Orion Telescope Center

Am impressed with knowledge staff and very useful when staff is able to display their products in very visual way which make this much easier and stressless way to shopping at this store.
The bad is that this is only store that I know that I can physically shop anywhere within 75 miles. I live in vallejo and this is only store that I knew BUT their staffs and products make my trip worthwhile.
I highly recommend this store in comparable to online. I do order online but sometime when there are certain product that i want to see in person and this is the store to go to!

I purchased my Celestron SCT EdgeHD 8″ on an AVX mount from the store. They are awesome. Both Ken and Eric are great in their knowledge. Highly recommend this store.

My brother bought me a Sky Probe 130^st for Christmas. I give this place 5 stars because Ken helped me a lot through messaging on here. I’m a beginner so I didn’t know much about telescopes. But after messaging with Dan I feel a lot more comfortable and confident in myself that I’ll master this. I’ll be stopping by soon to buy a pair of binoculars.

I bought 25k$ of equipment for my school. Every time I call for support, they say they can’t find my order. Could they not fix this problem the first time? There are serious problems installing the drivers. While installing the imagers I bought, the drivers are supposed to install upon plugging the camera into the computer. This doesn’t happen. I went on chat and was given the wrong link twice. They sent the right link which I used once but the chat software erased the chat when it timed out. There is a parallel Web site that has links to the drivers but it isn’t obvious how to get to it. I was emailed a link into this parallel site but for the wrong imager. I tried substituting the sku for the right imager but got a page without drivers. This all is very frustrating. It is too late to return this equipment or I would. Try Celestron or Meade, I can’t promise a better system but how could it be worse?

We bought a telescope here after having a disastrous experience with another company. Helpful, knowledgable and speedy. Professional people who know their stuff and are want to help you learn.

This review is about the Cupertino store.
Bought my first telescope there.
Great store. Friendly welcome. Knowledgeable people.
The sales persons at Orion Cupertino are actually astronomers themselves and use the hardware they sell you. They answer your questions and give pretty good advice including:
(a) what hardware you need to do what you want i.e. observing planets vs. photographing deep sky objects,
(b) what expectations you should have, meaning no bullshit,
© last but not least, where you can find the accessories you will need and do not carry themselves.
This definitely creates an atmosphere of trust.
Bought my second telescope there.

I am just a teen and have been going to Orion for help with my passion of Astronomy for the past few years. There costumer service is extraordinary and whenever I visit the store I get great help immediately. Also, the best thing about Orion is the live chat on the website. I have used this countless times and most of the time I get my question resolved right away. If you are just getting into Astronomy or have been star gazing for a very long time, this is the place to go.

Great experience here. Good pricing. Very knowledgable staff. I went in right before Christmas and got great service. They have a lot of equipment and accessories.

Love the telescopes, love the customer service.
Was always interested in Astronomy but recently got back into it and glad I chose Orion as my go-​to for scopes and accessories. I’ve been to this particular location on several occasions — first to buy my scope and a couple other times for accessories. Each time, the folks working there took the time to explain my options and gave me practical advice. Never felt like I was being upsold or pressured into buying something I really didn’t need or want.
The website, and online chat in particular, are FANTASTIC. I have droned on and on for hours with the poor chat folks asking the dumbest questions and in each case the reps were very patient and knowledgeable. Keep an eye out for the 30% off sales the site runs, too. They’re quite frequent and make a good time to stock up on the stuff you need.
Whether you are local or not, I would strongly recommend Orion.

The big problem with Orion is with customer service. If you buy a used Orion scope, they won’t return your calls or help you in any way. And if you have a new Orion scope in need of parts, well, good luck. They don’t keep spare parts, and will try to talk you out of the problem. I purchased a used xt8 two years ago, found myself in need of a small bracket which had been damaged, and Orion refused to help. A recent discussion of Orion’s problems can be on the CloudyNights astronomy forum. Just Google «Orion Customer Service Cloudynights.»

A GEEKY REVIEW for those considering their first TELESCOPE for moon/​planet/​star-​gazing, from a not so geeky guy (or so I like to think ;)
This Review is more for the «Orion» Brand Telescopes, not this particular store location. Specifically this review is for the Orion SkyQuest XT8i IntelliScope Dobsonian Telescope for $ 630 (although Orion Skyquest XT8 classic for $ 360 would apply). I highly recommend either!
If you are new to astronomy, let me tell you the first time you look at the surface of the moon near the dark side, with all of the shadows across the moonscape will blow your mind! What will REALLY blow your mind will be the first time you sight in on Jupiter (brightest object in the sky right now, besides the moon & sun obviously)… and you will see four of Jupiter’s brightest moons (Io, Europa, Ganymede and Callisto) & Jupiter’s striped equatorial cloud belts and you will see the Great Red Spot — an enormous persistent storm on the south border of the southern belt.
Again, the Orion XT8 is a great Telescope let me tell you! A telescope is a great excuse to get your lazy butt off the couch and outdoors under the stars! The XT8 does take some space to store it, but buy the protective cover/​bag and you can even store it in an outdoor shed if space is limited which is what I do. Have Fun Stargazing!

Came in looking for info on my telescope, got real good advice, then saw a spotting scope at a good price and could not resist — it’s so nice and clear.

Not a good online company. I was shipped a broken StarBlast 4.5. When I called for a replacement I was told it would be shipped that day. After waiting 3 days, I called to check and found out that it hadn’t been shipped because of a mixup. Not sure what that means. Maybe the store is better but customer service is lacking. I am very upset that I had to call to check on the status of a broken piece of equipment that they shipped.
This is my first telescope purchase and we were all very excited but obviously upset about waiting another week.

Fantastic telescope shop right of 85. They make their own telescopes and get you setup with the right equipment for any budget. Service is really great and helpful.

These guys are really good folks. When I need something for my scope or want to look at something new, they are always very helpful. Keep in mind that this is a retail store and you will pay retail prices, but you won’t be taken advantage of. Like other reviewers noted previously, they will walk you through the scope selection and introduce you to various products that best match what you’re looking for. These guys aren’t used car salesman, but professionals who want you to get the most out of your instrument for the price you can afford. Sometimes they can be a little inattentive and somewhat distracted or distant, but bare with them, they will help you get from «A» to «B» for the most part.

Anytime a friend is investigating telescopes, I send them over to the Orion Telescope Center. They have a good selection including a variety of Celestron telescopes in addition to their own Orion brand. The staff is friendly and knowledgeable.

This place rocks. I’ve bought binoculars, two telescopes, and a host of eyepieces and accessories from them. The staff are friendly and know their stuff. The telescopes are now almost all manufactured in China, but the quality is very very good, while the prices have continued to get better and better, year by year.
Sign up for the Orion newsletter at
and get advance-​notice of all their sales. The store carries the same prices as the online sales, but you can just pick the stuff up and don’t need to pay extra for shipping. If they are out of stock on anything you want, they’ll order it and get it typically inside one week.
Bought a 150 mm Mak-​Cass on sale $ 200 off two weeks ago. Just took it out for viewing last night and the views were stunning. I tried it out terrestrially today and noticed a tiny chip on the backside of the rim of the glass meniscus lens. While something like this does not affect the telescope’s viewing performance at all, it does affect the monetary value of the scope. I called them today, and an exchange is no problem, they have 30 day returns and the scope has a 1 year warranty. They’re holding a new in-​stock unit for me to pick up in 2 days.
–Oh yes, that’s the other thing. They’ll hold things for you, up to 2 days. This was fantastic when I got the email advertisement for the 150 Maki for $ 200 off. Shipping would have cost around $ 37 online, but I called the Cupertino store and they had two in stock and held one for me to pick up.
Finally, THEY’RE OPEN ON WEEKENDS. Saturday until around 5:30pm and Sunday until around 5:00pm. PERFECT for working-​class stargazers!
My advice: Shop the SALES with the online notices. Every year they have a couple 10% and 20% off everything sales, when you can stock up on any accessories you’ve been wanting!
It’s all good!

Professional and they know what their stuff. Went there last week to buy a binocular and let me try out the binoculars (settled on the Orion Ultraview 10×50 WA). Also have a lot of good astronomy books that are about $ 5 less than the list price. Yeah it’s always cheaper online but the books they stock are the ones that are generally recommended and you can flip through them.
Also have a lot of accessories like red LED flashlights (to preserve your night vision). Only bad thing is they were out of stock for some of their items, but you could always order from their online store as well.

We went to the Orion Store last friday to get a telescope for our four nephews. The young man helping us was very friendly and explained in the benefits and drawbacks of the various telescopes in detail. We ordered a small reflector for the children and ended up buying a 90 mm refractor for ourself. Been having lots of fun with it already.