How Much Would YOU Pay

Dick Stout

Full Member
Mar 23, 2006
240
70
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MXT, V3
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I just posted this question on my website/blog, and thought I would also post it here. Curious as to your thoughts....

HOW MUCH WOULD YOU PAY?
After many years in this field I have come to the conclusion that the only way we can fight city hall is with a strong national organization. Yes, we have a few now, but we need ONE to do the talking and ONE to do the fighting. I have also come to the conlcusion that for this group to ever be effective it has to be a full time job for them with "paid" employees.

We can continue on as we have in the past, and attempt to right the wrongs with emails, letters, phone calls, etc., but it seems to be a long, drawn out, and mostly ineffective process. Yes, we win one or two here and there, but we also lose far to many. Frankly we need to put our money where our mouth is, and by that I mean, how much are you willing to pay to have such an organization fighting for you?

I say this with no agenda. I don't care which of the main groups out there take on this task. Just that it has to be full time, and it must be fully funded. So tell me, how much are you willing to pay, to have this group represent you? An NRA membership is $25 per year. Are you willing to shell out that much? I say "that much" because I suspect a lot of you would ***** at that, but hey it's a little over $2.00 per month.... Likewise the metal detector manufacturers would have to pony up too.

If you are reading this, and have an opinion or a suggestion, go to my blog and leave a comment. I believe it's time for all of us to put up or shut up.

Thanks for reading,


DS
Stout Standards
www.stoutstandards.wordpress.com
 

Gold Maven

Bronze Member
Jul 4, 2012
2,286
2,101
Holmes County Ohio
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Tesoro Lobo
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When you say "us" do you mean, miners, metal detectorists, bottle diggers, prehistoric artifact collectors, treasure hunters, etc. ?
 

OP
OP
Dick Stout

Dick Stout

Full Member
Mar 23, 2006
240
70
Southwest
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MXT, V3
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Yep, anyone that would benefit from one very strong and effective organization.
 

OP
OP
Dick Stout

Dick Stout

Full Member
Mar 23, 2006
240
70
Southwest
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MXT, V3
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No extortion, just wondering how much this pastime is really worth to those who enjoy it. Have been trying for years to organize it, and not interested in doing it now. There are groups out there who are trying....but they cannot do it without total involvement and committment from the detectorist and the manufacturer.

Sure would like to see these comments posted on my blog. I will be sharing them anyway...you could save me time by going their first.
 

TreasureWriter

Full Member
Nov 13, 2011
147
72
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I don't believe that we need anymore "self regulating authorities" that claim they are representing the rights of the masses of people. Personally, I don't need anyone to represent me or say that they are representing me without my permission. I can represent myself in all that I do. I see too many of these organizations that end up acting as a barrier to entry to those wanting to participate for their own benefit. e.g. non-profits that pay huge salaries to their managers from members dues, corrupt unions, home owners associations and professional organizations such as the American Society of Home Inspectors that claims to self regulate the home inspection industry without any legal authority. These organizations are all about power and greed and the desire to control others.

No thank you. I'm not interested in another controlling organization.

Cheers
:occasion14:
 

spartacus53

Banned
Jul 5, 2009
10,503
1,073
Whiting, NJ
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Ace 250
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treasurewriter, I'm with you on this :icon_thumleft: Then again, I thought I could make a quick buck through intimidation :laughing7:

BTW, not all non-profit groups are like that, just the larger ones Red Cross, UNICEF, and United Way lead the way to ripping off contributions. Salvation Army sends 96% of its contributions to helping people :icon_thumleft:

I want something done, I'll tackle it myself

I wonder what the OP take will be for helping to organize a ripoff :laughing9:
 

Keppy

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Nov 19, 2006
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** WHAT ONE I FEEL LIKE ON HUNTING DAY *****
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treasurewriter, I'm with you on this :icon_thumleft: Then again, I thought I could make a quick buck through intimidation :laughing7:

BTW, not all non-profit groups are like that, just the larger ones Red Cross, UNICEF, and United Way lead the way to ripping off contributions. Salvation Army sends 96% of its contributions to helping people :icon_thumleft:

I want something done, I'll tackle it myself

I wonder what the OP take will be for helping to organize a ripoff :laughing9:
And ...spartacus.... You are right on there also....
 

Keppy

Gold Member
Nov 19, 2006
8,318
2,870
N.E. Ohio on lake Erie
Detector(s) used
** WHAT ONE I FEEL LIKE ON HUNTING DAY *****
Primary Interest:
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I don't believe that we need anymore "self regulating authorities" that claim they are representing the rights of the masses of people. Personally, I don't need anyone to represent me or say that they are representing me without my permission. I can represent myself in all that I do. I see too many of these organizations that end up acting as a barrier to entry to those wanting to participate for their own benefit. e.g. non-profits that pay huge salaries to their managers from members dues, corrupt unions, home owners associations and professional organizations such as the American Society of Home Inspectors that claims to self regulate the home inspection industry without any legal authority. These organizations are all about power and greed and the desire to control others.

No thank you. I'm not interested in another controlling organization.

Cheers
:occasion14:
...TreasureWriter ... You are right on every thing you said there.... And i agree 100% with you....
 

OP
OP
Dick Stout

Dick Stout

Full Member
Mar 23, 2006
240
70
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MXT, V3
Primary Interest:
All Treasure Hunting
Thanks for the thoughtful responses. Will pass along....
 

Beans

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May 31, 2008
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None. I would not want to belong to an organization that would have some one like me as a member.
 

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gleaner1

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Feb 1, 2009
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Gateway to the 1000 Islands
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Woody Allen says the same line in Annie Hall so foolishly I think it's his line. Shame on Woody for that. And shame on me for crediting a great one-liner to the washed up hack, Woody Allen (Woody if you are reading this, I am just kidding, you are a hilarious!). I'm not old enough to know the Marx Bros. :laughing7: Thanks Spart for the edjuhmacation. It proves the old adage. You learn something new every day. Barnum, this is a great post, certainly not worthy of these ramblings. I cant come up with a response other than I am not prohibited from tectin local parks and schools and playgrounds and ball fields and fairgrounds and such. Not yet. I dont see it in the near future. I think tectin should be legal in national parks. No, really. I see nothing against it. If I could help change that I would. But right now, most people have no problem finding and getting permission to hunt very good old sites. That's the rub.
 

maipenrai

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Nov 11, 2010
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It sounds like a good idea, but it might end up with "permits" to dig, bottles, coins or other things. I think we are much too independent for this sort of thing. Of course NRA is also made up of independent type people, but how do CHR's, bottle diggers, flea market diggers, have anything in common? This would be more for metal detecting and other cache hunting only. Maybe opening up the federal lands for detecting, would be something for this kind of organisation, and I would go as far as opening war sites also for detecting. To whos advantage are the bullets and buttons laying buried around the country?

Probably what would happen with an organization like this, is that some kind of permit would be required to detect, and that would only be given to "members" of the organization. What would that accomplish, except keep someone in a nice salary. Just as unions are concerned only with its voting members, the same would be a for a "metal detecting association".

Like to see some ideas of what this association would be trying to accomplish, not just grab some power, to "represent" all of us dirt diggers, (and water diggers).
 

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bazinga

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Oct 31, 2005
2,966
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High Five!
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NRA.... Now that's a bad example. They have 4.3 million members. So with over 1 billion dollars coming in a year just from membership, of course they can have full time employees and real influence.

Let's be EXTREMELY optimistic here and say you could get 10,000 members to pay $25. That's $250,000 coming in. That's not enough to have full time employees and be useful.

Now here is reality... I live in the 12th largest city in the country. We have around 30 members in our club paying $25/year. Our club covers a population of about 2 million people. That's not even enough for me to call it a fraction of a percent. It's less than that. So let's take that .000015 times by roughly 300 million people in this country. That's 4,500 people. Now what percentage of THOSE people would be willing to pay $25 for something that they see no DIRECT benefit from? At least our club will hook you up with some cookies and pop each month.
 

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