Ethan In Adelaide's Buying A Detector

[blackjack]

Ethan is looking for a second hand detector, as someone who's never bought a new vehicle in my life I get it. But there are certain things I may not buy second hand, detectors may be one of them. If I was buying a detector that I was completely familiar with then yes I would, but what happens when you have never used the machine before. There are many factors to consider here, The amount of money involved is one I guess, second hand GPZ 7000's and GPX 6000's are holding their value pretty well in Australia, is the saving worth the risk especially when you consider that if you haven't used the detector how do you know if it's working properly. If you are looking for older or cheaper machines then this becomes less important. As some one who may consider buying an expensive P.I. machine secondhand, I would like to hear how others have approached this and how many would never buy a used machine and why ?

[Northeast]

Yes, good question.  

Personally, I am generally a ‘new’ buyer.   I look after my gear and like the fact that I know someone else hasn’t dropped, repaired, tampered with or modded the equipment.   

The exception would be if I absolutely knew the item and the person who owned it.  Some look after their gear like it was their child, possibly better  🤔🤣

To buy off the net with just photos - not my cup of tea.  The alternative might be if they were a long term, respected person on this forum or Prospecting Australia for example.   Or, if someone from the forum was willing to check out the piece of equipment on your behalf.  
 
If you don’t know what ‘good working order’ should look like and the item is for sale close to you, you could always ask the buyer if they would be happy for a dealer to look over the equipment.  If Ethan took a GPZ into Miners Den Adelaide for example and asked them to check it over.  Maybe they would charge $50 to do so but if it saves $6,500 by not buying a faulty item then it is an expense I would happily pay.  
 

A few ways to skin a cat but as always, buyer beware.  
 

https://www.prospectingaustralia.com/threads/how-to-spot-a-fake-minelab-gpx-5000.5333/

Edited December 16, 2022 by Northeast
Added the spotting a fake thread.

[strick]

I would only buy a used machine from a dealer or someone with a good reputation. If neither of those are possible then I would have to meet the person with the detector to make sure it was working properly. I have bought a couple used detectors and have been quite happy with them. 

strick 

[Ethan in Adelaide]

19 hours ago, blackjack said:

Ethan is looking for a second hand detector, as someone who's never bought a new vehicle in my life I get it. But there are certain things I may not buy second hand, detectors may be one of them. If I was buying a detector that I was completely familiar with then yes I would, but what happens when you have never used the machine before. There are many factors to consider here, The amount of money involved is one I guess, second hand GPZ 7000's and GPX 6000's are holding their value pretty well in Australia, is the saving worth the risk especially when you consider that if you haven't used the detector how do you know if it's working properly. If you are looking for older or cheaper machines then this becomes less important. As some one who may consider buying an expensive P.I. machine secondhand, I would like to hear how others have approached this and how many would never buy a used machine and why ?

you are asking my questions Thanks Jack. I have been wondering if Axiom is ok for me, however I am a green hand here I have to say.

[blackjack]

12 hours ago, Ethan in Adelaide said:

you are asking my questions Thanks Jack. I have been wondering if Axiom is ok for me, however I am a green hand here I have to say.

Hey Ethan, asking questions is how we learn, my experience is ask questions, the hard part is working out who's giving you the right answer, that's the bit you have to work out. I think most of the time, the more questions you ask, the more obvious the right answer becomes. As far as the Axiom goes if you put it in the search bar on this forum a fair bit of info comes up. A lot depends on where you are going to be doing most of your detecting, as far as I'm aware the areas around Adelaide aren't very mineralized. I have heard from a reliable source that they have had success with a VLF around Adelaide. A good VLF is a great starting point. And if you are going to W.A. in the future a backup detector is pretty handy when you are 2,500 k's from home if you do end up with a 'proper' detector. You did say you went to W.A. and found nothing, you wouldn't be the first even with an expensive P.I. machine. Knowing how to use your machine is important than having the latest bit of gear and not knowing how to use it. This has been stressed by better operators than me on this forum. The most important part on a vehicle is the nut behind the steering wheel. 

[Erik Oostra]

On 12/17/2022 at 6:05 PM, blackjack said:

A good VLF is a great starting point.

You can also get good second hand VLF detectors on Ebay.. I've bought 3 Equinoxes from their 'used' section and they were all in good working order.. I know it's not the same as buying a PI, although I also bought a GPX 5000 on Ebay (but the seller only lived a 3 hour drive away so I was able to check it out}.. But what all these detectors had in common is that they'd only been used a couple of times.. The sellers had quickly lost enthusiasm for digging rubbish.. In every case the added extras like headphones were still wrapped in their original packaging.. It can sometimes also be a better way to go than buying a new detector online.. I bought a new Goldbug and it turned out to be a Chinese fake..