I live in Ottawa, which is on the border of Ontario /Quebec. Over the entirety of my career, i’ve often considered and wanted to purchase a medical microscope but could not really afford it. Right now isnt a great time either but I do have the financial ability to pull the trigger.
One of my professional Colleagues, James Walker ( yes of hairtell fame) has been offering me a fairly descent price for a Zeiss OPMI 99 suited to my needs for quite some time, but the hitch is that it’s quite expensive to send my mover to buffalo to pick up such an item, which would have an estimated cost of $1000-$1200 CDN. This in addition to the cost of this equipment itself, was somewhat prohibitive .
Recently however James has let me know he’s moving to take care of a family member in the southern states somewhere, and this has forced my hand to take this idea from the back-burner to the forefront, as shipping from most places in the US would make the purchase prohibitively expensive.
I’ve been looking at options , and hoping for a good suitable microscope that is already in Ontario or Quebec, and this week I though I found one local, but I think that electrologist has sold it already. Before I send $5000-$6000 down the road with my mover, I thought I would check in to find out if there are others perhaps already in my area for sale, or in the regions of Ontario and Quebec?
James has been my friend a long time, and we have a deal ( details private) that is just for me but before I jump into this, if any others are for sale in Ontario or Quebec I would be interested in knowing about it.
The scope is heavy with its stand but I didn’t know prices these days are so high for shipping…
Have you exhausted all shipping possibilities to see if there is cheaper price?
We havent, but likely the easiest with it crossing the border is the local mover route. I dont want to think about having to use a customs broker to get it in the country. I’d be getting James to meet my mover 5 1/2 hours away from Ottawa at the rainbow bridge.
Ye that’s a solid idea and will cost you less than going through customs broker.
I would look at investing in ophthalmic loupes. Less expensive, customized to your eyes and still allows you movement. I worked with a microscope and did not like it.
Loupes are the way to go now.
I’ve decided not to persue loupes as an upgrade path. I actually get better magnification and larger field of view as I currently work.
I agree but once you used to them, they are great. .