Friendly Reminder........Increase Next Week

[Joe of South Jersey]

The new price of the Excalibur II will go into effect on the 21'st.....

It will cost 100.00 more on the retail end.

 

[Andy Sabisch]

n/t

 

[Buried Crap NJ]

n/t

 

[Joe of South Jersey]

n/t

 

[Andy Sabisch]

You are held hostage to the fluctuating exchange rate. Many non-US hunters have voiced comments in the past about US detector pricing for the same reason but as the dollar drops, our detectors become cheaper to them as well.

There were a number of reasons stated as to why production was moved from Ireland to Malaysia including controlling production costs but when detector prices go up with no change to the actual detector other than the price tag, not sure how that "cost savings" is working out at least for the consumer.

The economy is hard on all of us right now and while many of us live and breath metal detecting, in the end what we spend for equipment is still discretionary income . . . . . . companies - not just Minelab - can wind up building a better mousetrap that the vast majority can not afford or are able to justify when other expenses are competing for the same pie.

Maybe the extra $100 will be going to beef up the service department . . . . . . still hear about long waiting periods to get Excaliburs repaired when sent into for service.

 

[synthnut]

I look at this as just another greedy move by yet another greedy American corporation to cover their shortcomings , and to get every last cent out of the consumer while outsourcing to 3rd world countries to keep their costs down, all while providing shoddy technical and repair sevice ...... Our own goverenment created our countries lack of industry, and the incentives to send businesses abroad has left the Amercain worker with no work , and has created this monster, and now this is the NEW American way that is being shoved down our throats ...... The rich and larger corporations will fluorish in this country , and the middle class Amercan worker is being left in the background to pay for it all ...... THIS is not the America I knew as a young man .....and these are NOT the business practices I grew up with .... A prodct that had "MADE IN THE USA " stamped on it use to stand for the best product on the world !!....It's rare to even see this anymore !!.....Maybe next year we will see a typical move by the big companies ....Maybe they will change the color , add one switch , and call it something else to raise the price even higher !!.....I can still hear my father ( may he rest in peace ) saying ...."They sure aren't making things the way they use to " .....and this was back when I was a kid !!... Is this what we pass on to OUR children ? ..... We're fast becoming a 3rd world country ourselves !!.....Jim

 

[Neil]

The new price of the Excalibur II will go into effect on the 21'st.....

It will cost 100.00 more on the retail end.

Joe do you know if there are plans for them all to go up, etrac/ explorer and so on or just the sov and excal?

Thanks,
Neil

 

[Finderskeeper]

I am sure that Minelab does not want to raise prices. It's just that the value of the dollar has dropped. You can thank CONgress and the FED for that.

Just remember, the silver and gold that you find will be worth a lot more of those increasingly worthless dollars as those previously mentioned keep messing up our currency.

 

[marbien]

This will make up all the money that was lost when customers sent back their machines, It goes to show that all things are not really free

 

[Joe of South Jersey]

n/t

 

[erikk]

From another dealer:

If you are looking to get any new Tesoro detectors or items, today's the last day before a price increase goes into effect tommorow-March 1st. If you need anything, please let me know. Thanks!

Until we reduce government/ spending and entitlements this is going to be the name of the game-get used to it! There is NO free lunch

 

[synthnut]

"Other than a higher price tag, have any features been added?"

Yes, there have been additional repairs that have been added , along with additional time to fix said repairs ....... But wait , that's not all .......As the machines get cheaper to build , the cost will continue to escalate ..... stay tuned for further increases !!....

 

[Finderskeeper]

Again...it is not the fault of the company. IT is the fault of your government. The monetary policy of the US is inflate, inflate and if that don't work, inflate.

Yes, the move to Indonesia was done for cheaper labor....but it was also done because Ireland is going through some very bad economic times itself and is politically unstable.

And yes again.....there probably will be even more increases.....but that is because of inflation. So get used to it. You will be paying more for everything and getting less for what you do. Inflation is the worst tax of all.

So stop blaming Minelab. They are not greedy. They are in business to make money. And if you don't like it, then buy something else. Stop being so simple minded on this issue. Blame the real cause....the people YOU elected.

 

[JHM]

I read a post that stated minelab made 152 percent profit last quarter. What is your definition of greedy?

 

[Finderskeeper]

I read a post that stated minelab made 152 percent profit last quarter. What is your definition of greedy?

What business is in business to make as little profit as possible? Only a very foolish business person would be in business to do that.

Again...if you do not like how much money Minelab made or lost, then buy something else.

Do this......ask White's how much money they made......or Tesoro..... What privately held company would do that? I doubt what you read was even true. Heck I could make up things and post on the internet...Like JHM made a million dollars last quareter. I'd bet you would like that to be true ! But what does that have to do with the price of rice in China?

152% profit.......hmmmm......and even if so? Businesses are in business to MAKE MONEY.

Ok.....here's one for you....and it is the real reason why metal detectors rose in price.......the Federal Reserve made a profit of INFINITY as they took nothing and made trillions from NOTHING causing a flood of dollars around the world which made your money in your pocket worth less....and so you have to pay $100 more for your detector!

 

[Neil]

Again...it is not the fault of the company. IT is the fault of your government. The monetary policy of the US is inflate, inflate and if that don't work, inflate.

Yes, the move to Indonesia was done for cheaper labor....but it was also done because Ireland is going through some very bad economic times itself and is politically unstable.

And yes again.....there probably will be even more increases.....but that is because of inflation. So get used to it. You will be paying more for everything and getting less for what you do. Inflation is the worst tax of all.

So stop blaming Minelab. They are not greedy. They are in business to make money. And if you don't like it, then buy something else. Stop being so simple minded on this issue. Blame the real cause....the people YOU elected.

"the people YOU elected"........now thats a simple minded statement!

 

[Finderskeeper]

Again...it is not the fault of the company. IT is the fault of your government. The monetary policy of the US is inflate, inflate and if that don't work, inflate.

Yes, the move to Indonesia was done for cheaper labor....but it was also done because Ireland is going through some very bad economic times itself and is politically unstable.

And yes again.....there probably will be even more increases.....but that is because of inflation. So get used to it. You will be paying more for everything and getting less for what you do. Inflation is the worst tax of all.

So stop blaming Minelab. They are not greedy. They are in business to make money. And if you don't like it, then buy something else. Stop being so simple minded on this issue. Blame the real cause....the people YOU elected.

"the people YOU elected"........now thats a simple minded statement!

Maybe it is and maybe it isn't......When I went to college, my majors were economics and business and it served me well in my 35 years of business. I know how the "system" was set up back in 1913 with the federal reserve act.

Ever since 1913, the people who run for office have done almsot squat to prevent what is happening today......the destruction of the US currency. So if Your congress person or Your senator that YOU voted for has done nothing to put an end to the Federal Reserve banking cartel, ( a group of foreign and US private bankers) who control the value of your money, then YOU are to blame every bit as much as the ^&$%$&# senators and congresspeople that YOU voted for. By NOT insisting that your elected people end this rape of the US people by the Federal Reserve, you doom yourself to:
[size=large]Pay More money for your metal Detector! [/size]

So stop complaining about the price increases of metal detectors.....because it was YOUR fault that your elected representatives did not represent you and did nothing to keep the US dollar viable ! Since 1913, a dollar has dropped in value so that it takes $31.00 to buy today what $1 bought in 1913.

Yes it may be a simple minded statement.....I had to keep it simple for some people so they could understand.

 

[JHM]

"Again...if you do not like how much money Minelab made or lost, then buy something else"

Sound like we are a little intolerant of other peoples opinion. Last time I checked we still have a free country. Free to state opinions and buy what we want.
That statement is like saying "If you don't like this government they go live somewhere else" or " If you don't like what people are stating on this forum the go join another" I would never do that to you

 

[JHM]

Here's where I got that crazy idea about all that profit. I may have read it wrong, I'm sure you can explain it since you have a degree in economics. But the way I read it, the company is doing good and it appears the last price increase was greed. Some people would have you think Minelab can barely pay the light bill because of the mean ole government. Yes I think all detectors are too high. Open the case and compare the boards and components to what's in your laptop that you can buy for 1/3 of the price of an etrac, or 1/2 the price of a sovereign.

From the Published Annual Report 2010 of Codan Group, the holding company of Minelab and 2 others corporations. I put into bold the things of interest to me.

If you would like to download and read the entire pdf document, Google "Codan Group Australia" it is listed on the homepage of the website. Look at the bar graph on page 4, estimated Codan 2011 operating revenue is predicted to be 160M down from 2010 by 29.3 M. Could this be the impetus for the price increases? From reading the Key Initiatives 2011 it looks like some new Minelab products are in the works.

HIGHLIGHTS FY10

* Record business performance; revenue $189.3 million (up 43%) and underlying net profit after tax $31.1 million (up 142%)

* Annual dividend 8 cents per share (up 23%)

* $30 million reduction in net debt

* Exceptional performance from Minelab metal detector business; revenue up 156% to $106.6 million

* Boom in demand for metal detectors from the artisanal gold mining market

* Strong sales opportunities pipeline for HF radio into new market segments

* Improving market for commercial satellite communications products

* Locus Microwave well positioned for significant X-Band satellite communications products sales for US government use

* Integration and restructuring projects delivering reduced costs, greatly expanded manufacturing capacity and improved efficiency

KEY INITIATIVES FY11

* Deliver strong growth in sales for all communications product groups, Codan and Locus Microwave

* Continue excellent trend line sales growth for Minelab metal detectors with new product releases, further penetration of artisanal mining markets and industry best marketing

* Roll out of the groups IT and SAP business systems to Locus Microwave

* Ramp up targeted training and development programs for management and staff

* Continued search for acquisitions