Price of gold detecting gear now a days

Is it me or is gold detecting gear and accessories and alike really expensive these days.

Feeling that even for basic accessories really expensive.

Kind of since the start of the year and keeping on increasing in price.

its like accross the board as well.

Am I correct.

mega bucks

yellowmellow wrote:Is it me or is gold detecting gear and accessories and alike really expensive these days.

Feeling that even for basic accessories really expensive.

Kind of since the start of the year and keeping on increasing in price.

its like accross the board as well.

Am I correct.

mega bucks

I've often heard that Minelab used to price their detectors on the present Gold Price.  With gold going up so dramatically in recent years, it's of no surprise that their detectors went up as well. The problem I have with the math is that the price of gold was fairly stable but climbing for years.  I could be wrong but I think it was once common knowledge that Minelab used to price their top detector model at around Two Ounces of Gold.  I might be wrong on that number.  But with Gold currently sitting at around AUD $3700 per Troy Ounce right now, those prices are still far too high because the gear price has been frozen for years.  Still, if you want to find gold these days, it probably helps to have the best equipment.  

The counterfeits coming from China around 2017 were functioning much like a legitimate GPX-type detector.  Not all of them, but some.  It was inevitable that they'd start producing something that rivals Minelab by reverse-engineering everything on the shelves.

Quite recently, a new Pulse Induction detector surfaced in Australia that is called the Algoforce E1500 ...and it uses Minelab and Nugget Finder and even Coiltek coils!! It's said to have a similar performance to the GPX detectors, requires that you supply your own PowerBank battery instead of the expensive $400 for the earlier GPX Minelab batteries (or $239 for the 6000 batteries) ... but the unit itself is a third the price of some of the more expensive Minelab machines.  It's retailing for just $2,275.  That's pretty impressive and very attractive if you already have coils.  Compare that with the near $10,000 of the Minelab GPX-6000 or even the entry-level Minelab SDC 2300 which has a bundle deal on offer at the moment for RRP $5,342.  This new E1500 has a bunch of new patents attached to it so I imagine Minelab would be nervous right now. The YouTube videos certainly appear to sell the machines.

I have NO affiliation with the Detector Industry at present but here's a link to the manufacturer of the E1500...
https://algoforce.com.au/https://algoforce.com.au/

It's worth observing that the cost of living is presently very expensive and the economy in the UK, the USA and Australia has stalled.  Yes, the rising gold price has people heading out again to look for gold.  But those without means will likely pass due to the cost of living.  There's less people entering the prospecting hobby than ever before.  And those who do are finding the cost of fuel and the lack of access to ground - to be a barrier.  Reality Television is about the only thing driving newbies into the hobby.  Those shows have been drumming up the excitement on the shows by using dramattic backstories and music... but they also appear to be planting some of the gold.  Those with a keen eye for details will notice that certain nuggets discovered in specific locations likely didn't come from there. And I believe that some of those sunbakers were shamelessly planted.  I had an argument with one of the producers on this very subject.  They said they did it for the American audiences. The current generation want phone reception and don't seem to enjoy leaving the comforts of the city.  I'm sure it won't die out but it's not an encouraging outlook.

As for the price of metal detectors, I was surprised to see the prices actually go UP instead of DOWN in recent years.  Especially on older detectors like the SDC 2300... a model which came out over TEN years ago and probably meets the definition of a Jurassic fossil. That machine should be back down around the $2.5K mark, not the 5K mark.

Lesser models will still find gold but the surface of every known goldfield has been hammered and hit by countless people in the past.  Many of them hitting the ground running with the latest detectors on the day of release.  Every gold town has residents that hunt for gold. A gold pan will still be cheap enough to start you off but using a Sluice (which is the only real way to generate higher volumes of gold) is prohibited in some states by either legislation or recent changes to the Fossicking Act.  That pretty much leaves metal detectors for finding higher volumes of gold. The cheaper VLF machines can't go deep and certainly can't handle mineralized soil... so that then leaves the more expensive Pulse Induction "gold" detectors.

Some folks might need to consider selling a kidney if they can spare one.

Not so detectors as such but basic items like pans picks and harness and the type of basic things that you have detecting

I see. So panning gear etc. I have to admit, that gear lasts decades in many instances. I'm about to sample and pan some ground that I've been eyeing off for a few years and I'm just going to bring my essentials with me... shovel, pan, buckets, crevicing tools, insect repellent etc. I might bring a mini-gold Concentrator bucket with me. The only thing I'm going to need to pay for will be fuel and lunch.

If starting out fresh, pans should still be a fairly affordable price. All the crevicing tools can mostly be sourced from Bunnings. Whilst Bunnings' prices for shovels and hand tools hasn't likely changed, a dedicated crevicing tool might have gone up in price over the last 8 years or so.

I see that the price of Walco picks seems to have gone up a little. Pinpointers seem to be higher priced lately although I've been unimpressed with the latest models due to them repeatedly generating 'false signals', something I've not experienced with earlier models. For those in states that allow motorized or two-tier sluices, I think those prices have probably gone up.

With anything imported from the US or Canada, I believe the prices went up dramatically due to shipping prices rising. The prices went up because shipping container costs went from something like $700 per container to over $2200 per container. Then fuel and logistics costs went up, just around the Covid Lockdown period. This affected all kinds of small-goods. It also put up the costs for cars and white-goods. The problem I have with all of this is that the prices never went back down again over the last few years, even though shipping has mostly returned to normal.