Tool bundles at Amazon aren’t anything new, but it seems that the pairings have been getting stranger.
A couple of years ago, they had some very poorly-priced Bosch 12V bundles. I once caught a pricing glitch on a Bosch 18V battery bundle.
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Some bundles are helpful – garbage pails paired with the same-size lids. But other times, I’m left to wonder who or what is programming these bundles into Amazon’s system.
Above, there’s a new Dewalt mechanics tools et and Gearwrench socket set bundle.
Now, is this an “artificial intelligence” pairing based on observed customer shopping patterns? Advertising Dewalt and Gearwrench tools together seems like it could fit customer buying behaviors.
And then there’s a Craftsman woodworking planer, bundled with a Porter Cable benchtop jointer.
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But… why wouldn’t the algorithm pair the Craftsman planer with a Craftsman jointer that’s identical – or close to it – and priced $7 lower?
What’s also curious is that the bundle page doesn’t show pricing for the individual tools here, it simply shows the bundle price.
Craftsman & Porter Cable Bundle
Craftsman Jointer
If you’re shopping for a Makita corded sheet metal nibbler, perhaps you’re also in the market for some new left and right-cutting hand shears from MidWest?
Or, do you know what else would be a logical pairing? A Makita nibbler with entry-priced Genesis metal shear.
Oh, here’s Skil circular saw and Black & Decker jig saw bundle. Two entry-priced power tools make sense being bundled together, but why don’t they feature the same brand?
Here, while the “bundle price” says you “save $31.83,” you don’t actually save anything compared to buying the two tools separately.
Skil and Black & Decker Bundle
Here’s another Skil and Black & Decker power tool bundle.
Skil and Black & Decker Sander
Why?
Is this what customers are looking for?
Is this some kind of search engine optimization strategy?
It can’t be something that tool brands are doing. For instance, I know that Dewalt would much rather feature a Dewalt mechanics tool set with a Dewalt wrench set, rather than have it paired in a listing with a competing brand.
Is Amazon’s algorithm simply running on auto-pilot?
Frankly, I wouldn’t be surprised if this was all happening unintentionally and on its own. Amazon’s algorithm has been producing less predictable and less useful results over time.
Their “new arrivals in tools & home improvement” filter, for example, doesn’t actually work anymore. The first page of results, rather than a 1-100 listing like there used to be, has older products, most with hundreds of user reviews. Nothing seems to be curated or monitored by actual humans anymore.
But that doesn’t seem to be happening here, as Amazon is the direct seller for the tool bundles mentioned above.
Potential Usefulness
Bundles do have the potential to be useful.
What’s the model number for Bosch’s miter saw crown molding stops? Here, this bundle automatically pairs the appropriate crown molding stops with Bosch’s 10″ miter saw.
Some accessories are notoriously difficult to pin down. What’s the model number for the Type 1 guard that fit a new angle grinder that only ship with a Type 27 guard? That’s where bundles can help.
I suppose the bundles featured above could also help, they just seem like unconventional pairings.
Here are some more that I found recently:
Dremel Lite + Sanding Bands
Skil Tile Saw + M-D Building Products Grout Float
Metabo HPT Brad Nailer with Pancake Air Compressor
Makita 10-1/4″ and 8-1/4″ Circular Saws
Makita Air Compressor with ColorConnext Fittings
Makita HEPA Vac with Cyclonic Attachment
There were two others I wanted to mention that have since been removed – two different Dewalt mechanics tool set and drill bit bundles.
It seems that these might all be suggested pairings based on customer behaviors, but based on what criteria?
What one should always remember is that the bundles rarely save customers money – they’re usually just two or more tools combined together for the sum of their parts – and that the pairings might not be ideal.
Why buy a Craftsman planer with the Porter Cable jointer, for instance, when the Craftsman jointer costs a little less? With Craftsman and Porter Cable being sibling companies now, the tools are either identical, or practically the same with the newer Craftsman tools perhaps sporting small upgrades.
What worries me is that increasingly congested search results don’t help anyone, they simply extend the time it takes to find what one is looking for.
Do you know what happens when search results run amuck to the point where it hampers shopping and pushes customers away? Sears can tell you all about that.
I guess it could be worse – at least the connection between these tool bundle choices seem reasonable, they just seem very artificial.
Mike
I think it’s clearly an example of ‘they don’t know what they don’t know’ 😁
Michael F
Software developer checking in, I can almost guarantee this is automated by a machine learning algorithm. There’s just no way Amazon has the desire to generate these bundles manually. I’d guess the ML model takes a few things into account: availability of the items, warehouse/shipping location, margin on each item, percentage discount that can be offered, search result collation, browsing patterns, and purchase patterns. Interesting to see what kind of combinations it generates.
William Adams
The warehouse/shipping location is an interesting point — has anyone noticed any regional variation?
Jared
That’s what I thought of too – warehouse locations. E.g. maybe when the bundle was generated the algorithm did calculate the possibility of retaining profit and offering a discount?
Scott K
I would think that they’re suggesting pairs that are warehoused together to lower shipping costs. This also might consider time on shelf- move products that aren’t selling by pairing with something else that is selling.
Stuart
That makes sense, but even if so, there should be some human oversight.
New bundles pop up all the time. Dewalt vac + replacement bag, Dewalt vac + universal connector, Dewalt vac + want adapter, Dewalt vac + hose set.
It definitely does scream AI or I guess machine learning. Or if not, “high school intern that has barely used tools before.”
There’s a recent one – Dewalt 1-3/4 HP fixed base router, with a “Hiltex” 15pc router set. 1/4″ shank routers with a full-size router? Surely there are far better bundle combinations.
Jim Felt
Nothing surprises me regards Amazon. They’ve experienced just too much growth in the past 2/3rds year. As if they hadn’t experienced enough before COVID.
fred
But their stock that I bought in early March and sold off on Prime Day – saw a gain of 79%. Should have bought more.
Stuart
This is not a recent trend – these bundles have been cluttering up my search results for a while.
Here’s the problem with Amazon – the more popular they become and the more money they make, the less they micro-optimize the things that are important to customers like myself.
Oh, I still shop there based on price, customer service, and ease of returns, but I feel that they used to offer a better shopping experience.
fred
Amen to that – when they were trying to build the business they seemed to try harder. My take is that from the customer’s standpoint they have gotten worse on price, worse on shipping reliability and timing, worse on deals and worse on what you get for Prime membership (unless you consider their electronic media). Prime – no longer seems to give you any real break on shipping costs and delivery timing had become questionable even prior to COVID. Since they became the #1 Global Marketplace – listings for questionable valued arcane Chinese manufacturers junk from both Amazon and third party sellers seems to have abounded. I’m also no longer confident that reviews on Amazon (even items that have many) are legitimate and/or have much value – as some seem like they may have been placed by shills for the seller.
Their customer service still seems quite good – so like you I keep shopping with them – and have a lot more money to spend thanks to the run-up of their stock price
Brett
If these bundles are ML generated with so little care I would absolutely not trust them to offer you the right accessory to go with a given tool.
Blocky
I’ve had more compatibility misses in sourcing parts for my van through amazon than I should.
Also, I wouldn’t be surprised if ‘unuseful’ pairings result in longer browsing times and higher sales numbers.
Adabhael
Agreed. It would be nice if the bundle made sure the right accessories went together, but given the wacky results elsewhere, I would never trust it, and so need to check manually anyway. Thus, no savings in time.
Aaron SD
I hate when I see the suggestions as what other customers bought together because I don’t think it is true. They make as much sense as the bundle suggestions.
There should be some truth-in-advertising requirement since it says customers purchased these items together.
fred
I also get a chuckle out of those “often bought together” pronouncements.
But I guess it could be true to a limited extent. Just because I might often buy laundry detergent at the same time as boxes of cereal – does not mean that I eat them together.
Stuart
On Home Depot, I ordered a very random selection of stuff, and then saw them together in a “frequently ordered” items list when trying to reorder one of them items 2-3 weeks later.
Nathan
I agree with the machine learning comment and add I also think it’s for search hit optimization too.
IE if you are searching for a skil cheap circular saw hey might as well throw on a hit for this BD thing . . . . This way you get 2 or more hits on our site pages which we log and I throw up a more expensive bundle of something you probably don’t want but someone shoping for you doesn’t know and will buy anyway.
My wife buys crap on there ALL THE TIME and it’s often stuff that is thrown at her with other crap because she is a sucker for their marketing.
fred
It is the Amazon equivalent of the stuff that supermarkets put up near the checkout to encourage impulse buying.
Nathan
OH and I forgot to add. Cleaning out rack space.
lee
I’m no fan of Amazjn. but indont understand all the Sturm und Drang. When buying two distinct tools, why should a person stuck to one brand? For whatever reason, it’s either in Amazon’s interest and the interest of the consumer (or at the very least not detrimental enough to the consumer to cause a backlash) that these particular items be shown together, either. ecaise people make this purchase or for logistical reasons (warehouse location etc.). Amazon is often a blunt sort of instrument, but they didn’t get to the place they are by misunderstanding algorithmic suggestions and consumer behavior.
But regardless, why are you sk upset at the idea that a person might buy two different tools from two different companies?
Stuart
Shotgunning suggestions like this tend to clutter up the catalog, making it harder to find more relevant tools or combos when searching for specific tools or based on particular needs.
If these are machine-based recommendations, there doesn’t appear to be any human oversight, which will cause compounded issues over time when it comes to catalog clutter.
Consider a paper catalog, where the layout is strategic, compared to regular algorithm-based automatic creation of new SKUs. In a printed catalog, there might be a strategic repeat or two to draw your attention to a highlighted product, promo, or special of some kind. A printed catalog wouldn’t be greatly inflated with redundancy, so why is Amazon letting it happen online?
JoeM
I tend to ignore the bundle offerings. I’ve broken Amazon’s attempts to sell me stuff many, MANY times.
It’s to the point where Amazon doesn’t know whether to offer me Tools, Toys, or Women’s Clothing. (Not an error. I often shop prices for women’s clothing to see what size gift-card to get my female friends, for things I have no clue how to buy them.)
Lemme tell ya… I’ve glanced down at the “Often Bought Together” bundles, and had a really good laugh at whatever algorithm is monitoring me. Just a few funny combos from the past 5-9 months:
DeWALT FlexVOLT Battery + String Bikini + Throwing Kife Set.
Dremel Oscillating Tool Sanding Pads + Facial Cleanser + Mighty Morphin Power Rangers Legacy Black Megazord.
Ladies’ Plus-Sized House Dresses + DeWALT Premium Brushless Drill-Impact Driver Combo Set + AA Batteries.
Decorative Mug + USB Powered Soldering Iron Kit.
Pentel 1000 Mechanical Pencil + Car Air Freshener. (I’ve never searched ANYTHING Automotive on Amazon to the best of my recollection. That one is out of nowhere.)
And there are just… SO many more… I think since Covid, the things people have grabbed because they’re SHOPPING have changed from “Things they Need all at once” to “Things everyone in the house wants/needs, it’s all coming in the same box anyways.” The AI they’re using for the algorithm doesn’t know how to differentiate Individual buys from Household Buys, or Research Browsing.
Tom D
DeWALT FlexVOLT Battery + String Bikini + Throwing Kife Set.
It’s a party in a box!
Lyle
Hahahahahah. The funniest thing I’ve ever seen on this site
JoeM
Hard to argue with that… I agree!