I am looking to purchase the Meopta Meostar 7x42
I have not found any prices less then $850
Are these selling ? anybody buying them ? I don't see much discount such as 20% or more. What is the story here ? I feel that at about $500 to $600 should be where they are priced, knowing that they are NOT made in GERMANY or AUSTRIA but in the Czech Republic. I am pretty sure the wages there are way lower compared with Germany or Austria. They are a good brand, but have no reputation outside this forum, so why are they so expensive ?
[QUOTE=marinemaster;1998123]I am looking to purchase the Meopta Meostar 7x42
I have not found any prices less then $850
Are these selling ? anybody buying them ? I don't see much discount such as 20% or more. What is the story here ? I feel that at about $500 to $600 should be where they are priced, knowing that they are NOT made in GERMANY or AUSTRIA but in the Czech Republic. I am pretty sure the wages there are way lower compared with Germany or Austria. They are a good brand, but have no reputation outside this forum, so why are they so expensive ?[/QUOTE]
They are very well made and have the build, feel, and styling (e.g. use of metal) that folks associate with other European and/or alpha brands and models. The optical quality of Meopta products generally good to excellent, so all in all their products are quite attractive. I usually think of them as being the modern equivalent of the alpha offerings of 10-15 years ago. Kind of like a Leica BA Ultra/Trinovid or Zeiss Classic (which, back then, sold for $750-$950). I assume the Meopta's sell, especially since Cabela's carries their products.
As for the pricing, I'd be interested how you came up with $500-600 versus $850. In comparison to $1800 or so for the alpha brands, the latter seems quite "reasonable".
--AP
How do you figure they have no reputation outside this forum? They are known throughout the optics world as an almost equal to the Alphas, with a European pedigree. They are a truly great binocular at less than half the price of a Swaro. Your post strikes me as a little strange. Like...the nerve of a non-German, non-Austrian company to charge more for a binocular than what a Chinese knockoff should cost. For $500, you can get a really good upper-mid level binocular, probably made in China, from a number of companies. Not much more.