Black Friday 2024 is just weeks away, and naturally a lot of folks have questions about tool deals.
This will be the 14th Black Friday sales event that I’ll reporting on for ToolGuyd, and I’ve learned a lot along the way. Let’s tackle some questions!
And, if there are any questions I missed, just ask in the comments.
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Will the Tool Deals Get Better?
Yes, and no.
Home Depot has in the past held a “Pro Black Friday” sales event the week before Thanksgiving, but I’m not sure if they’re still doing that.
Home Depot, Lowe’s, and some other tool retailers will have additional “Doorbuster deals” on Black Friday.
Home Depot, Lowe’s, Acme Tools, Amazon, and other tool dealers will usually have online-only sales on Black Friday. There is usually a second round of flash sales and deals of the day on Cyber Monday.
Where Can I Find the Best Tool Deals?
Most retailers’ “special buys” are out now. Most authorized dealers will have a lot of the same deals.
If you don’t find what you’re looking for, check back on Black Friday for deals of the day or coupon offers, and then again on Cyber Monday.
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You can find a list of my go-to tool shops here: Tool Guide: Where to Buy Tools?
Is it Okay to Buy Now?
Sure.
Some retailers reduce the pricing of select tools as Black Friday nears, the day-of, immediately afterwards, or in early December when they want to move inventory a bit faster.
However, most “special buys” are fixed-price and are unlikely to see further discounts or savings.
Should I Buy Now?
If there’s risk of a product selling out, sure. If not, you have to determine what’s least stressful for you – buying now and potentially changing your mind or seeing a lower price and having to do a price adjustment, return-rebuy, or similar, or waiting for a lower price and risk not being able to get in on a deal.
Can I Trust the Deal End-Dates?
Mostly, yes. But I have seen some deals end abruptly, well ahead of schedule, and not because they sold out. This happened at Lowe’s last year, when they ended their Flex promotions weeks ahead of schedule.
Aren’t Stores Just Selling Piles of Old Stuff?
No. With Lowe’s and Home Depot having around 1700 and 2000 stores in the USA, respectively, and each store stocking x-number of products, that’s a lot of tools that require planning and coordination to ship on time for the holidays. The situation is similar at other tool retailers.
What’s a “Special Buy?”
This is where things get tricky. Major cordless power tool brands have been aggressively competing with each other, and they often mark certain tools down to lower price points. Some kits or combo kits seem to be designed around such lower price points.
With a lot of special buys, the “was” or “regular” pricing can be spurious, but that doesn’t mean you’re not getting a good deal.
Even with some special buys being available at sale pricing for many months of the year, they’re often very good values. Knowing whether you’re getting a good value or not can take a bit of research, or just ask the right people are communities for some help.
What’s the Best Approach to Shop for the Best Tool Deals?
Figure out what you want to buy, and then shop around. Do as much research as you can. Dig through deal archives (our search form can help you with this), and see what was on sale in prior years. Get over to your favorite big box home centers and see what they have on display.
Got Any More Black Friday Tool Deal Shopping Tips?
You should follow ToolGuyd daily, or subscribe to our daily updates newsletter, but that goes without saying.
There will be flash sales, deals of the day, and impulse buy opportunities. Don’t get caught up in the hype, although that’s easier said than done.
With deals that are likely to sell out quickly, I like to take a “buy now, think later” approach, at least with retailers that have easy return policies.
Similarly, if a retailer offers free shipping, don’t worry about adding everything to your cart at once. Sometimes getting an order in and continuing to shop for other stuff separately can make the difference between getting in on a deal and kicking yourself. This is especially true for deals of the day on Black Friday and Cyber Monday.
Why is Everyone Talking About Black Friday?
For as long as I can remember, holiday deals preceded Black Friday, with at least 80-90% of the tool deals released at the start of November.
Back when the pandemic prompted stores to reduce foot traffic, big box home centers advertised that they were going to have month-long Black Friday savings.
The only real difference was that the retailers started promoting Black Friday ahead of the actual day.
Since then, the entire holiday has shifted towards similar language, with “Black Friday JumpStart,” “save big before Black Friday,” and “Black Friday savings” types of phrases.
“Black Friday” shopping apparently now encompasses at least an entire 4-week period. Personally, I think that the 6-7 weeks from Prime Day until Black Friday has turned into an extended Black Friday sales event.
The biggest change, in my experience, is in the marketing. The deals are more or less similar to what we saw around this time a few years ago, even before the pandemic.
Archive of Last Year’s Deals
I’m still putting together reference pages for this year’s Black Friday tool deals. If you want to see what last year’s deals looked like, to better know what to expect this year, here you go:
Acme Tools Black Friday 2023 Tool Deals
Amazon Black Friday 2023 Tool Deals
Home Depot Black Friday 2023 Tool Deals
Lowe’s Black Friday 2023 Tool Deals
Walmart Black Friday 2023 Tool Deals
HUGE Doorbusters and Flash Sales!!
Best Black Friday Tool Deals for 2023 – Sorted by Type
42 Best Black Friday Deals at Home Depot, Amazon, and Lowe’s
Dewalt Tool Deals for Black Friday 2023
Milwaukee Tool Deals for Black Friday 2023
12 Best Milwaukee Combo Kit Deals
Makita Tool Deals for Black Friday 2023
Best Cordless Drill Deals
Best Shop Vacuum Deals
Best Table Saw Deals
EDC Tool Deals
Questions?
Did I miss anything?
AP
You should have been a detective, Stuart, you’re very thorough! Been curious about a lot of things and this helped clear up some things.
Stuart
Thanks – I try my best!
J . Newell
I just read the post about the Lowe’s comment…I think he already is (a detective)! 😀
Alexk
I read toolguyd every morning. What is different in the daily newsletter?
Stuart
The daily newsletter simply pulls all of the headlines from the previous day thru 11am EST. It’s like a truncated version of the front page.
Will
For years Makita has done a “get two free tool deal” with the $400 brushless drill/impact kit. I don’t see that this year. Its only one free tool. It also looks like they got rid of the brushless jigsaw as a free tool option and you can only get the x-lock grinder as a free tool. Any thoughts on that changing? That is a very large and disappointing change to all the previous years.
Stuart
Makita seems to have dialed back on Black Friday promos in general. BUT, they’re not the only ones to have dialed back on the value of this year’s free tool promo – I noticed the same from other brands.
Home Depot seems to be the biggest driver of these types of sales, and I wonder if the rampant “deal hacking” is behind these changes. Or, it could just be that the costs of these promos simply rose too high, and brands can’t throw as much money behind them as in previous years.
The only thing I know for certain is that this is NOT something that’s only happening with Makita promos.
Tucker
Not specifically a black Friday deal question, but I am looking for options on new scissors/cutters to keep around in various tool bags.
I have kept some variation of these Kobalt cutters for years and they are good all around cutters https://www.lowes.com/pd/Kobalt-8-in-Serrated-Molded-Grip-Scissors/1000371995
I am looking for something more scissor style than the Kobalt above. I have tried Engineer scissors, and the small ones are nice – I keep them in my tackle box for fishing related tasks. But the larger ones I am not impressed by – just not comfortable.
Few other examples/styles I have seen: https://www.homedepot.com/p/Crescent-Wiss-11-in-Heavy-Duty-Titanium-Coated-Single-Ring-Tradesmen-Scissors-CW11TM/313487676 or https://www.homedepot.com/p/Milwaukee-Jobsite-Straight-Scissors-48-22-4046/319919120
Curious what your thoughts are – or at least ones to avoid.
Stuart
I very strongly recommend Milwaukee’s straight and offset jobsite scissors. I’ve tried Crescent Wiss scissors, and they’re good too, but I prefer the Milwaukee. The compact Wiss utility scissors are also pretty good.
I feel that one can never have too many scissors.
Wayne R.
I’m proponent of the Wiss Inlaid 1DSN scissors. Big honking chunks of forged steel. There are other Wiss/Clauss shapes of old style forged scissors that push the pivot even further away from your hand, also superb. These things have a lot of beef in them and will take many years of use & sharpenings.
https://www.amazon.com/Wiss-1DSN-Industrial-Shears-Inlaid/dp/B000LDGMPS/
Lyle
This is nowhere near the same level of quality as what Stuart has recommended, but I bought this 7 years ago and haven’t had a single problem. We use them for everything. Hard to beat $8 for a 3 pack.
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00PTBCF12
fred
I tried the Engineer scissors based on Stuart’s recommendations. They did not fit my fat fingers at all. I like some of the Klein Scissors (the own Heritage Cutlery) and keep some of theirs scattered about. I have this pair:
https://www.amazon.com/Leverage-Utility-Klein-Tools-22003/dp/B00140AYWY
and these
https://www.amazon.com/Stainless-Electrician-Klein-Tools-2100-8/dp/B0015SBIL6
My wife likes the Engineer pair – but I see her mainly grabbing ones from Olfa
fred
I should have added that ones from Canary and Allex are great for cutting strapping, and clamshell packaging:
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B001M0E5YO
fred
Here’s the ones from Olfa
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0000X1H90
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000LE3SEU
Tucker
Thanks all for the feedback.
fred
Lee Valley/Veritas often has a Cyber-Monday sale that’s good on many items including gift cards for use at a later date. They will also have a Veritas “seconds” event starting on Wednesday 11/6 at 12noon EST. Those events seem to sell out the more popular items rapidly – and they will likely have a queue to let you in to shop. I’ve bought some of their planes as “seconds” and the defects have been minor cosmetic things.
Jake w.
Is Makita not doing the buy two 5ah batteries, choose a free tool deal this year?
Stuart
Buy a 2x 4Ah battery starter set with charger, get a free tool – via Home Depot.
Meredith Clark
Do you anticipate a deal on a hammer drill? Relatedly, is a hammer drill necessary if I want to mount a couple shelves on a brick wall? That’s the use I have planned at the moment, but with a new workshop space other uses might come up. My local Home Depot doesn’t have hammer drills to rent.
Stuart
Most drill deals are on cordless drill/drivers, but there are some bundles and combo kits with hammer drills.
The Milwaukee M12 Fuel hammer drill kit for $99 at Home Depot is the lowest price reputable hammer drill deal I can find.
A rotary hammer is best for frequent drilling in brick and other masonry materials. A hammer drill is good for occasional drilling in masonry materials. A cordless drill might work in a pinch, but it can take a lot longer.