Big Boys Hobbies

How do I turn Detecting into a career?

I say for for it scoundrel. Who's to say you can't do it? And who cares? If you DO make it, which I'm sure you will eventually then awesome.

Just be persistent and dig a lot. Keep up your appearance so you can ask permission at places. I'm sure a lot of caches are on private property. Or are you thinking of the night-hawking route? :lol:
 
JBEXPRESS said:
Look at me, I seem to be doing pretty good lately, made 2k in 3 weeks :D... On mu lunch breaks! I bet I would make a killing if i did this full time... AM I AM IN SOUTH FLORIDA.. Silver and gold is everywhere here on our beaches. BUT I would never quit my job... I am doing just fine on my lunch breaks :D
Click to expand...


You're an exception. You are hunting in an area where most people are concentrating on the beach. You do it often which ups your odds.

You have great energy and technique. I've watched many hunters, they
seem lethargic and their technique is sloppy.

Yes, there is silver and gold everywhere on our beaches but you failed
to mention, those beaches go on and on and on and on and on.

Except for those rare sand movements which up the odds, time spent
trying to cover all that sand is money.
 
In life one sometimes has to take a chance, either you try the thing or you always wish you had. Better to try it for 6 months or so with determination. There are people out there detecting full time as we speak. Steve in so az
 
scoundrel said:
My PLAN is to treasure hunt full time and put my heart and soul into it. Never said I planned on finding a $4,000 every 400 hours.
Click to expand...

This exemplifies my point. I would encourage anyone to follow their dreams, but not to do so without a plan. If you'd like to live off your finds, you have to find enough to live off of. If you don't plan on finding enough to live off of, how do you expect to survive?

scoundrel said:
Why would you <<<Edited by Admin>>> that I wouldn't be doing research? When did I say I would only be beachcombing? Actually, what I said was, research is one of the key elements you need to be successful at this.
Click to expand...

Good, I'm glad to hear it. But then you're not a professional metal detectorist. You're a professional treasure hunter. The majority of your work will be research, and the recovery aspect of most sizable caches will require sea recovery equipment, GPR, a two-box detector, etc. Your profession will most likely not really resemble what we think of as "metal detecting" in any meaningful sense. But I hope you can succeed at your profession as a treasure hunter.

scoundrel said:
Like you said before? That's what I have been saying all along.
Click to expand...

Yes, I did say it before. Would you like me to quote it for you? Chill out, this is the part where I was defending you ;)

scoundrel said:
Is a baker not a baker because he makes money on deliveries also?

Is James Lebron not a professional basketball player because he makes twice
as much money doing endorsements as he does playing ball ?
Click to expand...

No, a baker is not a baker if he spends 90% of his time driving the delivery truck. He may own a baking company, and he may bake, but he's a delivery driver. Lebron James is a professional basketball player because he plays basketball for a living. He's also a celebrity and gets paid very well for that too. He has two professions.

I don't see the difference between being a professional treasure hunter and a professional metal detectorist as trivial. If you plan on being a treasure hunter, swinging a MD about on the beach isn't the way to go about it, imho. I'm not suggesting that's your plan (since you said you don't have one besides "find treasure" and "put your soul into finding treasure".) I'm just saying that if it *is* someone's plan, they need to expand their frame of thinking. Making a living from beachcoming won't do, and I wouldn't encourage anyone to try it without further planning.

scoundrel said:
Your'e half right.
Click to expand...

So much for a friendly forum, jeeze. :roll: Thanks a lot.

scoundrel said:
You have come to a conclusion based on a very small sampling, 400 hours. Thats only 10 weeks of full time, and only 7 weeks if you work 60 hours a week.
Click to expand...

That's the only evidence you've given us to go on to support the idea that it's a feasible plan. Full time you'd still need to pull off on of these big $4000 scores every 10 months in order to meet minimum wage. Do you think that's likely? Since I've only seen a handful of these types of finds ever despite meeting dozens of detectorists with many thousands of total man hours searching, I personally don't see it as terribly likely. I could be wrong, but then again, you don't have any way of knowing when these big finds will happen or how frequently. So I just hope you're not putting all your eggs in one basket.

scoundrel said:
If you applied your logic(or illogic) to your own ambitions, you never would have started your horse farm. Like you said, your business didn't become profitable for 1 year.
Click to expand...

I left more than enough money in savings to cover several years before making a profit. I had a business plan to reach that level of profitability. I knew that the potential for sufficient profit to cover expenses was possible, and how to target my efforts to reach that level. That's what I mean by a plan.

scoundrel said:
As for the $4,000 cashe, the law of averages caught up to me early. Do I expect to find a $4,000 every 400 hours like clockwork ? Of coarse not. But at the end of 1 year of full-time treasure hunting(including lots of research), and the law of averages, I expect to do just fine.
Click to expand...

I hope you're right, and good luck to you. But besides faith that those finds will happen, do you have any reason to believe that "the law of averages" will be enough to support you? Do you have enough resources to support yourself if they don't materialize for a year? For two years? Do you have a concrete plan on how to go about finding those big scores, the amount of time/money you need to invest to locate and recover them, and the expected return on that investment? Again, I'm not saying it's not possible that you will succeed, but these are some things you may want to think about before you go all in.
 
dan said:
A recipe for tragedy here.

Telling someone to "take the risk" is easy advice to give, but there's a lot more to it if that risk is to be successful. Planning, preparation, research, and common sense, for starters.

What about the guy whose dream is to win the lottery? To "take the risk" he sells everything he owns, empties his bank account, cashes in his IRAs, and buys a truckload of lottery tickets. And loses. Now what?

Before I threw away all I had for a life of metal detecting, I would like to find one person - just one - who is successfully doing this.

Do you know how many people "take the risk" by opening a restaurant, for example, and then lose everything within a year? It has probably happened many times over in your own town, wherever you live. I have a high school classmate whose husband did just that. His sports bar closed after 14 months. That was four years ago, and he is still buried in bills he accumulated while he was open. It was his life's passion, his friends encouraged him to Take the Risk, and it ruined his life.

Look around you at the relatively new businesses that have closed just in the past year. These were all opened by people who followed their dream, and lost.

Hate to say it, but there are a lot of people who do not have the genes to succeed in self-employment. They are fine when working for someone else and being told what to do, but they are lost without instructions from the boss.

Drop it all and follow your dream?

Will you be there to pick up the pieces after they follow your advice and it all falls apart?
Click to expand...

This is the correct answer, right here.

In this life, there exists a group of delusional dreamers (Note: delusional) who are willing to jump off any cliff, pursue any strain of fancy no matter how impulsive, unplanned and ridiculous. They cite the broader concept of Thomas Edison and the light bulb as the basis for their individually awful decision. They think that reading a book or magazine constitutes 'research'.

In our town, we had "The Cat Store".
An older woman who loved cats, recognized that a lot of other people loved cats and figured there was a market there that needed serving. She opened a store that sold nothing other than cat trinkets and junk.... Cat t-shirts. Cat jewelry. Cat posters. Now, in spite of every single person telling her that this was an AWFUL idea for this particular market, she insisted it was her dream, her money and that she had a credible insight into the business model that no one else was seeing... She was able to maintain her 'ideals' until she had burned through the lions share of her life savings subsidizing the delusion for precisely 2 years. It took a serious family intervention to convince her that this was just an awful idea and to let it go, but only after hysterical protest.

As Dan pointed out, there are hundreds of thousands of people out there in the world, swinging a coil. You'd think that if this were an economically feasible thing, ONE of them would be doing it full time, for a living. They all certainly share the same objective- using their metal detectors to find lost stuff of value. What insight do you have that they don't that will allow it to traverse a 'financially below average reward' hobby into a generator of income so fantastic, it will allow you to do it full time?

Yes, if living in a tent and spending your handful clad to buy a single McDonalds hamburger for your daily meal, then go for it...
 
The OP of this thread has not been back since he asked a simple, honest question almost a week ago. Some of you may have scared him off!!:roll:
If this thread gets any nastier it goes Bye - Bye!:keeporder:
 
dan said:
A recipe for tragedy here.

Telling someone to "take the risk" is easy advice to give, but there's a lot more to it if that risk is to be successful. Planning, preparation, research, and common sense, for starters.

What about the guy whose dream is to win the lottery? To "take the risk" he sells everything he owns, empties his bank account, cashes in his IRAs, and buys a truckload of lottery tickets. And loses. Now what?

Before I threw away all I had for a life of metal detecting, I would like to find one person - just one - who is successfully doing this.

Do you know how many people "take the risk" by opening a restaurant, for example, and then lose everything within a year? It has probably happened many times over in your own town, wherever you live. I have a high school classmate whose husband did just that. His sports bar closed after 14 months. That was four years ago, and he is still buried in bills he accumulated while he was open. It was his life's passion, his friends encouraged him to Take the Risk, and it ruined his life.

Look around you at the relatively new businesses that have closed just in the past year. These were all opened by people who followed their dream, and lost.

Hate to say it, but there are a lot of people who do not have the genes to succeed in self-employment. They are fine when working for someone else and being told what to do, but they are lost without instructions from the boss.

Drop it all and follow your dream?

Will you be there to pick up the pieces after they follow your advice and it all falls apart?
Click to expand...

FYI,....
WE HAVE a 'Cat House' here in my City and it's STILL in Business twenty years later!! Ha, Ha! As a matter of fact, they celebrate their 20 YEARS (did I already mention that?) in AUGUST
http://www.thecathouseinc.com/


LSM said:
This is the correct answer, right here.

In this life, there exists a group of delusional dreamers (Note: delusional) who are willing to jump off any cliff, pursue any strain of fancy no matter how impulsive, unplanned and ridiculous. They cite the broader concept of Thomas Edison and the light bulb as the basis for their individually awful decision. They think that reading a book or magazine constitutes 'research'.

In our town, we had "The Cat Store".
An older woman who loved cats, recognized that a lot of other people loved cats and figured there was a market there that needed serving. She opened a store that sold nothing other than cat trinkets and junk.... Cat t-shirts. Cat jewelry. Cat posters. Now, in spite of every single person telling her that this was an AWFUL idea for this particular market, she insisted it was her dream, her money and that she had a credible insight into the business model that no one else was seeing... She was able to maintain her 'ideals' until she had burned through the lions share of her life savings subsidizing the delusion for precisely 2 years. It took a serious family intervention to convince her that this was just an awful idea and to let it go, but only after hysterical protest.

As Dan pointed out, there are hundreds of thousands of people out there in the world, swinging a coil. You'd think that if this were an economically feasible thing, ONE of them would be doing it full time, for a living. They all certainly share the same objective- using their metal detectors to find lost stuff of value. What insight do you have that they don't that will allow it to traverse a 'financially below average reward' hobby into a generator of income so fantastic, it will allow you to do it full time?

Yes, if living in a tent and spending your handful clad to buy a single McDonalds hamburger for your daily meal, then go for it...
Click to expand...



AHAHAHAH.... Yer both funny :) (.. AND you're BOTH wrong.)

Do you 'ACTUALLY' think that the person(s) who DO make a living would be telling YOU or ANYONE how to do it?

Just because YOU don't think it can be done, does not make it so... If YOU were even 'remotely' correct in your assumption that people are DELUSIONAL for attempting something 'UNUSUAL', then there would be a LOT LESS RICH and SUCCESSFUL people. GRANNY wasn't too far off the mark, perhaps a few years too early... How many BIG BOX pet Stores are now in receivership or completely GONE? What if it had been the present and she had incorporated LOLZ CATZ products into her store and maybe online? Hell, maybe if her FAMILY was MORE supportive, then SHE could have been the one who sold www.ICanHasCheezburger.com for Millions of dollars!!
There are FAR too many variables for anyone to KNOW whether or not something may or may not be viable as an option to make a living from a concept or product or 'way of life'. Just ask Bill Gates, the maker of the 'Pet Rock' and the 'Slap Chop' guy!!

If my nephews and nieces are able to back pack throughout Europe and Australia doing 'Menial Jobs' and having the TIME of their LIVES, I'm pretty sure that the OP can figure out how to do the same while METAL DETECTING and paying LITTLE to NO TAX! ESPECIALLY considering that he HAS STEADY INCOME from the Rental of his HOME/PROPERTY! Honestly, it already sounds like he's WELL AHEAD OF MOST OF US!!

The question to be asked, should be HOW SUCCESSFUL will he become and NOT 'if he will' be successful... The OP is 'already there'.

I personally think he'll do just fine in the USA, detecting and living life, but imagine detecting in a Country where 'normal clad' consists of DOLLAR coins ($1, $2, $5) where you can EASILY make above minimum wage and sometimes FAR, FAR, better (Greece, Italy). Lest we forget that many 'other Countries' have an ADDITIONAL 200 - 3000 YEARS of HISTORICAL FINDS when compared to the USA! The possibilities are ENDLESS and the sights and people you'd see and meet would be 'priceless'.

FYI,....
WE HAVE a 'Cat House' here in my City and it's STILL in Business twenty years later!! Ha, Ha! As a matter of fact, they celebrate their 20 YEARS (did I already mention that?) in AUGUST :D
http://www.thecathouseinc.com/


Now put that in your Pipe and Smoke it...:lol:
 
SeabeeRon said:
The OP of this thread has not been back since he asked a simple, honest question almost a week ago. Some of you may have scared him off!!:roll:
If this thread gets any nastier it goes Bye - Bye!:keeporder:
Click to expand...


Maybe he's just 'busy' detecting? :) I for one am DEFINITELY looking forward to seeing how he makes out! :)
 
sonofamahalla said:
FYI,....


Do you 'ACTUALLY' think that the person(s) who DO make a living would be telling YOU or ANYONE how to do it?

Just because YOU don't think it can be done, does not make it so... If YOU were even 'remotely' correct in your assumption that people are DELUSIONAL for attempting something 'UNUSUAL', then there would be a LOT LESS RICH and SUCCESSFUL people.
Click to expand...

"Delusional" and "unusual" aren't the same thing. Unusual is buying bank stocks in March of 2008 for pennies on the dollar, when everyone else was selling them. Delusional was buying bank stocks in 2007 for insane valuation multiples, under the (then) commonly held delusion that "real estate always goes up!!!!"
Delusion and contrarianism aren't related in any way.

Anyway, let me get this straight...
You (and presumably, he) have some intensely abstract insight into this question that "no one else on earth sees", which will allow you to make a living metal detecting. But naturally, you're not going to articulate any of it.

Am I on the right track here?

I sure wish you both were a stock that I could actively short...

GRANNY wasn't too far off the mark, perhaps a few years too early...
Click to expand...

Nope. Granny was way, way off the mark. In that market, that store was a failure from the word go, but she had big dreams and I'm sure if she came on this forum and talked about those big dreams, she'd emphasize them with a lot of CAPITALIZATION and grandiose, theoretical references to the concept of risk taking that had no basis in anything factual.

The difference between smart risk and stupid risk is comprehending facts. There is a class of Walter Mitty types who live in what appears to be an alternate reality of their own making, where they are quick to emotionally subsidize fantastic dreams of anything they please, without bothering to hold any of it liable to facts. You cannot argue or debate these people, as arguments need fact to advance. They only need 'hope' and 'dreams' and the infinity of the universe that might allow anything to happen.
 
LSM said:
In this life, there exists a group of delusional dreamers (Note: delusional) who are willing to jump off any cliff, pursue any strain of fancy no matter how impulsive, unplanned and ridiculous.
Click to expand...

Hey now, that's a bit much. Yes, some dreams are just plain delusional (I want to make money wrestling polar bears!!), but making money treasure hunting isn't one of them. It's possible, but very very VERY unlikely to be successful. My point is that being a "professional treasure hunter" will have very little to do with metal detecting, although a metal detector may be one tool used by a professional treasure hunter on occasion. That, and it will take a significantly detailed plan and a LOT of starting capitol to make it feasible (or at least some EXTREME luck in the beginning).

sonofamahalla said:
FYI,....
WE HAVE a 'Cat House' here in my City and it's STILL in Business twenty years later!!
Click to expand...

Nobody said a cat store wasn't possible, but this person obviously had a much more developed business plan than the one that went out of business in two years. That's all we're saying - prior planning prevents poor performance. And in the case of swinging a Metal Detector for a living, you're relying on luck in large part, so you will need an even greater degree of prior planning. You'll need an idea of where and how you're going to search in order to routinely find the big ticket items to fund your entire life on a significantly regular basis without depleting their availability to the point that they are no longer accessible. And that's no easy feat. OR you need to have enough money to fund your life while you research the location of, and subsequently recover, some cache large enough to pay for the time spent plus enough profit to make it worthwhile to continue. Again, not as simple as swinging a MD as a full time job.

sonofamahalla said:
Do you 'ACTUALLY' think that the person(s) who DO make a living would be telling YOU or ANYONE how to do it?
Click to expand...

I still have yet to see any evidence that it is possible to maintain a minimum wage job swinging a metal detector. I know a lot of detectorists, and not one of them makes minimum wage over any length of time. I just don't see how it's feasible, with the exception of cache hunting, sunken ship salvage, or some other non-MD related "treasure hunting". I'm not saying it's not possible, there's a first time for everything. But I'm just saying that there is no evidence.

And to encourage someone to risk everything for a dream with little evidence that it's even possible to succeed, without a thoroughly detailed plan for moving forward is... well, lets just say I can't in good conscience encourage anyone to attempt that.
 
I've kept records, done the math, and even gold nugget hunting isn't gonna make you an income you can live off here in Colorado. I can make it to the gold areas about four months out of the year in my 4X4, longer if I had horses. On a good day I MIGHT find 2 grams of nuggets, worth around $100. Subtract fuel costs and that leaves maybe $65. I can get away from the house one full day out of the week. That makes my total profit for the month $260. That's a tad over $1000 per average year. That's enough for ONE mortgage payment on my house and maybe a nice dinner......

Dusty
 
Last edited:
I was hoping someone would chime in on nugget hunting, since it's something I know nothing about. Thanks dusty!

Let's say you quit your day job, and instead of going out one day a week, you went out 6 days a week. I would assume that 6 full days of hunting is about all one could manage physically with one day off, but correct me if I'm wrong and you think it would be possible to go out all 7 days a week. Nobody said this was going to be fun, it's a job now ;)

You also said a GOOD day is 2 grams, and I'm sure there's days you'll get skunked, too. So let's average out to, say, one gram per day? Does that sound reasonable? So now you're looking at 6g/week or 24g/month or $1200/month.

You said you can only get out to the gold areas four months out of the year? Why is that?

Let's go so far as to say you get out there 6 months out of the year. You're now looking at $7200/year, or about the same as working part-time at McDonalds for a year. Except that you're doing manual labor, 6 days a week, and that's *before* gas, MD batteries, and other associated expenses. If, somehow, you can get out there year-round (and weather doesn't stop any of your 6 days/week), you're now looking at making about the same as a full-time job at McDonalds, but BEFORE expenses, and working MORE hours.

So when you say you can make a living with just a MD, define "living". :lol:
 
LSM said:
"Delusional" and "unusual" aren't the same thing. Unusual is buying bank stocks in March of 2008 for pennies on the dollar, when everyone else was selling them. Delusional was buying bank stocks in 2007 for insane valuation multiples, under the (then) commonly held delusion that "real estate always goes up!!!!"
Delusion and contrarianism aren't related in any way.
Click to expand...

Wow.... that is a REALLY ODD example... The 'DELUSIONAL' ones were the FEDS who thought that they could create artificial Housing prices in order to TRY and sustain a 'long-term' consumer base. There is also a HUGE difference between 'REAL ESTATE' and a HOUSE, but those intricacies need not be discussed here...

LSM said:
Anyway, let me get this straight...
You (and presumably, he) have some intensely abstract insight into this question that "no one else on earth sees", which will allow you to make a living metal detecting. But naturally, you're not going to articulate any of it.

Am I on the right track here?

I sure wish you both were a stock that I could actively short...
Click to expand...

I truly hope you're not a 'serious' Investor (you probably have Margin account too..). I'd be a penny stock anyway and you'd be 'hard pressed' to find a Broker that 'could even' Short Me! ;)

I professed 'nothing' as far as 'knowing secrets' regarding making a living, but merely pointed out the VERY obvious which YOU seem to be struggling with... You can hunt for Pennies, Nickels, Dimes and Quarters all day, but I'll pick up 2 or 3 times the clad on any given day in less time and effort. It's just the way it is and won't change until you have had $1 and $2 coins for a decade or two... Now compound that with the fact that my 'Coinage' is worth more than yours (about 4.5%) and it starts to add up. Now think about finding a bunch of EUROS and what 'that translates' into American$$, along with the ability to find 1000 year old coins and even OLDER artifacts, caches, etc...


LSM said:
Nope. Granny was way, way off the mark. In that market, that store was a failure from the word go, but she had big dreams and I'm sure if she came on this forum and talked about those big dreams, she'd emphasize them with a lot of CAPITALIZATION and grandiose, theoretical references to the concept of risk taking that had no basis in anything factual.
Click to expand...

WHA? I DON'T GET WHAT YOU'RE SAYING... COULD YOU 'BE' ANY MORE UPTIGHT? :lol:

LSM said:
The difference between smart risk and stupid risk is comprehending facts. There is a class of Walter Mitty types who live in what appears to be an alternate reality of their own making, where they are quick to emotionally subsidize fantastic dreams of anything they please, without bothering to hold any of it liable to facts. You cannot argue or debate these people, as arguments need fact to advance. They only need 'hope' and 'dreams' and the infinity of the universe that might allow anything to happen.
Click to expand...

WOW... you REALLY like to use the work 'FACT' or FACTUAL'!

You're kinda' like my Grandpa... He see's everything in Black and White and refuses to 'see' the 'shades of Grey'. It 'frightens' him/you as it seems 'alien' and 'unconventional'... Am I getting warm? Also, my experience with individuals who make reference to the word FACT 'too many times' in a paragraph are usually the ones who have views that are 'set in stone' and are unable to 'understand' or 'accept' change and are usually VERY 'High-Strung'... From this point on, you shall be known to me as 'Dwight Shreut'! "Naysayer and Killer of Dreams" :lol:
 
LSM said:
In this life, there exists a group of delusional dreamers (Note: delusional) who are willing to jump off any cliff, pursue any strain of fancy no matter how impulsive, unplanned and ridiculous.
Click to expand...

I have never jumped off a cliff.
I don't even know what a 'strain of fancy is'. I tried to look it up but got NOTHING. Is that your own made up phrase?
I'm not impulsive, I've been contemplating this for a long time.
When did I say I don't have a plan?
Ridiculous to who, you? So you're you the authority on what is and what is not ridiculous?

They cite the broader concept of Thomas Edison and the light bulb as the basis for their individually awful decision.
Click to expand...

Please show me where I cited Thomas Edison as the basis for my decision.

They think that reading a book or magazine constitutes 'research'.
Click to expand...

See my previous comment about assumptions.

From Websters-

Research-noun The collecting of information about a particular subject.


As Dan pointed out, there are hundreds of thousands of people out there in the world, swinging a coil. You'd think that if this were an economically feasible thing, ONE of them would be doing it full time, for a living.
Click to expand...

So you, Master of the obvious, have searched the world over, and have deduced with certainty that there is no one on the planet who is doing this?


They all certainly share the same objective- using their metal detectors to find lost stuff of value.
Click to expand...

Who do you mean by all? Everyone who metal detects?

People metal detect for many different reasons.


What insight do you have that they don't that will allow it to traverse a 'financially below average reward' hobby into a generator of income so fantastic, it will allow you to do it full time?
Click to expand...

Most people persue metal detecting as a hobby. A couple hours here, a couple hours there. Tot lots, beach-combing, parks, cellar holes, etc, etc.
So they look at it through that lens, which is why they can't conceive making a living at it. Through my research(see definition above), I have come to see the bigger picture. There is treasure everywhere, all over the planet, in the ground, waiting to be found.



Yes, if living in a tent and spending your handful clad to buy a single McDonalds hamburger for your daily meal, then go for it...
Click to expand...

I'm sure you aced economics 101, but did you sleep through grammar?


Your smug condescension is unbecoming. I don't think you could concede a point to save your life. My question to you is...how do you <<<Deleted by Admin>>>
Click to expand...
 
Folks, if you can't discuss this without verbally assaulting each other, this thread will go away.
 
scoundrel said:
When did I say I don't have a plan?
Click to expand...

Right here:

scoundrel said:
My PLAN is to treasure hunt full time and put my heart and soul into it.
Click to expand...

I mean, you call it a plan. But it isn't really a plan, according to the traditional definition of a plan. It's a goal, but not a plan. A plan would tell us how you are going to reach that goal. You know, beyond "use my heart and soul".

My goal is to climb Mount Everest. My plan to climb Mount Everest would involve base camp locations, travel arrangements, equipment lists, etc. See the difference? So as of yet, you've given us no plan, just the goal.

Step 1 - Become a professional treasure hunter.
Step 2 - Put heart and soul into treasure hunting.
Step 3 - ???
Step 4 - Profit!!
 
I said this-
Originally Posted by scoundrel
I can Dan. I started doing this in October of last year. Nine months, with a four month hiatus. Five months of detecting. Usually 3 or four hour sessions, on probably 100 of those 150 days. Four hundred hours total is a high estimate, but I'll give that to you. 400x $7.31= $2,924. I have found over $300 in clad,over $1,500 in gold rings, A cashe that I sold for $4,000, $100
in reward money, and just yesterday I found a mans gold and diamond ring(probably worth only $150. It's 10k and diamonds are small.), and a ladies Movado watch that retails for $500 that I'm sure I can get $200 for, And a relegious medallion from a shipwreck that I turned down $300 for.

Total-$ 6,550
expenses- gas and meter money-$1,000
net income- $5,550
Click to expand...

You(toast) said this

I see a bit of a flaw in your plan... You made a profit of about $5,550 for 5 months of detecting "part time" (about 20 hrs /week). But 72% of that net profit came from a single cache find. How often do you honestly expect to find something valued at $4000+? Every 5 months? Can you honestly say it's likely that you'll produce something that valuable, that often? Show of hands - who here thinks they find a $4000+ find every 400 hours of detecting?
Click to expand...

I never called that a plan. Dan asked for an example of someone who averaged better than minimum wage. I gave him one.

In response to this-
I see a bit of a flaw in your plan...
Click to expand...

I said this-
My PLAN is to treasure hunt full time and put my heart and soul into it. Never said I planned on finding a $4,000 every 400 hours.
Click to expand...
It was a reactionary comment. I think everybody on this thread, except for you toast, is aware of that. I have not offered a plan, nor has anyone asked for it. Your contribution to this thread is rife with rhetoric, semantics, and taking everything out of context.

You are one of those people who cannot lose an argument, You ruin a healthy debate by running it into the ground with convoluted statements.
You are right , I am wrong case closed.

Even if I am wildly successful after 1 year, you would still find a way to dismiss it somehow.

I have nothing more to say to you, except that I <<< Deleted by Admin >>>


.
 
gtoast99 said:
Right here:



I mean, you call it a plan. But it isn't really a plan, according to the traditional definition of a plan. It's a goal, but not a plan. A plan would tell us how you are going to reach that goal. You know, beyond "use my heart and soul".

My goal is to climb Mount Everest. My plan to climb Mount Everest would involve base camp locations, travel arrangements, equipment lists, etc. See the difference? So as of yet, you've given us no plan, just the goal.

Step 1 - Become a professional treasure hunter.
Step 2 - Put heart and soul into treasure hunting.
Step 3 - ???
Step 4 - Profit!!
Click to expand...


DUDE! The guy isn't climbing EVEREST or opening a freakin' RESTAURANT :roll:

Definitely No need for pricing out Salt Shakers, Light bulbs or 'Ice Picks' here! Besides, you CAN'T KNOW for certain EXACTLY what you'll need for such a task, but he obviously HAS equipment and he OBVIOUSLY has an INCOME no matter WHERE he decides to go! You'd do well to REMEMBER THIS, as it's probably quite 'IMPORTANT' to 'His Plan'.

This is how I see 'The Plan'...

-A steady Income from "FULLY PAID" Rental Property so you can afford to stay in Any State, Country or Otherwise.
-ZERO DEBT with some savings for some 'Up-Front' expenses
-A vehicle that is paid for..
-Metal Detecting Equipment that is already paid for.
-The will and determination to succeed.
-PERFECT timing (PM's are going to continue to climb and remain high)

This equates to a LOT of TIME to do serious research and Detecting!
No 'Week-End' Warrior Detectorist here and no 'wondering' if you'll be able to get out sometime after work or on the Week-End if the Kid's don't have Soccer or the Wife has a 'Honey Do List'!

Sure, he'll have to PAY to stay somewhere, but that's the ABSOLUTE BEAUTY of this whole 'Plan'. HE can now RENT a 'Smaller place' (or even just a room for that matter) in any STATE within a short drive to ANY beach or other location. By living in 'Simple Dwellings', you could EASILY save enough to take short (or extended) trips to Countries like Australia, the UK, Indonesia, Greece, CUBA, you name it! The OP could literally detect in places that most of us will only ever DREAM about! Now How Cool would that be? Who wants to live in Suburbia when you can live and detect literally ANYWHERE you choose!

To many of you this will seem 'Far Fetched', but THINK about how HUGE the Metal Detecting Community has become! How many Dectorists are around the Globe? Out of the many Ten's of Thousands of people, my guess is that there would be 'quite a few' who would be interested in putting up a fellow Detectorist for a few nights (or even a week) and ESPECIALLY to one who is on a mission to see if he can make a living at it! :)
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

diggin4clad
Useless Science
Replies
4
Views
48
diggin4clad
diggin4clad
Fe Man
An odd, and bittersweet, encounter at the park.
Replies
0
Views
57
Fe Man
Fe Man
metaladdict
Mothers day breakfast.
Replies
7
Views
119
Rock Jock
Rock Jock
Xxray
What could go wrong ?
Replies
13
Views
201
james45
james45
hoser
Mason Dixon line north.
Replies
6
Views
100
hoser
hoser
Back
Top Bottom