumbai.

The owner of Tejraj, Mr. Raju Patel has more than 35 years experience in telescope business. He and his son will guide you in choosing your telescope according to your needs and what they have got in their lot. 

Personally, I found their prices a little higher. They will give you the reason of increasing tax rates and "because of Corona" which I believe is true to some extent. Tejraj has more variety in telescope mounts than anyone else in India. Also, you can buy DIY kits here to build one telescope by yourself.

The last word

So, this was my experience to help you out with purchasing a telescope in India. Let me know if you find it helpful and what's your take on this. Keep following your dreams and hobbies. You never know when a hobby turns into a profession and eventually into dream because everything starts from little thing(s). Thanks for reading.