Recovery fee?

[Blkcloud]

If you were to have a little on the side business of recovering lost rings, jewelry, keys etc.. what would you charge?

 

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[jeff of pa]

0.0

"I Don't refuse donations" But

"I'd prefer a Piece of Land to Search"

 

[Bigdob]

Met a guy in Florida that owned a metal detector shop and his fee was $100.
There was actually a lady on the beach that had called waiting for him to show up while we were there.
She had lost an expensive piece of jewelry in the sand and would not move .
There’s a web site for detectorest to join for $60 a year to have your info on there web site so people can contact if they need someone to locate whatever maybe lost
BT

 

[DeepseekerADS]

Nothing, glad to do it!

Did return a class ring in the early 80's. The guy grabbed it out of my hand, said "I thought I'd lost it", and he was gone without a thank you.

Some people are good, and some are idiots.

 

[Waterbug]

"No fee. Glad I could help."
I have had people with tears in their eyes when handed a lost ring.Had one a h grab his wife's lost wedding ring(I found for them) from my hand,then slam the door in my face!!! Still it is a good feeling to return lost things to others ---if you can.
I would say it is a personal thing if you want to charge.However, if they insist with a reward, it does help with expenses.

 

[TommyB]

I don't charge anything either. I do it for the good Karma. I really enjoy seeing the big smiles on peoples faces when they get their ring back. Of course I don't refuse any money if they insist. But never ask.

 

[Treasure_Hunter]

I don't charge but I have nothing against anyone who does charge. It is called free enterprise.

 

[Megalodon]

I've found rings for a few people who were friends and co-workers and was happy to do it. And I found & kept coins while doing it. I prefer leads - or even better, personal introductions to landowners to old places to hunt than a few bucks. But its my hobby and not a business. I'm not opposed to somebody else charging strangers to recover items.

 

[mrwilburino]

Nothing wrong with requesting compensation for our time and expertise. Everybody from brain surgeons to babysitters does that. It lets people know that there is value in what we do.

I've done some free searching for friends, but if I was asked to go to a stranger's house and possibly spend hours there, we would work something out.

 

[jeff of pa]

well if someone asked me to go to California , or Hawaii to Hunt something Down,
A million Dollars after taxes may Get me there.

 

[CoinHunterAZ]

LOL, I've charged people for finding property survey stakes. It's usually a piece of rebar in driven into the ground. My fee is usually a 12 pack.

 

[Doc Arey]

Not all of them are greatful...

 

[boogeyman]

If it's taking time away from other projects or interfering with chores, it's $28 per hour or any part of. Over 5 miles add $10. Though I only usually do this hoping they'll say "no thanks". If they say OK, it's a win win. Ninety percent of it is how they approach me. A smile, handshake & introduction goes a long way.

 

[DizzyDigger]

Here's my (what my advice is generally worth):

If you charge a fee you are working as a professional, meaning the
customer now feels there is an implied level of performance. Failing
to meet their expectations (ie: not finding the ring) will leave them
with a bad impression of detectorists. Every time they see a metal
detector they'll remember the guy who took their money and came
up empty handed. On the upside... if ya find it you're a hero, and
you made a few bucks as well.

The way I see it I'm doing something I enjoy doing, and making new
friends and gaining new permissions as a result. Even if you don't
find their lost ring, they will know you did your best and you leave
them with a positive impression of detectorists.

Those who consider themselves professionals and find lost items
for a living are perfectly justified to charge a fee. I believe hobbyists
(like most of us) are better off creating good will and, as suggested,
gaining new permissions for sites we might otherwise never have
a crack at.

 

[Rookster]

I do it for free.

 

[Whitey9457]

For free, but hopefully they let you search the yard for your own finds too. If you find the object they're looking for, it's nice to get a tip depending on value of object.

 

[mh9162013]

Don't forget potential liability issues that could arise because insurance policies don't always cover injuries or negligent actions that occur during the course of commercial activities (which is what an insurance company may argue when you have a paid metal detectorist hunting on private property for a fee).

 

[Tom_in_CA]

... "I Don't refuse donations"

That's what I do too. I just say: "Whatever tip you think is fair. And nothing if I'm unsuccessful" . Depends on the amount of travel time involved too.

 

[CASPER-2]

https://www.flickr.com/photos/casper-2/6831831903/in/dateposted/

 

[Geobound]

My answer is depends........

If I'm out somewhere and somebody comes up to me and says "can you help me, I've just lost so and so", then ya I'll pop over and see what I can do for free.

This actually happened to me last year at a beach. A woman approached me and asked me if I could search her property for a lost gold ring as they were moving house in a few days, and likely wouldn't get another chance. I spent a few hours walking around her property, but sadly came up with nothing.

She said to me that I could anything I found but the ring, so I was okay with that.

The bonus to that part of the story is, even though I didn't find the ring, she has invited me to search her new beach front property this year. Oh and she gave me a ton of frozen raspberries for my few hours work.

Story 2

I had somebody contact me though another website and ask if I could search a family farm for anything that relates to WWI or WWII, family heirlooms, old coins and jewellery.

I mentioned that it would take me days if not weeks to cover all that ground, and what was in it for me if they were going to keep everything but the scrap iron?

His reply was oh I thought it would just take a few hours and I could give you $20.00 for your time. LOL.......

In the end it was agreed that he could keep all the Military stuff as that was his main priority, and that I could keep everything else. I made a promise to myself that if anything had a name on it that related to the family, I would give it back to him without compensation.

Turns out he doesn't live on the property anymore, and that the old guy that lives there has lost his marbles and thinks that I want to steal his copper cables?!? Hahahahaha.......

As you likely have already figured out the hunt didn't happen, but it sure opened my eyes to what people think our time is worth.