Home Depot kicked off their 2024 Holiday season tool deals around 7-8 weeks ago, and I strolled around my local store to see what’s left.
What’s left? A more appropriate question would be “what did they sell?”
A new display of Stanley organizers popped up.
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There are piles of Ryobi cordless power tools, with nearly every display full to the brim. They did manage to sell out of the wire wheel brushes and the cleaning brush accessory sets.
I was tempted to buy both. With the cleaning brush set, I realized I could get the same set year-round for $2 more, and so I’ll buy it when I need it.
There were tons of Dewalt and Milwaukee cordless power tool deals as well.
Home Depot restocked some of the displays. It’s difficult to know which tools they sold dozens of, and which never moved much at all.
There are plenty of Husky tools too.
All of the the Husky Bite tool displays seemed to be full the entire season. If you look at the bottom of the display, they still have some of the original cardboard packaging.
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What is the implication, that plenty of people are buying tools for themselves and for holiday gifts, just not these tools?
Gearwrench mechanics tool sets were pushed over to a corner.
Nearby but not shown, the 3 displays of Bosch laser levels and laser distance measuring tools were a little less full than the previous week.
Amazon has a better price on the Bosch laser measurer. They say 10K+ were bought in the past month.
My store had 3 displays each with 16 spots for Bosch measuring tools. My store still has 35, according to the online inventory count, compared to the 48 they had last week. How many did they start with?
Let’s say each Home Depot store has just 1. Roughly 2,000 stores x 16 each = 32,000 Bosch laser distance measuring tools plus an equal amount of laser levels. If each store had 3 displays like mine, that would be 96,000 of each tool. The true count is probably somewhere in the middle.
Where are all of these tools going to go in January when Home Depot resets their main aisle and seasonal displays?
Did they sell any of these Gearwrench tool kits? Maybe that’s why the mechanics tool sets were moved to a remote corner.
The same happens every year, and with different tools. Apparently $20 stud finders are never a hot holiday tool deal item.
My store sold through almost all of their Milwaukee cordless vacuums and vacuum accessories, but not the spare filters.
That there were stacks of Dewalt ToughSystem DXL tool boxes was unsurprising. It was the 3 full displays of Dewalt folding work tables that did surprise me. Maybe it’s the $89 price?
They have a lot of ladders lined up and ready for new homes. I didn’t see the Gorilla Ladders work platform that was on sale for Black Friday. Maybe it was in a back aisle. I’ll get one next year.
It’s curious how they can sell out of a deal that I never saw in-person at my local store, and yet there are other deals you cannot miss that everyone seems to be skipping on.
So much for Home Depot’s Husky tool boxes “winning” against Lowe’s and Harbor Freight.
There are tons of power tool accessories still in stock, from all brands, even Milwaukee.
It looks like some of the screwdriver bit sets were replaced with drill bit sets, but after 12 days my store seems to have added more Packout accessory assortments to the bottom shelf. Maybe they were returns?
We can see that a lot of tool deals didn’t sell. All of the Home Depot stores near me show the same, and I’m headed back to Lowe’s today (a water main closed my closest store the other day), and I’m sure the situation is similar there too.
Stores replenish a lot of deals throughout the season. We see a floor display that holds 20 tools, but they can be refilling them from boxes holding 100 more.
With inventory all jammed together and piled up, I think my store’s looking to consolidate the displays, hopefully ahead of some clearance discounts and price drops.
My point is this – we cannot see how many tools Home Depot sold. But, I’m still seeing a shocking level of unsold tools, and this applies to all brands of cordless power tools, all brands of hand tools, and all brands of power tool accessories.
Some deals sold out. For example, the Gerber multi-tool display was sold through and removed sometime between November and now.
Not every tool deal sells out.
It’s too easy to sensationalize things, as people tend to do. Should we be worried? Maybe. Is there deeper meaning behind all of these full displays? Maybe. What are all of these observations telling us? I don’t know.
This year it really seems like there are too many leftovers from too many different tool deals. I wonder if this has become “business as usual” for retailers.
Last year, it seemed like the holiday tool deals season stretched into the new year, and just as it seemed to finally subside, there was Spring Black Friday, and then Father’s Day, July 4th, Labor Day, and then a short lull before the Black Friday season kicked off before Halloween.
I’m really hoping for some clearance deals this year. We’ll see, but I’m not optimistic. There have been far fewer clearances in recent years, as leftover inventory goes on the store shelves, upper racks, or maybe gets sent back to warehouses and even the brands themselves.
What do things look like by you?
Jim
I agree with you Stuart. I was just at HD to pick up a paint roller cover.
So naturally I swung thru the holiday tool display. There seems to be a bunch of unsold power tools although some are hard to tell as everything expensive in my HD is locked in a cage below the display.
I’m really not in the market for power tools but always look at the blades, bits, and other consumables. There aren’t really any great deals that make me reach for my wallet.
If (or when) Im back I’ll look for that Stanley organizer. That does look like an interesting item for the price
Thanks for all your efforts starting with Black Friday (in October) and continuing right on thru Christmas
Merry Christmas
Justin Bryan
Are THD shoppers getting wise to the fact many “special buy” days online offer better value for the tools that are used on a more regular basis than the gift center? I took advantage of the Milwaukee hand tool deal and picked up a Husky flashlight as a stocking-stuffer for a family member. But tend to avoid the higher-priced items in the Gift Center opting for online deal hunting if it’s not a urgent need.. Is this a standard practice? I swung through Lowe’s yesterday for a few items and the gift center looked to be in the same shape. Some item’s already going “NLP” with yellow tags on the Klein QP’s.
Stuart
The only difference between this year and 10 years ago is that retailers have been advertising the specials since before Halloween, rather than just for Black Friday.
Holiday deals target “just what I was looking to buy,” and flash sales target “I wasn’t going to get that now but cannot pass up this price!”
Ferdinand
I can’t speak to the retail tool side but can speak to a brick and morter gun store; people just aren’t spending money.
Times are hard right now and I know most of my regulars well enough to talk beyond just shop and product and they’re digging down hard trying to make this Christmas “normal” for their kids.
Where it used to be someone would buy a gift for themselves or someone else spontaneously now almost every purchase requires planning and budgeting
Jared
It’s hard to tell though, just from what we observe. What if HD actually brought in MORE stock this year and we’re just seeing them able to maintain the displays for longer?
s
the question to your question would be ‘why?’
year-over-year analytics can be pretty precise in terms of ordering quantities, even sales trends month-by-month. say a location sold 500 of one widget last year, 300 the previous year, and 600 the year before. the numbers don’t indicate they should order 1200.
for me, maintaining displayed stock means that they ordered more than they’re selling.
previous years, i always make a point to visit home depot just around halloween, because typically by christmas, all the really spectactular tool deals are entirely sold out.
this year, i visited around halloween like normal, but then took a trip through last weekend just for kicks. it was similar to what stuart experienced, where most shelves are still fully stocked, and there’s really only a few items actually sold out.
while i know the go-to reasons are ‘politics’, and the ‘economy’, i’d venture to a different reason as well. this is only the second full year outside of covid restrictions. the vacation/rv sector is having a ton of time adjusting to the changes, demand has dropped off a cliff. and i suspect that just as many people are having trouble changing budgeting thought processes now that life can return to ‘normal’ but many still might be expecting the extra money that came with the lack of travel of the lockdowns.
Kris Petrie
The M18 2 battery kit for $199 plus free tool sold out. I sort of wanted a new light but didn’t want to spend the money so I was waiting to see if it would drop to $179 like last year.
Clay
Was going to post this.
Was surprised. Figured many would buy them and return the battery kit and keep the tool at a discount.
There is nothing wrong with those batteries but not exactly cutting edge. The DeWalt battery deal is a nicer one, battery-wise.
Dave
You’re right and it sold out EARLY and they never restocked. I got a couple but I checked back all season and they never did restock it. I was very surprised by this. Seems like Milwaukee is outselling DeWalt 3 to 1 now. All the other power tool brands seemed to be available all season. Unlike last year this particular deal seemed to be specific to home Depot.
Jager
The mood among the trades right now seems to be that once current contracts are finished things are going to slow down super bad.
Also, the deals were underwhelming. Most of them were ones that are repeated throughout the year. Hard to feel urgency for any power tool accessories when there’s pretty much always one on an equivalent promotion. They do so many repeat deals each season that I don’t think anyone is rushing to grab them. The dozen or so actual good deals all sold out first week at my store and had the displays cleared away so all that’s left are full displays of meh deals.
That and a good amount of the country everything I would actually want is locked up. Even the craftsman v series clearance deals at Lowe’s were. The only thing unlocked at home Depot were some gloves and husky screwdrivers. You stand there and think “ah yeah I could get the same deal online faster and more conveniently than finding someone to unlock this” and then walk out of the store and have enough time to realize you don’t actually need the tool. I understand how big of a problem theft is but it really completely stops me from impulse buying anything in store. I like to walk the displays, pick things out, have the option to put them back and grab a better deal if I walk past them, kinda just relaxed kill time looking at tools. That used to be the reason to still shop brick and mortar instead of scrolling. If you want something that’s locked up that ends the shopping trip. You can’t just get someone to unlock it and keep browsing. You get one thing you can pick and then have to be immediately escorted by an employee like a criminal who watches you pay for it before they’ll even hand it to you.
Andrew Bacon
This is a great point. Completely agree about feeling like a criminal during the escort. It also kills your shopping rhythm. I never want to hassle with finding an employee for this.
Dave (not here)
Definitely annoying to have to find an employee, get the cage unlocked, and then get followed to checkout. I’m not sure it’s stopped me from impulse buying anything, as most of the caged stuff is pricey enough have thought through the purchase before trying to buy, but I now refuse to buy detergent or deodorant at my local grocery store. No, I’m not going through all that over a $10 bottle of Tide…
Goodie
Great point. All of the theft prevention measures have made tool shopping in the big box stores miserable. Harbor Freight is actually looking very appealing these days, since nothing is locked up and there’s a cashier at the counter who is actually “minding the store” just like our retail worked (successfully) for decades.
It makes me curious when those big box stores might introduce a “store within store” concept for high value items with a single entrance and dedicated staff.
What’s old will be new again.
TomD
Some of the HDs used to have that “store in a store” at least in California – the power tool section was separated from the rest of the store in an area with its own cashier.
I don’t know if they still do that anywhere, but the remnants of it can be seen sometimes.
Terry
Absolutely agree with Jager.
Lisa
This year the deals just weren’t good. Nothing stood out and I just felt that the retailers were being extra shiesty. Even after buying a $350+ push lawn mower from a reputable brand, I’m unimpressed. I may return it. Even the quality is going down for power tools and related products, not just the deals.
Stuart
This year’s deals were 99% comparable to last year’s.
Saulac
Some newer M12 tools were on sale earlier and deeper than I expected.
TomD
I wonder if that’s somewhat contributory – if the deals are nearly identical to last year it’s harder to “buy dad ANOTHER knife set same as last year”.
Need to mix it up at least somewhat.
Michael G
I bought the gearwrench mechanics tool set, but had to be escorted to the cash register like I was a criminal. It is yellow and weighs 50lbs. Not sure how I’d successfully sneak that one out.
I returned it the next day. On the surface, the price is great. Open it up, though and the chrome plating was wavy all over, the gearing on the ratcheting wrenches were incredibly sloppy, the Allen keys were saturated in oil, heck the whole set was saturated in oil, the ratchets themselves were sloppy and seemed to be a different model than the ones they sell individually, and more.
I know the price is good, but it was worse than Husky quality. It felt like junk with the Gearwrench name slapped on top.
In the end, corporations will lay off more people, reduce their quality, raise their prices, and expect us all to keep buying based on name alone. If they all keep following that playbook, though, who are they going to sell to?
Jager
Yeah there’s a few reviews out there where they compare that home Depot set to other gearwrench tools that are both newer and older and even just visually it’s clear that they’re throwing in a completely different cheaper tool for the annual promo set. A decent deal when it’s on clearance in March but definitely not the savings it appears.
Jared
I think the “Special buy is a worse tool” is mostly a myth. You get sets that don’t exist in regular production, but most of the time the tools are exactly the same. If a company were tempted to do that though… it could be a crime of opportunity for a company like Apex.
I’m thinking of how they already produce tools that are visually similar to Gearwrench items under other brand names – not just their own like Sata, but here in Canada many “Maximum” branded hand tools are Apex production and Gearwrench near-clones.
They’re not always exact duplicates though. Often its just subtle differences like knurling, chrome finishes, accents, etc. Seems to me that they might produce things to whatever their customer specs. That would also give them the capability of spec’ing a lower tier item for special buys though.
I’m still suspicious of whether that’s happening – just saying it COULD happen.
Juan
Back when Black Friday was at it’s height, things were made to meet the price point, instead of being truly on sale. Cheaper sensors in cameras, etc. but same high megapixels as quality cameras. Could be done with tools; it basically is already with all the different brands a single company is putting out. Just depends on if they want to dilute their brand.
Matt
I agree, and I think it comes down partly to the quality of the deals. The best deals did sell out. But much of the stuff left isn’t appreciably cheaper than regular prices. Relative to the husky tools there’s also this: when it comes to hand tools, I think a great many of the regular tool users have given up on the box stores. I have. Some can be good, but by and large it’s a race to the bottom. Who is actually shopping for Husky hand tools specifically these days?
Then, the Ryobi cordless deal was worse than last year. And even the best deals can get stale year after year, where regular buyers don’t see anything new that they need.
It’s looking like Americans spent a TON of $$$ this year. Just maybe not on this stuff. Have to wonder if there’s also a factor of a lot of ppl bought up tools for projects during the pandemic and now are returning to their pre-pandemic lifestyle where they just don’t need as many.
Mike
“It’s looking like Americans spent a TON of $$$ this year.”
That’s like how Thanksgiving weekend, airports had a record year for travel. What happened to all those folks who were hurting? I read a good item today referring to a “vibecession,” that people thought the economy was bad, but not really for themselves. Polls before and after the election just swapped between the economy is bad to the economy is good. You could summarize public opinion as being “I’m doing OK, people I know or see around me are doing OK, but I hear that really bad things are happening somewhere out there.”
I’m sure people who shopped for a new car in the last two years disagree, but that’s a pretty specific experience.
Katie
Or a used car. I was looking for an older car than what I bought. Reason? The older years were overpriced, and I figured it was not a great leap to buy a 2 year old used car.
PW
It’s weird reading people complain that the deals weren’t good this year. I had the opposite experience! The deals way, way outpaced my funds. The last 2-3 years I came to the end of the season and still had funds left over because I didn’t find enough to hook me. This year, I have had to pass over tons of tasty deals because I’m out of funds.
I will say though, Home Depot was a big snore for me this year. I bought some of the consumables (like drill bits) I get every season, but the rest left me cold.
Frank D
Most of the tool specials and holiday stocking stuffers did not sell due to inflated pricing and profiteering. Consumers are more informed. They dropped the ball on getting people through the door and actually spending, because there were not really any deals. Same stuff warmed over. Spring, summer, black friday, … yawn.
Jim Felt
The Big Box marketing efforts are based on Wall Street’s need to see year to year profit growth.
Nothing else overshadows that imperative. At least not that I’ve been aware of?
The few great Mom and Pops remaining in my area seem to be chugging alone well. Not truly booming IMO but positively at least.
Stuart
Perhaps, but I think the bigger influence is competition.
If you buy that new cordless drill for cousin Johnny from Home Depot in October, you’re not buying the same thing from Amazon, Harbor Freight, or Lowe’s in November.
Jim Felt
I just came from a nearby HD where I was picking up the new Milwaukee M12 SDS hammer drill that I’d sourced and purchased online last evening.
The store was indeed consolidating their, to me at least, nearly depleted Holiday Special Display brand by brand Assortments.
This particular HD store always appears well managed (by my observation in comparison to some others I frequent) and was fairly quiet except for the significant number of pickups and the mostly contractor friend drive through which was packed.
This particular HD attaches a nice store manager note and hard candy on any Locker and Locker area items.
Our “economy” or far more accurately politically espoused “malaise” is not visually apparent out here at all.
Fortunately for some of us that malady is not really contagious.
BTW Amazon, best I can, read is booming… I do know our holiday use has boomed.
KyleF
When talking about consumer shopping trends consumer confidence plays a big part of that. I’m not trying to be political but the next presidential administration is talking about making big changes which could be worrying consumers into a wait and see approach. Even if you voted for him because you wanted change that doesn’t mean you still don’t hedge your bets and play it safe with bank account. I work in the trades and I’ve seen our normal corporate customers turn down the faucet on spending. Some of that I believe is because of the perceived cuts to government spending coming.
Aaron SD
So wouldn’t you want to buy more now before prices could be affected by tariffs?
Patrick T
We’re getting some work done our house this spring. Had a conversation with our contractor in November about this to see if we needed to move more quickly on supplies. Neither he nor his suppliers foresee any increases for our project (windows and doors).
On the other hand, I am probably going to order some parts that I know will need replaced on my Mini since the parts are all imported. I have other friends who are doing the same.
G G
It’s probably just me, but I think (assuming campaign commitments are carried out) we’re going to see serious inflation on imports due to tariffs and on non-imports due to corporations hiding behind the tariffs and profiteering – just as we saw during the pandemic. Just my 2cents and I hope I’m wrong. But I’ve been doing some personal stockpiling of just in case because one thing is almost guaranteed – nothing’s likely to get cheaper.
Matt
I think prices will go up due to people stockpiling, just like the pandemic.
But you’re right, prices ain’t going down long term regardless of the reason.
KyleF
That’s a fair take as well if one feels like they have the money to weather a financial distress. However in exit polling the current election outcome suggests people feel like they are feeling the pinch of inflation. If you feel you are already hurting financially do you gamble with your already limited funds and deplete your rainy day fund?
Jeremiah
My local stores are also packed with tools and boxes. My HF , Northern and Lowe’s are also still packed with tools and boxes.
Recessions have this effect on products sitting on shelves. The news reports more money is being spent this year, but not as many products are being sold.
I also noticed that the Vlack Friday sale is no longer offered on the website, and anything I have saved in my cart or wish list is expiring in 4 days. Why is this year’s sale ending so soon as compared to previous sales that lasted until Jan 6th etc?
Jeremiah
It is all because of the reality that their current dollar isn’t going as far as it should.
Consumer index is actually trending up when it comes to the future outlook, just not current times.
Sam
I reached a plateau as a DIYer. Have tons of tools for every possible task even much of the rental yard type stuff. Frankly I walk the stores and the stuff is nice but what would I do with it. Once you have two Wrenches of the same size a 3rd doesn’t make any sense.
Many of the sets are lacking completeness. Why would I buy a 7 peice Spade bit set when I have a 13 peice set I don’t want partial sets missing sizes etc.
Mike
THIS is what I was wondering reading all these comments. Is the market already saturated? A lot of comments say they didn’t see anything on sale that they needed. As a Ryobi owner, most of the deals I saw were the same ones they always offer, buy a battery or two and get one or more of these tools, and it’s always the same tools that most folks have already bought. I did snag an angle grinder on sale. But how many folks new to tools are they going to sell most of those sale items to? I also snagged the Bosch laser measure thanks to Stuart, but before ordering, I checked with my daughters to see if they needed one, and both their husbands already have them.
Stuart
(ToolGuyd commentors are not an accurate indicator of the broad populace.)
When I spoke to a DIY brand a few years ago, they said they calibrated their newly launched product line around the perceived needs and wants of millennials. Features included USB capabilities so that the batteries and chargers are useful outside of DIY projects and a long warranty that signals confidence in the products.
But then you have a no-name brand on Amazon advertising drills with “20V” motors, 3/8″ chucks, pathetic max torque specs, and 34 pc drilling and driving bits made from pot metal, all for just $30 with free shipping.
They have advertising claims such as “Higher voltage means more torque-spinning strength to overcome resistance” and “This cordless drill’s clutch provides precise control for drilling.” That all doesn’t mean anything for a 20V drill that delivers less than 300 in-lbs max torque, and that’s if their specs aren’t inflated.
2 years ago, I was at a Home Depot store and this middle aged guy was ranting to workers that the Milwaukee M18 brushless drill kit was $99. He stomped off, with what looked to be genuine indignation.
More people are buying more tools online, and they’re increasingly choosing no-name junk over reputable brands.
Pros are apparently not finding a lot of the deals compelling.
People are buying tools. But it could be that they’re buying less in stores and more online from a broader selection.
Marketing has also changed a lot in the past 5-10 years.
Home Depot launched an entire line of “Husky Bite” tools. https://14cyiuhvcgv.com/home-depot-husky-bite-wrenches/%3C/a%3E%3C/p%3E
Where did they announce this? Where did they promote it?
Skil has a new 20V multi-head drill kit for $149. https://www.amazon.com/Brushless-Compact-Multi-Head-Including-Charger-QD6293B-10/dp/B0DK58SYL3/?tag=toolguyd-20
Where did they announce or promote it? Ah – they relied in influencers for this one too.
According to Amazon, Skil sold 50+ of this drill in the past month. All of the 9 user reviews are of the “received free products” type.
If we extend that to mean Skil sold less than 100 of that kit during the peak of the holiday season, what are the implications? Is it a bad tool? Does no one like Skil? Or has the brand simply not figured out how to market itself in the modern world?
Craftsman V-Series tools seem to have sold very well. https://14cyiuhvcgv.com/craftsman-v-series-tool-deals-lowes-2024/%3C/a%3E%3C/p%3E
However, how many folks approached those displays and thought “I’ve heard of Craftsman, but what’s this V-Series stuff about?”
Some tools sell themselves, others don’t.
My Home Depot stores have multiple displays of screw extractor sets. People are buying numerous no-name sets from Amazon, boosting them to the bestsellers list.
How many of those people didn’t step foot inside a Home Depot or Lowe’s store all season?
Every Prime Day, we all lament that the tool deals stunk, and yet they’ve still been breaking sales and revenue records.
Walmart launched a new line of Hyper Tough tool boxes. https://14cyiuhvcgv.com/hyper-stack-tool-storage-walmart-launch/%3C/a%3E My closest store STILL does NOT have them.
Do you know how many folks I’ve talked to from Hyper Tough or Walmart? Zero. If I hadn’t worked with the OEM, I would NEVER have even heard of this new product line.
A different company approached me to talk about their new products. They have some interesting things coming out. Cool. So what’s their plan? Where will they be sold? Where will readers be able to find more info? What else is coming out? THERE IS NO PLAN.
I really think that a lot of US brands are spending less and doing less.
And then when do create direct content for consumers, it’s things like this:
So many brands could be doing things better, and a few couldn’t possibly do any worse.
That’s why I try to avoid jumping to conclusions. “It’s the economy,” “the deals were no good,” “the market is saturated” – we lack the full data to point to any of these explanations with full confidence.
kent_skinner
I like the Stanley boxes – I use them for specialty tool boxes, and I can 3D print a tool specific holder and put some of the bins in other drawers.
I have one for PEX fittings, one for riv-nuts and the tool, etc. Under $10 is awesome. But the rest of it isn’t appealing to me.
Homer Bucket
Ugh they need to pull the card board packing material out. Can almost guarantee the store set those.
Anyway, on hand volumes have been higher this entire season. More Halloween deco, more gift center (laydown and racetrack), more Holiday deco, and more special buys/black Friday.
Results vary from market to market and store to store. Anecdotally it does seem they went a little too big overall but sell through is still good enough to justify it. What’ll really be telling is not just year to year comp but also basket comp and if margin capture was maximized (selling at “full” price) or did margin get hit because sell through only happened after clearance.
Lots of DeWalt Toughstack XL, Husky Build Out and tool carts/chests is a nonissue because Tool Storage kicks off around the new year (location dependant).
Oarman
I picked up a ladder and Husky toolbox this year, but I knew what I needed and wanted to get before I left for the store.
Personally having all these combos of the same tools with the ‘buy more save more’, different ‘free tools’ and IMO other gimmicks, and practically needing a spreadsheet to tell if buying this set gives you more value for the parts of it you actually want than the other sets, is a real turnoff. I’d walk through the tool sale section and think “There is no way I’m going to stand here in the flow of traffic and figure out if this deal is worth touching.” Lord help you if you were actually trying to compare between brands (especially with everything locked up.) Buying online from your couch? Maybe. But as in-store tactics? Hard pass.
F
I wonder what happens to all the tools that they don’t sell after Christmas. Do they just put them in storage, or sell them off to discounter’s and what not.
Stuart
A manager told me a few years ago that the bigger brands typically don’t allow for clearance pricing. They said some items go back, others go up into the top stacks until the next promo.
Jeremiah
Many of the special kits go on the clearance shelves. They’ll mark them down another 10% or more the first month, then an additional $50 etc. until they sell or are stolen. I’ve gone in and bought a couple items and haggle with the manager to get even more off. I get a lot of my Milwaukee batteries like this. I’ll tell him that I’ll but 3/4/5 of the items if they sell them to me for say, an additional $30 or $50 etc. off per item, depending on what’s there and especially how long after the sale has ended.
Their tool boxes go back to normal pricing and so do a majority of the tool sets and anything that is not a sales event only item/set etc.
Paul H
I stopped in 6-8 Lowe’s looking for the Craftsman V- Series tools to pick up a few things and found them largely sold out. Lowe’s merchandising in the holiday section always seemed disorganized
MFC
My HD has probably about half of the merchandise sold out. It seems like my area has enough demand that they could have two HDs and be okay. It regularly doesn’t have basic lumber like 2x6x8 or subfloor. I guess it depends on the area you are in and how much construction is going on.
The only thing I’ve purchased this year is a Husky Allen key set because I had a coupon and could get it for free.
Dave
Alot of Lowe’s here in central pa didn’t stock v- series tools because the stores are considered rural makes on sense
PW
My local Lowe’s is not rural. It is also poorly trafficked compared to the HD across the street, and has plentiful stock of most deals.
However, most of the V-series tools were sold out before they even reached the sales floor. People saw the great deals online and ordered them for delivery or pickup before they got stocked on the floor.
The only thing that actually got put out was a selection of ratchets, which most people seem to regard poorly. (I also did not care for what I saw of them.)
Paul Harden
I have never heard that about rural store not carrying the Craftsman V series tools.
Chris
I don’t know for sure compared to last holiday season, but compared to Ryobi Days the Ryobi holiday deals were …. lackluster? No deals on the HP tools, only base level tools. I’ve pretty much decided im not buying their base level tools based on various reviews of the performance difference compared to the HP line. I have yet to see a Ryobi HP “Edge” battery in real life at my local HD. The newer 4v line looks interesting, but when I think of my use cases they would likely just be collecting dust.
Stuart
Yes. https://14cyiuhvcgv.com/ryobi-best-black-friday-tool-deals-2024/%3C/a%3E%3C/p%3E
The Ryobi deals were significantly better and more appealing last year.
Max
I get my kids tools every year for Christmas. It is something my gramps and dad did for me and my brother, so by the time I moved out I had a decent set of DIY home and mechanic tools. I usually get some hand tools from the Black November/December special sections at Home Depot and Lowe’s. Maybe it is just because I’ve been doing it for a decade now, but I really struggled to find something that as worthwhile this year. I could not even find a set of normal screwdrivers for any kind of deal, so I ended up going to Harbor Freight for a Quinn set.
It has been quite disappointing this year.
fred
I too buy tools for the 2 generations of family down from me. The only deal at HD that appealed to me was on the new Milwaukee 48-59-1815 dual-port charger that they bundled with 2 M18 Forge batteries.
I hardly ever shop at Lowes – finding my local store frustrating and understaffed – with what staff there is not being very helpful. I did make 2 recent trips to Lowes however because of an offer from Amex for a 2x $30 statement credit on two separate $120 purchases. I bought 2 batches of household cleaning items – trying to stay as close to $120 per batch.
This year – Acme’s deals on Metabo-HPT items caught my attention and gift-buying dollars – spending about $500 each for 3 recipients. I spent about the same amount on Makita XGT items at Acme – but don’t think that what i bought represented any sort of real bargain. KC Tools one-day sale that included Stabila and 10% off on Proto at ToolUp – rounded out my gift buying for the holidays. Overall, I spent a bit less this year on tools as gifts than I did in 2023 – but last year’s included Mafell and Festool items that were pricier.
Jerry
I think I have spent more on tools this year than I have in the last several, I definitely have at Home Depot.
I don’t know if it happened when I signed up for their PRO newsletter or what, but for some reason when I browse through their website I get a text or email alert when one of those items comes up for sale. More than once I have looked at something and said to myself that would be a nice addition if only it were a bit cheaper, and often sooner or later I get an alert that it is on sale. I have bought quite a few things at 20-55% off regular prices when I get the alert. Several things I have gotten I have been watching for maybe 2 years or more now, and have bought them at prices lower than I have ever seen before, and many new items are already on sale (some BITE wrench sets are 20% off right now, but only some. For example, right now both the Metric and SAE BITE combo wrenches are on sale. If you buy the SAE and MM set separately (on the same order even) they are 20% off the combo set that includes the exact wrenches in one kit. Ditto some other things, marked down to the best prices ever, if you search around for the right kit combination.
CA
I could use another tool cabinet but the prices just seem too high, even HF. I may resort to just building one with some deep drawers and digging every time I need a certain tool.
Jay Herbert
There may be a lot of tool boxes on display…. but it worked for me. I’ve watched tool box prices increase beginning in 2022 COVID times. They have reduced significantly over the last year and are finally back to, or even below those pre-COVID levels.
I bought a very nice 52 in. W x 24.5 in. D Standard 10-Drawer Mobile Workbench/Tool Chest for $498, a great deal verses the $648 price before this cut. I also got 10% more off with a Pro coupon.
The quality of Husky tool chests and tool boxes is very high, and this is my third. A hugh improvement over my 30 year old Crafsman boxes. Better buy now before threatened tariffs crank up prices and cause huge inflation!
LE
I actually saw those stanley organizers at a Big Lots a couple weeks ago, they also had Einhell cordless drill kits. The Stanley organizers looks to be the same as the Craftsman ones Ace has (Lowes might have had them too but I didn’t notice them) but in Stanley colors.
Katie
I bought many small things and supplies at Home Depot recently. They had 2 day free shipping. I decided to try HD first because Amazon has screwed up shipping on most orders lately. Either early or late. Too early is bad since I may be out of town. Too late is worse. Some come through USPS and I get a “delivery attempted”. What? I was home, there was no deep snow. I have a mailbox and a porch. This has happened more than once. Very strange. If I’m doing a DIY job where I need materials, I don’t want to wait a week when it’s promised by a certain date. AZ used to be great shipping, now I hesitate to buy anything I need in a timely manner. Both Lowes and HD were free shipping and right on time!
Home Depot had a “power washer” gun for $29, the cheap version made of plastic. I thought I’d try it. Convenient and kind of fun. Washed all the windows it was so much fun. If it dies I’ll buy the pricier one. Can’t beat Ryobi since I have plenty of batteries.
No other tools tempted me except the Ridgid brushless subcompact drill. Price was decent and I only had wimpier or brushed drills. Happy with it. Buy their deals were lackluster this year.
Ace had a nice set of Milwaukee screwdrivers with magnetized heads. Got those and didn’t see anything better than that at HD or Lowes.
I use three different Lowe’s stores. Two are ill managed. The other one is GREAT!
Jim Felt
Regards your USPS “experience”.
I’ve several USPS serviced addresses and on average their mail persons are responsible.
The exceptions I’ve seen tend to be around holidays or if any “special situation” is involved. This as compared to FedEx, UPS and Amazon itself they tend to fall into last place.
Vards Uzvards
Did you try (if this option is offered around where you live) delivery to an Amazon locker? You’ll need to drive to where the lockers are located, but at this point in time you can be sure that your order is already in the locker.
MM
I’ve had the same issues you describe regarding the obviously incorrect tracking information for USPS deliveries. That has nothing to do with Amazon. That is USPS’s service quality slipping. They are running late for whatever reason, and rather than admit that they invent some BS excuse as to why they couldn’t deliver the package that day. I’ve had it happen many times over the past couple of years. I’ve had the tracking say all sorts of fabricated excuses including “blocked driveway”, “dangerous animal”, “severe weather”, when none of those things were true. It very often says that they attempted delivery while both I and family were there all day.
This is the US Postal Service screwing up and then lying about it to cover their butt. It grinds my gears something fierce. I understand delays happen; if the system is backed up then so be it. Just say so. The only possible reason for lying on the tracking is to cover up and pretend these delays aren’t the post offices’s fault, and that is totally inapparopriate because it poisons the tracking data and shifts the blame from where it really lies. Many people are blaming Amazon for this but it has nothing to do with them.
In addition to the problems with obviously incorrect tracking updates, I’ve also had drivers leave important packages without signatures and leave packages in the ditch out by the main road because they couldn’t be bothered to go down the driveway. I’ve overheard counter clerks speak of all sorts of disorganization in “in the back”. I’ve had many instances of stranger’s mail in my mailbox. From what I can tell from experiences at my own post office there has been a major lowering of standards lately.
Vards Uzvards
If you’re mostly interested in getting Ryobi HP batteries, there was an on-line deal a year ago, and then again around Black Friday this year, where you could get 10 Ah worth for $100 (6 Ah + 4 Ah). I consider $10 per Ah the best price for Ryobi High Performance batteries, especially when you are not looking for any new tools.
If you have an interest in file sander, AND need to get more HP batteries, this deal looks very, very good to me!
https://www.homedepot.com/p/RYOBI-ONE-18V-Cordless-1-2-in-x-18-in-File-Sander-Kit-with-2-4-0-Ah-Batteries-2-0-Ah-Battery-and-Charger-PSD101K3SB/328814879
Here one can get the 10 Ah worth of HP batteries (4+4+2), let’s say for the same $10 per Ah, AND the file sander, all for $149 (you get a simple charger, too). I never saw the file sander, as a bare tool, going lower than for $59, and in this combo kit you are basically getting it for $49 (and a free charger – who needs any more of these?!).
Phillip McWilliams
Guess customer service does matter. If Amazon has it you don’t have to deal with self check out nor an obnoxious employee, if you can find one.
I am 57,my wife 56, and we were loading a water heater ourselves. An employee came by pushing in carts and was visibly annoyed that we were talking too long while struggling with the water heater.
Didn’t offer a hand, just waited impatiently until we managed to get out of his way.
At least with Amazon, all you expect is having it dropped off for less money.
Not sure why folks aren’t beating a path to Home Depot and Lowes.
Steven Phillips
I always look for post holiday tool clearance deals in January, it’s a holiday season finale. I just picked up a Ryobi 40V dual blade mower for almost half off. Lots of stuff left at that store, more-so than my local ones, but not terribly much more. There seems to be a little more left over than usual this year.