Coil prices

Icewing

Silver Member
Jan 5, 2016
2,633
5,494
NW Arkanslaw
Detector(s) used
Minelab Equinox 900 / Garrett PropointerAT.
Primary Interest:
All Treasure Hunting
Upvote 0

Digger RJ

Gold Member
Aug 24, 2017
19,508
33,615
SW Missouri/Oklahoma
🥇 Banner finds
1
🏆 Honorable Mentions:
2
Detector(s) used
Minelab CTX 3030; Minelab Equinox 800;
XP Deus 2
Primary Interest:
All Treasure Hunting
Guess it's kind of like razors. You have to have them and the costs hurt.
 

Loco-Digger

Gold Member
Jun 16, 2014
11,827
17,744
Northern O-H-I-O
🥇 Banner finds
1
Detector(s) used
F75 LTD, 1280X Aquanaut, & a Patriot (back-up/loaner)
Primary Interest:
Metal Detecting
Why can you buy a coffee for a buck at most places, but others, it' cost 5 bucks? Supply and demand plus marketing. They need to cover their overhead, the cost of the engineers to design the product and the molds, the plastic and to cover their molders prices. They have warehouse associates, packaging, real property, taxes. They have marketing expenses, R&D expenses, and so on.
 

3cylbill

Hero Member
Jul 2, 2015
844
1,424
s.tier NY
Detector(s) used
TESORO, MINELAB, WHITES , GARRETT
Primary Interest:
Metal Detecting
One good find will pay for a new coil ....just sayin
 

sprailroad

Silver Member
Jan 19, 2017
2,639
4,122
Grants Pass, Oregon
Detector(s) used
Garrett A3B United States Gold Hunter, GTA 1000, AT Pro, Discovery Treasure Baron "Gold Trax", Minelab X-Terra 70, Safari, & EQ 800, & Nokta Marko Legend. EQ 900.
Primary Interest:
All Treasure Hunting
I just wish someone could explain to me why it costs as much to buy a coil, which is basically two strips of wire wrapped around a plastic hoop, as it costs to buy a new 4K Smart TV. :icon_scratch:
I feel the same way about tires.
 

OP
OP
Icewing

Icewing

Silver Member
Jan 5, 2016
2,633
5,494
NW Arkanslaw
Detector(s) used
Minelab Equinox 900 / Garrett PropointerAT.
Primary Interest:
All Treasure Hunting
If it were a situation of supply and demand, explain this....

nintchdbpict000368827978.jpg
 

RW

Hero Member
Feb 7, 2007
922
993
Fort Worth'ish
Detector(s) used
Golden uMax w/CleanSweep - XP Deus
Primary Interest:
Cache Hunting
If you went into the coil making business would you be satisfied selling them for $20 each and doubling your money or would you be greedy and sell them for half what competitors charge at $200 each?


If it were a situation of supply and demand, explain this....

View attachment 1519651
 

Tom_in_CA

Gold Member
Mar 23, 2007
13,837
10,360
Salinas, CA
🥇 Banner finds
2
Detector(s) used
Explorer II, Compass 77b, Tesoro shadow X2
Why can you buy a coffee for a buck at most places, but others, it' cost 5 bucks? Supply and demand plus marketing. They need to cover their overhead, the cost of the engineers to design the product and the molds, the plastic and to cover their molders prices. They have warehouse associates, packaging, real property, taxes. They have marketing expenses, R&D expenses, and so on.

Loco-digger, your inputs are usually always spot-on. Yes, as a business owner, I immediately spotted this logic too. A business owner (coil manufacturer or whatever) does NOT just have the cost of the "2 wires and strips of plastic", blah blah. They have overhead that goes far and away over that. Insurance, housing for the facilities that make them, insurance, etc......

And let's just suppose for one moment that that business owner DID make a profit far exceeding his input. Ok, .... so what ? Since when is that wrong ? That's what he's in business for after all. His business could have "gone south" and failed to turn a profit (business ventures fail all the time). So he SHOULD be adequately rewarded for his $$ investment risk .
 

Loco-Digger

Gold Member
Jun 16, 2014
11,827
17,744
Northern O-H-I-O
🥇 Banner finds
1
Detector(s) used
F75 LTD, 1280X Aquanaut, & a Patriot (back-up/loaner)
Primary Interest:
Metal Detecting
If it were a situation of supply and demand, explain this....

View attachment 1519651

Here is how I explain that.

Black Friday: because only in America people trample each other for sales exactly one day after being thankful for what they already have.
 

Last edited:

Terry Soloman

Gold Member
May 28, 2010
19,419
30,082
White Plains, New York
🥇 Banner finds
1
🏆 Honorable Mentions:
1
Detector(s) used
Nokta Makro Legend// Pulsedive// Minelab GPZ 7000// Vanquish 540// Minelab Pro Find 35// Dune Kraken Sandscoop// Grave Digger Tools Tombstone shovel & Sidekick digger// Bunk's Hermit Pick
Primary Interest:
Metal Detecting
If you have ever had the opportunity to visit a factory where coils are being manufactured, you know how much work goes into making each coil. The copper wire is wrapped by a computer controlled machine that knows exactly how many feet and inches of wire to use; then the coiled wire needs to be seated in the coil base and sealed by hand; the coil is then baked at a preset temp for a preset time to set the seal; then each coil is tested by hand; the cable and cable fittings are attached; the coil is hand tested again; then packaged for shipment.

The coil takes more hands to make than the electronics board, which is done completely by machine. It is mounted in the control box by hand, and connections to the controls are completed by hand. I would imagine it costs just as much (maybe more) to make a coil, as it does the electronics. :skullflag:
 

OP
OP
Icewing

Icewing

Silver Member
Jan 5, 2016
2,633
5,494
NW Arkanslaw
Detector(s) used
Minelab Equinox 900 / Garrett PropointerAT.
Primary Interest:
All Treasure Hunting
I never intended to suggest that manufacturers shouldn't make a reasonable profit. However if I made you stop and think, I consider my mission a success.

“During the gold rush its a good time to be in the pick and shovel business.” Mark Twain
 

cudamark

Gold Member
Top Banner Poster
Mar 16, 2011
13,198
14,506
San Diego
🥇 Banner finds
1
🏆 Honorable Mentions:
3
Detector(s) used
XP Deus 2, Equinox 800/900, Fisher Impulse AQ, E-Trac, 3 Excal 1000's, White's TM808, VibraProbe, 15" NEL Attack, Mi6, Steath 920ix and 720i scoops, TRX, etc....
Primary Interest:
All Treasure Hunting

cudamark

Gold Member
Top Banner Poster
Mar 16, 2011
13,198
14,506
San Diego
🥇 Banner finds
1
🏆 Honorable Mentions:
3
Detector(s) used
XP Deus 2, Equinox 800/900, Fisher Impulse AQ, E-Trac, 3 Excal 1000's, White's TM808, VibraProbe, 15" NEL Attack, Mi6, Steath 920ix and 720i scoops, TRX, etc....
Primary Interest:
All Treasure Hunting
I just wish someone could explain to me why it costs as much to buy a coil, which is basically two strips of wire wrapped around a plastic hoop, as it costs to buy a new 4K Smart TV. :icon_scratch:

Two main reasons come to mind. 1st, the substantial difference in number sold. You can spread out your cost quite a bit if you sell a million units instead of a thousand. 2nd, competition. If you're one of only 2-3 manufacturers, you can charge more than if you had to compete with a dozen or two, especially if your competition has half your costs. (think China)
 

Iron Buzz

Bronze Member
Oct 12, 2016
1,722
2,347
South St Paul, MN
🏆 Honorable Mentions:
1
Detector(s) used
XP Deus, Minelab Equinox 800
Primary Interest:
Metal Detecting
Why can you buy a coffee for a buck at most places, but others, it' cost 5 bucks? Supply and demand plus marketing. They need to cover their overhead, the cost of the engineers to design the product and the molds, the plastic and to cover their molders prices. They have warehouse associates, packaging, real property, taxes. They have marketing expenses, R&D expenses, and so on.

Exactly. The engineering and tooling costs on something like a Smart TV get distributed among the hundreds of thousands of consumers that buy that TV. And even with that, most of those costs were amortized the first few years on the TV, when it was state-of-the-art.

Your MD coils have a very small consumer base, therefore that cost of development gets distributed over a much smaller number of people. Simple division.
 

OP
OP
Icewing

Icewing

Silver Member
Jan 5, 2016
2,633
5,494
NW Arkanslaw
Detector(s) used
Minelab Equinox 900 / Garrett PropointerAT.
Primary Interest:
All Treasure Hunting
Exactly. The engineering and tooling costs on something like a Smart TV get distributed among the hundreds of thousands of consumers that buy that TV. And even with that, most of those costs were amortized the first few years on the TV, when it was state-of-the-art.

Your MD coils have a very small consumer base, therefore that cost of development gets distributed over a much smaller number of people. Simple division.

I, and I'm sure the whole 'customer base' would buy more coils if they didnt cost so much.
Why spend more on a couple of extra coil options than you spent the machine to begin with?
 

Top Member Reactions

Users who are viewing this thread

Top