Best route for a used MD?

[Libralabsoldier]

Ok, here is my quandary:

I am slowly putting together another "toy fund" now that I am back from Iraq. I only want two boy toys: An older (pre 1980) Honda motorcycle and a metal detector.

I do not want to spend much for either of these items, but since I have been gone, it seems that A)everyone is selling off their toys, and B)everyone is asking elevated sums for them. I have seen nonworking motorcycles being attempted to be sold for more than they were originally. I have seen RadioShack kids MDs being sold on EBay for over a hundred bucks with lots of bids.

I am not a picky guy, but the crazy thing is, I cannot seem to find something even remotely in my price range. When I got my first MD, I was able to get it for under a hundred bucks. True, it was a BH, but it worked great for what I wanted it for.

I am trying to sell or barter off a lot of my OIF gear I brought back with me along with some other army stuff to build my toy fund, but seem to be attracting little but insulting lowball offers there as well.

I guess I will just hang on and try not to get discouraged and just keep saving.

 

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[Siegfried Schlagrule]

most of the top line detectors can be found in the local trader paper at half of
issue price or less. Many detectors end up in pawn shops. Some dealers take trade-ins
and offer the used ones cheap. Ebay lists a number of used detectors. If you will check out
collect.com they have links to classifieds in antique trader and others including military trader.
Go there and see if there are any buy ads for what you are selling. Thank you for
your service. Welcome home brother and good luck. siegfried schlagrule

 

[Libralabsoldier]

NOt to sound ungrateful, but there is no need to thank me for my service. I missed my wife and kid, but I was paid really well, and I was safe. Those guys who risk their lives daily, doing route clearance, searching caves in Afghanistan...those guys are real heroes.

 

[UncleVinnys]

Siegfried is right - try those local (garage sale-type) papers.
Also try a free ad on Craig's list.
You'd be surprised how many people have an old detector laying around they are willing to part with.

Do not put the Craigslist ad under WANTED - nobody looks there.
Put it under FOR SALE in electronics, and again in Sports, and in the title
put the words WANTED TO BUY. You get many more lookers that way.
Good luck.

 

[George (MN)]

Libralabsoldier, I would guess from your post your metal detector budget is under $200 if you buy now. For about $200 you could buy a new detector like Fisher F2, Garrett Ace 250, or White's Prism II.

I don't know how you would feel about buying a Chinese detector. The distributor www.gold-century.com has the GC-1023 for $59.95 shipped & many say it's fairly decent & a real bargain. It has a 1 year distributor warranty.

Some of the Radio Shack units are essentially repainted Bounty Hunters & go cheap on eBay. Some Radio Shack units are as you say just toys with poor depth & discrimination.

Some of the older units by major mfrs (Fisher, Garrett, White's) go cheap on eBay as well. They're usually heavier than newer units & may require more batteries. Depth may or may not be close to the current models.

Bounty Hunter still makes some detectors for under $100. They lack some features & depth compared to higher-priced detectors (I'm not sure exactly of your minimum requirements).

If you have any questions about specifics models or whatever, I'm sure you'll get lots of responses here. Hope you can get back into the hobby soon. HH, George (MN)

 

[truckinbutch]

NOt to sound ungrateful, but there is no need to thank me for my service. I missed my wife and kid, but I was paid really well, and I was safe. Those guys who risk their lives daily, doing route clearance, searching caves in Afghanistan...those guys are real heroes.

Soldier , you put yourself in harm's way by being there and we respect you for that .
Hold on to the gear that you brought back when it's a buyer's market because of volume today . Look what original WW1,WW2,Korea, and 'Nam gear with provenance bring now . It will be worth more in years to come .
Asking price for used detectors today is desperation . The market is right to buy 'toys' at your price .......HAGGLE! Be surprised how cheap great things have become in desperate times .