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This is a personal and U.S. centric perspective. When I started detecting over 50 years ago these were the main companies (alphabetical order): Compass Fisher Garrett Tesoro White’s Compass eventually went under, and was replaced by a newbie from Australia… Fisher Garrett Minelab Tesoro White’s Then much later Tesoro faded away and was replaced by another newcomer…. Fisher Garrett Minelab White’s XP And finally just a couple years ago, White’s shut their doors, with another newcomer becoming a major player…. Fisher Garrett Minelab Nokta XP Now again, this is just my personal opinion, and probably premature. The fact however is that First Texas (Fisher, Bounty Hunter, Teknetics) has been dying for ten years. Basically rehashing old product, with new attempts failing before they make it out of the starting gate. Given their marketing efforts, or l should say lack thereof, they are increasingly invisible and irrelevant. This was hammered home to me by the last three marketing questionnaires I got from XP and Minelab. They asked about the competition, Garrett, Nokta, each other, and even Quest. But no mention of First Texas brands. Clearly Minelab and XP no longer consider them to be competition. And unless Fisher pulls a rabbit out of their hat, and soon, I agree. But as far as I know all they have cooking is a PI and that’s not going to save the day. They need a top tier multi to get back in the game. Frankly, I think they are dead man walking - just my opinion. That being the case I really think we only have four serious competitors right now. Quest might be able to enter the ranks, but not yet. They have some good product, but no real visibility in this market. So for whatever it is worth, I think we are down from a Big 5 to a Big 4 at the moment. Either Quest or First Texas could reclaim the fifth position if either can advance their game beyond where they are at this time. Detector Company Movers and Shakers 2023 - the Big 4 Garrett Minelab Nokta XP

Well, it appears the rumours of price increases for Minelab products are true. This from Lost Treasures in Australia, a dealer I trust and have bought from before. "Just to let everyone know that Minelab will have a price increase for all of their detectors and pin pointers coming in to effect on the 1/1/24. So there is no better time than the present to grab a machine before everything goes up next year." These are obviously Australian dollars. I'm not quite sure why there are two GPZ's on the list but I assume one comes with the 19" coil. It's impossible to put up the price of the Pro-Find 35 😛 I see this list and realize how much money I've burnt when I add up all my detectors 🤣

As walking into a store and buying a detector is replaced by ordering one online factory direct sales are all but inevitable. Got this in my email yesterday. BUY NOW

This is the biggie each year as Minelab tells investors why they should buy the stock or not sell it in the coming year. Main issue for Minelab subsidiary - collapsing African gold rush. But offset by good sales of new coin detectors. And nothing to really hint at any new models in 2024, just expanded marketing efforts. Though this is just a PowerPoint presentation from the actual meeting. Maybe more can be gleaned from an actual transcript if one is released. Last tidbit - Minelab gets a new General Manager, Ben Harvey. Will he stay the course, or maybe bring some changes in the way Minelab does business? https://codan.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/Codan-Limited-AGM-2023-Investor-Presentation.pdf

We don't know where to start to describe our feelings...this past week has been incredible and unforgettable! We hosted our distributors from all around the world at our new factory. They met the whole Nokta team, learned about our past, present and our vision for the future. They toured the factory and a part of Istanbul... we had presentations, meetings and discussions... we shared ideas on our new products and metal detecting...we ate (maybe a bit too much:-), we laughed, we danced under the fascinating lights of the Bosphorus and most importantly we all felt like a BIG FAMILY! We thank each and every one of our distributors and would like to express our sincere gratitude for their support and for being part of the best distributor conference held in this industry so far.

All Garrett metal detectors, pinpointers, and search coils are now warrantied for three years from date of original purchase. This includes current owners who bought within the last two years - you just got an extra year warranty for free! 1. The new three year warranty is retroactive to all Garrett detector, pinpointer, and search coil purchases in the last two years. 2. Detectors are warrantied from time of original purchase, regardless of who owns them. But second owners better get a copy of that purchase receipt to prevent bumps in the road. 3. Also international sales - the Garrett website is being updated today to reflect that. Big kudos to Garrett. I've been in the retail game a long time, and can promise that going retroactive on something like this is not what most companies would do.

Minelab has created an event. https://www.minelab.com/usa/masters-of-metal METAL HUNTERS, GEAR UP. IT’S SHOWDOWN TIME. Prepare to prove your might in Minelab’s Masters of Metal tournament. The hunt is on. Teams of four. One goal: to triumph as the ultimate detecting champions. Expect the unexpected in an adrenaline fuelled battle filled with twists at every turn. The arena is ready. Your move. Minelab’s Masters of Metal: it’s time to dig in and stand out. REGISTRATION There will be 3 MASTERS OF METAL regional events throughout the Summer and Fall in various locations and one Final Championship in Alabama on November 10th to 12th. Choose the regional event below that your team wants to participate in and read the abbreviated rules at the bottom of this page. Register your team for the event. There will be a maximum of 30 teams per regional event. Individuals/teams can only register for 1 regional event. AUGUST 5TH - NEW YORK LOCATION: 34503 NYS Rte 12E, Cape Vincent NY in Jefferson County OCTOBER 7TH TO 8TH - FLORIDA EVENT: Central Florida Silver & Relic Hunt 2023 LOCATION: 465 W. Highbanks Rd, Debary, Florida OCTOBER 13TH TO 15TH - ARKANSAS EVENT: Treasure Fest 6 - Caddo Trading Co LOCATION: 281 Kadoha Rd, Murfreesboro, AR ABBREVIATED RULES THIS IS NOT A SWEEPSTAKES OR GAME OF CHANCE. THIS IS A CONTEST OF SKILL. Contest begins at 8:00 am EST on 08/05/2023 and ends at 11:59 pm EST on 11/12/2023. Entry limited to one Regional Event, and only one Entry per Person/Team. Maximum of thirty (30) total teams per Regional Event. PRE-REGISTRATION AND $100 USD ENTRY FEE PER TEAM REQUIRED TO ENTER OR WIN. THE PURCHASE OF ANY GOOD(S) OR SERVICE(S) WILL NOT INCREASE YOUR CHANCES OF WINNING. VOID WHERE PROHIBITED BY LAW. Open to legal residents of the United States who have reached the age of majority in their state of residence as of the date of Entry, or if under the age of majority, have provided the legal parental consent form. Prizes consist of (1) a medal and $2,500 USD to compensate toward travel to Championship, to the first-place winning team of each Regional Event; (2) a medal and $1,500 USD to compensate toward travel to Championship, to the second-place winning team of each Regional Event; (3) a medal and $1,100 USD to compensate toward travel to Championship, to the third-place winning team of each Regional Event; and (4) a trophy and a Minelab® MANTICORE™metal detector worth up to $1599.00 USD to each Championship Round Winner Team Member and the designated alternate team member. Odds of winning depend on the total number of eligible entries received; Regional Event Winners and Championship Round Winner will be determined by Judges. Total ARV of all Prizes awarded throughout the Contest is $23,295.00 USD. The Winner is responsible for all taxes associated with the prizes. Contest not open to Sponsor employees or volunteers of the Contest Events. Subject to full Official Rules at https://www.minelab.com/usa/masters-of-metal-rules Sponsor: Minelab Americas, Inc. (“Minelab”). This Contest is not endorsed or sponsored by Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, or TikTok, or any other third party in any way.

Always lots of tid-bits of info inside these reports and I'm guessing its due sometime in July? Current and ex investors normally get the juice early....

I guess it's not only Minelab's customers that have been a bit disgruntled of late, with a terrible launch of the Manticore just not being able to supply stock while pumping out other new models they also could barely supply it annoyed more than just their customers, add to that the terrible warranty issues with faulty detectors and abnormally high numbers of warranty claims Europe's largest metal detector distributor and Minelab service agent has given Minelab the boot, no longer wanting to deal with them, I would imagine quite a big blow to Minelab. You can read the article here https://treasurehuntingworld.com/2023/03/17/international-detector-center-idc-part-ways-with-minelab/ Now Minelab should heed this warning and get their act together, release detectors they can supply and focus as much as possible on delivering a quality well tested product.

I'll be at Alaska Mining & Diving Supply all day next Wednesday thru Friday as part of the Grand Opening of the new Mining Superstore. I'll also be doing some free seminars with question and answer session each afternoon (details below). I'll probably step out one day for lunch with my sister so if you want to catch me morning or afternoon are best. If you know anyone in Alaska who might be interested, please let them know. I hope I might see a few of you there Here are a bunch of photos of the new store location on a previous thread The AMDS Story Grand Opening Celebration! May 17-19th 10am - 7pm daily FREE Seminars and daily prizes! Prizes May 17th - Garrett Ace Metal Detector May 18th - Garrett Apex Metal Detector May 19th - Garrett AT Max Metal Detector (No purchase necessary, winners will be selected and notified the next business day, limit one entry per person per day) Steve Herschbach, AMDS Co-Founder and World-Renowned Metal Detector Expert will be on hand daily sharing his expertise and wisdom with FREE seminars. May 17th @530pm Metal Detecting for Gold Nuggets May 18th @530pm The New Garrett Axiom May 19th @530pm Gold Dredging Basics Special Guest Kayla Johanson from "Gold Rush: White Water" on Discovery Channel Friday May 19th 11am-3pm

I haven't been keeping up with Minelab's progress now I'm no longer a share holder, fortunately I did get out at a good time, so this is a month or so late but interesting none the less. I took a few tidbits from the documents which can be read in full here: https://codan.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/2512906.pdf https://codan.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/2512925.pdf Starting with the Chief Executives introduction message. It's surprising to see how much Communications has taken over metal detection as the better part of their business, even in R&D they're spending far more on communications now reflecting that market performance I guess. Some bad news for dealers, they're investing more in e-commerse, we all know what they means, there will be more buying direct from Minelab and cutting out middle men smaller dealers like they've recently done in Malaysia and Indonesia with their own buy direct website - https://minelab.co.id/ You'll likely need to click on the images to see them in a readable form depending on your screen size. It's interesting the key markets for Gold Detectors are Asia Pacific, yep that includes me 🙂, not the USA though. The USA is in the treasure detectors category as a key market. Latin America is a key market for the Gold Detectors though. I guess not many Americans look for gold anymore by comparison to other countries. The near term strategy is just to focus on marketing and selling the new Manticore and Nox 700/900, so it doesn't look like we'll see another detector out of Minelab this year, the long awaited CTX and GPZ replacements are a long way away yet, although this was also interesting. See smaller dealers, increase E-Commerse penetration, they're wanting to do that into more markets! It will eventually be big box stores and E-Commerse (Minelab direct sales) They didn't consider the Equinox to be a high end machine, more of a mid range and this Manticore is considered a CTX level machine, maybe there never will be a CTX 4040. The best coin and treasure detector on the market they say, more accurate discrimination at depth they say....... not sure I can agree with that statement. Now lets have a look at performance..... Not looking too crash hot, it shows that gold detectors and Africa were vital to their good figures. Africa then.... and now A massive drop in sales to Africa. The USA is making up some of that slack with the treasure detectors, the Americans must be buying up Manticores and Nox's in big numbers. Not looking good at all, no matter how it's spun. So, I guess we won't see anymore new detectors this year, it's very unlikely, surprising the X-Terra didn't even get a mention although it's not a high profit detector, it's to remain competitive at that end of the market and won't be a big money maker regardless of sales I would think. Engineering investment is now favouring communcations where the money is being made more so than metal detection. Lucky for me I'm in no rush to buy any new detectors, in fact I may not buy another Minelab in quite some time, I can't see me buying their new GPZ when it comes out unless it's significantly better than my GPZ with X-coils and I have my doubts especially when I don't care about ergonomics, I'm not paying a massive amount of money for a GPZ on a diet. I doubt I'd even buy the new CTX unless there was some dramatic improvement in performance and the Manticore which I did buy isn't really that great big jump over the Equinox, and in many ways for my needs still well behind the CTX that's a decade old. Maybe their engineers have finally hit the wall when it comes to performance.

Just thought I would share this with you all, I spotted it today while lurking around. The article is here

I saw this and wondered if they’re talking smf or just several single frequencies. Anyone heard anything?

Every 6 months I get these rumors that I'm dead. I think Gerry McMullen starts them. 😁 Gerry knows I'm not dead because he is a dealer for a lot of my detector covers. I know how this happens. It's because it is hard to get in touch with me via phone. Oon the average day I have around 20 to 30 orders to get out. This time of the year it hovers around 50. Unfortunately, I just can't answer the phone. You know us metal detecting folks love to talk. I had a customer who kept me on the phone for an hour and 45 minutes on Friday and it really threw my entire day off. I didn't get to the post office until 8:30 that evening. We business customers are allowed to go to the main post office in the rear where they had overhead doors up until 9 pm so that is great when I am running late. The best way to get in touch with me if you have questions is to email me at docsdetecting@gmail.com. That way if I get a break throughout the day I can answer your email. If you need to talk to me directly put your phone number in the email, but don't expect a call back immediately. It will probably be after I have every customer's package ready to be shipped. I love my customers and I am as guilty as the next person when it comes to getting tied up on the phone telling stories. So if you start talking to me about gold prospecting chances are my sense of time flies out the window. I am easily distracted. So I have to stay on task. Please do not take offense if I try to keep our conversations short and sweet. Just know that I will get your order out as fast as I do all of my customers. Usually if your order is in before 2pm, it's going to go out the same day. If after 2pm it may go out that day but more likely the next. Wishing all of you a Merry Christmas and thanking you for all the business you have sent my way over the past 30 years. And I'm still not dead. I don't even have anything wrong with me. And after an extensive battery of medical tests as well as COGNITION tests for "THE ELDERLY" I just got approved for more life insurance for another 10 year term. Which means the insurance company is betting I am going to live longer than when I turn 83, while apparently I am betting that I am going to die before 83. Living in Las Vegas, this seems like a strange bet. Don't forget it's Christmas time, and my story that I wrote in 1999, "All That Glitters" A Prospector's Christmas Story is still available to read for free at: A Prospector's Christmas Story - Doc's Place (docsdetecting.com) It's also available in book form for Christmas giving. Best wishes to all of you and your family during this Christmas season. Doc

Well it looks like XP is trying to increase their American market, caught this announcement on their website: https://www.xpmetaldetectors.com/en/ba/the-blog/xp-metal-detectors-launches-amazon-store-to-expand-market-reach-in-the-usa.php Yay. You'll probably pay MSRP for stuff there, but as it expands ya might get what ya need. 😀 Direct link to store: https://www.amazon.com/stores/page/49F4A193-A28A-475C-8F2B-AF1F47A0033B

The stock traded up 18% on the release with the communications segment beating guidance. Interesting to all of us is that the Minelab segment's revenue missed at $74mm. Guidance was $75-80mm. Codan maintained its Minelab margin guidance, so pricing was stable. It just sold fewer units. Always hard to say what caused the miss, but competition has obviously heated up and production seemed delayed. The management call is February 16th. Analysts generally ask about product releases on that call. ASX RELEASE 24 January 2023 Trading Update Codan Limited (ASX:CDA) (Codan) is pleased to provide the market with a trading update for the half year ended 31 December 2022 (H1 FY23). At the AGM in October 2022, the Codan Board expected that revenue for H1 FY23 would be in the range of $198 million to $215 million and this would generate a net profit after tax between $25 million and $30 million. The unaudited revenue achieved in H1 FY23 was $212 million and the net profit after tax may now approach $31 million. Highlights: • Minelab unaudited revenue was slightly below the guided range at $74 million, however the business is still expected to deliver a segment profit margin of 30%, in line with guidance. • Communications unaudited revenue was $137 million, slightly exceeding expectations and the segment profit margin will improve to 25%. • Communications orderbook as of December 2022 has increased 16% from 30 June 2022 to $173 million.

Surprised to hear that Felix is no longer with FT. I've known Felix for 40 years + a great source of information I will miss his accurate and detailed approach to his work. The FT detectors have always been very solid and thanks in part to Felix they do back them up with great service. Wishing him well in nis new endevours. cjc

Just a couple weeks ago it looks like Minelab sued Nokta for patent infringement. https://dockets.justia.com/docket/pennsylvania/pawdce/3:2022cv00211/293964

Here is a short poll to get a feel of how people are going to deal with all these new detectors on the market, and get an idea of how many people intend to jump in and get one.

Merrill of Detecting NYC presents a little interesting info on Minelab and its relationship with Parent Codan. Codan stock has been in the tank lately and their money maker, Minelab, may be releasing the Manticore and the Nox 700 and 900 so close together to try and spur a much needed sales and profit boost. You be the judge.

Having more than one coil for my new Equinox 800 I'd like spare lower shaft. I've upgraded from an X-Terra 705, I carry it as a spare detector, so I thought, great I will use the lower shaft from that. Different size of course, it would be reasonable to assume that an X-Terra owner would, when upgrading, be buying a nox. So this situation to me is disappointing, to my mind Minelab have deliberately changed the size of the shaft in order to sell me another shaft. As buyers we we tend to be brand loyal, but increasingly for me that is becoming trite, they clearly don't care about us so why should we remain loyal ? My Equinox is made in Malaysia so Minelab don't even employ Australians to make the Equinox at least. Some may say big deal just buy a new shaft and get on with it. If that's what you think then big business has you exactly where they want you and the future is grim for consumers { remember when we used to be Customers }

Is anyone here a member of the AMRA? If so, do you think it is worth the price of joining?

Minelab plastered their propaganda yesterday on Facebook on their dealers pages. I asked a couple of them what it was. Their response, "we don't know". Bahaaa, this must be how Minelab likes to do business with its dealers and customers. Just like the 6000 speaker EMI fiasco of 2022. 🤣

https://www.facebook.com/MinelabMetalDetectors/?mibextid=LQQJ4d