Why Is It Only Deben That Make Ferret Finders

[northwestferreting 1]

A question i cant find an answear to,so why is it only deben that make ferret finders,ik 0now some people make their own 8 footers but thats besides the point,so why is it?

[northern lad 2,292]

Wondered about this myself mate,Deben will have obviously patented theirs,but that would be very easy to get around some years ago I used to repair nappy making machines for Proctor and Gamble (pampers)when Huggies brought out a nappy with something new on it ,procters would modify it by 1or2mm and slap it on their Pampers,and vice versa the mark up on ferret locators is huge,staggered nobody else is competing for a share in the market...

[pie-eater 377]

I wish someone else would start making them as the prices deben sell theirs for are ridiculous. I think £100 with 2 collars would be a fair price.

[Tiercel 6,986]

It's a matter of simple economics. Say Deben sell 2000 locators a year? If another was produced it would only get a share of that 2000 not the full market. is it worth another company spending on research and development for such a limited market?

 

TC

[paulus 26]

It's a matter of simple economics. Say Deben sell 2000 locators a year? If another was produced it would only get a share of that 2000 not the full market. is it worth another company spending on research and development for such a limited market?

 

TC

even the tooling costs for the plastic cases etc would make it a no brainer economically

[northern lad 2,292]

Cant believe the price of em,Ive said it on here before ,I buy a lot of powertools,stud/pipe locators far cheaper ,the initial outlay would be recouped tenfold surely one for Dragons Den maybe can see it now Hillary holding my hob whilst Theo and Peter are netting up

[paddybarr 77]

i could have them copied in china in a blink but they would want a large order and there is only a niche market in the uk - not worth the hassle

[higgins 75]

i could have them copied in china in a blink but they would want a large order and there is only a niche market in the uk - not worth the hassle

.....and there is the answer.....

[Country Joe 1,411]

When I was in China, I had a look in fishing tackle shops, hoping to see some for sale, but never did.

And no chance with my Scottish accent, trying to explain to the shop owner if he knew where i could buy one.

[The one 8,396]

What surprises me is with there second hand value you never see them in cash generators etc

[iana 25]

I read somewhere once that a guy was making finders for falconry and they worked for ferrets but no links available. There's something on YouTube using a small pocket radio!!

[Guest scramble]

i could have them copied in china in a blink but they would want a large order and there is only a niche market in the uk - not worth the hassle

Been down this route myself years ago, the PCB's were pence each and the MOQ wasn't as big as you'd think. tooling costs was the issue if i wanted to have my own housing.

[Rich.h 4]

While I can get the issue of costs for housing and such. What seems to be missing is that for a small run of perhaps <-10 they could easily be made in your shed over a weekend, all that needs doing is sourcing the electronics and finding a suitable form of housing. As long as your not asking money for it simply make up a set of plans with listed suppliers for parts and offer it out to folk to make their own?

[Papa g 14]

I remember in the late 70s I had one of the 1st locators made it wasn't by deben I don't think, basically they were converted transistor radios & a transmitter fixed to a collar, a bit Heath Robinson in design but they worked ok, only thing was that sometimes you got the "top 40 hits" on Sunday whilst ferreting !

[Hunting Solutions 3]

http://www.thehuntinglife.com/forums/topic/286433-brand-new-mk1-ferret-finder/