CaptainSur

Canada to the rescue. UofT has always had a very active astronomy program as does UofWaterloo. Good schools for physics to my best knowledge.

Ontario has a very serious securities commission and many laws and requirements that any firm wishing to deal with Ontario residents has to hop through. My guess is that TZ has not applied or is in process of attempting to pass the regulatory hurdles. Its not really a tech bubble imprisoning but rather a regulatory bubble. I have an acquaintance who opened up a small fund and the process took a very long time. There are guarantees, criminal investigations, capital requirements and more.

Once upon a time Celestron was top dog but my understanding is that their quality has diminished, In a telescope, the quality and tolerance of the mirrors and their supporting array is everything.

I would review the reviews online for a variety of price ranges, and also read in detail the ratings on various instruments at Amazon - which also has some buying and recommendation guides. Meade, Orion, and others should all be on your list to examine.

What they did is both unconscionable and illegal.