Purchase cost v return ?

[Dug]

Q. What do you think would be the percentage of 5000 buyers that got a full return on the cost of their machine.
If they were a regular 40/50 day a year for five years, user and had at least half a clue of where to look ?.
Be positive here please .

 

[AngerManagement]

if you take into account fuel / food and other expenses it may surprise you...

While I have found about $1600 in coin in 6 months the cost of finding that has been about $600 at least in fuel and travel costs..

so there are lots to consider if you are looking at recovering costs...

But should I sell my ctx3030 at half price, it would have then covered costs; maybe as I did have to spend on extra coils and other accessories..

 

[mbasko]

If you have half a clue on where to look & how to best use the 5000 for the location I.e. coil selection, set up etc. Lets do the maths.
Say you averaged 0.5 grams/day which is very doable. (I am currently averaging with the SDC between 0.5-1gram/day - at the moment my days are from 2hrs to about a max. of 6-7hrs).
40 days x 0.5 = 20 grams
20 grams x 5 years = 100 grams
100 grams x nominal $35/gram = $3500

Residual value of the 5000 after 5 years = $3000-3500

At that you would come out about even & that is probably fairly conservative.

I know people that have paid for a large percentage of the detector cost with one lump & others more than 100% let alone adding up 5 years worth of finds. Myself personally with my 5000 I came out about even I.e gold found + residual value when sold = approx. original purchase price.
I don't include fuel & other costs as I would have these costs regardless of hobby/leisure activities so to me they don't come into it. To be honest none of the costs including detectors do for me - it's a hobby not a job or business. I really cannot understand hobby detectorists being concerned about it. I've never heard of anyone considering their return on fishing gear or golf clubs?
My biggest profit is from being out there having a go at it. The gold is a bonus!

 

[SteelPat]

Not having a 5000 I cant comment on that specifically but I don't look at getting a monetary return for my purchase. I think lifestyle value and what it does for my health and wellbeing far outweigh any thought on covering costs. BUT I wont knock back any financial returns lol.

 

[Dug]

My old boss once showed me a plaque he had hanging on his wall.
"He who pays less pays more "
To me Minelab is the perfect example spending more but in the long run saving takeing into account how well all the models have held their value.
With the new models that have come out ,more than likely the same will be true.
To me $1000 is a lot of money $5000 is heaps and $10,000 dollars is shite loads .
If I'm only loosing $2000 in value over five years electronically prospecting with a quality machine is a cheap hobby with all of the non monetary benifits of the above posts.
I've stopped buying a $12 Tatts ticket each week to help save for a good Pi .
Till that great day of purchasing a beastly high end minelab I'll keep learning the lay of the land exploring and taking notes of likely spots and
Panning with my $14 dollar pan .
Thanks for the figures mbasko

 

[condor22]

Treat it as a hobby, hobbies cost money, most never have an option to gain. Go out have fun and when you've had enough sell your gear to recover some of the cost.

Re % making a quid - Impossible to answer, those that are don't tell and those that aren't don't like to admit it.......

 

[rocketaroo]

If I was to sell my detector, then I would be about 300 bucks infront, but even more, because my non-goldie finds are worth something, and thats just after 5 months. I do think of that stuff, it kinda matters to me, not alot though. I do think that beach detectorists make more than any of us!

 

[walshie1000]

I look at it like this. Generally you've gotta spend money (on equipment) and travels to go and have fun.
I've got a 4500 that I could sell for $1500 more than what I got it for tomorrow. Plus 4 grams of gold in the 1 1/2 months I've been detecting.
It was a big decision to spend that kind of money on a detector however after I found that first nugget I considered it was paying for itself in the enjoyment I get from the hobby and finding a .3 nugget first off haha. My plans are to use this gold to get the misses wedding ring made and anything after that is a bonus. Not to mention the fun I have when out hunting for yellow.
Generally you will lose money on the item ( in this case detectors) however the beauty with this hobby is you can find something of value which can quite easily cover your costs and some.
Much different to my other hobbies like dirt bike riding/racing for instance. You fork out 10 grand for a bike, costs you to travel, fuel, gear, maintenance etc. But once you wrap on a heap of throttle and click a few gears and get the thrill of your life, none of that shit matters.
Just my .02c

 

[Dug]

All good thoughts lads . Cheers !

 

[Heatho]

Now if we were talking Aldi detectors mine has paid itself off numerous times over in finds........

 

[Bjay]

I've only just started in detecting after spending many hrs as a kid following the old man around panning. In the many years since forgot all about prospecting chasing other hobbies ( fishing dirt bikes skiing) but as the body's got older decided to get into detecting and I would have to say that all the cost is very small compared to the experiences and enjoyment I get out of pulling a tiny piece of gold from the ground.

 

[Oldfella]

Different outcomes for different people, I have been very lucky as my 5000 has paid for itself in Gold finds by about 7 times (including costs) so far. But that said, I love the hobby and the research that goes with it regardless of how much, or little I may find.

Cheers

 

[Chewy]

I've been thinking about this. I figure it woud be an awesome bonus to make back in gold what I have invested in prospecting, to actually be able to make a living out of it would be even better. But it's not about the money really, and I realised that while daydreaming about winning the big 1 in xlotto. See I'm dreaming of what id do if money were no problem, and I'd be dragging the family around oz hopefully bustin nuggets hiding on us.

 

[SCROUNGER]

For me its the chase, not the thought of getting a financial return. But it would be great to bust some big nuggets though just for the buzz of it, but i couldn't see myself going for days without pinging any gold at all. Mind you, pinging a multiple ouncer to help pay for a 4500 would take some of the heat off from the minister for finance.

 

[jarrahrules]

Like said before its a Hobby not a business. Enjoy being out there gold is a bonus.

 

[Strobez.94]

Like said before its a Hobby not a business. Enjoy being out there gold is a bonus.

And what a great hobby it is, nothing beats being out in the bush.

 

[Simmo]

There used to be a post on the Miners Den Cairns website, showing an SD2000 that I think Frank owned, that has found over a million dollars in gold!!

 

[Redfin]

Q = "How do ya make a small fortune?
A = "Start with a big one and go prospecting!"

 

[Jaros]

Ha ha ha!!! True mate. :lol: :lol:

 

[Twapster]

Calculating one of my 3 day prospecting trips, $220 in fuel, $180 caravan park expenses, $200 for food and beverages for about a gram ($40) in gold.

That's about my usual ratio, If I include the price of the high banker/pans etc and the detector in the car I didn't use, or the new pick I had to buy because I forgot to pack my old one, gets a little more expensive.

If wife comes, add another $200 for incidentals like new sunglasses, additional shopping stop offs etc.

I'm getting roughly a 5% return on my investment, however the fun and experience is priceless.

Lol, I think anyone who puts in enough time on a 5000 will do ok. Prospecting is a top hobby.