Amazon Prime Day 2024 will be on July 16th and 17th, just 4 days away.
As a price-conscious and bargain-hunting consumer, I have been avoiding major discretionary purchases until then, unless I need something right away or deals and discounts are extremely unlikely.
I went ahead with a couple of purchases, and will have to deal with price adjustments processes or returns if there are appreciable price drops next week.
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Prime Day has turned into a summertime Black Friday-type event. Prices are slashed, and not just at Amazon.
Amazon always has some good deals on tools, but there are always a lot of junky no-name brand promotions as well.
I like to think I can predict the types of tools deals we’ll see, based on years of my reporting on Black Friday, Holiday, and Prime Day tool deals. But there are bound to be surprises, with the same being even truer for other categories.
I’ve made the mistake of buying products in the weeks ahead of Prime Day, and learned from that. I still made a couple of big purchases recently, and hope they weren’t mistakes.
Other retailers bound to have sales and discounts as well. Consumers will have their wallets out, and many retailer will try to capitalize on the opportunity.
Try to keep this in mind over the weekend.
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I’ll be closing my wallet for a few days. I figure that at best I’ll save some money, and at worst I’ll have to wait a little longer for my orders.
I’ll take the chance of buying now and missing a deal if I cannot wait or don’t want to risk something I need selling out.
For those of you thinking “Prime Day is gonna suck,” maybe it will, or maybe the tool and other product deals will be spectacular. My point is that there’s a good chance countless products across most categories will be discounted. Keep this in mind and make your purchasing decisions accordingly. Or don’t. I’m just trying to help.
Jared
I’ve not been that impressed with the last few “Prime Days”, but I remain optimistic there might be some savings to be had.
I did something similar – basically I just put stuff in my cart I would have bought anyway but didn’t need right away, now I’ll wait for Prime Days to see if there are any price drops.
I think it’s also important to avoid impulse Prime Day shopping, which I presume is actually the whole point of the event. With that in mind I’m trying to think of what I would want ahead of time rather than reacting to the “deals” I spot.
Stuart
It’s not just Amazon – other major retailers and even many smaller independent stores will also have promos.
Derek
Just bought a bunch of Dewalt Tough System at Home Depot. Saw that if you added $500 worth you would get $250-$300 back.
Guess I’ll be doing some reorganization this weekend.
aaron+s
Yeah I’m 3 orders into that promo, cheapest I’ve seen for the drawers in particular
Derek
I went back and forth trying to decide what to get for a while. I did end up ordering a set of each drawers.
Just wish they had a 4 wheel dolly.
aaron+s
I’m just using furniture dollies from harbor freight
Derek
I was thinking of doing the same thing.
Been waiting 4 hours now for my order to be ready for pickup. I might have to cancel it and reorder it to be shipped at this point.
Matt C.
I find some Amazon items have price fluctuations daily…. Sometimes even changing in the same day. I do something similar to what Jared said… I put all of my “wants” in a wish list and then just monitor the wish list.
Stuart
Yes, Amazon prices tend to fluctuate. Prime Day is different.
Some brands also have higher prices before discounts, which preserves inventory and validates “new lower price” claims and such.
My point is that this also extends beyond Amazon.
I’m keeping my wallet closed this weekend unless I’m in a rush or completely confident what I’m buying won’t be significantly discounted.
Jared
That’s a good point. Sometimes sellers “play” with the pricing a bit so that the “lowest price in 30 days” claim can be added during the sale.
For example, I bought a new welder a couple months ago. I was watching it for close to a year though – mostly because I didn’t really NEED a new welder, I already had one that did most of what I wanted. There were times though, when I wanted some additional features and tuning options…
While humming and hawing over it, I noticed that it would go “on sale” every couple months, but that the sale price was within ~$20 of the regular price. When not “on sale”, there was always a coupon for $150 off.
So sure, the “sale” was the lowest price, but it really wasn’t so dramatic if you knew there was a coupon the rest of the time – something you can’t see on camelcamelcamel.
fred
Now some ages ago we bought a Miller diesel-powered welder form Zoro using one of their coupon deals. I forget now if it was 25% or 30% off but we thought that they might not honor it on such a large purchase and/or toss in some ridiculous freight/handling charge. We checked with our local supplier who could not come close to matching the price. Like you we did not absolutely need another welder – but thought it would be nice to have a larger unit than what we had – and the deal was too good to pass up.
CMF
“we did not absolutely need another”…”the deal was too good to pass up.”
This is my kryptonite
MM
I do the same as you and Jared mentioned. If I *need* something from Amazon then I just order it, but if it’s a *want* I stick it in my cart and keep an eye on the price. Tools like CamelCamelCamel are also good for checking to see how the current price compares to past prices.
It’s very rare that I have bought anything on a Prime day sale though I’ll certainly be checking if anything on my wish list is on sale.
Scott K
I’m a big fan of CamelCamelCamel. Their price alerts are really nice for “wants” and I usually look see if the current price is typical before making a purchase.
Mike
You should definitely use Camel on Prime Day to check for real deals. I’ll often check it for any large purchases to see if it gets discounted often as well.
Stuart
You’re going to miss a LOT of deals if you do that.
You need to check manually.
In addition to price trackers occasionally being slow to update, they miss coupons, certain discounts, and Lightning Deals.
You could use price trackers to check long-term trends, but they often fail to pick up on day to day price drops and short-term deals.
G New
I use a browser plugin called Keepa. So when shopping you can see the lowest recent price and how often it gets marked down. It’s amazing for price shopping.
fred
I’ll look at Prime-Day deals but don’t expect to see much that is on my Christmas early shopping list. The only tool that I bought (via Home Depot) this year was a Makita GML01Z lawnmower kit. I certainly would have appreciated some $ off deal – but Makita just had a deal that threw in GBU01Z 40V leaf blower that I’ll gift away.
Tools on my Christmas gift-giving list include a cordless Mafell track saw to supplement ones I bought last year and a Milwaukee 2930-20 saw (if it gets released ahead of time). So, while neither of these will come up on sale, I’ll be looking for stocking-stuffer opportunities.
Bill
Fed, what drew you to the Makita lawnmower vs other options in the of battery powered OPE field?
fred
Some considerations:
I was looking for a mower to do the multiple small lawns in what my wife calls our garden rooms. The main front, side and back lawns are usually cut by our landscaper. My Honda gasoline mower had been stalling and getting hard to start. Replacing the spark plug and cleaning the carburetor had not much helped. While I thought that I might rebuild it – I also thought it might be time to go with battery-cordless.
I already had some Makita XGT tools – no 8Ah batteries – but some BL4050F’s – so I thought I might have some backups if the 8Ah batteries pooed out during the course of the job. BTW they are more than enough to complete several rounds of mowing without recharging. I guess that may change as they age. The few reviews that I saw on the HD site for the dual-8Ah model – seemed positive.
I had some Milwaukee OPE (Hedge Trimmer, Blower, Weed Wacker) but had experience with their batteries overheating during what I consider moderate use. I like the idea and convenience of battery-powered OPE – but I’d often end up strapping on my Echo blower or pulling out my Little Wonder hedge trimmer out of frustration. BTW – my wife dislikes me using these tools – and thinks that manual pruning and raking are more efficacious – but as I grow older, I have neither the patience nor the stamina for much of that. With this experience I shied away from Milwaukee. Most of the many reviews that I saw on the HD site were positive – but there were quite a number of 1-star complaints that seemed plausible.
I was tempted to look at some other brands like Ego and Stihl – based on brand reputation. I also thought about Greenworks and Ryobi. But what it mostly came down to was not wanting to have yet another battery platform. If cost had been a major concern – considering the limited % of my acreage that I personally mow – I probably would have bought a Ryobi. The Ryobi RY401210 would have cost about $650 less (with tax) than the Makita
JohnBCS
Mine’s been closed for a bit now because of the recent Bambu Lab sale lol
I imagine there will be some good filament sales though.
On that note, any thoughts on more 3d printing in the workshop content? Bambu’s printers are pretty much plug and play, and 3d printing can solve a lot of workshop problems. I’m seeing more “3d printing for your workshop” videos by a lot of the popular woodworking channels.
Stuart
I bought a Bambu last winter and like it a lot. I now need to put more hours into part design.
JohnBCS
A lot of people like fusion360 but I’ve been happy with onshape. It’s fairly straightforward to learn.
Stuart
I have that installed, and also bought a discounted version of Solidworks.
I used to work with Sketchup and Inventor, but it’s been a while.
I don’t want to get too into Fusio360. They ended their discount early and wouldn’t honor it, and that soured me about Autodesk.
I’ve heard good things about Blender.
My intent is to better learn 3D modeling for both additive and subtractive fabrication.
Saulac
I have some tools in my cart under “save for later” if they are on sale, by the same or a different seller, would I able to see the sale price?
S
You’ll only see that sellers sale price. So if another participates, you won’t see the new discounted price.
I do something similar. I use wish lists for category organization, and the the save for later cart is used to plan out future project purchases
Stuart
It depends on the type of savings or discount. Sometimes I’ll get “lower price by a different seller” updates, or higher price of original seller went out of stock.
Certain promos require clicking through to the product page to see coupons or discounts.
Saulac
Even though I consider myself as people who have fairly good access to these promotions. I really hate the concept of who much you pay depends on who you are. Dynamic pricing and promotions that target a certain population will lead us there.
Stuart
I’m not sure what you’re talking about. Aside for Prime Day deals requiring a Prime subscription – even if just for the month or a free trial, consumer pricing and promotions doesn’t “depend on who you are.”
I’ve seen rewards available for Prime credit card holders, and recently there was a coupon targeted to some customers but not others, but 99.9% of the Amazon tool deals I’ve seen and posted about for the past 10+ years have been open to anyone and everyone.
Lowe’s pricing can depend on zip code or selected store. I’ve seen Home Depot clearance pricing also dependent on zip code or regional inventory levels.
But there’s no indication that “how much you pay depends on who you are.”
Amazon’s dynamic pricing is global. Except for extremely rare occasions, the price I see is the price you’ll see.
MM
This is not specific to Prime Day, but I can recall several times when I have seen different pricing on Amazon compared to others. It happens fairly regularly that you will mention a specific deal here on Toolguyd and then some readers will report seeing different pricing or different coupon codes. One recent example was the article from May about the Kein EDC pocket knife. And as I linked during that discussion, the technology to specifically target coupons is a feature for Amazon sellers, it makes logical sense that Amazon makes use of that technology as well and it’s not just a 3rd party thing.
JR Ramos
Stuart…random side comment.
If you were aware, sometime last year CTD/Viking/Norseman filed a patent protest case against the owner of the step-twist-drill bits (popularized most by Astro as the main license holder, then sublicensed to Matco….owner is Mr. Wang with Tec-Spiral in China and some subsidary distributors). This was in response to a lawsuit and countersuit with CTD as the defendants.
Well, they were granted institution and they handed down their Order after the holiday. Patent was invalidated. Not too often that happens – this was a pretty interesting case to follow both in tech content, history, and…procedure.
I wonder what we may see now with these bits. Vim and a few others also sell them (not sure if theirs are made by the China factory or from CTD), but I half expect there to be a flood of the market with cheaper versions. They’re pretty awesome bits as long as they’re made with good steel and ground properly (cheap ones may not be able to provide that if they give it a try). CTD kept the pricing real (still a premium) so I wonder if Astro and Matco will come down now.
Stuart
I heard some buzz about this, but didn’t look at the details yet.
It seems that there are lawsuits and patent complaints all the time, and it can difficult to dig up details.
JR Ramos
Yeah…I try not to get too caught up in them or searching for them but sometimes they catch my eye. If you don’t have a PACER account for federal cases then there isn’t much on the internet except pay sites. The USPTO info is available for free but such a quagmire of a labyrinth to sift through.
Here’s a site that usually has a fair amount of info available. Many of the exhibits in this case were sealed for financial reasons but all of the pleadings and some other things are available. The last two docket entries on the list (long scroll) are where the meat is.
I couldn’t tell when following along who might prevail but it is really not common at all to have a patent invalidated (right or wrong, since the examiners who award them quite often make some serious blunders if some patent attorney doesn’t catch them). The patent owner unfortunately suffered from pretty poor representation (even got sanctioned and it probably should have happened more than once, then was forced to basically have a mentor lead attorney for the remainder of the case). CTD made a strong showing…interesting history they presented along with their expertise.
https://portal.unifiedpatents.com/ptab/case/IPR2023-00473
Probably can’t find the two federal cases with free viewing but not much there and after this it’ll just be dismissals and such.
I’m particularly glad that CTD was able to prevail. They and the tiny handful of other US bit manufacturers are pretty excellent all around and most of them have suffered quite a bit as inferior china bits have taken over most of the market (that includes our big tool brands, even the ones that have more decent bits…still pale in comparison). Several Chinese manufacturers have either misunderstood or attempted to willfully abuse our US patent system and that’s caused some real issues…nationality aside, it’s nice to see them knocked back for bogus claims. Now if only we could fix that marketing, right….
JR Ramos
A few more days and we’ll see whether Toughbuilt will be delisted from NASDAQ, too. They still haven’t bothered to file year end or later statements and they got dinged for probably an accidental infraction with their accountant…might get a big rap on the knuckles no matter how much they apologize. I think the hearing is on the 18th or 19th.
fred
My first introduction to this style of twist drill bit was from Zenith Industries LLC. They were better known for marketing a somewhat innovative (back in 2006) trim puller – then made in Taiwan. They called their step-tipped drill bits “Zip Tip Impact Drill Bits” with Z-step tips. They were made in China. They came with hex shanks. I bought a few back in 2020 and found them to be OK but nothing special for my metal drilling needs that are mostly met using round-shank bits from Chicago-Latrobe or Greenfield.
I now see them only via eBay:
https://www.ebay.com/itm/185711563571
JR Ramos
Interesting…thank you, Fred! I don’t think I’ve ever heard of Zenith. Found their site and the bits aren’t there anymore. The bit on ebay looks like some I saw on the Tec-Spiral site last fall but they have since scrubbed all of these bits from the site (reaction to the litigation?). It sounds like there must have been at least a half dozen sub-licensees for these bits and quite a mess behind the scenes, too…like actual drama. Court pleadings and court opinion laid out the fallacy of “influencers” and reviews as a legal claim of “industry praise”, too, which was good to see.
Looking for Zenith’s site I came across these…hadn’t heard of them before, either. Says “patented” so likely licensed by Astro if not directly from Wang’s subsidiary channel (which is tied to Tec-Spiral).
https://us.holemaker-technology.com/products/versadrive-turbotip-impact-drill-bits-inch-sizes
https://www.zenithbydanco.com/
Side note…if you ever want some of these, I’d get the CTD/Viking…they’re better steel and better ground…and they go to smaller sizes than what the China/Astro/Mac do (that’s true on their split points and brad points as well). They’re pretty neat bits, wish they’d been available decades ago for small holes where uni-bits weren’t the right tool. Nice round holes but also super handy for enlarging holes (actually worked well for bushing bores, too, where that doesn’t need to be precise). Haven’t looked lately but the US made CTD/Viking was actually considerably cheaper when I bought mine (from HJE but Taylor Toolworks has them, EOA Saw, too, and probably Amazon).
Funny, all these years, same work gets done even with new designs and “better” tools…and often they still don’t alleviate the need for a mill or lathe. 🙂
JR Ramos
Another side note…on Stuart’s Amazon Prime post (sorry!). Just got some W.L. Fuller brad points this week. They’re still plugging along and are still 100% committed to US manufacturing. They still manufacture their own bits and cutters for the most part…something like 400 items anyway. I think their brads are as good or maybe better than the Norseman that have been my favorites, really impressed (and they have an incredible size selection…I got some 6.5mm one offs). They’re a far cry better than anything I’ve ever seen from Fisch or Colt & Riss, etc. They told me they still source their drill rod with US steel as well, which was a surprise since some of the others have had to go overseas for it even though they make the bits here.
Greg
@JR Ramos, just curious about what makes the Fuller brad points better than Fisch. I was about to order some Fisch brad points but will consider Fuller as well.
JR Ramos
I don’t know if I’ve used the best from Fisch or what all they may have available, just the usual sets that are generally sold here (I got a set at Woodcraft years ago and what I’ve looked at in person since then seems exactly the same). The grind has never looked great but I see more imperfections now cutting edges that aren’t always equal and/or nicely sharp. The ones I have are spot on for size except two of the 32nd sizes (generally never a big deal in wood, usually ok in plastics). The brad point can mitigate some of this depending on runout in the machine. With the Fisch, depends on the wood, but I almost always noticed some tearout on entry. They’re not bad bits, just not as nice as the Norseman and I’ll keep using those…when replacements are needed I’ll definitely pick up the Fuller bits (because they’re excellent and also easily available in singles). Fuller says their brads are all hand ground, and I think I believe them – not sure about Norseman but their brads are excellent and they take it down really small (have to go look but I think as small as 5/64″). The Fuller (sample size of two bits) are leaving perfectly clean entrance and pretty clean exit without a backer even in baltic birch, which these days tends to fuzz and splinter pretty easily compared to what we had in the past. They mike spot on, which was great for me since these 6.5mm are for a specific job in acrylic – the brads work well enough there and save from trying to grind another bit into something workable or with good point angle and geo.
I was pretty impressed with Fuller’s commitment to US supplied material. I know Norseman/Viking had to start sourcing their drill rod from overseas some years ago (the M7 for sure, but not sure about M2 with is easily available domestically). Fuller insists on US still. Both are still cut and ground here. And none of that would matter if they weren’t high quality, but thankfully they truly are. I have a selection of cheap Steel-X and Woodcraft and some others (and the Colt & Riss) and just pull those out sometimes when it’s convenient and I don’t care about the surfaces of the material or sizing. I have some of the Montana brads also (made by Rocky Mountain Twist, not sure where they source their steel but they make a lot of bits and cutters right in Montana). They’re excellent as well but they have a very limited size range and very deep gullets on the brad/spurs…pretty aggressive and seem to want to pull into the work even on a drill press. Other than the quality and performance, one of the things that blows my mind about Fuller is that they will offer brad point on literally every size that is normally available in twist bits, even wire gage.
So…they all do the job. I’d avoid the Steel-X, Woodcraft, etc, etc. Those China brads seem to come in two flavors but none of them are that good in steel quality or grind. Nothing horrible about Fisch, maybe inspect them to see if any defects will matter. I’ve been a Norseman fan and customer for 30 years (when they were named Consolidated Toledo Drill and before the two new marketing names were made) and was thrilled when I first got their brad points – just excellent like everything they manufacture. Glad to add Fuller to that list now and would recommend them on par with Norseman. Fisch…slight notch lower and then the DeWalt/Makita/Milwaukee being slightly less than Fisch but better than the cheap China.
Fuller also has a fantastic selection of set-screw drill stops in every size imaginable. I’ve had some of those in 32nd and 64th sizes for some years. I prefer split collar when I use them but sizes have always been so limited. I think Fuller is the only one to offer these. Their plug cutters are exceptional, too, way better than Snappy or anything else I’ve used…just pricey. I didn’t realize Fuller made as much as they do, or that they quietly make several items for other recognized brand names…good outfit with a good ethos, so I’ll try to support them. I feel mostly the same about Norseman as a company. Our US bit and cutter manufacturers have sure had a rough time but are still plugging along and it’s just nice to support the domestic jobs and economy, and the quality is still there. Almost hate to say it but I don’t think anything German has been on par, but the Austrian is either on par or slightly less (only sometimes mediocre, lately), and I’ve only discovered a couple of Chinese brands that are selling anything close (Max Tool being one). Quality is nice, not always necessary though.
Sorry…dissertation there way outside of Fuller/Fisch.
Greg
@JR Ramos
For some reason, I can’t respond directly to your comment. Thanks for that. I have been looking at Norseman for some time and went with the Norseman bits.
JR Ramos
I think it’s how the site is configured for comments.
When you get them, check them over because every so often they let an oops slide through. If that happens you can email or phone them and they’ll send you a replacement. I had a set of 135° split points where the 31/64″ bit never got split in grinding…they sent a new one in three days.
Edge of Arlington Saw is a good source for the brads…I think Taylor Toolworks had them too…Amazon but higher prices there. EOA might possibly have singles, too. I got one set from EOA and another from a local supplier who ordered it in.
Also…..it’s quite possible that Woodcraft will be stocking Fuller brads and plug cutters again in the future. Hoping that actually happens because that would be really convenient. They’ll never be at Rockler again.
Stuart
There’s a limit as to how levels deep “nested” comment replies can go.
MattT
Yeah, I’ve got items I want or need-but-not-right-away in several shop carts around the internet waiting to see what happens to prices this week. I don’t expect a lot of what I’m waiting on to see big price drops but, hey, you never know. Doesn’t hurt to wait and see.