Why I wont buy another book from this author.

[txkickergirl]

Why I won't buy another book from this author.

There are very few books out there for waterhunters and most of them just scratch the surface. There are a couple people who have written books that detail the more indepth techniques ofwater hunting. I have purchased some of these books and they are extremely helpful. One author I purchased 3 of his books. My brother also purchased a couple of these books. My brother is no beginner, and like everyone else will absorb any knowledge out there that might give him an edge. So my brother an excal user finds his machine needs to visit the doctor, they tell him at minelab it will cost over 525.00 to fix, this is not a newer excal either. So he is thinking instead of paying that much to fix it(he owns another excal)he would get a PI, but which one? Does he go with whites? garrett? or tesorro? He emailed the author with this question because he knows the guy has experience and respects his opinion. Below is the emails back and forth and the purpose of this rant. I will not puchase another book from him, he sells his books at 14.95 which is rather expensive, and then snaps back at a reader with the below comment. He might know water hunting but shame shame on him in public relations area.

my brother wrote:
name omitted, since my Excal is no longer in use, and costs way to much to fix, I will be looking into a new machine. I would like to have a PI this next time. I realize you have the Whites DF and have also wrote a book on it. It is at the top of my list just the cost/warranty issue rates up there with my now useless Excal. Can you tell me why I should NOT buy the Infinium LS or the Tesoro Sand Shark (lifetime warranty) ? I need a water machine and hunt primarily in the Texas gulf coast.

authors response:
Dude,
I'm sorry I'm not "Dear Abbey".

my brothers reply:
Hey, sorry for your time, I know you are like the guru and you are willing to help out everyone and everyone respects your responses. I was in a PI forum reading some of your responses and thought hey I would email him. Forgive me DUDE it won't happen again. Take care Buddy.

 

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[Tank69]

Re: Why I won't buy another book from this author.

I just read it to the Red head an her mouth dropped open like mine did an all she said was wow, ya wow......not a reply you'd expect an I'd sure be sendin him a copy of this post so he knows it dont pay to be an ass ,I think we need his name so the rest of us dont give him any money either

 

[jeff of pa]

Re: Why I won't buy another book from this author.

I have a hunch who it Is.

& I Know what you Mean.
He is very self Involved.

If i'm wrong then Maybe all
Writers of Help books are Like this.

 

[jb7487]

Re: Why I won't buy another book from this author.

I'm sorry, but why would your brother email a complete stranger about a purchasing decision? Why does your brother think that he is so special as to warrant special attention from this author? The author could certainly have put it nicer but he is right on the money. He isn't dear abbey and he isn't your brother's special advisor. He has better things to do with his time than go around and answer all of these emails from people asking what type of machine to buy.

You may think I'm being cranky but I recently spent some time out on Eric Foster's PI forum. It is supposed to be a place to find out about PI technology. But instead, it is filled with idiots asking "should I buy machine A or machine B?". I'm surprised that Eric puts up with it. All it does is degrade the forum.

So there are plenty of places your brother can go to to ask inconsequential questions about which PI machine to buy. No one can give him a definitive answer anyway so emailing an author and expecting anything other than an "I don't know" is asking quite a bit in my opinion. These guys have lives too and I can't imagine that he has any real input anyway. His curt response probably shows that he gets dozens of these types of emails and is probably simply tired of people who over step their bounds. Quite frankly, I don't blame him.

Finally, what kind of question is that anyway?! "I know you like machine A but I'm going with machine B instead. Tell me why you think your machine is so darned good that I should give it a second look". I'd be pissed too. Evidently the guy likes his machine and has written about it. And your brother tells him that he isn't going to buy it because he thinks the company has poor warranty service or defective products (if I read that correctly). And then you expect the guy to come back and give you decent advice on what to purchase?!?! Get serious!

 

[txkickergirl]

Re: Why I won't buy another book from this author.

I think that you can pretty much figure out who it is without me posting the name. The first book I bought was to help increase my knowledge of the sovereign, since the manual isn't real helpful, but I went back through the book after purchasing my excal, and since added two more books from him to my collection. Maybe he was just having a crappy day, but still it was rude.

.

 

[jb7487]

Re: Why I won't buy another book from this author.

Yes, "I don't know" or "you should buy what you feel the most comfortable with" would be better "non-responses". I don't know who the guy is and I have no problem believing that he could be a jerk. But the OP's brother certainly didn't give the author any reason to want to help him. But maybe I'm just one of those people who considers email to be more personal. I consider it no different than a phone call. If the OP's brother had called the guy on the phone instead would you feel any differently about his response? If some complete stranger called YOU on the phone and asked what PI machine to buy instead of the one you like, what would you say to him?

 

[txkickergirl]

Re: Why I won't buy another book from this author.

I'm sorry, but why would your brother email a complete stranger about a purchasing decision? Why does your brother think that he is so special as to warrant special attention from this author? The author could certainly have put it nicer but he is right on the money. He isn't dear abbey and he isn't your brother's special advisor. He has better things to do with his time than go around and answer all of these emails from people asking what type of machine to buy.

You may think I'm being cranky but I recently spent some time out on Eric Foster's PI forum. It is supposed to be a place to find out about PI technology. But instead, it is filled with idiots asking "should I buy machine A or machine B?". I'm surprised that Eric puts up with it. All it does is degrade the forum.

So there are plenty of places your brother can go to to ask inconsequential questions about which PI machine to buy. No one can give him a definitive answer anyway so emailing an author and expecting anything other than an "I don't know" is asking quite a bit in my opinion. These guys have lives too and I can't imagine that he has any real input anyway. His curt response probably shows that he gets dozens of these types of emails and is probably simply tired of people who over step their bounds. Quite frankly, I don't blame him.

He was asking an expert who has used all 3 machines and has written 8 books on metal detecting, what made the whites the top choice in his opinion. He did not email this guy direct from the book...he emailed him off a forum where the guy is active. Like if you posted something here and I had questions or wanted more info, I would PM you. I wouldn't want to bother the person on the phone because they do have a personal life, but I wouldn't hesitate to shoot off an email to ask the opinion, and whenever he could get around to it he could answer.

 

[jeff of pa]

Re: Why I won't buy another book from this author.

I sent you a PM with a Name.

I'd guess I'm Right

 

[jeff of pa]

Re: Why I won't buy another book from this author.

I sent you a PM with a Name.

I'd guess I'm Right

Well I was Wrong They must all be that way

 

[txkickergirl]

Re: Why I won't buy another book from this author.

nope, but maybe they are all like that

 

[Timberwolf]

Re: Why I won't buy another book from this author.

I don't know the author or anything about him, but it sounds to me like he was being a jerk!

A kind man would have tried to help, even if he didn't know the person asking.
That is my opinion, for what it's worth.

Timberwolf

 

[jb7487]

Re: Why I won't buy another book from this author.

Like if you posted something here and I had questions or wanted more info, I would PM you.

And that would annoy me...

Sorry, some people just don't like PM's, emails, or phone calls from strangers. I can be active in a forum and not want to receive a bunch of unsolicited questions from people I don't know. But I'm cranky that way sometimes. Different people have different ideas on what is considered crossing the line in these types of scenarios. I work in technology and have a pretty good reputation for being an authority on a specific vertical in the industry. And sometimes I get unsolicited emails from people asking me to solve their problems for them. I am always courteous and let them know that they will pretty much have to solve their own problems. I get paid to do what I do and it is frustrating to have people wanting you to give them all of the answers without having to do any of the work or pay for it. It's a different scenario than what your brother is asking. But he is still asking someone else to spend time helping him instead of just doing the work himself.

Again, I don't know this guy. Perhaps he really is full of himself and is a real jerk. If so, then he deserves the bad publicity. If Jeff is right about who he thinks the author is then it sounds like he has treated others badly before. In that case it may eventually catch up with him. But he likely won't attribute it to his own actions and just blame others instead. That's the way people like that usually are.

 

[txkickergirl]

Re: Why I won't buy another book from this author.

Maybe the guy is bi polar, because my brother said he had talked to the guy one other time and asked what kind of scoop he was using because it was unusual looking and not one he had seen on the market. The guy told him it was a custom scoop and the guy even sent him several more pics of the scoop. Maybe the reason he did this was because he was going to start marketing these scoops as well as books.

 

[BuckleBoy]

Re: Why I won't buy another book from this author.

He was asking an expert who has used all 3 machines and has written 8 books on metal detecting, what made the whites the top choice in his opinion. He did not email this guy direct from the book...he emailed him off a forum where the guy is active. Like if you posted something here and I had questions or wanted more info, I would PM you. I wouldn't want to bother the person on the phone because they do have a personal life, but I wouldn't hesitate to shoot off an email to ask the opinion, and whenever he could get around to it he could answer.

Exactly!

I answer every PM I receive here--from which machine to recommend, to IDing finds, to finding sites, to techniques--you name it. I get around to answering every message sooner or later.


And I don't claim to be an expert...or write books on detecting to sell.


The guy is a jerk. And I want to know who it is, so that I can blacklist his books.



-Buck

 

[jeff of pa]

Re: Why I won't buy another book from this author.

I'v also told many it's not the type of
Question I Can answer Or "Best thing to do
is Post the Question"

But I always hope I am at least taken
as civil even when i'm short & to the point.

 

[BuckleBoy]

Re: Why I won't buy another book from this author.

I'v also told many it's not the type of
Question I Can answer Or "Best thing to do
is Post the Question"

But I always hope I am at least taken
as civil even when i'm short & to the point.

On any forum, the most valuable thing (and arguably the only thing) one can take away from the experience is the help received and the knowledge learned. The pats on the back will fade over time, and so will the "nice finds" replies. But even just looking at the photos here is valuable learning--learning what is possible.

Which is why I try to help when asked. Being kind enough to answer messages goes a long way.

What gets my goat is that this guy didn't write some dry history book or even a book of tired old treasure "leads." It was a "help book." I would question anything in such a publication, since it's obvious that this guy is only in the "help" business to make a quick buck.

I can hardly imagine that he is such a Celebrity that folks are piling up the e-mails in his inbox and flooding his phone with calls.


-Buck

 

[txkickergirl]

Re: Why I won't buy another book from this author.

The reason I didn't post the name is I don't want to discourage others from buying his books, they have a ton a really useful info in them that you just won't get from a manual or the dvd that comes with your machine, and if applied you can really get an edge over the competition. It just irks me that people can dismiss or be rude others.

OH YEAH JB, I sent you a PM J/K

 

[jb7487]

Re: Why I won't buy another book from this author.

OH YEAH JB, I sent you a PM

What do I look like... DEAR ABBEY!!!

I still tend to believe that it was the nature of the question your brother asked. Let's assume the author is full of himself and has a big ego. When your brother asked him about his scoop he was stroking the author's ego. The author was happy to tell others about the cool scoop he had invented or had custom made for him. But when your brother essentially tells the author that he doesn't believe the author's favorite PI machine is a good buy (for various reasons), now he is hurting the author's ego. The author probably didn't have any concrete reasons why your brother was wrong so to save his ego he just told your brother to get lost. If he had good reasons why his favorite machine was much better then he may have stated them in the email. But in this case there probably is no really good reason to choose one specific PI machine over another for the scenario in question.

Of course, I have no way of knowing for sure. But what I do know is that metal detectorists are very touchy about their purchase decisions. They don't like someone else telling them that they've made a mistake and that a different detector is a better buy. I don't know why that is really. But it is obvious by reading a lot of the posts out here. People will cling to their favorite detector and fight tooth and nail to show that it was the best purchase decision they could have made.

I'll let it go. I can see where your brother's question could be taken the wrong way and even make the author feel like it was a blow to his ego in a way. But the author should have at least been courteous even when giving a "non-response".

 

[txkickergirl]

Re: Why I won't buy another book from this author.

yeah I can see that point where the author had taken what he wrote a little wrong. Or maybe its an ego complex..I will never have that problem because I hope I never get so good at metal detecting that I think I know it all and stop learning. Because that would suck all the joy right out of it. As much as I hate those bottlecaps and pull tabs, it just makes something like a ring(even when they are junk) so much sweeter.

I know my brother didn't mean it like that because the Whites is on the top of his list for a PI, he just wanted a little more feedback on the 3 machines. He loves the fact that tesorro has a lifetime guarantee, so he don't find himself in the same boat as with the excal, but if the machine lacks performance in salt water(which is what he has been told) even though its a salt water machine it wouldn't make sense to buy it. The same with the LS, if it runs too hot in the ocean then you miss alot. Now the whites although have made outstanding land machines, they have had some problems with the water ones. I think he was just hoping for something like all of them are great machines, but the whites seems to run more stable in the salt water, and goes a little deeper or the difference between the tesoro and whites are:. I am sure he has emailed others that run the machines and asked what they thought their pro and cons are, like anyone you want to be an informed buyer, and I would think asking the question to someone who has written a book exclusively about finding gold with a pi machine would be a likely choice.
The way I see it, if he didn't want to answer the question it would of been better to just have not replied. No reason to go all dear abbey on him. lol

 

[how u do n]

Re: Why I won't buy another book from this author.

I hear the Sand Shark is a very good salt water machine.
Whereas the Tiger Shark is a very good fresh water machine.
I hope this will help
hh gl
dan