Why aren't new coils released when a new machine is?

[bugg]

Im wondering what the reasoning is to release a new machine , and then release accessory coils months later?
Is it due to the fact that the companies are small, and can't do it all at once, or is it a marketing ploy to keep the customers a little hungry, or they hold off til they get a feel for what the customers are requesting? just curious.

 

[Ralph Bryant]

But with all the talk and desire for a good small coil, I think if Minelab doesn't listen up and offer us something in the 5 inch. range that can be used with both machines (7.5 kHz), they are going to really miss the boat. The 18.75 was apparently already in the development process when the new machines were released, and is supposed to hit the market in the next couple of weeks from my understanding. But I think Coiltec, Sunray, and others have shown Minelab the light as far as possibilities and markets for a wide offering of different coils, so it should be interesting to see what comes about.

I really think your last comment was probably correct, in that they wait and get a feel for what the customer wants rather than just making a guess and saying "here it is, take it or leave it". It's alot easier to build and market what is already in demand than to build something blindly and then create the demand after the fact. There is obviously alot less financial risk involved by going that route.

Ralph

 

[Cody]

I am out of here but you nailed it. I will tell you about a real flop of a coil that retailed for about $250 that they cannot give away for $20.

 

[steve herschbach]

Hi,

I've seen a few people comment about the lack of accessory coils for the X-Terra at introduction like it is something unusual. It certainly is not, and in fact getting an accessory coil within a month or two of introduction is more the unusual event.

I've seen countless new models from all the manufacturers released over the last 30 years as a multi-line detector dealer. If the unit is a new design requiring coils that do not already exist, you usually do not see accessory coils instantly. The fact is accessory coils require an investment. and do not really sell all that well. I've thrown plenty in the garbage over the years rather than have them just keep eating up shelf space. Most of the manufacturers have gotten burned on accessory coils enough to be cautious.

Despite what it would appear from us more rabid users here on the forums the vast majority of detector buyers do not buy extra coils.

So given that a new model may not sell as well as anticipated I do not blame the manufacturers at all for holding off a little bit. But I do get incensed when a model does prove itself and then the manufacturer is either super slow, or just never releases the right coils. The fact that after market companies are able to step in and offer coils and make a profit by it shows that the manufacturers are leaving profits on the table, and not offering us the coils we want.

That is why it is smart to build a line of detectors on a successful platform and share coils, like the White's DFX/MXT models. The new M6 comes out, and BOOM!... tons of accessory coils already on the shelf for it.

But that locks you into certain limits in design, and when you want to break free and design a totally new unit it usually calls for new coils, like the X-Terra models. But I see no signs of us all being kept waiting endlessly for new accessory coils, as has been the case in other units I have dealt with. I waited for Fisher to send me a 14" coil for the Gold Strike (any day now) for so long I finally gave up on the unit and stuck with my Gold Bug 2 and 14" coil combo for a big nugget trip I had planned that could have given Fisher huge press on the Gold Strike. They never did produce that coil. And Garrett over-promised accessory coils for over a year on their Infinium when it came out.

So as long as Minelab follows though by January as promised on their first accessory coil for the X-Terra I sure will not feel like I've been left waiting unusually long at all. Seems pretty quick to me from my past experiences.

Steve Herschbach