Costco can hurt the hobby

[sjvalleyhunter]

Let me preface my rant by saying that this is just my opinion. I’m sure others will disagree with me and may even have some valid counterpoints, but....

Today I was walking through Costco and happened to see a big stack of metal detectors they had on display. Looking a bit closer I saw that they were Bounty Hunter Discovery 3300 models that were selling for 85 bucks, which frankly is a great price for that machine.

I have no issues whatsoever with people being introduced to this great hobby. I am not concerned with people taking one of these machines to one of my honey holes and hunting it out. My issue is this: Nobody gets interested in the hobby, does their research on detectors, and then goes to Costco to buy one. No, the vast majority of these machines will be bought on a whim by someone who walks past the display and thinks, “Oh, look at that. That will be a great Christmas present for Bob.”

These detectors will then be in the hands of someone who never previously had even a thought of swinging a metal detector. And that’s ok, like I said I don’t have an issue with others engaging in this hobby. However they will have no clue about the etiquette that is required in this hobby. THAT is my issue.

So now that Bob has his new Christmas present what will he do? He will run out to the neighborhood park and start putting holes all over the place. Bob won’t have any idea on how to cut a clean plug and to leave no trace. He will be doing this while being watched by others who won’t like Bob leaving holes in their park. And all it takes is one or two loud voices to get rules changed. Of course they won’t understand that Bob’s actions aren’t a representation of all detectorists, but we all can suffer from Bob’s actions.

The particular Costco I was at had 19 machines, and there are two other Costcos in my city they are also selling them, not to mention all of the other Costcos nationwide. There will be a whole lot of Bob’s out there soon.

Yes, I know that Costco has previously sold metal detectors and the world hasn’t come to an end because of it. But get ready folks, in about five weeks there are going to be some holes popping up in your local parks.

 

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[nomad 11]

shooooh thats a Godsend. they're all out in california.

 

[trdking]

This is not Costcos fault. It is Bounty Hunters fault for selling them large quantities at a discounted price. Costco seeks out very few products but are bombarded with companies wanting to sell their product in Costco stores. I know three people who work for Costco at an executive level in Kirkland Washington. I seriously doubt they woke up in the morning and said lets seek out a deal on metal detectors. They were approached by this company and were offered a blistering deal on the detectors so Costco decided to add them to the line up. As for a leave no trace education it should be at the start of the owners manual. It was on my first detector. Not saying that anyone reads it but that is something you can't control. Nor can you control the idiots that just don't care. They ruin it for everyone. Not just detectorists.

 

[Kray Gelder]

Oh Ye of little faith...in your fellow man. It'll be OK. If one spends $600 to $3000 on a metal detector does that include the etiquette you speak of, or the knowledge of how to cut a proper plug? I think not. After they dig a bunch of trash, the $85 machine will end up in the closet, or garage, and the batteries will leak after a few months, so you won't have them disturbing your sensibilities anyway. Good luck to you.

 

[Terry Soloman]

Well, in April, you'll see 90% of these machines on Craigslist or at garage sales for $45.00

This happens EVERY year at Christmas, even with Minelab GPZ and GPX machines! By the end of April, the bargains abound!!

 

[sjvalleyhunter]

If one spends $600 to $3000 on a metal detector does that include the etiquette you speak of, or the knowledge of how to cut a proper plug? I think not.

I’ll respectfully disagree with you on this point. If someone spends that kind of money on a high end detector, then that person has done their research, has knowledge of the hobby, probably watched dozens of YouTube videos, and has at least been exposed to the etiquette “rules” that detectorist should follow. Now whether or not they will follow them is something else, but at least they are aware of them. Someone who unwraps a detector at Christmas doesn’t even have the knowledge of a leave no trace mentality nor will they have a proper digging tool.

 

[Rick K]

The “Treasure Hunter’s Code of Ethics” is on page 23 of the 3300’s manual.

 

[Oddjob]

Oh Ye of little faith...in your fellow man. It'll be OK. If one spends $600 to $3000 on a metal detector does that include the etiquette you speak of, or the knowledge of how to cut a proper plug? I think not. After they dig a bunch of trash, the $85 machine will end up in the closet, or garage, and the batteries will leak after a few months, so you won't have them disturbing your sensibilities anyway. Good luck to you.

Seriously, I have met plenty of GPX and GPZ owners with no ethics. Brother in law makes his living from his machine nugget hunting and he will be the first to say that he will not fill in his holes because he wants to keep track of where he has been.

Price of the machine means nothing, if a driver buys a 900K car that does not mean they will not drive like a fool, or in any way some how a more ethical driver than someone who drives a cheap.

 

[Kray Gelder]

Respectfully, what is a proper digging tool? I know what you're saying, and I don't really disagree with you. Actually, I was kind of tongue-in-cheek joking. All in all, a beginner metal detector is not a bad gift, and as Terry says, most will lose interest. The leave no trace mentality is rare indeed, and leaving evidence of one's passing is what keeps this hobby going.
Relax, I doubt the holes will proliferate.

 

[sjvalleyhunter]

Respectively, what is a proper digging tool? I know what you're saying, and I don't really disagree with you. Actually, I was kind of tongue-in-cheek joking. All in all, a beginner metal detector is not a bad gift, and as Terry says, most will lose interest. The leave no trace mentality is rare indeed, and leaving evidence of one's passing is what keeps this hobby going.
Relax, I doubt the holes will proliferate.

When I referred to a proper digging tool I had in mind a Lesche or similar, verses a foot shovel from the average Joe’s tool shed. And I do agree, after the twentieth pull tab, a handful of can slaw and a few corroded zincs, most will closet the detector. It just irritates me to no end when folks are careless with their plugs.

Ok, I’m off my soapbox.

 

[nomad 11]

as i always say ? dont sweat the small stuff. when they find out how many pop tops and pull tabs they have to dig and the foil ? OMG the'yll all get returned.the very next day too. time for a brewski yet ? or a pepsi ? tough choice ? it depends on my mood ? see what a.d's have done for me ? just look at my grin to the left ?

 

[sjvalleyhunter]

time for a brewski yet ?

I started an hour ago. [emoji51]

 

[Kray Gelder]

When I referred to a proper digging tool I had in mind a Lesche or similar, verses a foot shovel from the average Joe’s tool shed. And I do agree, after the twentieth pull tab, a handful of can slaw and a few corroded zincs, most will closet the detector. It just irritates me to no end when folks are careless with their plugs.

Ok, I’m off my soapbox.

Yeah, there is a learning curve on digging. I have learned a lot here, thanks to people sharing techniques and tools. This town has a number of parks. Some kind of rough, but some postage stamp ones with nice lawns. I don't even attempt digging in the nice ones.

 

[Johnnybravo300]

It's like the Californians and oregonians that cant dredge now because they killed too many fish eggs.
There are people that just live to make rules, mding is no different. No amount of md training will keep the nitpickers at bay because some people live to be in other's business.

 

[Kray Gelder]

It's like the Californians and oregonians that cant dredge now because they killed too many fish eggs.
There are people that just live to make rules, mding is no different. No amount of md training will keep the nitpickers at bay because some people live to be in other's business.

I don't know what salmon eggs have to do with $85 detectors, but since you mentioned it, one should not wipe out salmon nests for a few dollars worth of gold, or even a few thousand dollars of gold, don't you think?

 

[boogeyman]

My biggest gripe is the sporting goods stores and such selling the 40 or 50 dollar toy machines. You got a sales guy that can just barely tell what a detector is saying I don't know, but it's got a manual! Poor folks buy one use it once, it hangs in the closet because they got turned off to detecting first time out. Some of these folks could probably really excel if only they had gotten something besides a toy machine & five minutes or so of instruction. How many of you guys ever step up & offer some help? I try to, you know this machine is $40 more but little Johnny will do better with it & give them a hand for a few minutes. Win win! Sales guy up sells & the people get something they can actually use. That's my biggest gripe!

 

[Woodsy]

Are metal detectors legal in California?

 

[Stringtyer]

The Costco in Apex, NC has a stack of these detectors priced to trigger an impulse purchase. I agree that there will be a ton of them sold during the holiday season and that, for a couple of weeks, every kid in the neighborhood will be out looking for lost treasure. But, as others have said, I doubt that the interest will last much longer than it takes to find a fist full of bottle caps and pull tabs. I also suspect that most folks who buy these detectors will head out with a garden hand spade and won't be willing or able to dig massive holes.

This same Costco has a bunch of cheap quadcopters that will also be impulse purchases. I suspect that the sky will be buzzing with drones for a couple of days until they either crash or get out of range of their controllers and are lost. I don't think air traffic out of RDU will be impacted.

In either case, I'm not blaming Costco for selling a product that will make them a profit any more than I'm willing to blame a car dealership for selling high horsepower cars to the parents of teenagers.

 

[GopherDaGold]

Every metal detector I have purchased brand new included a copy of the code of ethics. Your issue should be with those who sell used machines and fail to include the CoE.

 

[gunsil]

I hate to say it but I see many videos and photos here of members making ridiculously large holes in lawns to recover a dime at 5 inches. I recently watched a friend with a new CTX 3030 making huge holes, leaving the trash target in the hole, and failing to replace all the dirt neatly. He had no clue, just wanted to try detecting and nobody told him how to treat lawns or even to take his trash with him. He has every piece of gear you could ask for, just no experience and had nobody to show him the ropes. I doubt he ever read the ethics or recovery pages in his manual, and I doubt many people do so. Being neat has nothing to do with the price of a machine and sadly most people need to be taught about good pin pointing and plug removal and replacement. It is not something readily learned from any code of ethics page in any manuals. If you are making a hole more than 4" in diameter in a lawn to retrieve a coin size target less than 8" deep you need to practice pin pointing and recovery.