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Lowest Price & Price Fixing


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The only two dealers I’ve had dealings with over the years has been Rob and Gerry .

 You buy a gold detector from Rob he will give you extra items you should need in the field detecting. He will also give you one day training in the field on how to use your detector.

 You buy from Gerry he may not give you extra items to go with your detector but in turn he gives you 3 days in the field training with your detector.

 Both dealers are happy to give you the 15% off if you are a vet and will ask if you are one.

 Now if I go to the big stores they could care less if I ever learn anything about that detector I bought from them because they don’t know even less about it than you do. I’m not even sure if you are a vet if they will give you the 15 % off and it will be a cold day in hell if they ask.

 I was told by a Minelab dealer that if he didn’t sale a certain number of detectors Minelab would cut him off as a dealer. He’s not one now because of that.

 In my opinion any company that sales to the big stores could care less about you the little guy the small dealer but it was you that made them big.

 When you want something for less less is what you get.

 Chuck 

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Redz

 I have to say your right on one can find are learn just about anything on the net.

 For myself I’ll take guys like Gerry are Rob that’s been in the field for years doing it and I can turn around asking either that I need help. 
 Instant YT !

 I do hope if you ever out there nugget hunting maybe you can get yT on your cell and that one problem you’re having you can find someone on YT that has had that problem.

 I’ve been at this for over 55 years and I don’t know a 1/10 of what Rob are Gerry know about nugget hunting.

 Chuck 

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11 hours ago, Rob Allison said:

When you start seeing companies like, for example - Bed, Bath and Beyond - selling metal detectors,

🤨 I am not even going to look. 

They must be selling Quest detectors...🤣

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16 hours ago, Rob Allison said:

 I'm not saying Manufactures don't back the dealers anymore, or am I?  I have been a dealer of many manufactures going back over 20 years and the culture has changed.  We now live in a technology age, where it's just a simple click of a "buy now" button and your product is on your doorstep potentially the same day.

Yes, dealers are going the way of the Dodo over the next few years it seems, they tested the waters in Africa, now they've done the same in Indonesia, selling direct to customers off the Minelab Indonesia and Malaysia website, Indonesia is not a small market, 273 million people, combine that with Malaysia at 33 million it's not all that much smaller than the USA really. 

This is Minelab's Official Indonesian website where you buy your detecting gear direct.

https://minelab.co.id/

Some light reading on it

https://stripe.com/en-au/customers/minelab

It's only a matter of time until they roll this out everywhere I think, cut out the middle men and make higher profits.

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There has been some really great comments on here from known members recently.

I'm not going to go into details and get long winded, but I see the writing on the walls as well.

Many moons ago I became a dealer after using detector for 20+ yrs and seeing (back then) many dealerships not offering real hands on.  My 25 yrs as a Multi Line Dealer is getting harder and harder.

Interestingly, I say to those manufactures who have been slowly cutting us old school dealers out and pushing Big Box stores and wanting us to sign up for a class on "how to sell on Amazon".  Sorry... you find someone else to do your advertising then.

Rob, Doc and a few others of us are still trying to hold on...but it's getting harder.

As for selling detectors at MSRP?  Heck, that hasn't happened in 15 yrs.  Selling at MAP (which is approx 20% off MSRP) is even tough in todays world.

 

 

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22 hours ago, Rob Allison said:

Hey Guys,

   Well the good old days, if you want to call it, are long gone.  They days that dealers could bundle great deals, which I loved to do, are pretty much done.  I'm not saying Manufactures don't back the dealers anymore, or am I?  I have been a dealer of many manufactures going back over 20 years and the culture has changed.  We now live in a technology age, where it's just a simple click of a "buy now" button and your product is on your doorstep potentially the same day.  Many customers, we are a small group here on the forum, just visit Amazon and it's there!  I probably talk to a dozen of these type of customers throughout the year and none of them knew about their local dealer, any deals, current promo's or any training/support beyond the initial sale.  They just heard from a friend, about a certain detector, jumped on Amazon and ordered.  

Now you ask why, have you ever been at a UPS store or even the post office and seen the amount of Amazon returns.  Heck, purchase anything, use it, you don't like return for a full refund.  If I did that on all items that a customer decided they wanted to use over the weekend and return, I would have a wall of returned, opened and used items I could never sell for normal price.  

The days of walking into storefronts to talk with your favorite dealer are far and few in-between anymore in the lower 48.  I remember when I first purchased one of my first detectors, it was a place called "Arizona Al's."  You would walk in, a small shop, but there was always other guys in there talking about gold and equipment beyond the people running the counter.  Al ever put in a small table, but later realized he couldn't get long winded prospectors out of the shop ..... LOL  

At some point, business is business and you have to run the non-buyers, long winded prospectors out, the coffee machine is now broken - if you know what I mean 😉 

I'm sure if you talked with Dealers like myself, Steve H., Chris G., Gerry M., and many others, you would hear the same theme.  It's the days of getting great deals, free promotional items (hats, shirts, ect), yearly conferences and great support are long gone.  

When you start seeing companies like, for example - Bed, Bath and Beyond - selling metal detectors, you know at that point it's not about support to a dealer anymore, it's all about the dollar and who cares who sells it, as long as the manufacture is getting their money.  

To be honest, the small dealers are slowing being pinched out and what you will see is more direct sales from the manufactures and only a few big box retailers like Amazon.  Those great prices, training and such will only be offered from a few dealers that will continue to not give up, giving their very small profits up in training, customer deals, discounts and everything that will benefit the customer beyond their own lifestyle.  This is the absolute truth, many of us dealers are running on a very small profit line trying to keep the ship floating.  

God Bless the small dealers!

Rob

 

Great commentary Rob. Yes, the day of the small dealer is coming to an end. However, a big reason is that people like you and Gerry are not the norm. Most small dealers are just order takers selling at discount. No actual store. No real inventory, just drop shipping. Maybe just a guy selling stuff on the internet, his “store” nothing more than a corner of the garage. His main strategy selling quietly at under MAP price to gain sales from those that honor MAP price. There are the coin shops that stock a few detectors, and really know nothing about them. There are lots of dealers like this, that sell a dozen or two detectors at most a year. They service nothing, any problems, they say “call the manufacturer.” They take up valuable time and resources the manufacturers can ill afford for minimal returns.

Imagine trying to supply and deal with 50 small dealers, or just making one deal with a Cabelas type operation. And if a dealer is just a drop shipper, why are they needed at all. Companies can go factory direct, as some are already doing with Amazon.

It’s really just Business 101. Small dealers are only needed as long as having them provides a real benefit to the manufacturer. They are not in business for the benefit of dealers, but for themselves.

The real nail in the coffin however is the simple reality that most of us have no small dealer nearby. We are not going to drive to the next state or two to find a dealer. No matter who it is, we are getting online and shopping. So if it’s just get on my iPad or computer and order a detector to be mailed to me, how much does it matter who I order from? People are going to shop for the best deal, and it matters little where it’s at or who it’s from. That’s just the way it is now, and it’s a really good thing you and Gerry are about ready to retire, because there is no future in being a small metal detector dealer.

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23 hours ago, Rob Allison said:

When you start seeing companies like, for example - Bed, Bath and Beyond - selling metal detectors,...

11 hours ago, midalake said:

🤨 I am not even going to look. 

They must be selling Quest detectors...🤣

Given they've recently filed for bankruptcy and are in the process of going-out-of-business (closing brick-and-mortar stores), more likely they're selling First Texas models, and at full retail prices if the sale complaints are any indication.

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On 8/26/2022 at 7:25 AM, jasong said:

You and I and people like us paid full price. But before that time even there were people paying far less, we just didn't know it then. 🙂

I felt so stupid and embarrassed the day I discovered that basically everyone around me had paid way less than I did for every detector I ever bought, or that you could even negotiate the price down in this game. Especially since I was living off Ramen and that extra thousands in savings at the time would have been a massive  amount to me and kept me in the field a lot longer instead of having to drive home and go work and waste valuable time to replenish the savings while I taught myself how to prospect profitably. 

I had never bought anything from a dealer before that point, as all my vehicles were just junker used trucks, I had no idea anyone would actually negotiate down a retail price in the US for a new item, I assumed they were just set in stone since I'd never seen any different...I didn't go negotiate a Big Mac any more than the local computer shop would negotiate the price of a new graphics card back then either. The thought that I could even try to negotiate a metal detector price never occurred to me until someone finally told me that was the normal game. It confuses me to be honest, because I thought that if I can cooperate with official dealers, then I can count on fair rules of fair play and I should not have an unexpected problem. Sometimes I get bored and try to play online casino [url=https://gamblebeaver.com/fast-payout-casinos/][color=black]https://gamblebeaver.com/fast-payout-casinos/[/color][/url]https://gamblebeaver.com/fast-payout-casinos/ when I count on fast payouts and luck. And when I lose, I don't consider myself cheated. After all, I do it for the sake of excitement and I fully understand the rules. But when I do not have the opportunity to rely on the honesty of the dealer's rules, it surprises me.

It still to this day makes me cringe and feel stupid when I think back to how much money I wasted, especially in those days I could least afford to waste it. 

So yeah, today, price is the only thing that matters to me.

Today, by the way, I talked with my friends, many people complain that dealers may not have fair rules of the game. And to be honest, this surprises me unpleasantly.

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