I was checking Lowe’s deals of the day, on the off chance they had interesting tools on sale, and instead found this DieHard 3-gallon hot dog style portable air compressor for $99.
Since when is Lowe’s selling DieHard tools? Why?
Lowe’s has a couple of DieHard products in their online catalog – portable air compressors, rubber air hose in a single length, and a single 10pc multipurpose air tool kit.
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To be frank, the air compressors don’t look anything special to me.
Lowe’s already has a nice selection of air compressors, from brands such as Craftsman, Kobalt, Bostitch, Dewalt, and Metabo HPT, and several more brands if you shop online only, such as California Air Tools, Goodyear, and Campbell Hausfeld.
But no, their deal of the day is on a DieHard-branded air compressor.
DieHard, for those unfamiliar with the brand, was a Sears brand that focused on car batteries. If I recall correctly they also put their name on things like work boots. Sears also sold DieHard flashlights, some of which were quite decent.
Advance Auto Parts acquired the DieHard brand name at the end of 2019. On their website, they say that they expanded the brand in 2021 with power tools, and hand tools in 2022.
Sears leveraged the DieHard name for cordless power tool batteries in 2018 and 2019, after they sold the Craftsman brand to Stanley Black & Decker.
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I haven’t seen anything from the DieHard brand since then.
Advanced Auto does seem to have launched new lines of DieHard cordless power tools and hand tools, as well as automotive mechanics equipment such as jacks, lifts, creepers, and tool storage. That’s good for them, and it’s a bit interesting.
But why is this a focus for Lowe’s? I’d rather see deals of the day on air compressors from Dewalt, Metabo HPT, Craftsman, and even Kobalt. DieHard?
Are you interested in buying a DieHard air compressor from Lowe’s, on sale or not?
Is Lowe’s dipping their toes into the DieHard tool waters here? Is it a one-off promotion for the brand?
In other news, Lowe’s was advertising Halloween décor the other day. In June. Who’s interested in buying Halloween decorations in June?!
Sometimes I feel that, the more I understand the tool retail industry, the less I really understand it.
Jim Felt
This is just sooo Lowes. Yawn.
But wait! They’ll clearance these too in a random act of mis-marketing. Just so on brand for them.
Joe A
Jeeze. The whole lot of Sears brands just needs to be killed off. They have become terribly muddled and unfocused (and basically, junk with a shiny name slapped on them). It’s an insult to all of us that these brands keep playing whack-a-mole on the market. Poo poo to Lowes for whatever rock these products crawled out from under.
Steve L
Halloween in June! If Lowes was clearing out what did not sell in 2022 it is another sign of what I view as a poorly managed operation.
I will stop at Lowes for little things (fasteners, consumables) and when they have the best sales price on something I want (Ego leaf blower was the last). Everything else is bought elsewhere.
The Diehard compressor looks like a good way to throw $99 away.
Big Richard
Halloween is “only” 4 months away, and people will be decorating for it in about 3 months. So it’s not that much a stretch.
This is what retailers do. Once they start to sell out of their summer seasonal stuff, they need to fill that floor space. Empty floor space looks bad and nets them zero dollars in their pockets. Throw out some fall stuff, it fills the space and people will buy it, getting them some cash dollars. The difference is they don’t usually advertise that as Lowes is here.
Tim+E.
We must also consider there are people decorating for Christmas / the holidays around Halloween, which means retailers need floor space to get holiday decorations out. Halloween takes that floorspace, so by getting Halloween out earlier, that also lets them get holiday stuff out earlier.
I was in Costco a week ago, and they already had something Christmas related (don’t remember exactly what it was, maybe some servingware or something but 100% Christmas and not normal stock) out on an endcap. I don’t know if it was something from last year they just found and put out, or something that arrived late from last year, or something very early for this year, but it was pretty surprising to me to see out.
Jared
Seems weird to have a house-brand suddenly for sale at a different retailer. I assume it’s just an off-the-shelf tool with the brand label applied – i.e. wouldn’t surprise me if the identical compressor was sold by other brands. “Diehard” in that context doesn’t add anything for me.
Would I buy it? Certainly not because its a “Diehard” product, but maybe if I needed a compressor and thought it was a good deal (and by “good deal” I don’t mean similar to a more trusted brand, I mean substantially cheaper).
fred
Who even owns (or licenses) the DieHard brand these days? I thought that it was one of the assets that Sears sold off – and the rights to use it on batteries went to Advance Auto Parts. But how about tools, clothing etc. that seem to now bear the name?
ITCD
Advance Auto has been starting to put it on tools too, a while back they clearanced a bunch of TeqCorrect and TeqPro stuff to make way for it.
Steve
$99 doesn’t seem like a bad deal for that little compressor. They’ll get some bites on it as there are people who recognize the brand. It is curious as to why they are offering it though. I also agree that the Die Hard and Craftsman names don’t mean anything like what they use to. Not sure I’ll ever have another one of their products as I tend to be pretty brand loyal, even if the product is not quite as good as competitors…
Franco
DieHard, my guess they will get more bites from the $99 price than by people recognizing the DieHard name.
Bonnie
Looks like just a random online item they had stock to clear out. I doubt there was a big plan around this deal of the day.
Chris Shelton
Why buy this for $99?
https://www.lowes.com/pd/DieHard/5013929581
When you can get this at Harbor Freight for $69
https://www.harborfreight.com/air-tools-compressors/air-compressors-tanks/air-compressors/3-gallon-13-hp-110-psi-oil-free-hot-dog-air-compressor-57572.html
Big Richard
Because the Harbor Freight model is only 110 psi and a measly .6 scfm? Did I get it right?
Franco
Some people have HF allergies and just won’t buy anything from HF.
Raycr
HF warranties are the turnoff.
Jerry
The Die Hard appears to be quite a bit better of a compressor. On top of any performance increase it is oil lubed with a cast iron cylinder. It has been my experience that oil lubed pumps outlast the oil free by quite a bit, and in theory at least should run cooler due to the heat sink effect of the oil.
skfarmer
virtually that same compressor could be bought badged craftsman. i bet it is the same. i bought one probably 8 or 10 years ago and my son the identical one a few years later. they have held up well. a little heavy but pretty good capacity for a small unit. i think one was 89 and the other 99 bucks on sale so the price is ok. i kbow i bumped up the pressure on mine to about 140 or 150.
.6 cfm? barely more than an inflater. they will blow that hf compressor away,
Ryan A. Brown
I echo a couple of other posts. The Sears brands just need to be killed off or someone else take the name and make it something to be proud of. Stanley Black & Decker buying Craftsman and announcing they would be making the hand tools in the USA again got me excited. However, as most of us have recently heard from their most recent announcement just weeks ago that USA made Craftsmen would not happen after all. Such a disappointment. As far as DieHard, the movies were great but I’ll be avoiding the air compressors or anything with that name. I think it’s time we all put the Craftsman/Sears/Die Hard name behind us and move on.
teicher
If you want to compete with Home Depot and their 12 ft skeleton, you have to start in June.
Denny
The 3 gallon hot dog style looks like my Craftsman model 921.153101 that take oil, I’ve had this compressor about 10 years now that was purchased at a Sears store. I used it for lite projects, air up tires, brad nailer, staple gun, blowing off work bench, but over all it been a good investment for the price.
Robert
Real question is what compressor got the Diehard name plate bolted onto it. It is a catchy name. Years ago family gave me a warm long sleeve shirt, with a waffle weave interior layer that was branded Diehard. It’s held up well. The usual unraveling spots are doing ok.
Ct451
I think you’re implying companies are squeezing every penny out of a name stuck in peoples head. Never.
Nathan
First though was that it was a sbd rebadge of water craftsman labeled thing the also made. And probably in grey for PC and yellowish for bostich
And play on the idea that diy car mechanics will pickup the diehard name
As opposed to craftsman which appears to be getting shuned.
Matthew
Lowes is becoming absolutely terrible. I went in store for the Toughbuilt sledge hammer that was on sale for one day only. Store said it had three, could pick up in store by ordering the app. Decided to just go in, go to self checkout and it doesn’t ring up the sale price. Usually even the one day only sales scan properly for the sale price.
Lady changes it, then asks her supervisor as to the reason for the price adjustment. Even though it’s on the lowes app, the supervisor states we aren’t going to be doing that any longer.
Matching your own price on the app? You won’t adjust your pricing from your own app???
The other thing that is dumb they will only price match up to 7 days after purchase. So I keep track of my receipts, buy the item again, and then return it with the older receipt.
The same supervisor saw me checkout one time, then walk right outside through the front corridor and right over to customer service to return it. She asked, didn’t I just see you buy this? Just said yup, now I’m returning it. Lol.
They’ve gotten so out of hand with most stuff I don’t even really like shopping there but I don’t have any local Home Depot’s.
MT
Reminds me of killing in time in the obviously-in-distress-but-still-not-closed-yet-somehow local Sears while getting an oil change. Came across a grill at a decent price, went to look art online reviews, and found the online price was even cheaper. Would they adjust the price in store? Nope. So I stood there at the counter and ordered it online for in-store pickup. Then picked it up when the oil change was done.
MM
Wal-Mart pulls this stunt too. I avoid shopping there whenever possible but they sometimes have good sales on some of the automotive fluids I use so I stop by to stock up. The products ring up for much higher than advertised on their website but they have matched it for me so far.
Steve
Halloween is big business now. Home Depot got their first drop of 12 ft skeletons in May this year, Lowes is playing catch up. People are crazy with the yard displays these days, they start setting them up in August. I head up an amateur Haunted House so I love it because I can get some decor items earlier.
As for the Die Hard stuff, that screams of overstock dumped to Lowes on the cheap.
Josh
That $99 die hard compressor is literally an older sears craftsman model spray painted black. How do I know? Literally looking at the one I own. It’s honestly a great compressor for $100. Oil lube, fills up in literally 57 seconds. Atleast the red one I bought does. Pretty sure it’s like 10 or 15 years old at that
garrett
Lowes always brings the excitement! Defunct brand names, weird and wonderful merchandising decisions, etc. Maybe they can reach back to the halcyon days of Sears/Kmart and resuscitate the flashing ‘blue light special’ deals! I’m all in!