So... Please tell me Why does a metal detector cost $2499 again?

[el padron]

Hello again,
Ive been detecting with an SGT for two years and enjoy the hobby a lot. Ive noticed that all sorts of electronics just keep getting cheaper as I get older.
Flat screen TV's are a fraction of what they cost just 6 or seven years ago.
Ham Radios, sell for 25% what you would have paid for their equivalent in the 80's.
Microwave ovens? They used to cost $700 in the late 60's, today they cost $49.99....

On and on and on....
So why do metal detectors that look and feel like they should cost $40.00 cost many hundreds more, and just KEEP GETTING MORE EXPENSIVE WITH EVERY PASSING YEAR?
Just curious...

 

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[Mach1Pilot]

Performance. If a machine doesn't perform, it would not sell. Period. A bad detector might sell intially with some hype, but sales will die if they don't perform in the hands of the user.

There is no greater example of this than in Northern Virginia, where a whole bunch of serious relic hunters have a GPX 4800 or GPX 5000. Why? Performance. In that dirt, nothing else works as well as one of the $5000 Minelabs. Its all been tried...

And the thing is - when (not if) something else comes along that tops it, all of those GPXs will be for sale while everyone jumps ship to the new machine.

Now a lot of those guys will buy a used machine to make it a bit easier on the wallet, but even so not many make up the cost of a $5000 machine with a bunch of $3 Civil War bullets from the 1860s. They buy them because without one, they probably are not going to find much. The performance gives them the chance to have a decent hunt.

Its a specialized hobby... sometimes people will pay to have fun.

 

[Keppy]

Why some one would pay $2000.00 and up for a coin detector i have no idea .. It makes no sense to me either……..And as long as some will pay it they will keep raising the price……… I can see $2000.00 and up for a good gold prospecting detector for most prospectors make there money back some in only one day and some in a week or less…….

 

[el padron]

Interesting
I originally paid about $950 for my detector, (Minelab SGT) and in about a year after I got accustomed to using it, I recovered my cost .
I often wonder if an ACE 250 would have yielded the same results. I mean not really but....... ( the biggest recent hoard finds in Europe often reported as found using really cheap detectors).
So look at an AT pro for instance...
This thing is an extremely popular well loved machine, I might even get one for its waterproof capability, but have you ever held one?
Honestly it feels like it should cost $30.
I mean specifically is there some super expensive intel or AMD processor technology that goes into these things? I mean a chip board is a chip board right?
Even my SGT which certainly pulls its weight and does pretty much everything I expect it to still costs about $1000 today.
The central unit is boxed in cheap plastic. I literally have to treasure and cherish the detector even while Im hanging upside-down in a cave (not really but), I mean I know it has to be light, but have you ever held a $200. HAM radio? It feels like $200 went into it. The switches are rubberized and waterproof. The cases are plastic but they are designed to feel sturdy. There are waterproof faces and LED's
Im not convinced.......

 

[barrywk]

Its simple,supply and demand.Although some will say that detectors r massed produced,compared to televisions and other everyday electronics that everyone uses,detectors r used by a small fraction of the population so the expensive technology that is put into the detectors is not subsidized by mass quantities sold,but also some of the high prices r probably a little hype in them too....lol

 

[ryaan21]

The good thing is in this hobby a lower priced detector will find just as much or more than a $2000 detector. You just gotta get your coil over it. A lot of the expensive detectors are bells and whistles.

I have hunted along side minelabs, expensive whites, and others and even using the AT PRO, which is built like a $30 detector was still able to find as good of stuff as them.

The only thing I wish I could do was get a minelab safari. Out of my pricerange but the fbs would be neat to try out in areas we have pounded the last few years.

I just picked up a Fisher CZ70 Pro in great condition for $225 and I am sure I will find many good things with it.

 

[el padron]

Hi Ryaan...

So I completely agree with you., but am I the only one that can't see the Emporors new clothes? Seriously What kind of sh** is this?
Brand new out of the box these things should cost $225 or $300, (Still sounds expensive doesn't it?) For $1000, $1500 or $2500 they should be housed in carbon fiber.... And why aren't ALL detectors waterproof to at least ten meters? Why....? I mean a typical $7.00 flashlight is guaranteed for life to be waterproof to ten feet and it more then likely comes with batteries...

 

[U.K. Brian]

Unfortunately some people are dumb enough to think they can buy success and others believe the hype that the latest detector design is better than the rest.

 

[jeff of pa]

one word greed

 

[Doubter in MD]

<snip>

So why do metal detectors that look and feel like they should cost $40.00 cost many hundreds more, and just KEEP GETTING MORE EXPENSIVE WITH EVERY PASSING YEAR?
Just curious...

Because they can.

 

[Treasure_Hunter]

As stated by another member it is a specialized piece of equipment only sold to a few people compared to the total population, they recoup the research and development, the manufacture costs and then the profit. At least detectors retain their used value for many years. Example, an excal 10 years old is still worth 60-70% of what it originally sold for. A car 10 years old is maybe worth 10% of what you paid for it new.

People complain about a detector but the average price of a car is over $30,000 and after 5 years it is worth less than 40% of the purchase price.......Cars continue to depreciate to almost 0%...










American by birth, Patriot by choice.

I would rather die standing on my two feet defending our Constitution than live a lifetime on my knees......

 

[AusTexDude]

Because it can

 

[Terry Soloman]

Why are some hookers $100.00 a shot, and others are $1,200.00 a shot? The end result is the same, but the ride is a lot different..

 

[el padron]

Yeah, but a typical $1200 hooker looks and feels like a $1200 hooker... a $100 hooker not so much..... (or so I've heard)

 

[TheHarleyMan2]

Why are some hookers $100.00 a shot, and others are $1,200.00 a shot? The end result is the same, but the ride is a lot different..

Truthfully I would not know! hahahahaah But getting a divorce costs a heck of a lot and can cost you that much every month!! I heard some guys pay even more than that!

Hmmm! Maybe hookers are cheaper than divorces? I don't know! Well getting a hooker side of it, I guess one just pays them to leave rather than for services rendered! Yeah, I guess that could be cheaper than a divorce!

 

[Gold Maven]

I don't think I could enjoy the ride that was costing me $1200.

 

[el padron]

Treasure Hunter you make a lot of good points, especially about the depreciation, but we can only resell our detectors if they are built well enough to last until we are ready to part with them. I don't mind that I paid $52, 000 for my convertible Corvette back in 2002, and now its worth $10,000. It took me past 155 miles an hour (once) and looked and felt like QUALITY....I didn't have to worry about it the entire time I've owned it either. I'm not doubting the effectiveness of the tools that we use in our hobby. My detector works fine, its great, it just feels cheap, thats all I'm saying. I have learned to live with the fact that If a squirell piss*s on it, I may well have to upgrade it to the tune of another grand or two. I mean cmon why isn't every detector at least water resistant? Like I said in an earlier post, a typical drugstore seven dollar flashlight certainly is. It often feels well made too. We put men on the moon (I'm pretty sure)......

 

[BryanM362]

Its simple,supply and demand.Although some will say that detectors r massed produced,compared to televisions and other everyday electronics that everyone uses,detectors r used by a small fraction of the population so the expensive technology that is put into the detectors is not subsidized by mass quantities sold,but also some of the high prices r probably a little hype in them too....lol

Exactly! Metal Detectors don't sell to the masses like TV's.

 

[el padron]

Off course they sell to the masses.... look at HAM radios, a surprisingly good hand held radio can be bought for $65. There really was no way out of paying $800 for the 1985 equivalent. I take it back, the new one is not equivalent, its BETTER. Now does everyone you know have a hand held licensed HAM handset? Hell no, I'm sure no one here even knows what the hell I'm talking about...... They don't sell that many. But how many cheaply made $1000 metal detectors have been sold worldwide. 10's of thousands? millions? there is a huge market and until people start asking "why do I have to wrap and pad this thing to the point of babying it while Im climbing a cliff wall" the quality of the cases and pricing won't improve.

 

[Treasure_Hunter]

Treasure Hunter you make a lot of good points, especially about the depreciation, but we can only resell our detectors if they are built well enough to last until we are ready to part with them. I don't mind that I paid $52, 000 for my convertible Corvette back in 2002, and now its worth $10,000. It took me past 155 miles an hour (once) and looked and felt like QUALITY....I didn't have to worry about it the entire time I've owned it either. I'm not doubting the effectiveness of the tools that we use in our hobby. My detector works fine, its great, it just feels cheap, thats all I'm saying. I have learned to live with the fact that If a squirell piss*s on it, I may well have to upgrade it to the tune of another grand or two. I mean cmon why isn't every detector at least water resistant? Like I said in an earlier post, a typical drugstore seven dollar flashlight certainly is. It often feels well made too. We put men on the moon (I'm pretty sure)......

That $7.00 flashlight still leaks but it only costs the company $7.00 to replace it.... It takes a lot more to make a detector waterproof to just 10 feet..

I have owned Excals, Sov GT, Safari and Etrac I take proper steps to protect them and take care of them just like any electronic device and don't worry about them......

Most detectors will survive a dunking in fresh water, it's the saltwater that is destructive. ..











American by birth, Patriot by choice.

I would rather die standing on my two feet defending our Constitution than live a lifetime on my knees......