Soliciting advice from the wise on this forum.

Since I am on or at least have checked out all the other forums, there is no doubt in my mind that this forum has overall the most intelligent and skilled dirt fishers of any forum so I hope you guys can steer me in the right direction.

Unfortunately, the financial stress of my daughter's upcoming wedding is compelling me to leave the F75 club. This is my #1 detector and I don't want to part with it, but it looks like I'm going to have to bump my F5 back to #1.

I've trying to sell my F75 LTD on the classifieds of a couple different forums, but it doesn't seem to be generating much interest.

I started at $875 and have since lowered it to $825 for the detector with both coils, coil covers, extra lower rod and camo stand.

Unfortunately, fleabay isn't much help to gauge pricing since there haven't been any units sold recently to compare with.

My question to the experts here: am I pricing too high? or am I using too much disclosure?

My reputation is important to me, and I believe in being as upfront as possible. So on my listing I have the following: "In the interest of full disclosure, while the detector has always functioned for me perfectly, over the last few months I'd noticed the control box starting to get a little looser. It wasn't a big deal, but I wanted to get the detector just right before selling it. When I called Fisher, Daniel explained to me how to fix the problem but suggested rather than doing it myself I should send it in. So I sent it in to Fisher and got it back with the control box nice and tight. According to the letter I got back from Fisher, they replaced the T-support. I also sent the coils in as Felix suggested. As I understand it, when you send the coils in with the detector they make sure they are calibrated correctly to the detector. Also when I used the detector stand several times, I made the mistake of not tightening the stand with the enclosed screw and it twisted around the detector and scratched the paint slightly. I touched it up with some matching SEM paint and it looks darn good, but I wanted to disclose the touch-up and you can see it in the one close-up picture."

The One Who Must Be Obeyed says all the disclosure is a mistake. The repair to the control box was minor in the first place, it was done and the unit is working perfectly so she says there is absolutely no reason to say anything about a repair being done. Her other point when I showed her the detector was that the paint touch-up blends in well and that no one is going to notice it unless they are looking for it. She says that whenever something about an item is disclosed, potential buyers assume that anything minor is worse than stated or it wouldn't be mentioned in the first place.

Obviously, I'm not going to change my listings on the classifieds. But if the detector doesn't sell it's going up on fleabay soon and while I want to be honest, I don't want to shoot myself in the foot by disclosing more than needs to be.

What do you guys think?

Something that I grew up hearing ......" Let you concience be your guide " ........ Some will apprciate your disclosure . while others will not, but bottom line , you will always have to live with yourself !!....Do what YOU think is right ..........Jim

Honesty is the best policy. I think that most people would understand that these are outdoor units and may have some cosmetic blemishes.

Marcomo, having high moral values thes days is becoming rare. Men who stick to them are real men to themselves and to others. Stick with the truth.

My opinion is that it reduces the chances of the unit being returned if the new owner notices something (like the re-paint). I read FleaBay used detector listings daily, and if I was to buy a machine, it would be one that lists the good & not so good. I laugh when I see a 5 yr old unit that was only used "twice" (yeah...right!!!!), and there are a boatload of listings like that.
A used unit that has recently been sent for service (for any reason) is in my eyes more dependable than one that never has. I would emphasize in the sales listing that it has been checked by the factory.
Would a person want to buy a used vehicle that has never been checked by a mechanic or serviced??????



Edited 3 time(s). Last edit at 02/16/2011 07:41PM by TerraDigger.

Honesty.

Yes, folks will try to use ANY excuse to.....find a way to have you DROP the price......and hold 'honesty' to your disadvantage.

Thank you everyone for the thoughtful replies, I appreciate the help.

it is possible that interest may have changed!..i am just 'throwin' this out there
seems like (f.t) has a new wonder weapon in the g2,and may be representing a
new direction in circuit design.in any event, a lot of "very' experienced hunters are chasin' it!
it sees through iron like no other,and apparently is "cleanin' up "butchered" sites by findin' a ton of new stuff!
it's also priced right,and is simple by design,thus elevating it's appeal!..just sayin'

(h.h.!)
j.t.

OK Marcomo --

I'll shoot straight with you. I was just recently in a position of being both cash-strapped (many are these days), and in need of a new high-performance detector. I absolutely wanted an F75 LTD. Can't afford one, at $1249. An F75 is a BIG step down in my mind, losing the boost process; so, why pay $1049 for that? The F70 is another $400 cheaper than the F75 (and $600 less than the LTD), so for someone who can't afford an F75 LTD, why get an F75 when you can get an F70 and have similar performance?

Now, I tell you all that to show you what my mindset was just a couple of weeks ago when looking for a new machine. If I was someone who had the cash, an F75 LTD would have been my purchase. But, that 5-year warranty is a HUGE selling point. If you offer me a used F75 LTD for $875 no warranty, but a brand-new F70 for $649 WITH 5-year warranty, I MIGHT be tempted to go with the F70 -- despite how much I want an F75 LTD. Your price is in some "middle range;" more than an F70 new, less than an F75 new, and honestly, when I saw your "dropped price" ad, it was getting VERY CLOSE to what I would have considered paying for a used F75 LTD. $750, and it was a no brainer, for me personally.

Now, here's the issue, as I see it. NOT NOT NOT your disclosure. For me, anyway, I CLEARLYL read your ad and saw HONESTY in your disclosure, not a red flag. The way you wrote it, your tone said very clearly to me "very honest guy here, you can deal with him with no worries." That's just me, but I appreciate honesty, minor flaws don't bother me. I would have NO PROBLEM buying from you, after reading that ad. IF I hadn't bought my F70, I would have sent you an email asking if you'd take $750, and we'd have a deal. EXCEPT for one thing...there's ONE reason I wouldn't do that, and it IS something in your ad. That is, your mention of your money need. Dude, for me, I have money issues, and clearly, YOU DO TOO (daughter's wedding and trying to scrounge up cash)!! Your honesty and integrity which shows through in that ad, in that you are willing to sacrifice your PRIZED POSESSION metal detector to give to something higher -- your family, means there is no way I could feel good about asking you to give me a discount. You clearly need the money just as bad as I do. If you were someone who said everything the exact same way in your ad, but said "I have 15 detectors, and don't need them all, need to unload one," then I would have felt OK about seeing if you could cut me a break in light of MY money issues. But, for me anyway, seeing what you are doing for your daughter, and that you obviously need the money... Look, I'll be honest, reading your ad actually made me more want to SEND you a hundred bucks and "donate to the cause," rather than ask you for a $100 discount on your detector -- that's in all honesty. I think that may be the "issue." I think your price may be just a bit high for some, but I would think that most folks who see the situation you are in, would not feel right asking you to take less.

One final thing (sorry I'm so long-winded)...I noticed that LowBoy, I think, sold his on the same classified ads, for $725 plus $25 shipping; he placed his ad the same time you did, if I'm not mistaken, and they were the same machine in nearly the same shape, if I'm not mistaken. It's NOT your disclosure. Honesty shows through, and is actually a positive in your ad, IMO. It's just a little too high for some, I think, and no one wants to ask you to take a little less, as they see how much you need the money and how honorable the reason is!

That's my two cents worth. BTW -- I'd love to have your machine! They are still in demand.

Steve

Again, more good input. Thanks, Steve. I figure I'll put it up on fleabay this weekend and what you say about not giving any reason for selling makes a lot of sense. My purpose wasn't to make people feel sorry for me, but to explain that the only reason I was selling was need of $, not because I was dissatisfied with the detector or looking to buy a different unit instead. But maybe that backfired on me.

As far as Lawrenzo's machine, I agree the timing probably hurt me. I teased him a little bit when I saw his listing, he's a good guy and I'm glad his unit sold for him. I know he told me he was selling it with the stock 11" coil only, while I had the 5" coil, the coil covers and a stand. But then he also threw in a bag and a 6" coil, I guess that's the 4X6, so I guess he was priced a little better than me for a similar condition machine. Coil condition wouldn't be similar, since I always used covers, but I know all that really means is the bottom of the coils look prettier.

I'll probably give it one more drop on the classifieds to $800 on the classifieds and if no one bites I'll put it up on fleabay over the weekend. I'll open the bidding to international buyers, and I imagine I'll get at least in the mid-800s, but then there's those darn fleabay and Pal fees which would still make it advantageous for me to sell it on the classifieds even if I sell it for a little less I wind up with a little more and don't have to go through a week of bidding.

As I type this, I realize I'm probably giving this too much thought. I'll admit I do that sometimes, especially when it comes to issues of metal detecting...

Maybe come off with a fresh ad, and post on other detector sites with a new price to go along with the new ad . ......Jim