Roy,
After doing a little looking about, the Leupold Gold Ring 15x30x50 Compact you mention is at least 3X USD more expensive than we are able to buy it here! For the kind of money ($1300 USD) you should be getting a premium scope with ED glass.
One of the ways that I have found to get great reviews of optics is by going to bird watching sites. Birders are very particular about their optics, to the point of being a little creepy sometimes. Often times, they are notably frugal and give reviews of all price ranges of binos and spotters.
I myself chose a Brunton compact spotting scope that has given me great service. I have used Nikon products also with good to excellent results. If you are willing and able to buy a spotter for $1000 you should expect nothing less than an excellent product. In my opinion ED glass (Extra low Dispersion) is worth the money.
Having said all that, I have no notion of what tariff you are subjected to when ordering on-line from the states. I hope you can find a good bargain.