What I think I am starting to see....

[Elton]

A trend towards lower priced to lower end detectors. I'm thinking it is to attract the masses and save the businesses..

I have noticed a lot of internet ads pop up for low end detectors for newbies ..etc.. I know high end is good, and we all want them..but that isn't paying the bills for the manufacturers.
It also seem a lot of detectors are being introduced and sold in European countries more so than in the past..OR..we have better access to info for the overseas market..
Plus more overseas companies are introducing detectors here..

I don't know where the market is going to go..............but it seems the trend is to make a machine for finding junk surrounded goodies rather than reaching for new depths on coin size items.
I wish all companies well.......in the last few years or a little longer some of the bigger companies have fallen as well as the smaller companies. It's to much a niche market for many to survive..

I know myself and many others worried when the price reached $2,400 dollars for a detector..We all thought everything would sky rocket in prices.. Well it didn't. Many have lowered prices..or stayed the same on slightly reworked "NEW" models. Looking for mass sales..

At least we are not seeing all reworked machines being the same with a different sticker anymore. Were actually seeing new products ..Yes less than what we are use to..but new products.. Their limited. A metal detector is a metal detector.. and it will only do so much ... only so deep. So Bells and Whistles have to be added to attract people to the product.

Just my take.............. it's most likely completely off the mark as far as what is happening.. Just a getting older mans ramblings...

 

[amberjack]

yes heading for new blood like minelab and the go find things with iphone apps and send a txt from your detector or what ever else it does haven't really read too much about it but aiming at the iphone generation, ads on youtube etc..

I think there is only so far a VLF can go depth wise with old carrying around a huge battery, so yes finding coins in junk machines which is great I use them and with more makers coming prices will have to be competitive or people will go elsewhere.

if they make one that gets the target out I am all in

AJ

 

[Miser67]

I know that detector sales have fallen off since precious metal prices fell back to earth (somewhat). Also, a lot of people who dived into the hobby have left when they discovered there was actual work involved, like digging trash.

But it does soetime feel like detector prices are running to the extremes lately. Either very expensive or relatively cheap.

 

[Hightone]

A lot of the reduction in prices for well outfitted units are because of the transference to digital electronics over analog. Computers, cell phones, flat screen TVs, DVD and CD players all had their heyday. But as more people buy, and everything can be incorporated into an IC chip and thrown into a plastic covering, the cost comes down. And usually, so does the quality.

 

[Southwind]

What I see is a bunch of look-alike Volkswagen's. Not a think wrong if you're in the market for a Volkswagen. There will always be a market for the Lincoln & Cadillac style detectors. I do believe that market has grown smaller and that is why we're seeing so many clones.

 

[slingshot]

Not only that, the sites are getting scarcer as the security on most sites is tightened. The ones that remain open in my area only require a standard two filter machine with good discrimination abilities.

 

[Dancer]

I am amazed at not only the number of companies out there, but also their combined number of machines. Time's that by say ten years or so that's a lot of machines. You would think a guy would have to buy a ticket in order to hunt. Except for the beaches, I don't often run into another hunter. Sometimes I run into evidence of hunting (plugs) but not a lot. Its a good thing, cause it doesn't take many good hunters to wipe out a county of clad hunting sites. Another thing, there's got to be a zillion machines out there, (used) but except for the internet I hardly run into them at sales.
It's a two edged sword, talking someone into hunting.