From direct sales to exceptional operations

Regional media had already reported on our direct sales, for example the Abendzeitung on the weekend before the solar eclipse. The decisive additional boost ultimately came from an article in the Süddeutsche Zeitung as well as mentions on Radio Arabella and Radio Gong 96.3, informing listeners that solar eclipse glasses were still available from us. Demand then increased significantly again within a very short time.

Many visitors came not only for themselves, but also for their families and friends. Numerous opticians and pharmacies collected larger quantities – some came to Mammendorf several times over the course of a single day to replenish their own stocks.

What pleased us in particular: Until the end of our direct sales, every visitor received at least one pair of glasses. In total, over three days we sold around 100,000 solar eclipse glasses online and directly at our stand, as well as hundreds of AstroSolar^® films in various sizes and versions.

Direct sales were only the visible part of the exceptional rush. At the same time, our regular order processing team had to handle, pick, pack and ship several hundred orders.

On Monday, our shipping department sent out many hundreds of orders that had accumulated since Friday afternoon. On Tuesday, even more orders followed, all of which had come in within just one day. In total, well over a thousand last-minute orders were shipped – not including the similarly high order volume in the preceding weeks.

At the same time, the phones rang without interruption. Six lines were open – as soon as one call ended, the next was already coming in. On top of that, we received numerous questions and orders by email and through our social media channels.

Our special thanks therefore go to our colleagues in order processing and shipping as well as to everyone who supported direct sales, phone enquiries, email and social media. Only through this combined effort was it possible to maintain on-site sales and regular shipping in parallel.

Fair pricing until the very end

Despite the exceptional demand, our price remained unchanged until the end at our regular SRP (€ 3.50 each, with various quantity discounts from 10 units upwards). Initially, there was no general purchase limit. Larger quantities for families, groups of friends, opticians or pharmacies were also possible.

Only on the final day of sales did we limit certain exceptionally large purchase quantities. This was intended to ensure that the remaining stock could benefit as many people as possible rather than being immediately resold on online marketplaces at substantial mark-ups.

Our goal was clear from the outset: As many people as possible should be able to observe the solar eclipse safely.

What makes us proud is not the length of the queue, but the fact that we were able to keep supplying customers right to the end – both on site and through shipping.

On the evening of August 12^th, the actual event finally took centre stage. After three intense days, the slender solar crescent above the horizon was a special conclusion for us as well. In a direct on-site comparison with viewers and films from our competitors, we saw exactly what we had described in our previous post Partial solar eclipse on 12 August 2026: Where and how to observe it?: through our films/viewers the low Sun was still clearly visible and bright enough even at maximum eclipse, while it was barely visible through darker films.

Below, we show a selection of our own images as well as photos sent to us by customers. If you would also like us to show your images here, please feel free to contact us. We also feature many more images taken with our products here: www.instagram.com/baaderplanetarium/tagged

Thank you to everyone who shared their impressions with us – and to all visitors for their trust and patience.