Welcome to Where-to-buy-a-microscope.com!

Buy Microscopes imageWhere to buy a microscope as well as other microscope buying tips are the focus of this website. A question about where to buy a microscope or find used microscopes often revolves about what kind you need and who carries it. Tips and information are provided about this so that one can find the best place where to buy a microscope that satisfies their requirements.

Hobbyists, students, and even professionals may find the information useful.



There are several classes of microscopes for sale:

Cheaper Price Microscope Options

  • Low-end, Budget Price  Microscopes($200-$1500)
  • Digital or PC Microscopes ($50+)
  • Toy Microscopes (<$200)
 

Moderate to High Price options

  • New, Medium-end Microscopes ($700-$5000)
  • Used High-end Microscopes ($500-$15000)
  • New High-end Microscopes ($3000-$50,000+ Nikon, Olympus, and Zeiss) 

Our Microscopes for Sale page lists pre-screened options from various sources to help buy the right microscope for the money. We don't sell microscopes; we just use our knowledge to point you in the right direction to focus on the best buys instead of wading through various dealer sites.

ONLINE RETAILERS

 Adorama Microscopes         Microscopes.com     

New Low-End, Budget Price Microscopes

Budget Microscope I work in a commercial laboratory, and we actually use budget microscopes for some of our scopes (stereoscopes) for certain tasks  Budget microscopes can be a good option for students and amateurs and even professionals depending on the application.

Optics Planet is a good place to start when first looking where to buy a microscope. It is a major optics dealer that also carries a huge selection of microscopes, both budget and mid-range models. Microscopes.com is one of their stores.

Adorama has the best deals on Celestron and other low-end, but higher quality microscopes.

eBay is also a good place to look because many dealers use storefronts there to sell their new micrsocopes, not just used ones. For name brand stuff though, Adorama is usually better.

Check out our page Microscopes for Sale for more pre-screened options.


Digital or PC microscopes


The definition of a digital microscope can vary -
  • integrated lens and sensor unit that  connects directly to a computer
  • sensor unit that replaces a camera on a regular microscope
  • a microscope that comes with a sensor and maybe an output screen
  • a microscope that comes with a $50,000 CCD system
Prices can range greatly depending on exactly what you are getting ($50 to $50,000)
Just about everybody sells these microscope systems anymore, and it is just a matter of shopping around and finding a system that matches your needs and prices. The usual suspects such as Amazon and eBay are good places to start your search for the more affordable models.


Digital Compound Biological Microscope           $54.95                            $78.95                           $49.95                          $144.95

Checkout our buying guide for USB DIGITAL MICROCOPES


Toy Microscopes

Adorama is probably the best option on where to buy toy microscopes. They have Celestron brand at the best prices. eBay has resellers that import and sell new products in addition to used products, but if you want name brand then places like Adorama will have better deals. Depending on who you are getting it for and what your budget is, you may want to consider a budget microscope instead though.


Used High-end microscopes

The best deals on used microscope is usually Labx or eBay. If you are not in a hurry you can a used version of a high-end microscope like Nikon or Olympus for one tenth of the new cost (though not so much necessarily on stereomicroscopes and basic biological microscopes.)

Sometimes though you cannot wait for a great deal to come along, and then where to buy a microscope might be at a used microscope dealer. These kind of dealers tend to be very knowledgeable as well, and can help you with your buying decision.

New Medium-End microscopes

There are microscopes out there for sale that don't quite measure up to Olympus, Nikon, and Zeiss, but yet they are often better than the budget models. LOMO and Meiji are examples of these mid-grade microscope options.

These new models will often compare in sale price to used Nikon and Olympus models, and sometime it is just a matter of personal taste whether you want something brand new and shiny with slightly inferior optics or something with some wear and tear, but better optics.

New High-End Microscopes

Microscopes from Olympus, Nikon, and Zeiss can be very pricey when purchased new, but sometimes a high-end system is what is needed.  A new basic biological microscope might only be a couple thousand more than a used model, so in some cases the price difference is not to great. In other cases, the price difference can be quite extreme.

Links


Buy Microscope

Where to buy a microscope depends somewhat on what you need and what microscope for sale. For budget microscopes, where to buy a microscope is usually Amazon or eBay. For other classes, where to buy a microscope is more about getting the best microscope buy for the price.