Let Me Order Factory Direct And Get The Coil I Want

[Steve Herschbach]

Someday I hope to wake up in a world where I can order the detector directly from the manufacture with the coil I want. Right now White's and Teknetics are selling factory direct. OK, so where is my advantage? It's the factory. Let me order the detector and coil I want and stick it in the box and ship it to me. I can understand dealers not wanting to open already boxed units but the factory should not care. Keep some units unboxed and waiting for my order and ship me what I want.

It is only a matter of time before somebody gets gutsy enough to do this and more. When I sold Ski-Doo snowmobiles you used to get what you got. Now you can pre-order machines and have them shipped from the factory with all kinds of custom options. Like custom decal sets... another good idea that detector companies could steal. It would be a blast to have a website where I could go, pick a detector, have a couple rod and handle options to choose from (S rod, straight rod, tall man rods, fat handles and skinny handles), different color and/or decal options, and of course whatever coils I want. Build it and see it built online and then order and ship. If this means I wait a little longer or pay a few more bucks, that's fine.

Want to see it in action? Go online here and build your own Ski-Doo. It gets real fun when you get to the accessory page and you can see your model change as you add and subtract options. 

Where is the company that will break the mold and think out of the box when it comes not just to building detectors, but marketing and selling them in new and creative ways?

[dogodog]

Great point, How many times have we all said, ''How hard could it be to put such n such option on a product"  99% of us are willing to pay extra for what we want. I'm a little confused why company's can't figure it out. Seems to be we get what they give us not  what we want. I like QED making parts available like this. I also think this could be done for little money, which could be passed on to the consumer. Charge more for one part, less for another and make a build it yourself package deal. seems like a no brainer. Would be a win - win deal and most likely they will make more money. I'm thinking the first quality detector mfg. to do this in (all price points) would soon dominate the market place, forcing competitors to follow suit. 

[GB_Amateur]

They may not want to eliminate their dealer networks, but they don't have to.  Look at auto companies.  You can go to the dealer, they fill out an order for a vehicle with the option packages you want, send it off to the factory, and call you when it's delivered to their lot.

 

[Steve Herschbach]

That’s what Ski-Doo does. They build the machine for you, then ship it to your dealer for delivery. The difference these days unfortunately is that many detector dealers just take orders and drop ship from the factory anyway. They provide no backup or service and refer the customer back to the manufacturer when there is a problem. Any manufacture can live without that finger in the pie.

[GB_Amateur]

1 hour ago, Steve Herschbach said:

The difference these days unfortunately is that many detector dealers just take orders and drop ship from the factory anyway. They provide no backup or service and refer the customer back to the manufacturer when there is a problem. Any manufacture can live without that finger in the pie.

The big box stores seem to fit that mold.  (I could be wrong on that....)  What I (and I suspect you) don't want to see is the knowledgeable, helpful dealers get rough treatment because their 'competition' is worthless.  Ideally the good guys stay in the business and the others get dumped, but unfortunately it seldom seems to work that way. 

 

[Steve Herschbach]

59 minutes ago, GB_Amateur said:

I (and I suspect you) don't want to see is the knowledgeable, helpful dealers get rough treatment because their 'competition' is worthless.

Totally agree. However, as one of the "good dealers" for many year I know how I and other good dealers suffered from manufacturers setting up literally any Tom, Dick, or Harry who wants to be a dealer with almost no investment in having a real business. I had a building, rent, utilities, employees, and a very deep on hand stock, and some of the best service in the industry. I NEVER sent people to the manufacturer. If you were my customer, I took care of you, period.

Then the manufacturer happily sets up a dealer six blocks away working out of his garage with no stock, overhead, or investment. Just a website, and generally someone who thinks selling a detector for $50 over cost is big bucks.

Big box stores are not a problem as they adhere to the pricing rules. It's the guy that sets himself up as dealer for the local club giving them all machines at cost plus $20 that kills the good dealers.

Do I sound bitter? Maybe a little. The bottom line is I am a huge advocate for dealer standards set by manufacturers. Such standards support dealers who are willing to invest in the business in a real way, and I am all about supporting good dealers. The know nothing drop shippers who send every customer with a problem straight to the manufacture or the good dealer or this website looking for answers... I've nothing but scorn for that crowd. And ultimately for the manufacturers that set them up and allow them to exist. The manufactures only give lip service to independent dealers but do nothing real to actually support the best of them. Tesoro was the only company that was truly real about that, and that went away the minute Jack passed away. I guess White's kind of tried in their own weird way but that was more about some insiders using policies to support themselves than actually looking out for all the dealers. Minelab once put a dealer standards program in place that lasted all of six months before it was axed.

[dogodog]

Here's my idea,  Dealer orders say 15 head units or control boxes, 25 different coils, 30 different shafts with assorted shapes and materials. Pinpointers, ect.  The factory then packs them up in one box and off to the dealer. The dealer then can sell to the consumer the setup he or she wants. Also if the person needs a coil for any said machine they can purchase that by itself, as with any other separate part. Leave it up to the dealer to figure out what they need not the factory giving them something they don't. I can't tell you how many times I needed parts and found out its a nightmare to acquire, which leads me to letting the dealers handle the small parts and pieces. Dealers know what sells in their area (not the mfg's) Sometimes the mfg's force dealers to buy certain products to become qualified for purchase of other high end units. This is not something that helps the little guy or the mfg after he goes out of business, because he can't sell the products he was forced to buy. Like I said the dealers know what they can sell and what they can't. Also for consumers this will end up making you jump ship to another mfg. who is willing to service your needs. (bad for everyone involved). Warranties are another falsehood that mfg's put out that really don't cover anything (just sounds good on paper), to get you to buy that detector because of the so called great warranty.  Let me qualify that by saying Not All mfg's do this, some have figured it out. By being good to the consumer means return business. Thanks for the great post Steve, maybe some mfg's will see all of our comments and make the move to better serve our needs or they might find themselves downsizing, or worse like another great brand. (How Hard Could It Be) !!!!!

[dogodog]

PS. back in the day of retail some mfg's would require you to prove you had a legit business by providing a photo of your retail storefront. My comments are strictly for supporting good quality dealers who bend over backwards for their customers. Big box should be limited to low to mid range detector's. But mfg's are looking for the bottom line sadly. Sorry I didn't see your last comment before I posted. My heart pounds when I discuss mfg vs little guy issues.

[Geotech]

On 3/9/2020 at 12:52 PM, Steve Herschbach said:

When I sold Ski-Doo snowmobiles you used to get what you got. Now you can pre-order machines and have them shipped from the factory with all kinds of custom options. Like custom decal sets... another good idea that detector companies could steal. It would be a blast to have a website where I could go, pick a detector, have a couple rod and handle options to choose from (S rod, straight rod, tall man rods, fat handles and skinny handles), different color and/or decal options, and of course whatever coils I want. Build it and see it built online and then order and ship. If this means I wait a little longer or pay a few more bucks, that's fine.

I once pitched to White's the idea of custom detectors. To demonstrate, I made a Garnet-and-Gold (FSU) Vision/V3 and a Blue-and-Gold DFX. I took raw metal to a local anodizer, then had the factory build out the units including stenciling. They were stunning but a 20% mark-up for this would have severely limited appeal.

I tried a bit harder to get White's to consider custom coil options, and even custom packages (pinpointer, headphones, digger, etc.). They just didn't have the logistics in place to make it reasonably easy. Same for First Texas.

 

[Kickindirt]

On 3/9/2020 at 11:52 AM, Steve Herschbach said:

It would be a blast to have a website where I could go, pick a detector, have a couple rod and handle options to choose from (S rod, straight rod, tall man rods, fat handles and skinny handles), different color and/or decal options, and of course whatever coils I want. Build it and see it built online and then order and ship. If this means I wait a little longer or pay a few more bucks, that's fine.

I've wondered for years why detecting companies don't do this. Always was a head scratcher why I couldn't get a new at pro with the sniper coil and 5x8 only.