Pete Andrews

I recently bought a Nexstar 130 SLT telescope. This is apparently an older model, but still being sold new. Opened the box to find that the latest operating system listed on the supplied software CD ROMs is Windows 2000! I did eventually manage to get the software loaded in compatibility mode, only to find that it doesn't recognise the more modern Nexstar+ Hand Controller. There is no obvious link to updated software on Celestron's website.
Only after trawling through similar complaints online did I find a link to a Beta-version firmware updater that actually worked. Poor show Celestron - surely you could supply in-the-box software, or a web link thereto, that isn't at least 20 years out of date?
The telescope itself seems of reasonable optical quality, but overcast nights have prevented me from testing its star-locating and tracking ability yet.

I have a home studio and now have 3 Audio-Technica microphones for it. My first was an AT-2035, with which I was very impressed in comparison to a similarly priced mic from R*d*. The At mic had a much more rounded sound with a much better bass response. It also offered a 10dB pad and high-pass filter,with low self-noise too. Very good value for money. So I added another AT-2035 mic when funds allowed.
My latest addition is an AT-4033a. However, I'm not quite so impressed with this, since I can hear very little, if any improvement in sound quality. The self-noise appears almost identical to the cheaper 2035s, with the only perceptible difference (to my ears) being the 4033a's built in pop-shield, and more robust build quality. AT's published frequency-response graphs look near identical between the 2035 and the 4033a, and the 4033a's capsule is actually smaller in diameter than that of the 2035. So if you habitually use an external pop-screen for vocals and take good care of your mics, then you might not find the 4033a to be such great value as the 2035.
Maybe I was expecting too much from a mic costing nearly 3 times the price of the AT-2035. I'm not exactly disappointed with it, but not elated and enthusiastic about it either.
Basically I'll give the AT-2035 five stars, but only four stars for the AT-4033a based solely on value for money.

Short version: 4 weeks and counting to return my cash deposit!
Longer version:
I was talked by their salesman into taking out a contract for full-house double glazing and placed a deposit the same day. Firstly, I was astonished to turn over the contract to see two A4 pages of small print that I wasn't shown before signing, let alone given time to read. After reading my right to cancel within 7 days and sleeping on it, I changed my mind and cancelled by phone the following day. I also emailed their head office to ensure there could be no dispute over the date of cancellation. The email was acknowledged a few days later.
That was 4 weeks ago now, and 3 phone calls to the local office to remind them. I was promised a refund within 21 days, as per the contract. My last phone call apologised for an "oversight", but they still don't seem to want to hurry along the refund. Glad I didn't go through with the order to this obviously slapdash company.
Edit: Another week has passed and still no sign of my deposit refund. I even offered to call at the local office to collect it, but was told all refunds have to come from Head office. What lousy service.
This company will not be getting any work from me in future.
Edit: SIX WEEKS AND STILL NO RETURN OF MY DEPOSIT!

Best price I could find on a suitable motherboard for new AMD Ryzen 5 5600G. The board's BIOS was up-to-date enough to support the CPU straight out of the box. Also ordered a new PSU, which looks well built despite being a 'budget' model. All delivered free within 24 hours. Excellent!

Needed a new graphics card to replace an old one that ceased working. Didn't need anything high-powered - just something slightly better than the defunct one, and fitting a single width PCI-E slot. Laptops Direct offered the best-price on a mid- to low-end graphics card that I could find online. Not ideal, since there was no VGA socket, but not many cards offer that option these days. Luckily my monitor also has an HDMI input.
Long story short: Happy with the deal and service. Card does the job without breaking the bank.

Poor quality switch fitted to a Breville electric kettle. Contact area of switch is too small for a 2KW load, and hence failed prematurely. Switch had obviously overheated quite badly before failing. To add insult, the price of a replacement switch is almost as much as a new kettle! Avoid.

Had a technical query about routers, which was handled professionally and quite swiftly by agent Bailey C. Good service. Thanks!

Just bought a Sainsbury's own-brand microwave, declaring itself to be 'stainless steel' and '20 L' capacity. There was no demo model on the shelves, no pictures of the unpackaged item available and very scant further information on the box.

It turns out that the stainless steel stops at the exterior finish, and the interior of the oven is grey painted. It also looked a little small, and on measuring has only a 17 litre capacity. Obviously it will be going back, and I'll never believe a word of Sainsbury's advertising ever again.

My relatively small value, but bulky order (computer PSU) was shipped and delivered promptly. I was kept well informed of delivery status and delivery was exactly as promised. Product was well packed and performs as advertised. Possibly the best customer service I've had from an online supplier - excellent.
I've been shopping with Aria for computer parts some years ago, but this is my first online order and I'm impressed.

Swift service and item reasonably priced and as described.

I ordered a guitar FX pedal late on Saturday evening, and was pleasantly surprised to be informed that I could pick it up from my local store the next morning - Sunday. The journey to the shop took less time than I expected so I was there only a few minutes after they opened. Parking was convenient and easy right outside the store. I had a leg injury at the time and would have found walking any distance quite painful.

There was a slight delay in confirming the order, which hadn't yet gone through to the store's computer system, but this was quickly sorted out. The staff were extremely apologetic that the order wasn't ready and waiting for me, despite the delay only being a matter of a few minutes.

Excellent and polite service all round. Something you can't say for every large music store.

The Zoom G1Xon FX pedal I bought was great value as well BTW!

The title just about says it all. I ordered an alternator with an estimated delivery time of 3 to 5 working days. That was 9 days ago and I still haven't received it.

The item was marked as "in stock" and ordered mid-week, yet apparently wasn't dispatched until 2 days later. However the tracking data showed that it wasn't delivered to the couriers for another 4 days. At this point the item was in Belgium (!) and according to the tracking data was held in Belgium for a further 3 days without moving.

I contacted Mr Auto twice during this time, and was informed each time that the alternator would be with me the next day - it wasn't.

The latest tracking information now says "Your shipment has arrived at the postal operator of the country of destination and will be delivered in the coming days." So goodness know when or if I'll eventually receive it.

My car has been off the road for 10 days thanks to this shoddy "service" and I've now had to source a used alternator from a dismantlers since I have an urgent journey to make.

A little bit of honesty and urgency wouldn't go amiss with this company. I would not recommend or use this company again.

I just can't fault Gear 4 music's service. Their price was the keenest I could find from any reputable dealer. The order was dealt with promptly, and I was kept very well informed about the progress and tracking of the delivery. They gave me a 1 hour time-slot and the item was delivered approximately 5 minutes into that time window. Unit was well-packed and so far performs flawlessly. Audio quality from the built-in microphones is exceptional. However you do need to read the manual first, because there's no way you could describe its use as "intuitive". I still need to find out how to use half the features, but so far I've been really pleased with the results. And with Gear 4 Music's service.