So... Please tell me Why does a metal detector cost $2499 again?

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el padron

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If I accidentally sweat onto the face of my Minelab SGT, I'll never know if its actually working correctly ever again.

Well, I detect in Mexico, and for reasons that I have outlined in another thread I would like to supplement my Minelab Sovereign GT with a more ideal “south of the border “ unit. Well I think I’ve narrowed it down, and do you know what actually motivated me to choose the one I am considering? Well besides the good reputation and reputable manufacturer, I know that if a Mexican lifeguard or Policeman ever considers taking it from me, I will have a very good chance of getting it back. The reason I know this is because this particular detector, (One of the most well thought of and most popular made today,) looks and feels like about $4 worth of plastic coupled with $12 worth of cheap electronics. You see, even a Mexican Lifeguard or policeman who earns $600 dollars a month knows when he’s holding something that is incredibly cheaply made.

What are you doing?
Metal detecting.
Does this thing work?
No just screwing around, really haven't found anything.
Well your detector feels like a piece of junk, so enjoy your day amigo....
 

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Treasure_Hunter

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Jul 27, 2006
48,455
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Detector(s) used
Minelab_Equinox_ 800 Minelab_CTX-3030 Minelab_Excal_1000 Minelab_Sovereign_GT Minelab_Safari Minelab_ETrac Whites_Beach_Hunter_ID Fisher_1235_X
Primary Interest:
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If I accidentally sweat onto the face of my Minelab SGT, I'll never know if its actually working correctly ever again.

Well, I detect in Mexico, and for reasons that I have outlined in another thread I would like to supplement my Minelab Sovereign GT with a more ideal “south of the border “ unit. Well I think I’ve narrowed it down, and do you know what actually motivated me to choose the one I am considering? Well besides the good reputation and reputable manufacturer, I know that if a Mexican lifeguard or Policeman ever considers taking it from me, I will have a very good chance of getting it back. The reason I know this is because this particular detector, (One of the most well thought of and most popular made today,) looks and feels like about $4 worth of plastic coupled with $12 worth of cheap electronics. You see, even a Mexican Lifeguard or policeman who earns $600 dollars a month knows when he’s holding something that is incredibly cheaply made.

What are you doing?
Metal detecting.
Does this thing work?
No just screwing around, really haven't found anything.
Well your detector feels like a piece of mierda, so enjoy your day amigo....

I have been using Sov GT for over 6 years and never had issue and I hunt saltwater beaches with it.








American by birth, Patriot by choice.

I would rather die standing on my two feet defending our Constitution than live a lifetime on my knees......
 

Treasure_Hunter

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Staff member
Jul 27, 2006
48,455
54,889
Florida
Detector(s) used
Minelab_Equinox_ 800 Minelab_CTX-3030 Minelab_Excal_1000 Minelab_Sovereign_GT Minelab_Safari Minelab_ETrac Whites_Beach_Hunter_ID Fisher_1235_X
Primary Interest:
All Treasure Hunting
If I accidentally sweat onto the face of my Minelab SGT, I'll never know if its actually working correctly ever again.

Well, I detect in Mexico, and for reasons that I have outlined in another thread I would like to supplement my Minelab Sovereign GT with a more ideal “south of the border “ unit. Well I think I’ve narrowed it down, and do you know what actually motivated me to choose the one I am considering? Well besides the good reputation and reputable manufacturer, I know that if a Mexican lifeguard or Policeman ever considers taking it from me, I will have a very good chance of getting it back. The reason I know this is because this particular detector, (One of the most well thought of and most popular made today,) looks and feels like about $4 worth of plastic coupled with $12 worth of cheap electronics. You see, even a Mexican Lifeguard or policeman who earns $600 dollars a month knows when he’s holding something that is incredibly cheaply made.

What are you doing?
Metal detecting.
Does this thing work?
No just screwing around, really haven't found anything.
Well your detector feels like a piece of junk, so enjoy your day amigo....








American by birth, Patriot by choice.

I would rather die standing on my two feet defending our Constitution than live a lifetime on my knees......
 

Treasure_Hunter

Administrator
Staff member
Jul 27, 2006
48,455
54,889
Florida
Detector(s) used
Minelab_Equinox_ 800 Minelab_CTX-3030 Minelab_Excal_1000 Minelab_Sovereign_GT Minelab_Safari Minelab_ETrac Whites_Beach_Hunter_ID Fisher_1235_X
Primary Interest:
All Treasure Hunting
Please remember our language rules applies to all languages...






American by birth, Patriot by choice.

I would rather die standing on my two feet defending our Constitution than live a lifetime on my knees......
 

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el padron

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Oct 29, 2010
920
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Southern California
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The content of this space is contingent upon principals acceptance, execution and or final disposition / funding of an approved product endorsement agreement
Primary Interest:
Other
Ok..sorry
 

Frankn

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Mar 21, 2010
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simple reasons
-VOLUME The more you sell, the cheaper you sell it. This is a low volume market.
-Monopoly Most of the brands out there are owned by one company.
-As stated above"GREED". If you buy a big name, you pay a big price. The pro pointer sells for $160 list. The HF pinpointer sells for $18. The both do the same thing and the HF's have fewer problems.

I guess you could say the mfgr's operate on the P T Barnum principal. Frank...
hand print-2_edited-5.jpg
 

roaddust66

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Sep 22, 2013
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ElPadron , there are lots of hams on here. we know what you are saying about handheld vhf/uhf tranceivers. yes they got cheap. The hf rigs have not though
 

Treasure_Hunter

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Jul 27, 2006
48,455
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Minelab_Equinox_ 800 Minelab_CTX-3030 Minelab_Excal_1000 Minelab_Sovereign_GT Minelab_Safari Minelab_ETrac Whites_Beach_Hunter_ID Fisher_1235_X
Primary Interest:
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simple reasons
-VOLUME The more you sell, the cheaper you sell it. This is a low volume market.
-Monopoly Most of the brands out there are owned by one company.
-As stated above"GREED". If you buy a big name, you pay a big price. The pro pointer sells for $160 list. The HF pinpointer sells for $18. The both do the same thing and the HF's have fewer problems.

I guess you could say the mfgr's operate on the P T Barnum principal. Frank...
View attachment 957872

The HF point pointer does not even compare to a quality pinpointer. I get over 6 inches depth with my Detectorpro Uniprobe, had it over 3 years with no problems and over 3+ inches on the Vulcan from Kellyco.

It is like comparing a Yugo to Mazda, Ford or Chevrolet...






American by birth, Patriot by choice.

I would rather die standing on my two feet defending our Constitution than live a lifetime on my knees......
 

Jason in Enid

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Oct 10, 2009
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There seems to be no shortage of people suffering from "sour grapes". They can't afford an E-Trac or CTX so therefore they MUST be overpriced junk, right? WRONG! If they weren't worth the price, everyone who bought one would have turned around and sold them off and bought something different. Soon the entire line would die as word spread. The truth is that almost every single person who uses a top of the line detector LOVES it's abilities to more accurately ID deep targets.

What you keep referring to as "being built like junk" is what we call "light weight" so we can detect without fatigue. The days of steel control boxes died out decades ago for a very good reason!
 

Fletch88

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Mar 7, 2013
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Why are some hookers $100.00 a shot, and others are $1,200.00 a shot? The end result is the same, but the ride is a lot different.. :hello:

Lol! Lot of truth to that so I've heard!
 

jeff of pa

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There seems to be no shortage of people suffering from "sour grapes". They can't afford an E-Trac or CTX so therefore they MUST be overpriced junk, right? WRONG! If they weren't worth the price, everyone who bought one would have turned around and sold them off and bought something different. Soon the entire line would die as word spread. The truth is that almost every single person who uses a top of the line detector LOVES it's abilities to more accurately ID deep targets. What you keep referring to as "being built like junk" is what we call "light weight" so we can detect without fatigue. The days of steel control boxes died out decades ago for a very good reason!

first off , at least imo overpriced junk do not belong in the same sentence unless separated by Context.

I still think the top of the line detectors are way overpriced.

But they are certainly not Junk.

I think 75% if not more of the price is pure profit being spread from
manufacturer thru Dealer.

I wouldn't be surprised if it costs the exact same amout to make an entry level detector as a top of the Line detector with the exception of a few cents a piece for the extra componnents
 

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Alan Applegate

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Aug 20, 2013
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One point that needs to be made about any quality detector—it isn't any better than the person swinging it! Typically, the more expensive models have a steeper learning curve than lesser expensive ones which can be a major consideration for many users.
 

jeff of pa

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One point that needs to be made about any quality detector—it isn't any better than the person swinging it! Typically, the more expensive models have a steeper learning curve than lesser expensive ones which can be a major consideration for many users.

Bells & Whistles :laughing7:

as you said, it all depends on the users ability to understand what it's saying.

But of course if it's limited on it's Speach , there is the difference
 

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JunkShopFiddler

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Feb 15, 2013
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But no one needs to spend 1500 for a detector, you can still get a new detector from 25 to 50 dollars from Elenco...I started detecting in 1980 and I don't remember new 25 dollar detectors back then...Depends on the features, the company literature says these detectors have a "beep alert" (they beep when you find something) just like my 1980's Master Hunter did! And it cost $699. Prices are comin' down!

90Metal Detector 2_150x.gif 90Treasure Metal Detector_150x.gif
 

Jason in Enid

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Oct 10, 2009
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first off , at least imo overpriced junk do not belong in the same sentence unless separated by Context. I still think the top of the line detectors are way overpriced. But they are certainly not Junk. I think 75% if not more of the price is pure profit being spread from manufacturer thru Dealer. I wouldn't be surprised if it costs the exact same amout to make an entry level detector as a top of the Line detector with the exception of a few cents a piece for the extra componnents

I'm sure it costs about the same to produce a CTX as is does to produce a xterra 305 (or whatever their lowest priced model is). But don't forget that R&D is very expensive and that cost is passed along to the consumer as well. I'm sure they could easily sell the CTX for much less and still makes a profit, unfortunately they found they don't have to. Thye rolled it out at a $2500 price point and people stood in line to throw their cash at it. So now we are stuck, and the other manufacturers have taken notice. Garret rolled out their $$$$ ATX, and I'm sure the next White's will be equally expensive. You can't put the genie back in the bottle.
 

SilverFinger

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Apr 17, 2008
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There's a LOT of engineering that goes into these machines. A LOT of R&D and manufacturing, and let's face it, the hobby isn't that big. I sometimes wonder how the manufacturers stay afloat and offer the kind of cutting edge technology that they do. A metal detector isn't as ubiquitous as say a mobile phone but packs darn near the same high-tech components. I wouldn't/couldn't pay $2500 for a detector, but for a hobby that pays for itself over times, $1000 isn't a lot of money. Some people spend that in a day with model trains or whatever their hobby might be. Just my 2 cents...
 

jeff of pa

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I'm sure it costs about the same to produce a CTX as is does to produce a xterra 305 (or whatever their lowest priced model is). But don't forget that R&D is very expensive and that cost is passed along to the consumer as well. I'm sure they could easily sell the CTX for much less and still makes a profit, unfortunately they found they don't have to. Thye rolled it out at a $2500 price point and people stood in line to throw their cash at it. So now we are stuck, and the other manufacturers have taken notice. Garret rolled out their $$$$ ATX, and I'm sure the next White's will be equally expensive. You can't put the genie back in the bottle.

Exactly ! I wish when these companies advertise a new detector & say order in advance & will tell you the price
when they are released would be ignored till they List the Price.

sad thing when they have thousands of Pre Orders these companies know they can charge what ever they want :(
 

MetalDetectorDude

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Oct 9, 2013
113
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Tesoro Silver Umax, AT Pro, Etrac, Ace 350
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Because people will pay that much for it. It's nuts to pay that kind of money for a coin hunter, unless you just have money to burn. Look at the Tesoro Vaq, it will hit on anything a CTX will hit on, but it won't give you a pretty reading, which can be (and often is), wrong. How much is a Vaq? About $450.
 

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