I live in India, and I'm visiting the US soon. I'm thinking of buying a telescope in the US, and checking it in, in its original packaging. The hope is that if the telescope survived the domestic delivery from Amazon or B&H in its original packaging, it will also survive the international transport.
The shipping weight of the telescope is 14kg, which is less than the 23kg limit I have, and the box dimensions are 30.5 x 17.0 x 8.6", totaling 56", again within the 62-inch limit.
This telescope is not available in India, or available at an exorbitant price, like 3x the US price.
Another alternative is international shipping from Amazon, but that's too expensive, for example ₹22K for delivery to India as opposed to ₹10K for delivery to the US. B&H's international shipping is priced the same or slightly more. I'm not willing to pay more for shipping than the price of the telescope itself.
In this context, is checking it in a sensible risk to take?
One downside I can think of it that I can't return the telescope if, after reaching India, I find it to be defective, but does that happen often?