I've been hearing complaints about the number of poor quality
telescopes that are still around. Obviously those with lousy optics
are usually beyond salvaging, but other might be improved with a
decent set of eyepieces, or a flimsy tripod migth be strengthened as
in the tip here:
http://telescopes.skymania.com/2006/10/keep-your-tripod-stable.html
I'd be interested in other tips that people offer the punters - other
than chuck it away and buy a new one!