The Economics of ROI hunting

[mudpuppy]

Return on Investment hunting....subject for discussion, seeing how theres several posts about "price" on entry models..generally speaking, all things such as time invested being equal, what do you think?

"A kid with a bicycle hunting clad with an entry model detector and a screwdriver has a better ROI than most" investment...less than 300 bucks...first year return, clad and jewelry, at LEAST double...
" A man with a car hunting local parks with a midrange unit, equipment, and a pinpointer" can figure on spending 750.00 for gear and another 500 for fuel...first year ROI, avg. 500.00 clad and jewelry combined..
" A man with a car and hunting beaches/wading with a midrange unit, equipment, scoop" can figure on spending 1000.00 for gear and another 500 for fuel...ROI...maybe 750.00 on jewelry, cell phones, and clad...
"A diver with a car and boat working drop offs, jump offs and salt/fresh inland raft sites" figure at least 5000.00 for gear and another 2000 fuel, air, misc...ROI...approx 4000.00 per year hitting it hard.

"A scavenger with a car and midrange gear hunting whatever the day dictates, parks, beaches, wading, etc. grabbing everything of value for resale" figure 1000.00 for gear and 1000 for fuel...ROI of 3000.00?

Every day you leave the house with a car hunting local is at least 10 bucks fuel, probably more, maybe 20...break even? A kid on a bike, or an all purpose scavenger seems to be hard to beat when it comes to thinking ROI? Thoughts?
Mud

Sure theres outliers in the hunting community, but for the bell curve average...do these numbers seem about right? just thinking of investing in equip, and getting it past my acct. dept who always is concerned about ROI...and dont give a dang about the health/mental aspects this sport also brings...just the ROI!

 

[Larry (IL)]

In the thirty years I have been metal detecting, ROI never entered my mind but if I sold everything I have found, I know I would be WAY ahead and have one very mad wife for selling some of her jewelry.

 

[mudpuppy]

Of course Larry! Most every rabid member here is at the top of the bellcurve...top 5% of total detectorists out there no doubt!
Generally speaking, do these numbers look realistic in your experience? for the center of the bellcurve hunter? It may be a fun project to keep a diary on ROI for the year...maybe not!

Back when I trapped, a guy could figure how many rats or raccoons a particular location held, the expense of getting them, and market price, and do some math to see if it was worth the effort of going and getting them..

This sport is unique in the fact that the next zinc signal could be great big gold...so what cost/value averages does a guy use? Targets per year? The most rabid of us park/general purpose get at least 10k targets per year... gold showed to the wife is lost forever!...buts thats the paradigm I'm up against...so to get the go ahead to plow money back into the sport, a guy has to justify a few equipment upgrades...help!
Mud

 

[Larry (IL)]

I understand the ROI now Mud, you have to deal with a higher power....... I'm pretty lucky in that respect, I have a hunting wife who understands my addiction.

Your numbers look realistic to me Mud but there are so many variables, everyone would have different numbers at the end of the year and it would also make too much work out of an enjoyable hobby for me to keep track of the data. Nancy in her first year quickly paid for her $100 Radio Shack (Bounty Hunter) so as far as the ROI is concerned, a cheaper machine hunting clad will have a great ROI.

People like me though that spends big money on a machine to find a few old deep coins just doesn't make much sense (or cents) but my ROI is priceless in a different perspective.

 

[WIHawker]

Its a hobby. I used to race motorcycles. I spent many times more money and have friends that spend thousands more in that hobby.

If you have to ask yourself, "will i make my money back if i buy this machine". You don't really like the hobby. sorry to say but its true. If you really love the hobby you will spend as much disposable income you have on a machine and not even bat a eye afterwards.

 

[mudpuppy]

Yeah, WIHawker! I agree! Like a duck hunter or a golfer! Talk about a poor payback! Either of those two hobbies have about a zero return!
I get the boss' go ahead based upon production, SE&A and ROI...I can honestly say its made me a better, quicker and more distinguishing hunter when I have to give a daily account for the time and money invested!
Do I love the hobby? Hell No! its a lot of work! Do I love the frustration, mental anguish, effort expended with little hope of a payback? Well, lets just say I've been married for 35 yrs and am used to it!
Mud

 

[Rick(ND)]

The finds are just the extras you get in this great hobby and probably one of the cheapest hobbies you can have. Look at those that are active fishermen as to what they have invested in gear and what is the best they can do is a freezer full of fish that will cost most over $50 a pound.
I have many that call me and ask if they can find enough in one month to pay for their detector, tell them yes, but a very low percentage of it happening and if this is the reason they are considering getting a detector than save your money as detecting is not for you. Now if you are considering a detector and want to enjoy the fresh air, get some exercise and enjoy the surprises detecting can give you plus meet many great people and even go out several days and only find trash and ready to go the next day, then you will enjoy this hobby. Myself I enjoy finding history that has been waiting for me for many years to be found and reliving the period when it was lost, just got to let your mind wonder a bit at times.
It excite me to think the next find good be one of the best finds ever made, or could be a piece of trash just like Christmas presents or a grab bag you don't know what you will find.
Where else can you find a hobby that can pay for itself or even more, give you some serious exercise, give you plenty of fresh air and best of all meet some great people either in the hobby or thinking on getting into it as it is priceless.
I got a guy into detecting back in 1999 that used to drink a lot, but now instead of sitting in bars he is out detecting and still drinks a little yet, but if he sold all his finds he has found it would have to be over $30,000 now I am sure as he has some great coins, jewelry and a few relics too.


Rick

 

[marcomo]

Mud - One thing to keep in mind is that fuel is not the only expense when it comes to driving your vehicle. Some of those expenses are fixed regardless of mileage (such as insurance and licensing) but others like wear and tear from usage are tied directly to mileage driven.

And in the future you can count on less fixed costs. Some insurance companies are already beginning to calculate miles driven into consumer cost. Yet another reason to recoil at the term "progressive" since that company seems to be the one leading the way in charging based on black box reporting of your personal driving habits.

Since fuel tax revenue is steadily going down because of vehicles getting better mileage, governments are looking at using black box technology to tax you by the mile rather than by fuel consumption. It's just a matter of time.

When you think about it, the main ROI with any hobby is the enjoyment you get from it. Detecting offers the bonus of financial return and exercise.

 

[bootyhoundpa]

Man o man mud you better find the wife some gold and quick lol..... your numbers certainly reflect costs that most people dont take into consideration. One way of cutting costs would be to run other small errands while heading to and from hunting spots. One problem is the fact that a dollar doesnt buy what it use to, so clad is just about useless in the final equation..gold and silver and platnum seem to be the only things that keep pace with inflation, without them or really really great coin finds or relics we cant even expect to break even.. we all have to hunt within our budgets but the main thing is to have fun and enjoy ..its more about the hunt than the prize anyway.. best of luck and happy hunting...

 

[skookum]

Hi,
To tell you the truth: I have not even come close to recouping my investments into my metal detecting hobby.
Most jewellery I find is Bling and the clad has paid for the rechargable batteries
Most old coins that I have found are in such sad shape that no serious coin collector would want them (at least not pay anything for them)
If you were to give me a penny for every pulltab, crown cap and other useless junk I

 

[Elton]

It's a hobby that if your lucky returns something to you.. If no return..it's still a great hobby....... I Golf too..and let me tell you
there is no return from that Hobby and I enjoy it.. All your mentioned expenses etc apply equipment, car expenses, fees too... Extra clubs for lower scores ( ya right) that doesn't happen LOL

Shoot if I figured out the ROI of any hobby I would not do it I'm pretty sure.. BUT ..I don't worry about it..buy the detectors I want and just detect..Like I do my clubs I just swing em....

[size=large]I usually Golf in the 70's[/size] ............................................................ if it gets any colder I go home Hahahahhahahahah

 

[mudpuppy]

Ha! If gas keeps going up I'll be that kid on a Huffy!
Mud

 

[GeorgeinSC]

Mud two things that you did not include in your ROI was the value of the pleasure that we obtain from the hobby. Also the value of the exercise that we get while detecting. In my mind those two items add considerable value to my time afield.

 

[Surfinsafari]

Compared to 2 divorces in 5 years..Metal detectings ROI wins hands down. How much money have you all spent on ...ahem.."the holy of holies"...there has never been a good return on that. If I would have used my head and kept the stallion in the barn, I would be a millionaire many times over!

 

[mudpuppy]

Hey, c'mon ...forget about all the soft touch benefits of our sport and focus up on cash return/style..as if you were doing this as a business.....what would you say is the best ROI/yr? the more I think about this, the more travel and fuel costs (overhead) have to do with it...a guy is way better off hunting close to home from an ROI standpoint...BUT, that may only result in a couple hundred bucks in clad/yr...So

What strategy puts the most amount of high value targets in pouch with the least amount of spend? Time management would be crucial here to consider as well...

I can justify getting dive gear and doing hull cleaning/repair/odd jobs on the side with it...and getting that past my acct dept...maybe...
Mud

 

[Surfinsafari]

The guy I bought my Etrac from says he knows a couple people who DO make a living at MDing. I can't for the life of me figure out how to make money at it. Unless you have exclusive rights to a private beach where big money folks swim and play.

 

[Overvoltage]

I can honestly say ROI helps when it comes to asking/getting permission for new equipment and hunting time. It is the only hobby I or my accountant (Wife) has that returns anything other than enjoyment. I have a $16K 20" boat and enjoy fishing. However, after buying gas, bait, food, and spending all day on the lake, it would be much, MUCH cheaper to hire a guide or better yet just go to the grocery and buy the fish . But what fun would that be, I would not enjoy the thrill of the hunt. I also enjoy shotgun sports. $$$$ out the barrel up in smoke. Still a lot of fun. My wife has a horse for her hobby. Fastest way to turn $$$$ into $h!t . So, bottom line I think detecting has good ROI.

 

[Larry (IL)]

Even if you could make a meager living metal detecting, that would take all the fun out of it for me............ geez, thats work.

 

[Wandering Yoda]

Mud, very cool topic!! Bootyhoundpa

 

[roadapple]

If I have to rely on "ROI" all of my toys in the toy box just went by by !