I was over on another forum when a post by someone with over 20 years experience made me realize he didn't know how metal detector pricing works.
That made me think about newcomers to the hobby. If some old-timers to the hobby don't know, surely many newcomers do not know either.
When you have decided what new detector you want to buy, call one of the sponsors of this forum for the best price. At the top of the Metal Detecting Forum, you will see a sticky with a list of all the sponsors.
If you buy online from an auction site, Amazon, a dealer website or a print ad, you will almost surely pay more.
Here's why:
The are essentially three prices for a metal detector: MSRP, MAP, and the lowest price a dealer is willing to sell for.
MSRP is the Manufacturers Suggested Retail Price. Like with other products, this is the price virtually no one ever pays. It is only there so that the buyer feels he/she is getting a discount.
MAP is the Minimum Advertising Price. This is the lowest price that, per the contract with the manufacturer, a dealer can advertise a detector for.
As I said before, if you buy from Fleabay, Amazon, website or print ad, the MAP is the price you will pay.
On the other hand, if you call one of the sponsors of this forum and ask them for their best price, you will almost always get a lower price than the MAP. This is because dealers can sell a detector for any price they want, but they can't advertise a price lower than the MAP.
Besides a better price when you use a forum sponsor, you can be assured of having a qualified dealer to help you follow up should you have any initial problems with the detector.
That made me think about newcomers to the hobby. If some old-timers to the hobby don't know, surely many newcomers do not know either.
When you have decided what new detector you want to buy, call one of the sponsors of this forum for the best price. At the top of the Metal Detecting Forum, you will see a sticky with a list of all the sponsors.
If you buy online from an auction site, Amazon, a dealer website or a print ad, you will almost surely pay more.
Here's why:
The are essentially three prices for a metal detector: MSRP, MAP, and the lowest price a dealer is willing to sell for.
MSRP is the Manufacturers Suggested Retail Price. Like with other products, this is the price virtually no one ever pays. It is only there so that the buyer feels he/she is getting a discount.
MAP is the Minimum Advertising Price. This is the lowest price that, per the contract with the manufacturer, a dealer can advertise a detector for.
As I said before, if you buy from Fleabay, Amazon, website or print ad, the MAP is the price you will pay.
On the other hand, if you call one of the sponsors of this forum and ask them for their best price, you will almost always get a lower price than the MAP. This is because dealers can sell a detector for any price they want, but they can't advertise a price lower than the MAP.
Besides a better price when you use a forum sponsor, you can be assured of having a qualified dealer to help you follow up should you have any initial problems with the detector.