Sell Us Your Used Gear

Looking to sell your used telescope, mount, eyepieces or astro camera? Mile High Astronomy buys, trades and consigns quality used astronomy equipment. Send us a list and photos, and we'll generally reply with a quote within 2 business days. No listings to write, buyer questions to answer or shipping to arrange once your gear is accepted.

Three ways to sell

Transaction type Purchase Trade-in Consignment
Minimum equipment value $500 $500 $1,000
Percentage paid to you 60% 65% 70%
When you're paid Upon acceptance of the used gear. Upon acceptance, applied as a discount on your purchase. (Both transactions must happen at the same time, with no credit balance left over.) Approximately 4 weeks after the final sale of the used gear.

Used values are based on our market research into what we expect your items to sell for. Groups of smaller items can be combined to reach the minimum, but individual items below these thresholds won't be considered on their own.

How it works

  1. Email us at support@milehighastro.com with a complete list of the items you'd like to sell, and photos of each, including the optics so we can see their condition.
  2. Get a quote. We research the used value of your gear and generally reply within 2 business days.
  3. Bring or ship your gear to our Denver store once we've confirmed we're interested. We evaluate everything in person and confirm the final value.
  4. Get paid by purchase, trade-in credit or consignment, as shown above.

Quotes given before we've inspected your equipment are estimates, not commitments to accept the items. Please don't ship anything until we've confirmed we're interested. You're responsible for packing, insurance and shipping costs, including return shipping for any items we don't accept.

What we accept

  • Telescopes and mounts from 2016 to present, clean and in good working order.
  • Questar telescopes of any age or vintage.
  • Recent smart telescopes (within the past two years) for purchase, even if the value is under $500.
  • Eyepieces, filters, diagonals, finderscopes and other optical accessories.
  • Current cameras and electronic accessories from the past 5 years, such as ZWO cameras, the ASIAIR Plus and Celestron StarSense Autoalign.
  • H-alpha solar telescopes, including Coronado and Lunt.
  • Estate collections, whose value may be discounted due to age.

What we don't accept

  • Broken or damaged items, or items in poor condition.
  • Starter or department-store telescopes.
  • Cameras older than 5 years.
  • Most Meade gear, though please ask about exceptions.
  • German equatorial mounts, generally, due to low current demand. Please ask about exceptions.

Tips for selling a used telescope

  • Include everything that came with it. Original boxes, manuals, dust caps, finders and accessories all add value, and complete kits sell faster.
  • Photograph the glass. Clear, well-lit photos of the lenses or mirrors, plus any marks on the tube or mount, let us give you a more accurate quote.
  • Clean it gently, but don't clean the optics yourself unless you're experienced. A light dusting of the tube is fine; scratched coatings reduce value more than a little dust.
  • Know the model and age. Model numbers and approximate purchase dates help us research current used values.

Selling to a dealer vs. classifieds

Selling privately through astronomy classifieds can sometimes bring a higher price, but it means writing listings, answering questions, handling payment and packing and shipping fragile equipment yourself, with the risks that come with it. Selling or consigning through us trades a share of the price for convenience: we inspect, photograph, list and sell your gear, handle buyer questions and shipping, and you get paid without dealing with strangers.

Ready to sell your gear?

Email support@milehighastro.com with your list of items and photos, and we'll be in touch within about 2 business days. Want to see what used gear sells for? Browse our used telescopes and astronomy equipment.