Here’s the tip: KEEP YOUR EYES OPEN! Maybe I should add “think before you buy!” but that gets cancelled out by “buy first, think later,” advice that is also valid for the holiday shopping season.
End of post. Or, read on for some examples.
A lot of little things will bug me this time of year, but I like to think that I’ve gotten better about shrugging them off.
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The things that irk me are usually minor, with tool brands and retailers usually to blame. Let’s talk about this for a moment before I get to the main story.
Here’s a brand marketing example from this holiday season:
I believe that this is how Makita usually markets their cordless power tool kits, with the battery count and size clearly depicted on the retail packaging. I think we can all agree that this is clear and simple – right?
Well, Makita updated their 18V SubCompact cordless drill and impact driver kits this year, and we already knew they swapped in cheaper batteries. What else is different about the new versions? They won’t say.
What I didn’t know, until I saw it in person, was that apparently they have also “updated” their box marketing as well. What does this kit come with? “2x LXT batteries.” Maybe I wasn’t looking in the right place, but I couldn’t for the life of me find the battery size on the box. It’s 1.5Ah, by the way, a size that Makita describes as “discontinued” on their website.
It took me a while, but I finally see where they put the charge capacity rating. It’s not in the “combo kit includes” section, or the specs list on the back of the box, but in the picture of the battery on the tool, right underneath the pocket clip. No matter how many times I looked over the boxes, I didn’t see the information I was looking for at ALL.
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I like clarity when shopping for tools. It is too easy to miss something. Then again, why did Makita change their box labeling practices in the first place?
Here’s what the box of Milwaukee’s special buy cordless drill kit looks like, by the way. “CP 2.0 x 1.” It’s clear and informative – right?
Some of Makita’s other retail boxes are just as clear. So why not their 18V SubCompact “special buys” for Black Friday 2021?
We can argue the merits of 1x 2Ah, 2×1.3Ah or 1.5Ah, or 1x 3Ah another time. (For the record, I prefer 1 better battery over 2 cheaper/lower capacity ones.)
Here’s something else to look out for – I’ve noticed that hole saw set parts counting methods can change depending on the set. Regular sets, for instance, might not count pilot drills, while special buys might count everything as individual parts.
Or, take Wiha’s promo display of screwdriver bits at Lowe’s. $9.98 is the regular price! Sure, not everything has to be on sale for Black Friday, but don’t we all assume that everything put in our paths at stores are discounted at least a little bit?
What REALLY bugs me is when brands pull switcheroos, where something is different or lesser than expected. (I still won’t buy a certain brand of drill bits for this reason.) Luckily, this doesn’t happen as much anymore – at least from what I’ve observed and experienced.
I hope this gives you a good idea of the little things that bug me. It’s mainly marketing – type stuff. Marketing standards shouldn’t be different for Black Friday. Consumers’ expectations shouldn’t be toyed with.
But none of that is what really prompted this post. Here’s what I’m cautioning about:
This is what the Milwaukee M12 cordless screwdriver and 2x 1.5Ah battery deals display looks like at my closest Home Depot store. I checked another store and noticed the same. There are a couple of M12 screwdriver kits still on the shelf, and all of the 1.5Ah batteries are sold out.
I should point out that both of these two stores are each still reporting 12x of the battery 2-packs in stock. To me, this means they’re holding onto a box or two for Pro Black Friday or Black Friday week.
Also, prices can change on these “gift center” items, and we do see this every year. The chances of better Black Friday pricing is usually fairly low at Home Depot, and a bit higher at Lowe’s. Both are great about price adjustments, and so it’s not a big deal.
And no, you can’t look for late-season prices on the inner sides of the price boards anymore – it seems that Home Depot caught on and now either swaps out the price boards or supplies stores with large stickers to place over early-season prices.
Does anyone else notice that the $69 price is left-justified on the backboard sign, instead of being centered? I’d bet that the battery 2-pack will be discounted further for Pro Black Friday or Black Friday week, with a large sticker going right over the blank space. But, I digress.
What I want you to notice here is that the 1.5Ah batteries are sold out and the M12 cordless screwdriver kits are just sitting there.
At the time of this posting, the 1.5Ah battery 2-pack is $69.
And, the cordless screwdriver kit is also $69.
Shown here is what the M12 screwdriver kit comes with.
Do you see what I’m getting at?
Why buy 2x 1.5Ah batteries for $69 when you can buy 2x 1.5Ah batteries plus a cordless screwdriver, charger, and tool bag for the same exact price?
What would you rather buy? A hammer for $5, or the same hammer plus a pry bar for $5? If you don’t need the extra stuff, take them and put them aside for spares, future use, or “I might as well try it” purposes.
How many customers are buying the 1.5Ah battery kits because they don’t want the other stuff? But couldn’t everyone use a spare M12 charger at the least if they’re buying M12 batteries?
And how many customers simply aren’t reading the signs?
The “includes CP 1.5Ah x 2” part isn’t large, but it’s easy to read in person. You can see in the image that the M12 kit comes with 2x batteries. The boxes are crystal clear about this.
I am sure that at least some of these people buying the battery packs could and would have gotten the better deal!! The frustrating part is that it would have been in the customers’ full power had they just taken an extra couple of seconds to look things over on the screwdriver side of the display.
A little more than 20 years ago, I worked part time as a cashier at a supermarket. The store occasionally had “buy one, get one free” promotions, and I tried my best to inform my customers of this when relevant. Most were appreciative and I would hold their place while they grabbed another item. I don’t remember much more than that, but would assume not everyone grabbed the freebie item, such as a free second bag of sugar, especially if they were walking home with their groceries.
But is that’s what is happening here? Are the customers choosing less for the same money? Or are they just not taking the time to even look at the cordless screwdriver deal?
For the most part, I don’t think there’s anything that Milwaukee Tool or Home Depot could do to make this clearer. If the two tools were in different areas of the store or promo center? Maybe. But they share a display!
Please, keep your eyes open! How many people might have purchased the screwdriver kits if I were there to point out that you get the same batteries plus bonuses?
I can tell that some people are keeping their eyes open, such as when I find individual tape measures next to the “get two for one” tape measure 2-pack deals.
As an aside, this happened all the time when I was a cashier. I had to ask people not to put raw chicken in the magazine stand. Hand the chicken to a cashier and someone will bring it back to the refrigerated meat department! If you’re at a home center and in a rush back to work, maybe drop unwanted items by the pro desk?
Anyway, I wish I could stand there and give a nudge to everyone looking to buy the battery 2-pack – “pick up the screwdriver set, you might even like it.” Part of this is because I’d want everyone to get the better bargain, but also because I know a lot of people dismiss cordless screwdrivers as unnecessary. Sure, you might already have a drill and impact driver, but cordless screwdrivers still have their place! At the same price (right now), it doesn’t cost anything extra, so what’s the risk?
If anyone insisted on only buying the batteries, I’d advise them to hold onto their receipt. Milwaukee M12 battery 2-pack special buys have a history of lower pricing for Black Friday, and a clue in the pricing signage suggests the same will be true this year.
This is just one instance where it’s not a brand or retailer irking me, but customer behaviors.
Keep your eyes open!
Then again, I completely missed that Makita printed their battery sizing on their box instead of where such information usually goes.
What makes things harder is that this time of year it can be smart to buy first and think later. I’m sorry – I know this is a bit contradictory.
Here’s what I found at my store yesterday when I went to pick up the Dewalt 130pc screwdriver bit set that I held in my hands last week and should have purchased. But, there’s good news – this set is now available for online ordering with free shipping!
I also tend to develop rules when shopping. If I come across a deal that I’m uncertain about, I try to think of different scenarios. For instance, if I’m looking at an item that might be available at a lower discount, should I buy now or wait? What would be less-frustrating – buying something now and potentially paying a little more for it, or missing out on a deal entirely and having to spend full price later or someplace else?
Maybe I’m too sensitive about the examples discussed above, but I feel that the advice is the same regardless. Keep your eyes open. There are lots of “gotchas,” and at least some of them are in your power to avoid.
Even after shopping and reporting on holiday tool deals for years now, I still miss things on occasion. As evident by the half-sold-out displays discussed above, at least some shoppers are missing important details as well.
A reader asked why I went through the trouble of analyzing several Dewalt drill bit deals last week. Frankly, that was the only way to make sense of them. When you have 10pc and 13pc sets at $8 each, and a 14pc set at $10, which is the better bargain? You really have to break things down.
Please let us know if you come across any tricky marketing this holiday season! Good luck!
Vards Uzvards
On weekend I saw exactly the same empty stand for DeWalt MAXFIT sets, but then in the other corner of the holiday deals area there were a few of these exact sets, next to some other (Ryobi?) stuff.
This morning, in another store, there were plenty of these DeWalt sets, displayed properly.
Aaron S
especially jarring on these two items… the m12 1.5ah batts are typically priced $15-20 each in combos
Stuart
M12 1.5Ah batteries are usually $49 each.
Aaron S
in kits when you back out bare tool prices the batteries have an implied value lower than their individually packaged price. In kits that are a good deal m12 batteries tend to be $10-20 per ah
Stuart
It doesn’t work that way. While you can see it that way – and I do too sometimes – perceived value and actual value are different things.
Everything is discounted in a kit – the bare tool, charger, and batteries.
Let’s say a kit with 2x 5Ah batteries is priced at $199, but the bare tool is $149. You can see the kit as being $50 more than the bare tool, but you cannot assign itemized pricing as you see fit.
In this example, you can’t say the charger is worth $19 and the batteries are priced at only $15 each. You have to look at equivalent replacement costs.
Consider fast food combo means. If a sandwich is $4 and fries are $2, but a combo is $5, you cannot subtract out the full price of the sandwich and say the fries are only priced at $1. You can consider the fries as being a $1 premium compared to buying just the sandwich, but when talking about price, it has to be an accurate purchase price, or $2 here.
Now, consider this – the cordless screwdriver bare tool retails for $79 by itself. This is its list price and how much it will cost to purchase from Milwaukee distributors.
So in this set, would it be accurate to say that the batteries are priced at -$10 combined?
This is why replacement value is a more accurate way of looking at value. I wouldn’t normally use the typical individual battery price of $49 here, as 2-packs are usually more realistic. How many users buy $49 batteries vs. 2-packs at $69 or even $89?
The reason I say all this is because the way you phrased it, it sounds like you can buy these batteries for $15-20 at retail, but that’s not the case.
So for the M12 batteries, the retail prices are $49 each or $89 for two.
Tom D
At HD at least you can work it out – buy the kit combo and return part of it (when they’re not bundled in the same box).
Many consider this unfair.
Stuart
This is a single SKU. There’s no parting these out.
Greg
Agreed on all of your gotchas. Harbor Freight this year is guilty of increasing prices above and beyond and then lowering back to what it was with the Black Friday stuff. Case in point the US General tool boxes and accessories. This irks me more than anything but for most consumers that don’t actively pay attention to pricing they wouldn’t notice it. The main reasoning behind this so far is supply chain issues etc. I get that, it’s been a crazy year but don’t make it seem like such a great deal when it isn’t.
The best deal running at Home Depot this year are the Makita X2 7 1/4″ Circular Saw kit or rear handle version plus a free tool. The dual bay rapid optimum charger is $119 alone plus 2 5.0ah batteries is alone worth this price and then some. This is another gotcha I’ve noticed though. Some HD stores are supplying the rear handled x2 kit while others are supply the non rear handled kit for $249 plus the free tool. Online now seems to have caught up and offers both for the deal.
Stuart
Harbor Freight also had a wildly inaccurate “compare” price recently (goggles with half face shield attachment), when in fact their product is more expensive than the name-brand equivalent.
Brands do raise prices to list prices for certain promos. Some of this has to do with brand-retailer arrangements, but Harbor Freight is their own company.
HD has higher pricing on one of the saw deals ($349 vs. $249), but that could be because they want to conserve one promo for Black Friday – I can’t say for certain.
Retailers often hold back some inventory, and others have tiered pricing for holiday start and Black Friday start. That’s fairly typical.
There ARE supply issues, but major retailers seem to have done a good job compensating for it. Some brands are also able to shift production to difference facilities, such as in Mexico.
The smaller retailers and specialty distributors seem to be having a hard time getting inventory in, whereas larger retailers have greater flexibility in their purchasing power and warehouse space.
Greg
Agreed!
Interesting observation on one of the saws being $349. I went to two different HD’s about 20 miles apart from each other, one had the rear handle the other had the regular x2 saw but both were $249 in store. So that makes me think for actual Black Friday online will be less than $200 or something like that.
I decided to not wait til then though because I already have an rear handle x2 I bought two years ago on clearance for $100. The store in my home town only has the non rear handles now. I’m sure that has to do with sales volume. I love the rear handle for ripping, it’s a beast but for cutting that needs a bit more control the extra 2 lbs makes a difference. The non rear handle kits at my home town hd were selling out quick and I didn’t want to lose out. I’ve debated forever about getting one of the 6 1/2″ saws or even the sub compact Makita circular saw but realized it’s tough to find a variety 6 1/2″ blades these days let alone the smaller ones.
Stuart
Don’t forget that these are “buy this, get a free tool” kits.
Acme has them both at $249 + a free tool.
https://14cyiuhvcgv.com/acme-tools-black-friday-2021-sale/%3C/a%3E%3C/p%3E
Makita 18V X2 Rear-Handle Saw + FREE Tool – $249
Makita 18V X2 Circular Saw + FREE Tool – $249
OhioHead
I noticed that my new MKE M12 Fuel combo was made in Mexico, good for MKE moving manufacturing closer to the US to eliminate shipping delays.
In the early/mid 00’s DW had a factory in Mexico to help w/ shipping lead times.
DaveVB
Home Depot has the Bosch 35′ level line thing in the aisle priced “regularly $59 now $39”. Except if you go see what else HD has to offer in that product and findthe same model for $39 not marked down. Deceptive pricing!!!!
Stuart
Sometimes they do mark tools down in the regular aisle as well.
The Crescent pliers, for instance, are discounted in the pliers section as well as the promo display. I have seen this happen before, and while it could give you the wrong impression, it’s the consistent and correct way to do things.
Lowe’s has the laser for $60 at the moment, and so $59 could be a fair “regular” price.
I don’t usually check the price of the Bosch promo laser level between holiday shopping seasons, but it could be a returning “special buy” at this price.
Sometimes special buys are at higher pricing between seasons, but I take their regular sales pricing, for which the bulk of the purchases are made at, to be the intended retail price.
Josh
It’s really too bad, too because that’s a really nice screwdriver, if a touch bulky.
Steve
I noticed that Milwaukee M12 debacle too and thought, “who put this one together?”
Yeah, the large ToughCase Dewalt bit set sold out by me too. I saw several things starting to sell out. I feel victim to several holding out to buy items last year that sold out so this year I bought them right away. I keep track good track of what HD promo items sell for what prices each year so I have a reasonable amount of certainty what the lowest price is likely to be on a specific item so I can buy with a little more confidence.
Julian Tracy
Makita LXT has always ONLY referred to their 18volt platform. That predates any such mention of compact or subcompact, etc. There’s no confusion here – at least Makita marks the batteries as 1.5, Dewalt has their 1.5 amp batteries just as plain black plastic saying only Dewalt. The only way a noob could figure that out is if they decifer the battery model number.
PW
I don’t think that’s right. I have several DeWalt 1.5AH and 1.3AH kit batteries bought over several years. They all have the AH listed on bottom. (Along with COO and such.) Unless I’m misunderstanding your complaint…
Stuart
True, but their compact tools weren’t always labeled as such.
Not all Makita batteries are well-labeled. And thank you – this actually helped me to finally spot the battery sizing in the box photos!
Many brands don’t clearly label their lowest charge capacity batteries, but that doesn’t make it right.
MM
I am no Makita expert, I only have one of their tools currently and I haven’t used them heavily since the days of the old Ni-Cd stick packs, but my understanding (which may very well be wrong) was that LXT = 18 Volt Lithium-Ion platform.
Matt S
So on the screwdriver deal: If I bought it now, and for black friday they dropped the price to 49.99, would HD offer a partial refund as part of their low price guarantee?
MM
I’m sure they would.
I bought the Dewalt 3/8 compact impact wrench back in October. Now in November it goes on special with a free 5.0ah battery. I took my receipt back and they gave me the 5.0ah battery no problem.
Stuart
They should.
I don’t think the screwdriver kit is going any lower, but the batteries might.
OR, sometimes it’s easier to buy and then buy again at lower price and return the first kit. It depends on whether you want to be on the phone with a retailer or on a customer service line during Thanksgiving weekend, or a week later when a lower deal might be over.
Matt the Hoople
I used to be an “I’ll sleep on it” person. After missing out several times in my life on great deals farther sleeping on it just to find it sold out, I’ve changed my M.O.
Now I buy first, think later whenever there’s a liberal return policy. Right now I have two different Dewalt kits sitting in the garage unopened just waiting to see if I keep or if they go back.
Last year, was a similar ordeal, and that there were so many good tool deals, and I was searching for a bunch of tools because I was switching over from my old nickel cadmium Dewalt to lithium ions. Between Lowe’s and Home Depot I ended up buying about $1500 worth of tools so as not to miss out on Black Friday pricing, and took back about $800 worth once the holiday was over and I worked out which combination made the most sense to keep.
As for buying a new one and returning the original, I had to do that this past summer with a swimming pool. Purchased a pool from Amazon for about $2000. The day it arrived at my house, that morning before it was delivered, I logged into my account to check the delivery status and saw that the same pool was now being offered at $1200. So I contacted Amazon and that is when I learned they do not have any kind of 30 day price match guarantee where they will refund you the difference if it’s shows up for a lower price. Bear in mind Amazon was the seller in both cases. So, I simply ended up buying the second pool for $800 less, and initiated a return for the first one. They sent a truck and picked it up from my house for free. Cost me nothing. Cost Amazon for shipping both ways. I saved $800 thanks to their liberal return policy.
Stuart
Amazon no longer has a price adjustment policy, but they will usually accommodate this if you ask nicely and persist. Or, as you experienced, they’ll honor returns and rebuys. I have had to pay return shipping for a few items, but not for others. You don’t want to do this too much, though.
John Blair
As someone who packages their products for retail let me try to explain why specs can mysteriously disappear (Note: I’m not in the tool business). Let’s say a company was discontinuing a particular battery size (1.5 Ah) and was using Black Friday to blow through them. Somewhere during the production run they know they are going to run out of the smaller battery and include a larger battery.
You would think putting the smaller size on there would be safe, because who would complain if they went to buy a 1.5 Ah battery but got a 2.0 Ah battery. The retailer can fine the manufacturer for putting an improper spec. So the simple solution is to just disappear the specification all together off the packaging.
What concerns me with these bundles is there may be multiple models they are clearing out, 1.3 Ah, 1.5 Ah, etc. The date on some of these batteries can also be getting old, so their service life may be less than if you had a larger more recently manufactured battery. So yes, buyer beware.
MM
I can see how it might be an issue if the company plans to first ship kits with one model of battery and then switch to a different one can it could be prohibitively expensive to have two or more different boxes printed up.
But it seems easy enough to fix with a sticker that could be applied to old boxes after the battery switch was made?
In other words if the goal is to sell out 1.5 ah batts first and then switch to 2.0s, have the boxes printed up with the 1.5ah spec, once the 1.5 batts are gone then start slapping the 2.0 stickers on the boxes. It could either cover up the part of the box that said 1.5ah batteries, or it could be a generic sticker for the front of the box that says something like: “free upgrade, 2.0 batts included!” or something to that effect.
John Blair
If all of the 1.5 is sold out before the 2.0 makes it into the store, that works. But when there is mixed inventory everyone will want the 2.0 and instead of being “Hey some people got a larger battery” it will be “I don’t want to get stuck with the smaller battery.” You can be sure in the holiday promos they don’t want people thinking too much about the either of those two batteries. That’s especially true in the case of an M18 battery where there are 3.0 Ah to 12 Ah batteries on the same shelf.
Stuart
That’s not really how things go for the holiday season. Most of what you see in the “gift center” these days are the result of very large order negotiations.
x-number of units at y-number of Home Depot stores, plus z-number of warehouse units for online fulfillment, require a lot of inventory planning. Except in rare cases, I would think no brand is running out of battery packs when building these kits; they’re not drawing from reserve inventories, they’re making more for this order.
Makita declared the 1.5Ah battery discontinued. Bringing it back for these kits are deliberate and likely to decrease costs, and not the result of limited quantities.
Besides, it turns out that the box art does show the battery size, but that I was completely blind to it. Ironic, I know, but it makes the “keep your eyes open” advice even more true. If they ever change these kits to 2Ah – which is what the previous iterations were kitted with – they’d have to change the box art anyway.
Dave P
Good post. Thanks. “Buyer beware” is a motto to remember…
To answer your question, “But couldn’t everyone use a spare M12 charger at the least if they’re buying M12 batteries?” No, I cleaned my shop recently and threw 9 M-12 chargers away. I only use the dual, 12v and 18v rapid chargers.
As far as M-12 1.5 batteries- I have a boatload of them (well, actually maybe 15 or so of them, I’d guess) purchased in kits before the 2.0 and “little” 3.0 batts came out. We do projects, not drill one hole, drive one screw, etc, and the 1.5’s don’t last very long. They are in a drawer around here someplace, never used. I need to give them to someone who could use them…
This reminds me of a question–What’s the difference between the “little” 3.0 and the larger 3.0 XC? The little one says “36Wh” on the bottom and the big 3.0 says “32Wh” on the bottom. I prefer the little ones as they’ll let the handle of the tool fit into my metal loop on my tool belt, which is a big deal if you’re up on a ladder- you can carry up more materials if you’re not also carrying up the tool….
MM
CP = compact. these are the cylindrical form batteries that fit mostly inside the handle of the tool.
XC = Extra Capacity. These are the larger ones with the square brick at the back.
Theoretically the 3.0 XC can supply higher current than the 3.0 CP, so it may perform better with high current draw tools, though I have not done a comparison as I don’t own an 3.0XCs.
Stuart
Compact 3Ah: 3x 3Ah cells
XC 3Ah: 6x 1.5Ah cells
As MM said, the XC can in theory deliver higher power. Or, the battery cells might run cooler in more demanding applications. I don’t know if any M12 tools will benefit from XC power, but there is a benefit in M18 tools such as with cordless drills.
My guess is that they shifter their calculations.
4V (max) x 3 x 3Ah = 36 Watt-hour
3.6V x 6 x 1.5Ah = 32.4 Watt-hour, or 32 Wh rounded down.
Dave P
I know my M-12 rotary hammer drill is more powerful with a 6.0 than with a 3.0 XC, but when using a drill or an impact I’ve never seen the big 3.0 do anything faster than the little 3.0.
Thanks
MM
I have the M12 Fuel 5-3/8″ circular saw and it runs better with the 4.0 XC compared to the 3.0 CP, but that’s not really a fair comparison since there are two variables being changed, both the capacity and the configuration. That said 99% of the time if I’m using that saw it will be with a 6.0 battery, because given the size of the tool there’s no reason to use it with anything but the largest battery.
Dave P
I have that little saw and also run it with a 6.0, but even then I find it grossly underpowered. I wish I had my $149 back…
MM
Yeah, in hindsight I wish I had picked up the Dewalt 20V since it’s pretty much the same overall size but more powerful. That said, the M12 does what I need it to do, it’s even surprisingly capable for cutting steel equipped with a Diablo blade, and I managed to get it as part of a bundle for a good price.
Tom
For those of us with limited space, buying what you need and avoiding free or very cheap extras is a valid choice. It’s also a lot better for the environment.
Your M12 screwdriver is a pretty extreme example, but there are so many Black Friday accessory sets where you end up getting piles of stuff you don’t need just to get what you actually want. In recent years, I’ve really tried to change my focus to avoid those false deals that give me more stuff to store (and eventually throw away) without saving money on what I actually need.
aaron s
yeah I have that trouble… it doesn’t matter how much of a discount it is if now I have something I don’t have time to deal with or space to store
Matt the Hoople
I can understand that. While I could stand to have a couple more Dewalt 20v batteries in the 5 to 8Ah range, I do not need (or want) any more Ryobi Batteries as I already have way more than I need. When looking at Dewalt tools, I consider which batteries come with a combo deal. When looking at Ryobi, I normally opt for bare tools.
Joatman
It goes back to a comment I posted on a couple different occasions…….They can keep their extra-batteries. Just cut the price of the bare tool!!!!!!! No bait, no gimmicks and no BS……just cut the damn price on the tool.
Kirk
Dewalt gotcha with the rear handle saw kit is $250 normally $399 or $299 bare hd