Radar Detectors, Performance or Cost

I had an interesting radar detector discussion this weekend when a customer called in to ask questions on buying a long distance radar detector with low cost. By definition, it is a contradiction to have long distance, (the synonym is high performance) and low cost. And the customer linked the conversation with a low cost radar detector he had been studying. The customer was a detail oriented person and wanted to go over 23 different features listed on the low cost radar detector. So I politely intercepted the conversation and asked the customer where he lived, which was in the New York area. New York has lots of rolling hills, curves, and uses radar and laser, as well as some photo. I explained to him that we were one of the very few dealers in the world, who actually tested our products each year with a test facility. We test radar detectors every year for distance performance, as well as false alerts, over the hill radar detection, electronic invisibility, etc. The customer’s question was typical, and easy to answer given my experience and product knowledge, and I began to describe the potential radar detectors that fit the customer‘s requirements.

Important questions to ask a customer are what city and state they are driving; is the customer driving highway only or a combination of highway and city driving, and most importantly, what budget do you wish to stick to? This particular customer was focused on a low cost radar detector that had 23 different feature descriptions. It seems to be habitual for some manufacturers to list every possible feature imaginable, so that customers, when reviewing low performance products, come away with the feeling the cheap product is the best in the world. In our radar detector world some companies articulate a multitude of useless features that sound technical and valuable. Features of low cost radar detectors talk about sensing when ignition is turned off, or being invisible to VG2 and Spectre 1 radar detector detector, which used to be used by police, but not any longer. Radar detector detectors are used by police to detect who has a radar detector in their car or truck. Most people are not even aware that police have these types of instruments, as they think that police have only a radar gun to get their speed. Just to enlighten the readers, there are radar guns which acquire speed at a typical 1-2 miles. There are laser guns that acquire the speed of a single vehicle at 0 to 2000 feet. Then there are speed cameras that automatically take a picture of your license plate as you drive by a hidden camera alongside a suburban highway. And then they have radar detector detectors to see who has a radar detector in their car. Is it all about safety?

Many customers searching for radar detectors get caught up with Feature BS. Many do not understand the more important questions to ask, such as; how well does the radar detector detect police radar at distance? Can the radar detector detect a hidden speed trap on the other side of a hill before you get to the top of a hill? How well does it detect radar around blind curves? Are there very few false alerts? Is it easy to operate? Can the radar detector be WEB updated and does it detect photo speed cameras as well as radar speed traps? As the customer and I pursued his questions, the customer kept coming back to that long list of marketing words that sounded valuable, but were factually worthless. That is when it hit me that many customers like this particular customer saw all the features as a description of value. Given the low cost and a long list of what appeared to be value features, the customer was strongly convinced on a radar detector that was rather poor in performance and low cost. Even though the first sentence on the telephone call was about the customer’s desire for a long distance, radar detection, the 23 features describing a litany of useless, but technical sounding phrases, had convinced the customer the cheap radar detector wasbest for his needs.

It was frustrating to me, knowing all the work we put into testing radar detectors and laser jammers each year, was being compromised by a list of technical marketing phrases that did not confirm radar detector performance at all. Even though the customer had called our company for experience, he was being sold by words on paper, rather than real performance results as acquired through actual radar tests using radar guns and laser guns. Towards the end of the conversation, I was becoming exasperated and I am sure my voice was indicating some level of frustration. The customer was being polite, but not listening to performance data, even though, he called our company for that reason. I explained to the customer that it would be better to save their money, rather than buy a radar detector that would not perform in relation to the marketing words used to describe useless features of thelow cost radar detector.

In the end, the customer said he would make his decision later, which I am sure was for a low cost radar detector, as he did not buy any radar detector from our company. The interesting thing is that a very good radar detector can be purchased for $300 with excellent radar detection performance, but the customer had been sold by marketing words to buy a poor performance radar detector for under $200. A superb radar detector installed in the windshield costs around $500. In the end, there is a good chance the low cost radar detector will miss an important speed trap, the customer will get a ticket and be upset that the radar detector did not protect him from a speed trap. That is what you buy, when you get a low cost radar detector with Features describing useless values, with no radar detector test results verifying the radar detector is very good at detecting speed traps. You can buy paper weights that sound really good, or you can buy a good radar detector, such as the Bel STiR Plus, which is the very best hidden radar detector in the world, or even superb portable radar detectors with added speed camera and WEB update capabilities, such as the Passport 9500ix radar detector

Call 1st Radar Detectors in Canada at 250-324-8004 or in the USA at 720-635-3931 to discuss your requirements and we will figure out what what you need for your business or your vehicle, and find a US/Canada installer for you. Regards, John Turner

STiR Plus, HP905 Quad Laser Jammer, APC Power Control

STiR Plus, HP905 Quad, HP905 Dual and ProDB-2 Dual PhotoBlocker

Contact 1st radar Detectors at [email protected] to purchase a radar detectors, laser jammer, radar laser jammer; and a photo blocker on passenger cars, pick up trucks, SUVs, and motorcycles in the UK, USA, Australia, Canada, Europe, South America and New Zealand.