Pick a detector and see what it actually sells for on eBay. Few hobbies have a secondhand market this liquid, because a great many of these get used twice and then listed. Prices are pulled live, so what you see is what sellers are asking this minute.
Live from eBayThe coil is the part that fails and the part that costs. Look along the underside for hairline cracks and along the cable where it enters the housing, which is where flexing eventually splits the seal. A submersible coil that has taken water is dead weight, and a replacement coil is a large fraction of what a mid-range detector is worth used.
Check what the control box is actually rated for, not what the seller says. Plenty of detectors are rain resistant while only the coil and lower shaft are submersible. A flooded control box is usually the end of the machine, and corrosion on the battery contacts is the tell: look for white powder or pitting in the photos.
Ask whether the battery is a proprietary pack. Several older flagships take a sealed pack that is no longer manufactured, and once it stops holding charge the detector is a display piece. Machines that take AA cells or a standard USB charge have no such cliff, which is a real reason a cheaper model can be the better buy secondhand.
Wobble the shaft at every joint before you commit. Cam locks wear and the lower shaft develops play, which is cheap to fix on a current model and impossible on a discontinued one. It also tells you how hard the machine has been used, more honestly than the cosmetic condition does.
Confirm the coil is included and is the right one. Coils are usually interchangeable within a brand and almost never across brands, so a detector listed without its coil is worth much less than it looks. A stock coil with the original box suggests a careful owner; a mismatched aftermarket coil suggests the original one died.
Value. Detectors hold their money unusually well because the hobby has a steady secondhand market and the technology moves slowly. A five year old flagship still finds what a new mid-range machine finds, which is why the discontinued top models are often the best value on this page.
Live eBay listings, which is where most used detectors change hands. Pick a model and it fetches the current lowest-priced listings in real time, with the listing shown next to each price so you can check it yourself.
Less than most electronics, because there is little to go wrong beyond the coil, the shaft and the seals, and all three are visible in photos. Ask for a picture of the battery compartment and of the coil cable where it enters the housing, and you have covered the expensive failures.
Water in the control box, which usually writes off the machine. After that a dead coil, which on a mid-range detector can cost a large share of what the whole thing is worth used.
Only if you intend to detect in water. Most machines are rain resistant with a submersible coil, which is enough for wet grass and damp sand. Fully waterproof models cost more new and hold that premium secondhand, so do not pay it unless you will use it.
Often, yes. The technology moves slowly, so a discontinued top-end machine usually outperforms a current entry-level one at a similar used price. The exception is a model whose battery pack is proprietary and no longer made, which puts an end date on the machine.
A daily snapshot of the lowest genuine eBay price for every model we track, and how good that price is right now versus its usual level, updated automatically. Prices last refreshed 6 August 2026 . Tap a price to see that model's cheapest listings on eBay, or tap a model name for the full live list here.
Under each model is the actual listing that price came from, so you can see whether it is the thing you want or a bundle, a variant, or an accessory that happens to share the name.
| Model | Cheapest now | vs typical | This week |
|---|---|---|---|
Bounty Hunter Tracker IV Bounty Hunter Tracker IV Ground Search Metal Detector Discrimination Knob | $50 | – | steady |
Teknetics Delta 4000 Teknetics Delta 4000 Metal Detector | $125 | – | steady |
Whites Coinmaster Whites Prizm III Coinmaster Metal Detector Functional Tested Works Treasure H… | $140 | – | steady |
Garrett Ace 300 Garrett ACE 300 Metal Detector 7x10" PROformance Coil Headphones USA Tested K… | $160 | – | steady |
Nokta Simplex Nokta Makro Simplex+ Waterproof Metal Detector w/ Coil, Cables | $190 | – | steady |
Tesoro Compadre Tesoro Compadre Metal Detector | $200 | – | steady |
Fisher F22 Fisher F22 Weatherproof All-Purpose Metal Detector | $219 | – | steady |
Nokta Score Nokta Score SMF Waterproof Metal Detector - Fully submersible - Easy Operation | $244 | – | steady |
Garrett Ace 400 Garrett ACE 400 Metal Detector 8.5x11 DD Coil Digital Target ID VLF Yellow Bl… | $260 | – | steady |
Minelab Vanquish 540 Minelab Vanquish 540 Metal Detector (3820-0003) | $300 | – | steady |
Garrett AT Pro Garrett AT Pro Metal Detector - Black | $350 | – | steady |
Garrett ACE Apex Garrett ACE Apex Multi-Frequency Ground Search Metal Detector Backlight Volume | $350 | – | steady |
Minelab Equinox 600 Minelab EQUINOX 600 Metal Detector | Multi-IQ Waterproof | $450 | – | steady |
Nokta Legend Nokta The Legend SMF Metal Detector Pro Pack | $450 | – | steady |
Fisher F75 Fisher F75 Limited Edition Black Metal Detector w/ 2 DD Waterproof Search Coi… | $474 | – | steady |
Garrett AT Max Garrett AT MAX Metal Detector Z-Lynk Waterproof Pinpoint Sensitivity | $525 | – | steady |
XP ORX XP ORX Metal Detector With 9" Multi-Frequency Searchcoil FX02 Wired & WSAUDIO… | $549 | – | steady |
Minelab Equinox 800 Minelab Equinox 800 Waterproof Metal Detector with Headphones! | $550 | – | steady |
Minelab Equinox 700 Minelab Equinox 700 Multi-Frequency Collapsible Metal Detector for Adults | $636 | – | steady |
XP Deus II XP Deus II WS6 Master Metal Detector 11" Coil DEUS2-28FMFWS6E | $699 | – | steady |
Minelab CTX 3030 Metal Detector - Minelab CTX 3030 | $1,340 | – | steady |
Minelab Manticore MINELAB MANTICORE METAL DETECTOR OPEN BOX FULL WARRANTY | $1,385 | – | steady |
Minelab GPX 6000 2 Coil PKG Minelab GPX 6000 All Gold Detector with 11” Monoloo | $3,950 | – | steady |