Well, 'Thank You,' and as usual they were my opinions. Now I will state that while some (or one) seems to jump out to correct some things I say, my opinions are generally based on experiences and that means a little use of equipment and/or checking with dealers and distributors to learn what I want to know to form those opinions.MichiganJason said:
One example is that I voiced my opinion about how Tesoro sales seem to have dropped off over the past 4-10 years. I'll clarify by stating i am not aware of Tesoro's foreign sales business and limit my observations to the USA market.
Second, if we look at the general market trend it is so very obvious that ALL major manufacturers have product lines that are entirely, or almost completely, made up of detector models that feature modern features such as visual Target ID, visual VDI numeric read-out, audio Tone ID, and automated Ground Balance with some featuring an auto-tracking circuitry to maintain the GB. Bounty Hunter, Fisher, Garrett, Minelab, Teknetics and White's all have full lines of up-to-date features and they are there due to consumer demand. If a vast amount of the buying public wants those features, don't you think a competitive company would try to match that?
Third, I try to monitor how many detector dealers are around where I live (NW Oregon) and in my travels (Nevada, Idaho, Utah, Wyoming and other western states mainly), and I stop on to see what makes and models they tend to carry in stock. For 4-10 years, more actually, fewer Tesoro models were stocked. Matter of fact, they have been fewer Tesoro Dealers , and when I chat with owners, I am usually told they handle Tesoro, but don't stock many, or any, because there just isn't the demand due to them not being "modern."
Forth, anyone can look back in any of the old popular "Treasure Hunting" magazines that were around in '88 and since then and call all of the metal detector dealers who were listed. See how many are no longer in service due to the dwindling hobby interest. Talk to those who do answer and see how many currently sell new Tesoro's, and how their current sales compare with how their business used to be for Tesoro.
Talk to Distributors about their Dealer base and its growth, or drop-off, and also find how their Tesoro business is in recent times to just a couple of years ago or 6 years ago or 12 years ago ... then ask them "Why?"
Has Tesoro made any new and big-size Dealer decision in the past year or so? yes, they cut a deal with Kellyco and it is my guess that Kellyco might have become their biggest, or one of their biggest dealers and that has helped turn more models, possibly. While at it, ask many current and former dealers what their opinions are of having Kellyco being a Tesoro Dealer. Odds are, it has brought about some drop in the dealer base they had. Maybe more of those were smaller size or small-time dealers, but that also means more local dealers are gone.
There have been a lot of popular Tesoro detectors through the years. Many that I have and do like. Tesoro's are around and they often cost a little less than the greater-featured models so they hold a good spot in the buy-sell-trade market. Heavens, I know fully well that we don't need TID for a lot of detecting, such as relic hunting or working ghost towns or homesteads and places with a dense scattering of iron nails. Those are places where I point out the performance benefits of a Tesoro and some competitive lower-cost models over many/most newer and current designs.
But I just don't see Tesoro as a strong industry leader or major contributor like they once were. I don't see them as a well-established dealer base with a lot of visibility all around, like I would expect a prominent manufacturer to be. And without some serious efforts to build better, more competitive models and also build a more active dealer base, I don't see Tesoro hanging around for very long.
Yep, just my opinions and how I reached them.
As Sven mentioned, some avid detectorists prefer more manual control of a detector in order to better deal with challenging ground mineralization. Due to how many Tesoro models have been design with the GB function of the Disc, mode Vs the All Metal mode, I need to have more manual GB control in order to get the best Discriminate mode performance in the higher mineralized locations I usually hunt in. That is achieved by adjusting the GB in the Disc. mode and I need manual GB to achieve that.MichiganJason said:
For many average 'hobbyists' who don't get out that often or don't work more challenging sites, and maybe have mild to mellow ground mineralization, the factory preset Tesoro's might work okay. For me, manual GB is more preferred.
Definitely, and anyone who attends my seminars, which I have been doing since Tesoro started, will see and hear my opinions about slow or delayed response Vs quick response. I don't know how Garrett has been able to get by for so many years with models that had the delayed response and, as you stated, the peculiar audio on many models. The new AT Pro and AT Gold are definite improvements, but let's take a simple look. Tesoro has its followers and they have been around for roughly 32 years. Garrett was around for about 16 years before Tesoro started, and were a bigger outfit during the heyday of the metal detecting hobby growth and, thanks to marketing, they have had a greater following of Garrett loyalists than Tesoro has had.MichiganJason said:
That's what brought about their 'popularity' and they have a new surge thanks to new-and-improved models. Note, too, that they brought on a new and up-to-date engineer to accomplish that move. Hint-hint to ANY manufacturer who wants to be competitive or even get ahead in this industry. You can't sit on your laurels and still make progress.
Yes, Garrett has been "stuck-in-the-past" as far as I am concerned, but they are making progress now. I guess it is Tesoro's turn.MichiganJason said:
Oh, let me add one final comment about Tesoro models and the turn-on-and-go versions Vs the more versatile manual GB types. Yes, preset GB works for many people. Sven pointed out that he and I and many avid detector users lean towards the models with manual GB. It took about 8 years for Tesoro top bring out something new and maybe compete with ??? There is only one model they offer that comes designed to be more versatile and supplied with three search coils. Note that it is NOT a factory preset GB design but a more functional manually GB'ed design.
Monte
