Nasty price depreciation on the top of the line detectors

Did you notice what slightly used xp deuses and ctx's are going for? $500 -$600 off what they were sold for new. Ouch! Percentage wise, they are depreciating almost as fast as a new car!

A couple years ago I had a discussion with a dealer who expressed his irritation for a number of people who regularly were buying "top of the line" machines and only keeping them for a breif period of time then selling them at a loss. I naturally asked why they were doing this and his explanation was basically that these guys were "well to do" and didnt care about losing a few hundred bucks as long as they could try out the new machines. It was just bad for the dealers who are basically losing out on a sale.

One of the members over at Finds, S*******d has my vote. He seems to have had every new latest and greatest detectors... and sold every one!
Whites V3i, ETrac, Xp Deus, etc, and now his CTX 3030 is up for sale. One would think it would be near impossible to have a detector pay for itself
by constantly buying and selling them. JMHO.


LOL, Aaron.... OK I edited his name. And I remember that.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 11/04/2012 04:13AM by Lipservice.

Oh, oh, now you did it. You said his name. Last time that happened he was here the very next day and newly registered.....justifying his crazy reasonings, and not been back since.
At least he was nice about it...

The reason these machines depreciate so much is because they cost too much in the first place. A 600 dollar machine can be bought for 400-450 dollars used, so 500-600 off of a 2300 dollar machine seems about right to me. My local dealer only offers half for a trade in thats in like new shape. I understand how the dealers business needs to work, but anybody looking to get a new machine is better off selling their old machine for 1/3 off.

Yeah, I mentioned this on the CTX E-Trac thread. Maybe the CTX is being had for less than the $2500 advertised price. But beastdig - I see them for 1600 - 1700 bucks (and not selling quickly at that), which is a 35% drop or so.
I agree with you though, they cost too much to begin with. When you are paying that much more for a CTX than an E-Trac you expect a lot more performance, not the 5%-10% that I saw, if that.

Albert

I like to try different machines too and dont like to lose money like the next guy either. I always try to buy at a price where I will lose a minimal amount of money. For instance, I knew a guy who was selling the CTX3030 starter pack for $1850 when they first came out. So if a person bought one of them and didnt like it they could most likely get most of their money back if they sell while they are still in high demand. That is probably the reason for the quick sell on new ones that people dont like. Now it seems used ones are going for as low as $1550. If you know the right people you can get new detectors way below the normal asking price.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 11/04/2012 01:55PM by wjs.

Never saw a hobby where fellows changed their tools so often...nature of the beast I guess and should be the last one to talk as must have tried 100 plus over the years.

With the influx of some outfits transferring warranties its taken the sting out of buying new and selling but depending on your financial situation one really takes a beating doing so.

Somewhere along the way someone said money is no good unless you spend it but have to add how you do is more important and whatever works as all our situations differ.

In retrospect really let some good units go over the years but whats done is done and perhaps if I just kept my original CZ6 ??? but its been quite a ride along the way.

I suspect the dealers would like to see higher prices requested to keep their sales up. I hate to see high prices on used machines..... but im not selling mine (yet). Kind of like home prices if you are buying.... you want cheap. I believe some machines are going to keep their price...... unless we have some real tech changes. The Sov is a good example.

Dew

Here's what is going on gents. A couple of years ago you had just a handful of sellers/dealers. Most all of the companies they get their detectors from to sell as a dealer have a price clause, selling price stipulation, don't go under it in other words. A few dealers came on the scene a little later and just slap undercut the ones trying to do business the way it was supposed to be done. These few dealers would not email or pm the prices or text them to you, just by phone. With undercutting the price SO much, lot's of people call them btw, if you had a detector you bought from a do it the right way dealer, the other dealer has made it so cheap you can buy a new one from them "undercover" but in the wide open so to speak that your machine you want to sell used you can get a new one for cheaper. Mark my word the few that are doing this if they hear of a dealer by word of mouth even selling a detector like they are doing is reporting the other dealers to the companies they get there detectors from. That's what is going on gents. We do have a couple of unscrupulous dealers out there. Violating there contracts severely and reporting the ones who just cut a small deal nowhere's close to what they are doing themselves. Bad business for us and the detector companies. Driving used prices through the floor. Dayum shame if you ask me.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 11/04/2012 05:02PM by Jack Flynn.

To many people look at price as a deciding factor instead of a long term relationship with someone you can trust and depend on if problems arise. I rarely buy a new machine off a dealer I havent done business from before. I will pay more for the peace of mind.

Most people in the hobby (myself included) like to try the latest and greatest. It doesn't take me long to figure out if I'm going to like the machine. Yes I could hang on to it and get better at using it. But that doesn't mean I will like using it. There are many reasons why I didn't like previous detectors. But when I find one that I do like that still doesn't mean that detector can handle all of the detecting I care to do. While I continue to be active in this hobby I am and always will be in search of better performance from detectors. One of the things I have noticed is that you usually get what you pay for.

I would suggest that the buy-n-sell mentality is driven by a cycle of hope-n-disappointment. Hope that the newest machine will be the cat's meow that makes detecting easy and profitable - followed by buyer's remorse when that expensive, shiny new machine doesn't live up to the hype and shining reviews. No matter what machine you use, whether IB or PI, detecting is mostly repetitive, tiring, dirty, and often physically demanding work and occasionally dangerous. No new detector will change that reality, though many people get their hopes up at the sight of full color ads touting the remarkable advancements of that new high-tech model. When you finally take it out in the field you sadly discover those hot features provide no real benefit and the onus to find anything valuable is right where it always had been - on you. Which is easier, constantly trading detectors looking for nirvana or doing the hard research and the hard field work where if you come up short you would have only yourself to blame. You can blame a detector for your failure but how many are willing to blame themselves for their own poor performance? Not many I'd wager - thus the thriving market on e-bay for lightly-used detectors sold at a loss by their disillusioned owners.

Well said.
Unless we start having hand held machines with hi res image sensitive tech, metal detecting as we have know it will never really change.

You can blame a detector for your failure but how many are willing to blame themselves for their own poor performance?
No new detector will change that reality, though many people get their hopes up at the sight of full color ads touting the remarkable advancements of that new high-tech model.

I disagree. I think some new detectors have changed reality. The AT Pro has given us a shallow water unit with a very accurate VDI reading. In terms of of performance maybe not all that much difference. But in terms of application it was ground breaking. Especially with the ability to change coils.

The Deus is a detector that offers many different things never seen before on a detector. And unless you compare it to another XP detector the recovery speed of the DEUS has hit a new plateau.

Some manufacturers like XP also designed the Deus with weight in mind. I can hunt longer with less pain.

There is more to detectors than depth.

I never blame the detector fo my failure to find good targets. I blame myself for not bringing the correct detector to the site.

Do you think the Whites XLT (maybe the best selling top of the line of all times) can keep up with the Deus in an iron filled site?

very few Deus come on the market in the UK ,most buyers keep them as they are happy with them
just the odd 1 on the bay now and again .
1000s are in use otherwise

diggers - Not to disagree with you but I check ebay.co.uk every week and have for months now. Every week or two I see 1 or 2 Deus' on ebay. Just checked and there are two. But, this in no way means it isn't a great machine but I do see them on there often. I don't see them as often here in Germany, but I don't see much here relative to your neck of the woods. They do seem to hold their value quite well and that is a great sign.

Albert

I think DEUS is more of a niche machine over here in the US, not as many relic hunters over here. I will admit I don't use the DEUS unless it's at a old site w bad iron, at the park I'd rather just use the CZ or CTX /Etrac

I started detecting about one and three quarters year ago. Since then I have bought and sold 2F75SE's, a T2SE, 2 Tek G2's, 2 AT Pro's (I have a third presently), one XP Deus (I have a second one presently), an ACE 250, a Tek Omega, a Troy X5, an Etrac. I may have missed a couple. Do I have any SOUND reasoning for it? NO But I DO have a reason. I LIKE TO GET NEW STUFF TO PLAY WITH if it's within my hobby. That simple. And when I sell something...it's merely to get something else. I"m probably not all there. I have thought about my buying and selling. And sometimes I shake my head at my own actions. I wish I had of kept my Etrac. And my last Deus. And my last G2. Especially the G2....those are awesome little machines. But all I can do is hold both hands up and say: I don't know why I am 49 yrs old and act like I'm 16. I over heard daddy say to momma when I was a teen ager: "The boy ain't right, I tell ya!" Always wondered what he meant. Now I know, I guess. I'm having fun. before the rain gets here today, I'm going to hunt the rest of an old homesite where I found a wheat penney and a 1943 silver quarter this last Friday. I ain't gonna wonder why I do some crazy crap. I'm gonna be diggin my butt off if the sound is right.

I too, have been through many detectors in my short 3 years of this hobby. Yes, when you buy a new machine and turn around and sell it you are going to take a loss. A few of the machines I have been through were just the search for a better machine. Most have been because I have physical impairments and realy don't know if a detector will work for me unless I get one and try it for awhile. Even then, it's no guarantee. A friend and club member allowed me to borrow his F75 because detector weight is a big problem for me on extended hunts. The F75 is lightweight and balanced so after using his I ordered one. The problem was that mine seemed chattier than his and dealing with the constant noise did not allow for the enjoyment factor of metal detecting. Another friend and club member left me borrow his Deus. Again, after using his I ordered one. For me and my condition, this is a great detector. So sometimes we buy for the latest and greatest but sometimes it's out of necessity. Either way, as long as you can afford to make the changes it's no big deal. I think of all the other hobbies I used to do and certainly any hobby is going to cost money. Golfers are always buying better clubs. Bowlers are frequently buying different bowling balls. Fishermen always buying better reels and rods plus lures. Hunters buying more rifles. What this hobby does give you, is the potential to find things to help pay for some of the expense.

*** Golfers are always buying better clubs. Bowlers are frequently buying different bowling balls. Fishermen always buying better reels and rods plus lures. Hunters buying more rifles. ***

Which is easier to do: Buy a different bowling ball to improve your game or tirelessly work and study to improve your game. Bowling ball.

There are reasons to sell and buy - it can be to gain a real advantage.

But for many, boredom sets in and the quick fix is to search for a new toy. People escape what is unpleasant in life through the use of distractions. Distractions serve to focus thoughts away (silencing guilt/remorse/pain) from the true problem (and hide the true solution). You know, the endless T.V. watching, music indulging, food eating, sports fantasizing - girl chasing, spouse divorcing, drinking bouts, chain smoking, drug taking - and for some, the buying of more expensive diversions that wreck bank accounts and marriages.

Cows can only dream and imagine the taste of the green grass on the other side of the fence. People fence-jump and do it constantly - the more that reality bites at you the more vigorous the jumping becomes.

Reading this thread makes me think about the Xterra release. Any of you guys get got caught up in that? Lot of angry folks back then.

HH
Mike

If your really serious about this hobby, I don't see how its possible to only have only 2 or 3 machines especially if your into the many facets of it.

m,an, I'm the weird one out, I've had the same one for the last 10 years, sniffy, it's an XLT , I have others but I keep going back to sniffy

When it comes to depreciation, the old axiom "WATER SEEKS ITS OWN LEVEL" becomes more and more relevant to the top end detectors. Is it possible that there is a cost factor that enters into the picture indicating too large of a profit level on both the factory cost and the MSRP? Since when does the manufacture tell its dealers what profit margin to maintain? What ever happened to the free market enterprise environment that we once knew?

Listening to ya'll make me VERY GLAD I live in a free country and can afford to have a hobby I love (and a wife who loves me). We live in a world where money is an issue. The cost of metal detecting is pretty cheap compared to most other pursuits as far as I can tell. Manufacturers have huge expenses we seldom are aware of and also financial risks (liability is bear I don't want to meet in the woods). Dealers have to stay ahead of potential sales slumps and compete in a tough arena for customers/clients. Many of us can't afford to invest as we would like, so we go used and risk craping out with flawed goods not under warranty or knock offs from counterfeiters. As I see it, everyone gauges the course and takes their shot, plays the ball or takes the mulligan. Wait, I hate golf, never mind. Let's go dig some dirt, sift some sand or simple enjoy a beautiful day doing what we enjoy!

Past(or)Tom
Using a Legend, a Deus 2, an Equinox 800, a Tarsacci MDT 8000, & a few others...
with my beloved, fading Corgi, Sadie

That's where I'm going Pastor Tom. Grabbing the Deus and going swinging. Maybe i can forget about what happened last nite.

What happen last night? Not another gusher?

Aaron Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> What happen last night? Not another gusher?


LOL NO not another one of them. It's best if I don't get into it because this is the wrong forum for what I was hinting at. I'll give another hint: It was all over all the news networks last night.

It's nothing another gold coin won't cure....JUST DON'T SELL IT!