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New Detecting Reality


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A few afternoons back I went out to a local beach to do my normal searching.  It has been a time of few waves and even fewer targets.  Everyone hears this from me quite often but I've heard it from other detectorists as well.  So, you relax, go slow and just enjoy the beach.

A bit down from me I saw a group along the blanket line and there was something different.  There was a little kid (older than mine) about 5 or so swinging a metal detector.  It had a kinda orange coil and the kid just was playing with it a bit and then running around with the other kids.  I decided to go up with my 800 in hand and have a little chat with him and maybe 'show' him how to find things.  By the time I got up to where he was he was out near the water and the only one still around was his dad and his dad's friend or brother.

We started up a bit of a chat and they said they had bought the detector off of Amazon for $60.  I didn't recognize it but it was giving my 800 an EMI fit so I went to a different channel.  I told them what I had in mind (quarter in hand) and they called the little boy over.  I wish I had taken a picture of the detector but it was a short arm, adjustable with compression fittings, concentric coil detector of a brand I didn't catch.  It had a screen that was discriminating and it did 'find' the planted quarter which the kid liked but didn't have that much interest in it.

One of the really interesting parts of the story was the friend.  He told me it was an Amazon purchase and thought that $60 should make it a very good detector.  They didn't really have a clue.  They asked me about mine and I told them and I could see their jaws drop a bit on now knowing that 'pros' like me were out with detectors from $500 to $900!  It was way out side of their conception so they asked me what did I think of their detector.  I didn't really pick it up but I told them there are these new little detectors that could be better than a lot of the detectors just 5 to 8 years old that sold for much, much higher prices.

This is part of the new purchaser and market for the detector companies which provide higher end products like Minelab.  It is a new reality of buyer and probably the reason for their low end detectors.

When I came back and searched Amazon looking for this $60 detector I was flooded with many, many detectors from companies unknown.  Minelab is not on Amazon it seems and many other searches for the average buyer.  Some of you here see some advertising on this forum for the best metal detectors.  I started a thread about it a couple of weeks back.

One thing I did happen across when looking for the metal detectors were a few 'board detectors.'  These were complete metal detectors on a circuit board that sell for less than $5.00!  It becomes more clear that these detector circuit boards placed in a molded plastic handle become the brains for a $50.00 detector that wholesales for maybe $26.  Components are cheap.

Marketing and R&D are expensive!

I didn't find much on the beach that day but I brightened the face of a little kid and I got a good story.

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On ya MN, WTG,  that bright face is the most priceless "find". 

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People here and elsewhere have been wondering when China was gonna hit the metal detector market bigtime.  Maybe that era is upon us.  As of now I doubt the quality difference is going to hurt the serious manufacturers, but that will probably change if there's enough money to be made.

 

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