Big Boys Hobbies

White's is done after 70 years....

DIGGER27 said:
I'm waiting on nuclear power.
I will be 65 in a few days so how much time do I really have left and a constant rosey glow emanating from my body might actually make me look healthier.
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Side note ....Its pronounced 'New-Q-ler'..Happy B'day Dave..Congrats on the '3 score and a nickle!'...Make the most of your time left here, this World is a tough place for a Human bean...Its a lot tougher for a Metal Detector!.:lol:
 
Nubster said:
Are they actually finished though? It says manufacturing suspended while they reevaluate the future of the business. I wouldn't be surprised if they sold to another company that continues to bring stuff out under the Whites name. Or maybe even someone else that will continue the company as a unique brand. Who knows. I don't use Whites stuff but I still hate to see an American company close up.
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That may be the only way people start buying their products again on a consistent basis.

Nothing like "Under New Management" to get old customers to come back.
 
My guess is these days you have to have teams of engineers to design innovative detectors. You need folks with different specialties. If you don't have this you lose. Take Whites for instance. It's been around a long time and was started when a detector could be designed on a kitchen table and built in a garage. Those days are long gone. I don't see one single person or even three or four people having the skills to design a top of the line sophisticated detector. Having that mentality will only result in eventual failure. Small companies probably lack the capitol and foresight to employ research and design teams to work years on projects. Here is video that sums up what I am trying to get across.

https://youtu.be/wcua9BE0e-I

I am not picking on any particular detector brands here, but there are many brands that seem to lack the sophistication that a very few others possess. This sophistication is achieved by large amounts of capitol funding multi faceted teams of very smart people being able to work together toward a goal. Though sad Whites in my opinion was a company unable to keep up. Tesoro was first, now Whites is folding. Notice that the first to go recently was the most technologically primitive. Now Whites which was much more advanced yet severely lacking compared others. I think I see a trend developing here.
 
longbow62 said:
My guess is these days you have to have teams of engineers to design innovative detectors. You need folks with different specialties. If you don't have this you lose. Take Whites for instance. It's been around a long time and was started when a detector could be designed on a kitchen table and built in a garage. Those days are long gone. I don't see one single person or even three or four people having the skills to design a top of the line sophisticated detector. Having that mentality will only result in eventual failure. Small companies probably lack the capitol and foresight to employ research and design teams to work years on projects. Here is video that sums up what I am trying to get across.

https://youtu.be/wcua9BE0e-I

I am not picking on any particular detector brands here, but there are many brands that seem to lack the sophistication that a very few others possess. This sophistication is achieved by large amounts of capitol funding multi faceted teams of very smart people being able to work together toward a goal. Though sad Whites in my opinion was a company unable to keep up. Tesoro was first, now Whites is folding. Notice that the first to go recently was the most technologically primitive. Now Whites which was much more advanced yet severely lacking compared others. I think I see a trend developing here.
Click to expand...

It probably didn't help that White's doesn't market as well as Garrett or Minelab.
 
Don't forget cheap labor too. I am sure it cost Whites more to pay their employees with benefits than Turkey.
Even the Mighty Minelab moved the Etrac assembly to Malaysia. That is something no one seems to bring up.
 
Harold i agree with you 100% it's so hard for American companies to compete with products made in third world countries not just the cheap labor but the difference in regulations, i think its amazing that companies like Garrett,Fisher,tarssacci are able to produce such excellent products at great prices i just wish whites could of hung in there.
 
Harold said:
Don't forget cheap labor too. I am sure it cost Whites more to pay their employees with benefits than Turkey.
Even the Mighty Minelab moved the Etrac assembly to Malaysia. That is something no one seems to bring up.
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I think they just got out engineered. My E-Trac was made in Australia, so I don't think that was the issue, at least then. At the time, I field tested the Vision/V3 vs the E-Trac, and it was not even close in favor the E-Trac on so many different capabilities.

As I read the forums, I see the finds I am envious of coming mostly from machines other than Whites.

But, it is sad to see an iconic company go. My first machine was a Whites Coinmaster 5000 (forever ago (maybe the 80s ?)), then a DFX, then the V3.

I wanted to remain with Whites, but its my money and time, so I had to go with Minelab, even tho it was not made in the USA.
 
It's not just the labor costs. If it were, Garrett would be on its deathbed, too.
 
Garrett has other divisions besides hobby, that was Whites bread and butter. That is why Fisher will be fine as First Texas has other ventures. And Etracs have been assembled in Malaysia for years now just read the box.
 
mh9162013 said:
It probably didn't help that White's doesn't market as well as Garrett or Minelab.
Click to expand...

When Whites was on top they advertised like crazy. They had a television commercial running at one time for the XLT. This was in the late 1990's I think.

I bought a Spectrum XLT in 1997 or 1998. I tried really hard to make a go of it, but only finding a couple of silvers with it I put it in the closet and very seldom took it out until 2017. When I did seriously try detecting again I found a Seated dime and a 2 Cent piece with it. Good finds will hook you! I even had a 4 silver dime day with the XLT before I retired it. I almost bought a Whites MX Sport, but opted for a Nokta Impact instead.
 
longbow62 said:
When Whites was on top they advertised like crazy. They had a television commercial running at one time for the XLT. This was in the late 1990's I think.

I bought a Spectrum XLT in 1997 or 1998. I tried really hard to make a go of it, but only finding a couple of silvers with it I put it in the closet and very seldom took it out until 2017. When I did seriously try detecting again I found a Seated dime and a 2 Cent piece with it. Good finds will hook you! I even had a 4 silver dime day with the XLT before I retired it. I almost bought a Whites MX Sport, but opted for a Nokta Impact instead.
Click to expand...

You're right, I remember seeing a commercial on TV back in the 1990s!

I wonder why they pulled back with the marketing efforts...
 
Harold said:
Garrett has other divisions besides hobby, that was Whites bread and butter. That is why Fisher will be fine as First Texas has other ventures. And Etracs have been assembled in Malaysia for years now just read the box.
Click to expand...

Even more reason as to why White's possible demise has to do with more than just labor costs.
 
It looks that this is a case of mismanagement at the top. Since their hay day with the XLT they haven't innovated, their detectors still look like they could be made on a kitchen table, obviously retention issues with engineering teams, outdated distribution network and not outsourcing manufacturing to cheaper countries better suited to deliver low cost high quality manufacturing. All this and still not taking into account their terrible aftercare services it very sad to see something that was great when we were younger go bad but not surprising.
 
DIGGER27 said:
I'm waiting on nuclear power.
I will be 65 in a few days so how much time do I really have left and a constant rosey glow emanating from my body might actually make me look healthier.
Click to expand...

I tried to tell ya to get one of them yeller fellers! At 73, it makes me look 29!:laughing::laughing:
 
I have kind of been thinking about this whole Whites closing thing and the more I think about it the more I think they did it to themselves. They chased Carl off and new development just came to a grinding halt. I beta tested for Whites, and Carl more specifically. They really had only a couple of machines that were performers. The V3i and of course the variations of the amazing MXT detector. (I don't know a thing about anything other than the discriminators.) I jumped ship on Whites over their support of the Vision/V3/V3i detector. I bought a Vision that did not even come with a manual. I used it and learned it, and in the end championed it against the Minelab E-Trac. That being said I use an E-Trac now, and just could not stomach having to pay for firmware updates. I even lasted through the coil issues, but the firmware issue just turned me sour. Still it is sad to see them go. I have a lot of fond memories of purchasing, learning, and using the XLT, MXT, DFX, and Vision/V3/V3i. I was a good customer.
 
CyberSage said:
I have kind of been thinking about this whole Whites closing thing and the more I think about it the more I think they did it to themselves. They chased Carl off and new development just came to a grinding halt. I beta tested for Whites, and Carl more specifically. They really had only a couple of machines that were performers. The V3i and of course the variations of the amazing MXT detector. (I don't know a thing about anything other than the discriminators.) I jumped ship on Whites over their support of the Vision/V3/V3i detector. I bought a Vision that did not even come with a manual. I used it and learned it, and in the end championed it against the Minelab E-Trac. That being said I use an E-Trac now, and just could not stomach having to pay for firmware updates. I even lasted through the coil issues, but the firmware issue just turned me sour. Still it is sad to see them go. I have a lot of fond memories of purchasing, learning, and using the XLT, MXT, DFX, and Vision/V3/V3i. I was a good customer.
Click to expand...

Yet you still moved on from them, at least to some extent. Kinda says a lot about that company, doesn't it?

They can't even keep a loyal customer. How are they going to keep someone with no brand loyalty?
 
Harold said:
Whites had its problems but service was not one of them IMO best in the industry.
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+1 i dealt with "mary hudson" who was very gracious,
and knowledgeable, and always very cooperative.a wonderful representative
of the company.their repair "turn around" time was exceptional, and always more than reasonably priced when out of warranty.many people report very little,or sometimes no charge on repairs, but of course, would be remiss to not point out, their detectors were incredibly reliable, and virtually "hand built".

(h.h.!)
j.t.
 
CyberSage said:
I have kind of been thinking about this whole Whites closing thing and the more I think about it the more I think they did it to themselves. They chased Carl off and new development just came to a grinding halt. I beta tested for Whites, and Carl more specifically. They really had only a couple of machines that were performers. The V3i and of course the variations of the amazing MXT detector. (I don't know a thing about anything other than the discriminators.) I jumped ship on Whites over their support of the Vision/V3/V3i detector. I bought a Vision that did not even come with a manual. I used it and learned it, and in the end championed it against the Minelab E-Trac. That being said I use an E-Trac now, and just could not stomach having to pay for firmware updates. I even lasted through the coil issues, but the firmware issue just turned me sour. Still it is sad to see them go. I have a lot of fond memories of purchasing, learning, and using the XLT, MXT, DFX, and Vision/V3/V3i. I was a good customer.
Click to expand...

the m6 (derivative) of the mxt was/is simply an outstanding coin shooter,
coupled with the 5.3 eclipse on board.this combo is STILL getting it done.
under rated detector, it was "dropped" after being in the line since '06. it was replaced by the mx-5,which apparently did not sell well. whitey reinserted the m6 BACK into the line up. always was in the "shadow" of the venerable mxt,but incredibly, has lasted all these years, because guys "know" how good it really is snipin' coins and jewelry. fantastic detector, and definitely a genuine "sleeper"

(h.h.!)
j.t.
 
Just saw this of their facebook page:

We would like to share that our good friends at Centreville Electronics will continue to repair both warranty and out of warranty units.
 
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