Despite the lack of posts here, Cobra detectors are very popular

I've been on vacation and took a few road trips, I've come to one conclusion, Cobra radar detectors are very popular. From the number of people I saw running radar detectors, almost 2/3s of them were Cobra, followed next by Whistler then Bel/Escort. Spotted no Rocky Mountain Radar units yet either. ;) So far out of those I was able to view I was the only one running a V1. Perhaps it is just that the users of better radar detectors also know how to mount them better making them less visible whereas the majority of Cobra users are just slapping them any which way.

Given this I'd say Cobra is doing a good job of selling cheap detectors (and almost all of the ones I saw were lower end ones). I'd also wonder how many of the people getting burned using a Cobra are the victim of their mounting too. I don't see too many doing a good job picking up laser from behind wiper blades or pointed at the sky. While some were mounted correctly a good number were not.

Just some interesting observations from my road trip.

There's probably a lot of people with them because the price is cheap and they can be found readily available in Best Buy. But they lack performance....

it is actually because of their popularity that I think it is a good thing that we sell them at Radarbusters.com, most people when searching for a radar detector actually type in Cobra Radar Detectors on their search engine instead of just radar detectors, this brings a lot of traffic to our site and to this forum. I don't really enjoy selling them that much, but I will get more calls then you can imagine of people asking for one and before you know BAM I have convinced them to get an 8500 x5o

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Originally Posted by GreenRadar

I don't really enjoy selling them that much, but I will get more calls then you can imagine of people asking for one and before you know BAM I have convinced them to get an 8500 x5o

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Without revealing any proprietary information, is there any way you can rank the various brands in terms of sales? Is Cobra #1 in terms of sales volume?

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Originally Posted by swarga

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Originally Posted by GreenRadar

I don't really enjoy selling them that much, but I will get more calls then you can imagine of people asking for one and before you know BAM I have convinced them to get an 8500 x5o

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Without revealing any proprietary information, is there any way you can rank the various brands in terms of sales? Is Cobra #1 in terms of sales volume?

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http://www.radardetector.net/forums/...466#post765466

I think people have a hard time justifying spending $300-400 on something that they don't even understand. Most people don't research RDs and from my experience most people don't intentionally speed. They just want protection for when they get distracted and think a $100 Cobra will suffice.

I would not be surprised if Cobra outsold the other competitors.

Most Cobras I see are normally facing the sky, are lying on the dash or and/or are all dusty and piled with a bunch of other junk on the dash.

Well, before I knew much of anything about radar detectors, I thought Cobra was top of the line material. That's obviously not the case, but that's what everyone seemed to use, so I thought they must be great detectors. I think many people think the same way. But even with that said, Cobra's mid to high end units are not bad radar detectors at all. I have a Valentine and a Cobra 9960G now, and still use my 9960 on a fairly regular basis. I've used a Whistler Pro and an Escort 8500, and can honestly say the 9960 is right up there with them in my area, except for the ramp up issues with Cobra and the occasional dropping of signals with the Cobras. Regardless, Cobra's higher end units don't get the credit that they deserve in an overall performance aspect.

Now, the Cobras that you find at Walmart for 60 bucks are a different story, as I'm sure most know. These are the ones that the majority people base their opinions on though. Simply put, they are indeed junk.

I think the name "Cobra" sounds cool as a name and it has a certain image that goes with it. If I didn't know about its lack of performance, I would buy one based on its name.

How about the name Valentine One...I picture red and pink hearts and crappy performance.

Who wants to buy an Escort...well maybe some of you do, but i picture a dirty skank.

How about a Whistler...a person who is so inept at picking up woman that he has to whistle at them to get their attention.

Who wants to buy a Bel....ding ding ding went the trolley.

Anybody want to buy a Rocky Mountain Radar...it reminds me of Rocky Mountain Oysters.

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Originally Posted by <<JAZZY>>

I think the name "Cobra" sounds cool as a name and it has a certain image that goes with it. If I didn't know about its lack of performance, I would buy one based on its name.

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I almost did until I came here and educated myself.
I'm really glad I did.

I think money is the prime factor,followed by an immense lack of knowledge.