Right now, you can buy (2) Makita 18V 5.0Ah battery packs for $159 at Amazon. That’s a good price, compared to the $219 list price.
I came across a Makita 18V X2 brushless cordless blower kit, XBU02PT1, when searching for something else. This kit comes with (4) 5.0Ah battery packs, a 2-bay charger, and an X2 brushless blower.
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All that, for $329.
Let’s say you’re a heavy Makita user, and you might or might not need the actual blower. This is a very good deal on the battery pack and charges, with the blower practically being free.
- Makita Charger: $64 at Amazon
- 18V 5.0Ah battery 2-pack: $159 at Amazon
- 18V 2-port charger and (2) 5.0Ah batteries: $219-259 at Amazon
- 18V X2 Blower bare tool: $219 at Amazon and authorized dealers
Looking at the cheapest way to get (4) battery packs and a charger, that’s $378. Buying two sets of batteries and the charger separately is $382.
Just (4) battery packs, purchased in two of the newly discounted sets, would set you back $318.
So that’s where I’m coming from. If you’re a heavy Makita user and need new battery packs, or want to buy into the system with a good supply of batteries and a dual bay charger, this is a very good deal.
As mentioned in the title, I’m really not seeing this as a Makita 18V X2 blower kit, I’m seeing it as an 18V X2 starter kit, or a big 18V starter/support/upgrade kit. When you price things out, it’s as if you’re not even paying for the blower.
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Buy Now(via Acme Tool) – lowest price
Compare(via Amazon) – higher price
(This kit is not eligible for extra $25 off $100+ coupon savings.)
There’s also an X2 chainsaw kit, for $389.
There’s also a special price on an X2 blower kit and bonus brushless angle grinder special bundle. Thanks nigeldh!
fred
Acme also sells a 4 battery package with the Makita Chainsaw – but the price jumps to $389:
http://www.acmetools.com/shop/tools/makita-xcu03pt1
fred
Doing some checking – the chainsaw kit is $364 after the MAKITA25 coupon at ToolUp. At Acme the coupon (MAK2017) doesn’t seem to work with this kit
At Toolup – the $329 blower kit gets to be $304
Stuart
I’ve never shopped there before. That coupon eligibility might be unintended, but an even better deal if they don’t fix it; since this is a special bundle, it’s understandably blocked from coupon use at Amazon and Acme Tool.
fred
I can’t say if it is a mistake – fluke or something else.
I’ve bought from ToolUp over many years – Ridgid plumbing tools etc. and never had a problem. They ship via FedEx out of Henderson NV
fred
ToolUp is also running a $20 off any orders of $200 or more – using code BF20 – one per customer – can’t be combines – ends 11:59PM on 11/20/17
fred
I ordered the 4 battery chainsaw kit – on the 19th. – ToolUp says they shipped it today – and they invoiced me $364 – so the $25 off did apply.
I’ll probably put this one at the summer place – and leave my Husqvarna where it is.
nigeldh
It’s great that folks here found the chainsaw plus 2 promo. Protools has the Makita promo web page – makitatools.com/promos
On the Makita page the chainsaw gets you a grinder.
Since this battery promo runs through Jan 31, 2018 do I buy now or wait until Jan, a new tax year?
Curtis
The price of those batteries was what scared me away from Makita. The tools and selection looked really good, but $159 for a 2 pack of 5ah batteries, on sale? No thanks.
Stuart
This would be a good price for most brand’s 5ah batteries.
Curtis
I agree with you that it would be a pretty decent price for most 5ah batteries, but at the same time it wouldn’t be too out of the ordinary for them. For Makita on the other hand, this is cheap. Bottom line is that on average their batteries cost more and come in fewer sizes.
mattd
Even if you are buying Ryobi or ridgid their 2 pack for their big batteries (4AH) is $100. You can get a dewalt 2 pack of 5AH from for $149 or milwaukee for $199 so 2 5AH for $159 is a comparable price for every brand.
Curtis
But those are pretty much ordinary best prices for those brands. It’s not too hard to find those deals. Even with this being a screaming deal for Makita batteries, it’s still more than the competition charges.
I got most of my Ryobi batteries as 2 packs at $89. When I decided to branch out I spent quite a while studying the various tool lineups, watching online reviews, comparing prices, etc… Makita battery prices, limited battery choice and their X2 system were what decided me against them. Whenever I compared prices, Makita batteries were either at the top or close to it. I’ve got nothing against the double battery concept, but when those batteries are already relatively pricey to begin with, requiring twice as many was a big strike against them.
Julian
Right. A little while ago, Stuart mentioned Makita’s battery prices as a con, listing some rediculous example of a 2.0 (2) pack selling for $199 or some other amount with no basis in reality…
Their pricing is no different than any other top tier tool co. In fact, they have so man free battery deals going on, there’s never been a better time to buy in.
Stuart
It was this post – https://14cyiuhvcgv.com/hitachi-low-battery-pack-pricing/%3C/a%3E .
That 2-pack of Makita 2.0Ah batteries, the new ones with fuel gauge, is still $149. A Dewalt 2-pack is still $89.
With Makita, they might still be trying to sell off their older 2.0Ah batteries that don’t have built-in battery fuel gauges, keeping the new prices intentionally high.
Makita 4.0Ah batteries (BL1840B) are $109 individually, although one 3rd part seller has some for $80, and a 2-pack is $189.
Dewalt 5.0Ah batteries are currently 2 for $149, which is a better deal than usually. Their regular price has been $155-160.
Milwaukee’s battery packs tend to be higher priced, from what I’ve seen, but they often have free bonus battery promos. It’s compelling to buy a new tool as part of a promo, or upgrade a current tool sooner, rather than buy just a battery pack. I wouldn’t be surprised if that was part of their strategy.
Julian
At Home Depot right now, mak 3.0 fuel gauge batts are $139 2-pack and 5.0 batts are $159 2-pack.
Your reference pricing is misleading. Home Depot is pretty mainstream pricing.
Stuart
What was the price before the promo? Different retailers get the same promo, others don’t or are late to update.
Which reference price are you disagreeing with?
Look at authorized dealer pricing for the BL1850B-2 , it is $219. It’s not going to stay at $159 forever.
The BL1830B 3.0Ah battery packs are $129 for a 2-pack right now, not $139.
And that comes out to $21.50 per amp-hour, which is okay but not fantastic.
Adam
Home Depot now lists the Makita Chainsaw & 4x5ah batteries for $389, but out of stock at the moment. I have a feeling they haven’t got stock yet though.
Julian
The reference pricing I was referring to were the 4.0 pricing and 2.0 pricing that were both much higher than the 3.0 or 5.0 pricing respectively.
I remember seeing that original post you linked to and that same day seeing the batteries priced much lower at my Home Depot.
Never have I thought that mak batt pricing was higher, not do they have less options. Can’t understand that viewpoint in light of the street pricing. Your post re-affirmed that myth.
Stuart
If you want a compact battery pack for pairing with a compact and light tool, you’re not going to want to pair it with a higher capacity battery pack. Certain tools feel and balance a lot better with compact packs.
First, the 5.0Ah packs were $219 recently, only dropping to $159 sometime in October.
I had never seen them for less. Looking online at price trackers confirms this, that the 2-pack sold for $219 for the past 2 years until just a month ago.
Second, that Hitachi posts focuses solely on compact 5-cell battery packs. So I objectively focused my comparison on compact battery packs, meaning Dewalt 2.0Ah, Bosch 2.0Ah, Milwaukee 1.5Ah, and Makita 2.0Ah.
Regardless of what you seem to believe, I didn’t cherry-pick Makita 2.0Ah packs over their 3.0Ah, 4.0Ah, or 5.0Ah battery packs.
https://14cyiuhvcgv.com/hitachi-low-battery-pack-pricing/%3C/a%3E%3C/p%3E
With respect to Makita compact battery packs, their pricing IS higher, with only Milwaukee 1.5Ah packs costing more per amp-hour, based on the survey done for that post.
Regardless, what does that have to do with this post in any way? In assessing the value of the blower kit, I looked at current promo pricing for the Makita 5.0Ah battery packs, which is $159. I didn’t look at the previous $219 price, although I should mention that the battery 2-pack could return to that price after the holiday season. There’s no mention anywhere of this being a temporary or permanent price drop. But since the 4.0Ah packs haven’t dropped in price, I’m inclined to conclude that either the 4.0Ah 2-pack will drop in price too, or the 5.0Ah will yo-yo back to its $219 pricing or thereabouts.
Your mention of the 2.0Ah battery packs being $199 indeed has no basis in reality. They’re $149 at amazon, Home Depot, Acme Tools, CPO, ToolUp, Jet, and other places. Some retailers have them at $219 inexplicably.
You can argue about it as much as you want, but it doesn’t change the fact that street pricing on the 2.0ah 2-pack is $149, which is exactly the figure I used in my post.
Another fact: the 5.0Ah 2-pack retailed for $219 until just recently. That continues to be its list price, until it’s proven that $159 is the new permanent retail price.
If you search for the part number bl1850b-2, ToolUp, Tool Nut, CPO, and probably others, still list it for $219. So that might suggest that only select vendors were able to arrange with Makita to sell it for $159.
When I say “list price,” I mean the regular price at the 5-10 retailers I generally look at for pricing context. Not the sometimes imaginary prices that retailers might put as their crossed-out list prices. Would you have been happier if I said “regular” or “non-seasonal” or “pre-sale” price instead?