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Pawn Shop Metal Detectors

Pawnshop Discovery 3300

I just bought a Discovery 3300 for $90 out the door at a pawn shop.
The clerk wanted $100. I offered $90.
I asked if I could have some time to make sure it worked.
She said I could have a day.
I said make it 4.
Deal done.
Discovery works fine.
I'm happy AND have at least $150 of the $250 or so I was planning on spending on my first detector still in my pocket. If I decide to upgrade and sell the Discovery, I should be able to get most if not all of what I paid for it. That would make it free. :lol:

I know, by the way, that the Discovery sold for a short time for about $125 new. but, that was only for a short. time. Its still available for about $225 in a new look.

Pawn shops are just another source of used merchandise.
Unlike Ebay, which I also use alot, no shipping.
unlike craig'slist, which I've also used, you're buying from a company, not some stranger who could care less if they every see you again.
Regardless of where you shop if you get ripped off its because you didn't do your homework.
 
It all depends on the pawn shop , many have things over priced while some others have better deals. Metal detectors are kind of an obscure market , there is a limited amount of people who know much about them and the operator has a good chance of knowing nothing at all about them or even knowing how to tell if it works properly. That can either work in your favor or you could get ripped off. Id say its a little safer to buy one from the previous owner.
 
Never tried the pawn shops because I don't know of any up here in northern Michigan.

When it comes to a used detectors I rarely buy off ebay or even the classifieds of forums (now getting high priced like ebay).

I contact the large metal detector dealers I know who major on taking machines in on trade. Since they got it that way they often have little into it and for fast cash will come way down in price if it's not a hot seller at the time.

Personally I never buy the big hot selling machines because over 40 years in this hobby I've learned that the great uproars over a model are rarely backed by fact.

As we all know, almost all major brands/models are hot sellers at one time or another. It's sort of a circular game we play. Right now it's the T2 and F-75. Look for loads of deals on these when the panic stage ends and shifts to another brand.

Last year when everyone had the hots for the Fisher F-70 I waited until mid summer and got a brand new one from a dealer for $500 shipped because by that time the bottom dropped out of sales on that model.

This was about $150 under what many were paying for the F-70. I hated the machine and sold it a month later for about $400 (traded it in actually). So, I lost only $100 instead of $250.

So for only $100 I got to try it and learned a lot.
 
pawn shop buys

I just started metal detecting in December, but I was wondering if anyone thinks that pawn shops would be a good place to find detectors or if anyone has ever found a good detector at a pawn shop, because I know sometimes you can stumble onto things pretty cheap at some pawn shops. What would be some detectors to look out for? I currently have a Bounty Hunter EX and kind of want to look for a second detector to take out as well, preferably with a headphone jack, which the EX does not have. Any information would be much appreciated. Also interesting stories would be cool too, if you have stumbled upon a good detector at a pawn shop.
I would be hesitant at purchasing a detector at a pawn shop. For one reason that particular pawn dealer has probably never operated that model detector. Unless yourself is familiar with that model, or take someone with you that is knowledgable to check it out.
 
I think the Garrett Ace 250 is the next metal detector I will get. It seems to be very reliable and I know many people on this forum use them with great success.
I really like my Ace 250 it is pretty easy to learn, you can start pulling coins right out of the box and it is fantastic on batteries. I would however take a look at the Tesoro Silver uMAX it does not have an ID screen if you can live without that, and the learning curve is a little steeper but I believe it goes a little deeper and has a slightly faster recovery speed.

The Tesoro also does not have a depth guage so I guess it is a choice between the slightly better performance of the Tesoro and the ease of use of the near equal performing Ace.
 
I think I got lucky, I talked the pawn shop guy down to $100 for my ACE 250 with the 9x12 coil. He would not let me have the batteries from his TV remote though, he wanted $50 for them.:lol:
 
I was in OKC last week and picked up a Discovery 3300 for $90 at a pawn shop. Well worth it. Last year I bought a Treasure Cove 3020 for $50 at a junk shop. That one was barely worth it. Actually it's not that bad.

If you keep your eyes peeled deals turn up once in a while but it's getting tougher.It's awful easy for the pawn shop to look up the value of things these days. I've noticed that generally, the older the pawn shop proprietor, the better the chance of them not knowing what it's worth.
 
I bought a Fisher Gold Bug at a pawn shop in Port Aransas, TX about 20 years ago for $50.00.

I still have it. It still works and I use it from time to time. Great little machine. The shaft on it adjusts so well that my 4 year old uses it when he goes with me on hunts.

However, I have ot seen any more modern machines in shops within the last few years. Then again, I'm not actively looking for them.
 
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