The other day I read a couple of very strong endorsements for Paslode’s new free 2-year no-questions-asked service promise, and it led me to do some thinking.
1. Who is still buying Paslode nailers?
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2. What’s the catch?
There are several very impressive cordless nailers currently available, such as Ryobi’s Airstrike brad nailer and Senco’s Fusion nailer, and Dewalt’s brushless framing nailer will soon be available in the US.
So why mess around with consumable fuel cell cartridges if you can help it? To be fair, I don’t drive hundreds or even dozens of nails each day. But even if I needed to, I would sooner work with a compressor and air hose than mess around with fuel cells.
Perhaps increased competition in the cordless nailer arena and maybe even dropping sales are what led to the new free service promise policy as a way to lure new customers.
I know there are a lot of Paslode users out there, so I took a close look at the fine print.
What is the New Free Service Promise Policy?
No questions asked. Period. If your nailer is functional, you can send it in for a factory tune-up, which I suppose means they clean and lubricate the tool.
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Free UPS shipping, both ways.
The free service promise policy lasts for 2-years, presumably from the date of purchase.
And the Catch?
This only applies to new nailers purchased after 12/2/2013.
You MUST enroll/register your nailer within 60 days of purchase.
Repairs will only be done at Paslode’s Illinois location and will be completed within 3 [business?] days.
Only FOUR tools are covered by the new service promise policy: Paslode’s cordless framing nailer (CF325Li | 902600), 16 Ga finish nailer (IM250Ali | 902400), roofing nailer (CR175C | 904500), and Duo-Fast’s roofing nailer (DFCR175C | 904600).
Since the Paslode and Duo-Fast nailers are the same, that means that this policy really only applies to 3 different tools.
Did you just buy a Paslode cordless brad nailer? Sorry, it’s not eligible. Stapler? Nope. Straight finish nailer? Nuh-uh. Maybe Paslode will extend their 2-year free service promise to include these nailers in the future.
Claims can be made via phone, a mail-in claim form, or online. Then, you’ll receive instructions on how to return the product.
If your nailer is broken beyond repair, then Paslode will replace it with a new nailer, with there being a limit of one replacement per nailer purchased.
What Does This Mean to You?
The new no-questions-asked free 2-year service promise policy does seem to add a little bit of value to Paslode’s cordless nailers. There are a few catches, but the new policy at least seems reasonable.
To be frank, I am no more inclined to purchase or recommend Paslode nailers because of this. I don’t like fuel cell nailers, but to be fair it takes me forever to go through a box of nails.
If you’re buying a new program-eligible Paslode cordless nailer anyways, this is great news, almost like a free added bonus.
But if you’re on the fence between a Paslode fuel cell cordless nailer and nailers with brushless motors or built-in air compression, then will this really nudge you closer to Paslode?
Hypothetical:
Let’s say I have an eligible and enrolled Paslode nailer that started to malfunction right now (Wednesday at 12pm).
Wednesday: I file a claim on my smartphone and receive return instructions and a shipping label later in the day.
Thursday: I ship out the nailer first thing in the morning. UPS ground shipping would take 2 business days from my location.
Monday: Paslode receives the nailer in the late afternoon.
Tuesday: Paslode repairs the nailer, packages it for UPS pickup.
Wednesday: The nailer is sent back to me via UPS ground, which takes 2 business days.
Friday: I receive the repaired nailer.
Estimated turnaround time: 9 days.
In a best-case scenario, let’s say the malfunction happened on a Monday morning and I shipped it to Paslode Monday afternoon. It would arrive at their facility on Wednesday in the morning, and they could potentially repair it promptly and get it back out by Wednesday afternoon. I would then receive it Friday afternoon or evening, with a total turnaround of 4 days. That’s under ideal conditions. Let’s say I was shipping the nailer from Florida (3-day shipping back and forth), it takes a day for Paslode to send me a shipping label, and repairs take 3 days. In that case, the total wait could be as long as 14 days.
Final Thoughts
Whether waiting for 4 days or 14 days, those are all going to be days without the nailer. A professional project is not going to be put on hold for want of a nailer; a backup, rental or replacement will have to be brought in.
In the end, 2-years of free service, free shipping, and no-questions-asked all sound good, but sending the nailer off to a local service center or repair shop instead might minimize downtime. If you’re stuck without a nailer, you’re stuck without a nailer.
While it all sounds like a good idea, I can’t shake the feeling that this is just a way for Paslode to try to sell new tools.
To truly impress me, Paslode would need to do two things:
1) They should extend the free 2-year service policy to cover tools purchased in 2013 or the second half of 2012, with the start date being the date of purchase.
2) They should arrange for a free rental or loaner option, where a temporary replacement is sent out to the user. Maybe this could be done as part of the claim filing process, where the user would pay a small fee to cover shipping. That way a credit card number would also be on file in case the user keeps the loaner but doesn’t send theirs out for repair.
Or maybe Paslode could reimburse the local rental fee for tools that are found to be damaged and in need of repair.
I do like to see free back-and-forth shipping on products I send out for warranty repair or replacement, but these costs are often built into product prices. With that in mind, how “free” is this free 2-year service promise?
mnoswad1
I take this info as a bolster to their product concept…….meaning that, so many of us are just WAITING for the battery powered versions of our favorite nailers that the fuel cell concept has serious competition, or maybe even outdated in functionality compared to a solely battery powered tool.
Stuart
I think that there’s still a market for fuel cell-powered nailers, but pure cordless models have much stronger appeal, at least in my opinion.
If (or when) Milwaukee comes out with something similar to Ryobi’s Airstrike nailers, the competitive landscape will be even more intense.
Matthew Fant
I’m hearing a lot of good things about the Ryobi cordless airstrike! I’ve been leaning more towards the craftsman version. I think they’re pretty much identical. (Correct me if I’m wrong)
For the professional, a lot of them still love the paslode fuel cell powered tools. They use them every day, instead of carrying around a hose and compressor. But, with all tools, it’s a personal preference thing, as well as application.
For me, I think paslode needs to update their offerings, as most of their tools still have that ni cad battery system, and the stupid light that drains the battery, when not in use.
fred
Competition is almost always a good thing. The Paslode “fuel cell” tools were once pretty much the only professional grade option. In my prior (pre-retirement) life I think I bought 25 or 30 of them – with emphasis on finish nailers and brad nailers – with a few staplers and framing nailers added in. We started using them mostly for punch-list work, then found they were useful in spots where an air hose was cumbersome. At that time the battery-cordless nailers that we tried were a joke – took too long between firing and inconsistently set nails. That’s not to say that we found the Paslodes to be perfect. Initially – we’d strip them down and clean the piston/combustion chamber ourselves but then we decided to farm this out – so in the busy season , we’d might have one or two out to our local tool service for cleaning and lubrication in any given week. I considered this their major drawback – although smell bothered some clients. I’m guessing that with battery-cordless nailers getting better – and competition from Senco’s Fusion (wait until this is off patent – and I expect to see more choice here too) – Paslode (ITW) is trying this new approach. I also think they’ve seen that selling fuel only with their nails (they tried this a while back for their framing nailer) was not as profitable as they thought it would be – and I think they’ve relented.
Tim
I have about 10 of these in my shop that never see the light of day. Used to have t carry 2 or 3 around just to have one constantly firing. Have you ever tried the rigid nailer?
OnTheWeb
I’m late to the Paslode party, but whenever I have a new project that is a compressor challenged worksite, I just go and buy a brand-new Paslode cordless framer, use it for that project, and then it goes to eBay. You take about a $50-75 hit on the sale price, which I just build into the project cost and I get to use a brand-new nailer on every project.
I have never had to clean one, yet, and the gas cartridge delivers consistent performance, even with ring-shanks.
Michael Joseph Spargur
had to purchase another paslode 30 Degree framing nailer. when doing so, i tryed on more than several times calling with no success to register my new tool, but was unable to . could never get thru , i have owned my new gun for a year now. used it on a basement project and it has failed to work . and another thing that has just recently started, it hits the nail head off center and a nail will not shoot out. it bends the nail head on an edge. im now looking for a repair shop in the Eagan,MN area can you help ???????????
Stuart
You’ll have to contact Paslode customer service.