NavList:

As I mentioned before, on an order for the old US Naval Observatory MICA software, the ShopAtSky organization shipped the manual (which is relatively worthless and available from used booksellers for as little as $5). They charged me $47 (including shipping and sales tax), but they did not ship the product, which, being an old software product, is distributed on CD. 

All of my attempts to communicate with ShopAtSky were ignored. They do not answer their phones. They ignore voicemails. They ignore emails. And they ignore feedback sent through their website contact form. I finally got one positive reply late today by emailing aas@aas.org directly. That finally annoyed someone enough to inspire a reply.

Checking this afternoon, I did discover one (apparent) impact of my communication with ShopAtSky: the MICA software is no longer listed on their website. That's fine. That's understandable. They probably did not realize that they had no stock of CDs when they took over the Willmann-Bell inventory. I trust that they will now refund my money.

When the AAS (American Astronomical Society) bought out "Sky & Telescope" magazine a few years ago, there was hope in the astronomical community that this would be a safe harbor, freeing S&T from some of the financial constraints of a profit-making business. Great. But at the same time there were concerns that the AAS had no competence operating an actual business. Once again, it was seen as good news that they decided to pick up and market the inventory of the small company Willmann-Bell after they shut down. Unfortunately, the AAS has confirmed some worries. I do hope that they can make up for that failing soon, but be careful when dealing with the ShopAtSky store.

Frank Reed
Clockwork Mapping / ReedNavigation.com
Conanicut Island USA