Every year, I hear the same complaint, about how stores have the same Black Friday tool deals as the previous year.
This happens every year.
Well, yes – maybe 80% of the tool deals are repeats from the previous year.
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Here at ToolGuyd, I try to focus on the new, different, or especially good holiday tool deals. Behind the scenes, a lot of the questions and requests I receive mirror similar ones from previous years. Every year, many readers are shopping for the same deals.
I saw heaps of unsold inventory last year, and there are signs that the same will happen this year. We’re just a week into December, and I’ll be checking local home centers again in the middle of the month and at the very end of the year.
There are different reasons why they could be happening. Personally, I think it’s partly because many users are making online purchases earlier in the season, but there could be other factors.
Even so “they’ve got the same deals as last year and every year” is a popular and frequent complaint.
But, retailers stock a lot of the same deals deliberately – because they sell well. Or, maybe because they’re heavily incentivized to do so.
There’s one brand that has had in-store deals at Home Depot for a couple of years now, and they NEVER sell well. It’s the same deals every year, and they just sit there. If not for examples like that at Home Depot and Lowe’s, I’d point to sales performance as the sole motivating factor.
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Some readers have the idea that everyone has all of the core tools they need. That’s not true.
Consider a new flavor of ice cream – mango sprinkle surprise. Nobody has tried this flavor before, and so its potential for interest and demand is huge.
What about a new vanilla ice cream? How many people have never tried vanilla ice cream before? How many people are interested in trying a new kind? There’s smaller potential for interest and demand here. But, there’s still going to be interest and demand.
Think about this – every year there are x-number of people who try vanilla ice cream for the first time.
Let’s say that every user that is looking to buy a new ladder, shop vac, $99 cordless drill kit, mechanics tool set, or what-not buys one this year. Next year, there will be a new group of users and potential shoppers looking to make the same purchases.
If a brand comes out with a new cordless drill, there are two types of potential end users – those looking to upgrade, and those looking to buy their first cordless drill. Take away the upgraders, and there’s still a large number of potential buyers.
“They’re too late to market.”
ToughBuilt recently launched a new modular storage system. Makita filed patent applications for a system of their own. Are they later introductions? Yes. Too late? No.
If everybody who is thinking about buying into a modular tool box system does so, there’s going to be a new group of tool users who will be shopping for the same next year.
Something that does things in a new way – mango sprinkle surprise – can potentially interest new customers.
Fads come and go, and there are cyclic fads in the tool world, with dog bone wrenches as a good example.
But there are also constant and repeated needs.
All of you might have plenty of cordless drills. But what about a new apprentice? A new DIYer? Someone that just took up woodworking? A graduate moving to their first apartment? Newly weds moving into a home?
There is ALWAYS demand for cordless drill kits.
Stores like Home Depot, Lowe’s, and Amazon know exactly how much they sell of every Black Friday or holiday deal each year.
As mentioned, while seemingly not the sole factor, don’t you think that they’d change things up if there’s a noticeable drop in interest or demand?
Planning for the next holiday season comes around, and they’ll tell their suppliers to ship something different.
In recent years, readers asked me to be on the lookout for cordless nailer deals. We’ve been seeing more and more. This year, Dewalt, Metabo HPT, Milwaukee, and Ryobi all had cordless nailer promos.
There’s interest in cordless power tools that don’t involve a drill or impact driver. We have that this year, and quite a few of them.
If I were in charge of planning and buying at a large home center, would I do things differently? Absolutely. But, I wouldn’t change much about the core deals that we see every year.
A good portion of holiday tool deals are absolutely boring. I wouldn’t buy them, and you wouldn’t buy them.
Amazon sold huge numbers of this old brushed motor drill kit last month. WHY? Dewalt has at least 3 better brushless drill kits at the same promo price right now.
I cannot fathom why anyone would buy this drill kit anymore when better options exist at the same price point. But they do. This drill suits the needs and wants of many people.
Are you bored with the Black Friday and holiday deals you see? What are you looking to buy? Nothing? That’s great. But every year there are people looking to buy new tools. While the number might rise and fall, they’re always there.
And, with Black Friday and holiday deals well tracked and documented, a lot of people wait. If there’s something they want but don’t immediately need, they wait. Or, maybe there’s something they could use, but don’t realize it.
These Engineer scissors are awesome. I bought my first one more than 10 years ago, and I think it’s great that they’re more widely available and lower priced today. Amazon has it for less than $18.
I’ve mentioned these compact scissors before. And almost every time, at least one reader buys a pair.
Others might say “I’ve got plenty of scissors already, thank you.”
That’s cool – you can store them in a tool box like this one. It’s made in the USA and Amazon has it for $4.98 again right now.
Most regular readers will be thinking “you’ve already posted about these.” Yes, but I can almost guarantee that someone will think “ooh,” and buy one at the spot. That’s how Black Friday and holiday deals work – there’s ALWAYS interest and demand.
Now that I’m thinking about it, I might buy another tool box to fill with the Engineer scissors and other tools as part of a cousin’s graduation gift.
It’s been a couple of years since I’ve put together a minimalist college or new apartment tool kit for anyone. I might have to update that post. The first thing I’ll change is the tool box, from this one that’s hard to find, the larger one shown above.
With fads, such as mango sprinkle surprise, or say fidget spinners or tops, there’s a limited marketable period after which interest runs its course.
But there’s always going to be demand for core tools, and that’s why we see similar Black Friday and holiday tool deals every year.
If you want to see a different type of promo, say so! The reality is that brands and retailers are less likely to discount tools that you’re going to buy anyway. We might see some discounts or promo bundles in highly competitive spaces. But no business is going to cut their profits if they’re going to make the same sale anyway.
When is the last time you’ve seen sale pricing or promo bundles on Rubbermaid garbage cans? Milk? Metalworking lathes? Horizontal band saw blades? Hammer breaker points or chisels?
Has your internet services provider ever given you a discount, aside from when you first signed up? Your water company?
It is absolutely valid to be bored with Black Friday and holiday tool deals. I try my best to talk about ones readers might find particularly interesting.
I’m not in the market for a new cordless drill, and many if not most readers are in the same boat. But every year, there are questions – “have you seen any particularly good cordless drill deals.” Usually it’s more like “which is the best drill deal, and should I buy now or wait?”
The deals that we see and don’t see will have deep impact across the industry.
At Home Depot, Dewalt has a cordless drill deal, Milwaukee has a cordless drill deal, Makita does NOT have a cordless drill deal. Dewalt has PowerStack deals, Milwaukee has Forge deals, Makita doesn’t have anything new.
Dremel has nothing new for 2023, except for a new version of their cordless cleaning tool that’s bundled with Scrub Daddy pads. This was at Lowe’s, I didn’t see any Dremel promos at Home Depot.
Home Depot has a display with Ryobi battery-powered DIY and hobby tools at Home Depot, including rotary tools and a “scrubber tool kit.”
Dremel doesn’t have any promo footprint at Home Depot, and it doesn’t look like they’re getting much attention at Lowe’s. The display at my store is in a rear aisle placement, and it was looking as full as this Ryobi display from a month ago.
My Home Depot stores sold through ALL of their Milwaukee copper pipe cutter and adjustable wrench sets.
Lowe’s has SIX different hammer promo displays – 2 Craftsman and 4 Kobalt.
Home Depot’s Milwaukee hammer deals never appear to sell well, but they don’t take up much space, and they tend to change things up year to year.
There is a LOT that I would change if I were in charge of tool deals and promos. But the boring “ugh, they have this every year and I don’t care!” types of deals are repeated for a reason.
I am a little tired of hearing the same complaint over and over, but do NOT stop. Things get interesting when the people in charge change things up.
Let’s say you have the ears and attention of the people in charge of these tool promos and arrangements – what do you want to see next year?
Samuel VDot
I love the “Minimalist College or New Apartment Tool Kit” article. I’d love to see an update as my mother-in-law has several of the students she helps go off to grad school each year. She could give the article to most and would probably buy the kit for the few that become her “kids” like one graduating this year.
Do you have a similar article for first time homeowners? We closed two years ago, but we don’t know what we don’t know.
fred
I started buying tools in the 1950’s. I’m retired and no longer need to consider buying tools for the businesses in which I was once associated. But I buy tools for recipients who span several generations and are at different stages of their lives. Every year there are people in the country forming new households, going away to college or establishing new businesses – many of these folks will be first time tool buyers or the targets for other’s buying tools-as-gifts. Tool retailers wish to sell to these consumers as well as the more established tradesmen and homeowner DIY crowd. So a $6.98 hammer at HD may not appeal to many ToolGuyd readers – but might sell as a stocking-stuffer for a high school senior soon to go off to College.
David
Once everyone has tried Mango Sprinkle Surprise and decided it’s great and they need it they buy it. Eventually within a few years everyone owns it. The new users and upgraders do NOT come close to the rush to buy MSS as when it first came out. You can’t base your current sales on what the past years latest and greatest rush to buy sales were.
Jeremiah McKenna
You can when it has been a repeat, year after year.
The shelves at the 4 HDs near my house are bare. Why is that is everyone is tired of MSS? Because there is always interest in those tools by all sorts of people.
Would I love to see a few different tools on sale this year? I could absolutely use some savings on a 10″ Milwaukee M18 Miter saw and stand. Has there ever been a sale on that saw, or any Mil miter saw in the last 4 years? Not that I can recall.
But there are some tool sales that have caught my eye this year, like the 15ga finish nailer or palm nailer. I need those tools, along with a nice tool chest that are also on sale this BF, that typically are not.
So yes, the manufacturers trot out the same old tool deals, they sell great and then they sprinkl in a few new deals.
MM
I like the fact that many of the Black Friday deals seem to repeat. It’s a nice way to slowly build up your workshop. For example, I plan on buying another set of Bessey K-body clamps next year if Rockler has them on special like the did the last few years. In fact if they keep doing the deal I’ll probably buy a few more sets over time–I’ve gotten in the habit of stocking up on clamps during the Black Friday season. I also like that a lot of the standard larger power tools like miter saws, planers, etc, consistently go on sale for Black Friday. I bought my 12″ miter saw & stand on Black Friday, I may buy another next year. I’m also planning on picking up the Dewalt corded planer with stand–another tool that is consistently available for a low price on Black Friday. I like that there are often good deals to be had on things that commonly get worn out or lost, like tapes, squares, utility knives, etc. It’s a good time to think about buying into or expanding a cordless power tool platform. Finally, flat deals like “X% off any purchase” always come up and those are a good opportunity to get a deal on big-ticket items that rarely go on sale. If I need a tool now I’ll buy it right away, but I like using Black Friday for things that aren’t time critical, and having an idea of what to expect is good for planning purposes.
Jared
Similarly, I like the Black Friday deals for consumables. It’s a good time to stock up on drill bits, ROS pads, measuring tapes, etc.
Scott K
I totally agree. It’s nice to know that there are some core tools/sets that you can pickup at a nice discount if you can wait. This is especially true for the free tool promos- it’s a nice way to add more batteries and scoop up something you may not normally buy but will get use out of. I also think this can be a good time to replenish accessories or upgrade.
Joe E.
Black Friday deals were the best when Sears was still around, even after the China switch. There were deals to be had and the tool department was always swamped with people. That was still true 5 years ago before ours closed their doors.
Nothing else really compares. Nothing else really excites me. Home Depot does a pretty good job. Lowe’s deals suck. I pray every day that Eddie Lampert buys them up and runs them into the ground like he did to Sears. Lowe’s is pathetic.
MT
That would give us less competition and higher prices at Home Depot. Better to hope for improved management.
Waldon
Better to hope that some PE firm buys Eddie Lampert’s PE firm. If he gets kicked to the curb in the process of “downsizing”… Karma’s a boomerang, innit? You have to be philosophical when you are the big fish that got eaten by an even bigger one. Trust that he will survive somehow with his measly billions….
PW
I carped about Lowe’s repeat “deals” this year.
I am not opposed to repeat BF deals. In fact, I count on them. I love holiday deals as a way to expand my collection of things like clamps and storage containers. I sometimes use deals on consumables like drill bits and saw blades. The endless deals on gloves are boring, but we all need gloves!
The last couple years I have drawn up lists of things I intend to buy during the holidays based on historical sale items.
In the case of Lowe’s, I think they need to have more deals _beyond_ “starter”/homeowner intro tools and Kobalt “made-for-BF” tools.
It seems a pity that the Craftsman deals are basically all centered around starter kits. I know Lowe’s isn’t Sears, and Craftsman ain’t what it was, but there used to be broader sales on Craftsman items that would appeal to someone who already owns a basic kit of sockets and wrenches.
I’ve been holding out for a good deal on certain Ego tools, and was disappointed there wasn’t anything there for me this year.
I’m always interested in storage and organization items. I’m not into Toughbilt but I could see a lot of holiday promo potential there by next year.
Does Bosch truly have nothing to offer? I saw a deal at Costco that made me wonder why Lowe’s had so little there.
Lowe’s should take advantage of Klein – don’t do the usual Lowe’s thing and bring them in with a splash and some nice promos and move on in 2 years like your brand management is controlled by an attention-challenged monkey.
Honestly I think most tool retailers did OK this year. There were lots of deals on things I was interested in and things I was not. It’s mostly Lowe’s that blows. 😛
Jared
I like the “free battery” deals. They offer a little flexibility in what you buy and an opportunity to save some money on non “core” tools.
The discounts this year looked decent on paper, but it’s after three years of steady price increases. At least for me, I bought very little because I don’t “need” much and the value didn’t seem great.
Maybe I’ll slowly acclimate to the new market conditions and my value metric will shift because I can’t get stuff as cheap as I used to – or maybe other consumers will share that sentiment and the pricing will have to come back down.
JR Ramos
The evolution of black friday and associated discounts has been kind of bizarre. That said, I’ve often taken advantage and for a few items, I’ve appreciated “knowing” that I could get some repeat items at great prices. Two that I have often purchased and planned on doing again this year were sadly not offered, and in fact both of those things have greatly increased in price (more than the already-greedy typical 20%-30% increases that have affected most items in the box stores over the last 3-4 years). Those were the cartridge filters for Milwaukee cordless vacs, and the black and yellow plastic 5-shelf units from HD. For a few years those filters were in a 2-pack for $19…this year it’s only singles for like $25 each. Filters and batteries are always a greedy ripoff but geez (and at this point nobody can say that material supply/manufacturing capacity is thrown off by the pandemic…).
I think major retailers have boxed themselves in somewhat by past practices and the seasonal offers/discount game is a mess now. They could certainly do better even if it’s just expansion of non-exclusive or every day items…throw a little bone out there rather than offering just the same old “beginner” packages or a few consumables. The M18 Fuel 7″ circular saw is a good example…every so often you’ll see a free battery included but that item seems to never be put on sale (which is where tool-centric stores like Acme, OPT, Toolnut, etc. help out with their percentage promos even if they’re lower discounts and lack the same promotional packages).
At this point, sadly, 20% catches my attention. For years I wouldn’t even get interested under 30%. Yes, it’s always a game, but knowing some of the actual landed costs and margins, it’s just irritating to see the state of retail these days…consumers are getting hosed and often losing other “benefits” in stores as well. Black Friday deals aren’t really deviating from this much, lately…and I think the luster has worn off for many customers.
Monkey
Great article by Stuart.
Black Friday tool retailers aren’t trying to cater to any of the readers on this site. Black Friday, at least for tools, is to capture/attract new tool users/enthusiasts/customers/DIYers.
People like me, that have most tools, and know a truly good tool deal when we see it, are not the people the retailers are after during the holiday season.
As disappointing as the truth may be.
Robert
Monkey, I respectfully disagree that retailers aren’t catering also to experienced tool users, such as reader of this site. They will try to sell anyone with a pulse willing to commit money. As Jared pointed out, BF is a good time to stick up on the consumables you’ve learned you burn through. The Diablo 50 pad ROS bundle at Home Depot is not something a newbie would likely think they need, “No way am I going through 50 pads for a sander.” Ahh huh. Conversely, there have been a fair number of big ticket deals for astute readers like us. The first instance of the Bosch Miter Saw with a Bosch TB4 stand. Deals on the Dewalt 779 Miter saw and its stand, the Milwaukee cordless track saw. I got a niche tool called the Joint Maker Pro from bridge city works, because I had been watching it for a long time and it finally dropped to a somewhat reasonable price this BF season. JMP is not something a newbie will get.
Monkey
Great point. I failed to consider consumables. And probably a lot of other instances.
Frank D
Black Friday these days simply does not compare to Black Friday 20 years ago or 10 years ago; because the sales were better and there were actual “ door busters “ while these years we have the same old deals and sales 4x per year, for whatever holiday or reason … and there is no real point in waiting for Black Friday.
Scott K
To be honest, I would much prefer the current model than that of 10-15 years ago. It is much easier to be an informed consumer nowadays and you can more easily ensure that you’re getting something for a good price rather than junk marked down. The extended season is also a better system for everyone involved than the days of stampedes and long lines.
I missed out on a few things I wanted. They aren’t necessities, so it’s nice to know they’ll likely be on a similar sale around Father’s Day/labor day.
Stuart
Not really.
https://14cyiuhvcgv.com/home-depot-black-friday-2013/%3C/a%3E%3C/p%3E
2013: Dewalt 18V drill and impact driver combo kit for $149
2023: Dewalt 20V Max Atomic drill and impact driver combo kit for $139
2013: Dewalt portable table saw for $299
2023: Dewalt portable table saw for $299
2013: Shopping frenzy starting at 12am Thanksgiving thru the weekend
2023: Shopping frenzy starting around November 1st, with more online-only deals on Black Friday and Cyber Monday.
The competition is so much fiercer now that there are more deals, and more people hold off on purchases until the Black Friday season.
Waldon
To add to what was so well articulated, consider the future value of those 2013 prices that Stuart shows, especially in this timeframe of inflated prices (and interest rates).
Steve
Thanks for the recommendation on those scissors. I have a pair of Klein scissors that I picked up from Home Depot on clearance (thanks for the heads up on that too), and absolutely love them for wiring work. I’ll probably grab this pair from Amazon to go in my general tool bag and for the jobs that are more abusive.
Ed
Picked up a pair of scissors. Insightful article, Stuart.
criketzchirping
About what I want and expect to see next year. Would love to see Milwaukee Forge actual deals next year. I’m sure there will be some since it will have time for some of the initial interest to wane. By deal I’m talking about something better than the “deals” Home Depot is running on them this year. I’m hoping for something like a “buy a battery and charger get this tool free kind of thing”. Maybe too much to hope for but I’d love to see it. Stuart, I doubt the “potential interest and demand” for mango sprinkle surprise would be huge:) Loved the word pic though.
TomD
Many Black Friday deals are designed to be introductory- get you into the system. The biggest example of that is the starter tool sets from the various vendors.
Other things are simple to make and sell but have larger ancillary costs (shop vacs being a perfect example, they’re mostly air and annoying to keep stocked because they take up so much room).
And tools that don’t fit in those categories are much more rare to see as “part of the deals” like the copper cutter – no wonder they get snapped up.