Whites Metal Detectors Going Out Of Business

[Terry Soloman]

June 18, 2020 To our valued White's Dealers- This is a very difficult message to write, but the time has come for retirement from White's Electronics. We are suspending manufacturing operations at our Sweet Home facility while we re-evaluate the future of the company. It is never easy to make these decisions, however, we are faced with the reality of intense competition in the industry and ongoing counterfeit instruments coming from China. Lastly, there have been critical material shortages since the Covid 19 shutdown that we now find insurmountable. All of us here in Sweet Home are grateful for your service. We consider each you part of the White's extended family. Sincerely, Ken White

American Made Metal Detectors since 1950 [email protected] • 1-888-666-6121

 

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[Seabees]

I LOVE MY WHITES MXT

 

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[ohioshovel]

Sad a Whites was my first.

 

[Megalodon]

Dang that IS sad news!! I never ran one, but I am a fossil from when Garrett and Whites ruled the detector market and they were really all one could choose from. I ended up with a Garrett because that's what the civil war hunters I knew preferred. Hopefully some of their employees will have a repair business for all you Whites guys.

Greetings from another fossil (and fossil hunter - found a scarce Miocene porpoise tooth among about 5 dozen fossil shark teeth yesterday) who well remembers the time of the "Big 2". Forty years ago, the Garrett and Whites dominance was like a Chevy v Ford rivalry. I went with the Garrett and moved from a groundhog to the ADS Master Hunter 7. At the time, the competition was mostly Whites 6000Di and DiPro. There were a few Fishers and Compass detectors around. Both the Whites and Garrett were heavy and rugged (as were the Fisher and Compass). I remember seeing my first Tesoro, the first generation Eldorado and how it excelled with relics with greater comfort. I slowly transitioned, using the Garrett (six 9 volts!) to the Tesoro when the weight of the Garrett became more difficult for all-day hunts. I still haven't used a multi-freq machine. IMO, the greatest improvement in detectors has been the low weight and balance of the new machines of all makes.

 

[Milspec6]

I learned the hard way when I had to close my business of 14 years....their is no such thing as customer loyalty. If they can get a comparable product / service for cheaper money, they will do so everytime. I think there are enough products out there that compete directly at a lower price point that long-established companies are going to struggle to survive.

 

[Found-It]

My White's Surfmaster PI Pro is the best! White's makes quality detectors. There are still great people who repair them.

 

[Terry Soloman]

Now that Whites Metal Detectors has announced they are closing, repairs can be obtained here:
White’s East Service Center
Centreville Electronics
9437 Main Street
Manassas, VA 20110
(888) 645-0202
(703) 367-7999
Fax: (703) 367-0868
[email protected]

 

[1637]

thank you. brad

Now that Whites Metal Detectors has announced they are closing, repairs can be obtained here:
White’s East Service Center
Centreville Electronics
9437 Main Street
Manassas, VA 20110
(888) 645-0202
(703) 367-7999
Fax: (703) 367-0868
[email protected]

 

[pulltabfelix]

Two of the biggies - Minelab and Garrett have strong industrial and/or military divisions and I suspect those profits also contribute to some good R&D.

Did Tesoro and Whites have a industrial or military component?

Maybe this is one of the the reasons since dwindling profits equals less on R&D and Marketing.

 

[UncleVinnys]

Is that news REAL? Or some kind of April Fools joke?

 

[Treasure_Hunter]

Is that news REAL? Or some kind of April Fools joke?

It's real..

 

[CZKidd]

Thx for that info Terry. I have a TDI BH and going to keep it. My first machine and a ring beast for sure. Ordered spare parts, that are in the Whites mag and they fullfilled the order. But if the electrics should fail, got somewhere to send it now.

 

[Normsel]

Sad to hear. Whites was a good company.

 

[vasalone]

Damn I just bought a whites. Gold master 24k.

 

[amrunner4]

My first detector in 1974 was a Detectron Go-Fer at age 9. I drooled over the Whites Beachcomber and begged my Dad for one, but no go. 35 years later I bought a used XLT and was so happy to have a White's machine. I still have some of their old newsletters from the 70s. Loved reading the success stories and looking at the ads for the new machines. Such a shame to see to company go.

 

[rjw4law]

I have owned many a Whites from 1980 - 2016....Always liked them, always waiting on the next model.

 

[Jim in Idaho]

Whites have re-opened the Oregon repair center. Probably be open for a month or so. They just sent me a replacement 6 x 10 coil for my GM24K. Also sent back, at no charge, the bad coil, as I requested. I might be able to make that work as a backup coil, by cutting the mounting ears off, and making a top cover, with new ears, that doesn't contact the over-sensitive portion of the coil. Same old, solid Whites service. Great company! Sorry to see them go, assuming them do2.
Jim

 

[SSR]

Consumer electronics are supposed to continually get better (innovation eventually plateaus) and cheaper (market forces accelerate) until everyone offers pretty much the same level of performance and the products are are dirt cheap and in oversupply. That's pretty much the story of the industry now (mimics the electric guitar story). You have to sell these things at a cheaper prices to compete going forward, and that means growing market share to stay put. Realistically, without any patent protected technologies of great desirability what's a company to do? This happened to radios, gramophones, tvs and many other consumer electronics. When the innovation plateaus there's no future because the insane mark ups quickly vanish. We should all recognize there's not much more than 50$ worth of hardware in a lot of these machines. Intellectual property backed by a brand name is what you pay for.

 

[srcdco]

Many years ago, I was having a leaking problem with my White's Surfmaster. I took it to my in-laws as my father-in-law was a self-taught electrical engineer. When I opened the machine up, he looked at the circuit board and said "I could duplicate that board in 15 minutes, it's so simple". We finally figured out that the O-ring was leaking. Once I told White's they sent me 5 for free and I didn't have to send it in for repair. I used that machine for all my hunting for years, then water only hunting until 2017 when it stopped working again. At that point, I decided it wasn't worth fixing and got a Garrett AT-Max.

Scott

 

[lc12]

First Tesoro and now Whites.
Seems like every time I buy a GOOD detector, some with "lifetime" warranties, they go out of business.

 

[pepperj]

Our first family detector was a Whites Gold Master.
Then the Coinmasters, Alaskan, 6000's, ended with the Golden Eagle in 1991.
Great company and the machines were great for the time they were out.
One time in the very early 80's I drove from BC to Sweethome to get my detector fixed.
They put in a new board that was going to be on a gutter release, coil, basically $350 in Repairs free.
I couldn't believe it, and they said that they were more impressed at the fact I had driven so far to have the machine serviced.

I have gone through the Minelab Explorer right up to the paperweight 3030.
Now it's the Deus.
But still I remember hunting ghost towns that relics were numerous. Turning the Goldmaster on mineral it buzzed continuously until we went over a target, way deeper than what could be detected on metal.