The Benefit Of Companies Selling Detectors At Sporting Goods Stores

[Ridge Runner]

 IS IT Really ?
At one time my mother loved to go to garage sales and I’d take her. Ever so often I’d find a detector for sale and never paying over 15 others as low as 3 dollars. One never had batteries in it .

 I just seen another one of the same type store’s selling a Garrett 24K . The people in there working don’t know a thing about what they got and the customer isn’t either. The customer is going out the door thinking I’ve got me a coin detector.

 Within a week that detector will be put up and may never see the light of day again.

 All I’m saying is just maybe on a Friday are Saturday may be a good time to go to garage sales again .

 Chuck 

[phrunt]

That's the stores fault more than anything, a good store would educate their staff on the products they sell, the retail store I once was involved with never once would allow a sales person onto the floor that wasn't educated on the product they're selling.  There is no reason a sporting goods store couldn't have staff as well versed on detectors as many (not all) dealers are.

If manufacturers want to sell their goods to such stores, they should send staff in for training days, provide the people some pizzas and drinks and get to work teaching them about the products they will be selling, all very standard practice in retail stores around Nz/Aus.  

I don't see any reason the staff in these stores couldn't know enough to sell the right product to the customer to suit their needs like they do for the fishing and other sporting goods they sell, it's not rocket science.

[Ridge Runner]

Phrunt  

 I totally agree with you that’s the way it should be but I can assure it’s not.

 Give me a couple of weeks and I’ll find out if anyone in theses stores knows anything about what they selling.

 I’ve got Academy all around me it will be my first and I’ll go to more than one.

 Stay tuned.

 Chuck 

[Lynk]

I guess the question is, from a business perspective, will companies realize more revenue/profit from increased consumer exposure that these channels may provide.  Currently almost all exposure is to a targeted end user meaning folks who are already seeking out platforms because they have an interest in the topic. 

With wider distribution to an adjacent audience (sporting goods, outdoors), they probably sell more units to those who never knew they "needed" one. 

Lower custom service/higher sales. It's an inevitable trade off.  It's obviously bad for the dealers, many of whom have built careers. It's likely a net negative for most buyers as knowledge and experience dry up, even though prices will eventually decrease more through this model. 

Most product categories have followed this path and there have been a number of specialized retailers that are now gone in my area that had very knowledgeable employees.

I hope the dealer model endures, but people vote with their fiat and time will tally those votes. 

 

[Steve Herschbach]

The truth Chuck is nobody cares. Most people on this forum know what they want and will not be asking a salesperson to tell them what they need. By the time I ever talk to a salesperson I know exactly what I want and their only job is to get it for me. That's why most retail people now are not salespeople, they are order takers. Like McDonalds. I tell them I want a burger and fries, they sell it to me. I walk into Best Buy looking for a big screen TV, I promise you I'll not be asking the staff which one I should buy. I knew before I walked in the door. That's retail now, and it is not the companies driving it that way, it's the customers.

As far as that person that walks into a store with zero knowledge and gets sold a nugget detector thinking it's a coin detector? Frankly, that's on them. Anyone that does not care enough about a purchase to learn anything about what they are buying does not get a ton of sympathy from me. Trust is earned, not given, and I'd never trust a salesperson without having a very good reason for doing so. There are some very good ones out there you can trust (a few are on these forums), but they are like rare gemstones in mountains of manure in today's retail environment. It's a fact they often do not have your best interest in mind but are motivated by a sales bonus for selling high priced stuff, or been tasked with getting rid of slow moving product. Just assume salespeople know nothing. You will almost always be right and experience far less disappointment.

12 hours ago, phrunt said:

I don't see any reason the staff in these stores couldn't know enough to sell the right product to the customer to suit their needs like they do for the fishing and other sporting goods they sell, it's not rocket science.

Easy answer - low pay, high turnover.

[Valens Legacy]

2 hours ago, Steve Herschbach said:

By the time I ever talk to a salesperson I know exactly what I want and their only job is to get it for me.

Steve I fully understand what you are stating there as I have done the same thing in many stores. While doing so I have been asked not to return again, laughed at, slapped, and even escorted out of the store. All I have done is tell the person the I want a beautiful blonde, 5ft 6in. tall, less than 135lbs, 40-24-34 in measurements and willing to spend the holidays away from family. I even told them the hair color was optional and they still laughed.

Why don't these so called companies just listen to their customers any more is beyond me.

[geof_junk]

The main thing affecting their purchases is based on advertising. We all know how deceiving their advertising is.

[Gerry in Idaho]

Chuck, Those stores who used to educate the staff are almost non existent.  It's also the same with the detector manufacturers these days.  Yrs ago the manufacturer would have training classes the dealers were required to pass in order to sell the new model of detector. That was yrs ago with a different management. 

Today, it's all about moving the product and making a buck. Ethics have been tossed to the curb. Customers have YouTube. 

Yes many detectors can be picked up on Saturday at yard sales, eBay, Market Place. I feel most folks selling them had no clue what they were purchasing in the 1st place. I'll blame them for their lack of success. 

 

[geof_junk]

When the 6000 came out, I was told that they could not sell then without going through a $5000 course at their expense and time, so they declined to sell the 6000.

[phrunt]

9 minutes ago, geof_junk said:

When the 6000 came out, I was told that they could not sell then without going through a $5000 course at their expense and time, so they declined to sell the 6000.

But it's an easy expert turn on and go detector 😛