Did I get ripped off

lala09

Greenie
Feb 28, 2007
17
1
Salisbury NC
Detector(s) used
White XLT / Surfmaster PI / Vision V3
I will start off to say I'm new to metal detecting and That I should have asked some question before buying these two metal detectors I got off of ebay but here is my question.I purchase a Whites Surfmaster II metal detector in very good condition and a Garrett Scorpion Gold Stinger metal detector in good condition and found out that they my end up being to hard for me and my wife to use. So I need to know how much I should have paid so I can put them back on ebay :'(
 

Upvote 0
??????
Why are they to hard to use? There are many people here who own these types of detectors who could give you pointers before you give up.
I know that with the Scorpion it takes a little time to get used to settings and to become comfortable with it ...but its a great machine for beginners

Hope you keep hunting....
 

well it's because a dealer showed me what a white's metal detector can do as far as telling you whats in the ground and that would make it a lot more fun to go out detecting and yes I did download manuals
 

no detector can tell you exactly what you are a bout to dig. some can give a fair estimate. that being said, whites is a great company, as is Garrett, and both make high quality machines. you most certainly could have done worse by buying lesser brand machines. while at least the whites machine is a little bit of an older model, it should still be a pretty capable detector. a lot of this hobby has to do with learning your machine and what it is trying to tell you. patience is a big part of it as well. there will be days when all you find is junk. and then....just when you think its useless, something awesome comes out of the ground! :o try to be patient. at least give yourself a fair chance to learn what you are doing before you throw in the towel.
 

No one really answered the question you asked,Your wanting to know the price to ask if you put them back on ebay.Why did you purchase the surfmaster and the Garrett,ask yourself what type of detecting were you planning,Going to the beach,relic looking for gold,parks around your house,There is alot of very good people on this forum that can advise you on what your choices are.Tell us more what type of detecting were you planing on doing,and the location type.and hopefully you will get the answer your searching for.Ronald99
 

I don't know what you paid but to try and answer your question why don't you put them back on ebay and get what you paid for them maybe even more?
HH John ;)
 

There are two good ways in which you can get a handle on what your used detector is worth.
First you can go back to Ebay and check the completed listings.
For the Surfmaster 11 one sold for $310
another sold $360 ( I hope this is not you)
Then check the classifieds at major metal detector forum sites and do a search- the Findmall
used equipment section had two offered in the past
one offered for $250 by dealer
one offered for $325 by owner

Of course detector condition and age may affect price. The seller may have added extras which would increase value. But from the above you can get a handle on what your detector is worth.

I only saw one Gold stinger which sold for $225 on E-Bay(Is this the one you bought?)

Now it is important to know what you need.
The Surfmaster 11 is a VLF that is only used in freshwater lakes. It is just a classic with a waterproof housing. You won't think of buying it for onshore detecting at parks.

The reason why there are so few Gold Stingers is that it is not a popular model and you don't see many of them. It is a gold machine which can be used for coin detecting. It is the cheapest gold detector out there and somewhat aged.(I didn't say it is a bad machine just not popular(which does reflect resale value). The MXT is the POPULAR nugget/coin/relic machine. Only newbies not familiar with gold detectors buy it. It is worth whatever you can sell it for.

Again what will you use the detectors for and what are your spending limits?

George
 

well just to let u all know I paid $574.00 for both of them. Do u all think I could get my money back out of them or did I pay to much
 

lala09 said:
well just to let u all know I paid $574.00 for both of them. Do u all think I could get my money back out of them or did I pay to much

From the values above you did not get ripped off if the detectors are in great condition. If you had paid $700 for them you would have been ripped off. However you probably did pay a bit on the high side and didn't get a bargain if you had aggressively shopped around. Hardly unusual for us as we commonly WANT THE DETECTOR NOW. I remember after I bought my X-5 used- I immediately saw one for sale(same condition) for $75 cheaper. That's what happens when you buy used detectors.

Your decision to resell should be based on the fact that you do not like the detectors and/or you did not realize one was for lake diving and the other was mainly for gold hunting.

George
 

If you are unhappy with your purchases, you can use the information form these posts and put the units back on ebay. Recoup you money. It is possible you can get more than you paid or take a small loss. In the event that you take a loss, just chalk it up to a lesson learned.

Come back to the forum and ask questions about what detector you should get, explain how you intend to use the detector, where you intend to hunt, what you are looking for, etc... You will then get a flood of information from the knowledgeable folks on the TN forum. Take all the information given and sort it all out and then start pricing out the models you are looking for.

Basic model, middle of the line model, or top of the line model. You have to do a bit of research to decide as well as your price range.

I think it is best if you sell off the units you have, if you are truly unhappy with them and start over.

Happy Hunting and Best of luck.
 

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