Power tool idea - what do you think?

Hi All,

I assume most of you own and buy power tools. (I'm specifically targeting the 'kits' you can buy at big box stores like cordless drills, table saws, impact wrenches, etc).

I know you can buy them in kits at home depot or whatever. The kits (and even the individual tools often times) really bug me because there is always something in the box I don't want. Like another redundant charger in an individual tool or a 5 tool set that I already own one or two of the tools.

The gist of the idea is to sell everything a la carte, and give discounts if people order multiple items at a time (build your own kits).

So, please help me by answering the following:

1. do you own this type of power tool?
2. where do you generally buy them?
3. would you be opposed to buying them online?
4. how important is it to you to get only what you need?

Thanks!!

1: I've owned many sets, I do not currently own a set, and have been looking

2: lowes, electrical supply store, home depot (ryobi, makita, ridgid)

3: not in the least as long as shipping wasn't ridiculous and quality was known ahead of time

4: this answer varies for me, as sometimes it's nice to have extras of something. A custom kit would be nice, pick X number of tools, with x batteries and a charger for one price would be nice.

I like the idea, but unless we're talking name brand I would be a little leary on quality.

1. I don't own any power tool kits.
2. Lowes, Home Depot, Ebay, Amazon. I only use Makita cordless tools for battery commonality and they've proven tough enough to handle household tasks as well as workplace tasks. I'm more open to corded.
3. No problem at all.
4. I like the idea as I only buy tools as I need them.

Note you already can buy many brands of cordless tools alacarte from the various home stores web sites and other online stores.

dculberson wrote: Note you already can buy many brands of cordless tools alacarte from the various home stores web sites and other online stores.

also note that you are probably actually getting a better tool if you buy them separately. most people don't know that there are several different levels of quality and performance within the product line of a given manufacturer and that they tend to not bundle the best ones together.

Doesn't Amazon already do this?

Robbie wrote: So, please help me by answering the following: 1. do you own this type of power tool? 2. where do you generally buy them? 3. would you be opposed to buying them online? 4. how important is it to you to get only what you need? Thanks!!

1. Yes, I have multiple DeWalt 18V cordless tools.
2. The Lowes store local to my ex's house, bought mainly while renovating her house as I needed them.
3. No, I buy at least half of my tools online.
4. Not really anymore. I usually find a use for a tool at some point.

I should add DeWalt (and I think a few other of the "majors") already sell tools a la cart. The 18V 1/2" Dr impact gun, jigsaw and circular saw I have were all bought as "bare" tools from Lowes in a no-frills box w/o a battery or charger. I bought them when they were on sale and with my 5% discount Lowes card. Before going crazy with this plan, look on Amazon and see what's already out there. It's not exactly a new idea, unless I'm missing something in your description.

Thanks for the responses so far! Interesting on the quality issue. I do know that amazon and HD/lowes do sell tools separately in some cases.

However, I just checked an example on Ryobi "One+". There is currently a 5 tool kit on HomeDepot.com (miter saw, sawzall, circular saw, drill, flashlight). it is $200.

If I already had the drill, I could look into the miter saw, sawzall, and circular saw separately, however, they are $100, $40, and $60, respectively, meaning $200.

So, now I am stuck with paying $200 either way if I need the 3 saws. I can buy more than I need since that obviously feels like the better value, but then why couldn't I pay a few bucks less and let them keep the drill? My idea is to sell the three saws separately, but then give a 'Kit' price that knocks 10 percent off or something, so total price would be more like $180.

Also, home depot and lowes websites absolutely suck for trying to compare tools side to side.

Having multiple drills is a problem?

Sounds what like a lot of people do on eBay. Tons of slightly discounted new bare cordless tools there. I'm sure you could do it and make a few dollars but the markets not going to be huge in my opinion.

Robbie wrote: 1. do you own this type of power tool? 2. where do you generally buy them? 3. would you be opposed to buying them online? 4. how important is it to you to get only what you need? Thanks!!

1. Yes I own a few kits and I'm frustrated that you have to get something like a flashlight or a radio with them

2. Home Depot.

3. Online only if it offers a price benefit AND if it can be demo'd in a retail situation. I won't buy a power tool unless there is a place I can hold it, try it, and abuse it first to compare.

4. Fairly important. If the big kit I want includes a battery-operated turkey baster, I can't help but think it would be $30 cheaper if they didn't include that useless tool. I don't like that they make that decision for me.

Ian F wrote: Having multiple drills is a problem?

haha, no, but what if I have 2 already (one corded, one cordless), and I'm a cheap bastard?

Robbie wrote: Thanks for the responses so far! Interesting on the quality issue. I do know that amazon and HD/lowes do sell tools separately in some cases. However, I just checked an example on Ryobi "One+". There is currently a 5 tool kit on HomeDepot.com (miter saw, sawzall, circular saw, drill, flashlight). it is $200. If I already had the drill, I could look into the miter saw, sawzall, and circular saw separately, however, they are $100, $40, and $60, respectively, meaning $200. Also, home depot and lowes websites absolutely suck for trying to compare tools side to side

You could have just ended that last sentence after "suck." Their websites are awful.

On the quality issue: There is often some confusion. With all the major manufacturers that we sold (Home Depot), the tools are identical regardless of being part of a kit or individual tools. They carry the same part number (and since I was in warranty repair) I know that they have the same exact internal parts. What often confuses people is that manufacturers often bundle last year's tools into kits to help liquidate them. For instance, right now you can buy a Ridgid Gen5 drill/driver combo for about $199, or step up to the whole kit that adds a 7-1/4 circ saw, recip saw, jobmax oscillating tool, and a bunch of other stuff for $379.... but its Gen4 tools. Its not shady, its advertised in huge letters on the box, but some people think you have to get "lower quality" tools in the kits. That is partially true in the retail stores because you are getting the less-than-newest technology, but if you go online you'll see there is a Gen5 kit with the same types of tools for $599.

Another thing to consider is that Home Depot dictates what is in the kit, not Ridgid or Makita or Dewalt. Home Depot owns almost all of them; Ridgid, Dewalt, Black and Decker, Homelite, Ryobi.

When any store specs out what they want in their kits, it is usually not for the consumer convenience, it is for two main reasons: 1) price matching. If Lowes offers a slightly different kit than HD, they don't have to price match. 2) advertising. "available ONLY at True Value."

So HD calls up Dewalt and asks for a kit with drill, driver, and free flashlight. Lowes calls Dewalt and asks for a kit with drill, driver, and a free radio. TSC calls Dewalt and asks for a kit with drill, driver, and a free hammer drill upgrade

But on the quality side of things, the tool you get in the kit is the same tool you buy individually. Same tool. Sometimes the part number is different so they can identify if it is part of a kit, (long explanation about internal warranty ID) but the tool is the same.

1. I've got a Makita drill and flashlight kit

2. Where ever is cheapest or most convenient

3. Not an issue for me, although I do agree that i prefer to be able to handle the tools somewhere first.

4. I would say pretty important because I'm a cheap bastard.

I actually like this idea a lot. With the prospect of home ownership looming on the horizon a few short weeks out, I've had my eyes on these type of kits a lot recently and have yet to find done with exactly and only what I need. And with a number of other expenses pending as well, I'm really not keen on spending the extra dough on another flashlight or drill I could do without.

In reply to curtis73:

VERY interesting, thank you.

Thanks again for all the responses so far everyone. Out of curiosity, I wonder how construction workers and contractors buy tools.

I would think they would go to the kits for the better value, but if I was buying tools for a whole crew and ended up with 12 extra free radios per year I would be really frustrated and would certainly feel like that was eating into my profits/earnings.

Looks like power tools like these are a 30 billion annual revenue industry worldwide, and growth in China (among other things) is making folks predict it will be a 45 billion industry by 2025.

I can address your question about construction crews. Very few buy cordless tools at all.

It has now become an expectation that tradesmen provide their own hand tools, but also basic cordless. This is a trend that will not go away.

Companies supply heavier power tools.

I think you may be looking at this backwards. It's not that the individual tools are over priced, it's that the kits already have discounts built into them. Those radios are free, not lost profits.

I have bought more than 200 cordless tools over the years. Both kits and individuals. I buy both online and in stores.

But quality is EVERYTHING. You completely lost me at Ryobi.

Oh, and construction WORKERS often buy at pawn shops.

Note, those are my observations for US companies. Chinese buyers would be a completely different paradigm.

SVreX wrote: I can address your question about construction crews. Very few buy cordless tools at all. It has now become an expectation that tradesmen provide their own hand tools, but also basic cordless. This is a trend that will not go away. Companies supply heavier power tools. I think you may be looking at this backwards. It's not that the individual tools are over priced, it's that the kits already have discounts built into them. Those radios are free, not lost profits. I have bought more than 200 cordless tools over the years. Both kits and individuals. I buy both online and in stores. But quality is EVERYTHING. You completely lost me at Ryobi.

Thanks!

Yeah, I do agree that the individual tools aren't over priced, but all I am saying is if I buy 4 at a time, there is not an easy way for me to get the 'bulk' discount that the kit provides.

Also, Ryobi was just the easy example that came up on the home depot website first.

SVreX wrote: Note, those are my observations for US companies. Chinese buyers would be a completely different paradigm.

Also good point. The US market is about 10 billion of the world's annual 30. of that 10, the report I saw said 2/3 was contractor and 1/3 residential/diy.

There is 1 form of kit I would be interested in that is not readily available (which might work for you)- it's the opposite of what you are thinking....

Bulk packs. 6 identical drills (or drivers, etc) in a kit with dual fast chargers and high output batteries. Screw diversity- I want to outfit crews. I want discounts on volume purchases of the SAME thing.

Put them in a waterproof lockable case designed to lock in the bed of a pickup truck with a charging cord that plugged into a standard trailer connector capable of charging all 6 tools at once, and you've got a sale.

There has been too much emphasis on homeowner consumers, and not enough on tradesman productivity.

In reply to Robbie:

Right. Home Depot doesn't make me feel much better than Ryobi.

I thought this was interesting: Home Depot is the fourth largest retailer in the world. I don't know what their share of that $10bn/year of tool sales in the US is, but I imagine it's significant. Total sales $83 billion last year.

Here's what the trend has become.

Contractors and tradesmen have been forced to buy from the big box stores because of their availability and network, the the tools we used to buy (industrial quality) has degraded.

At the same time, homeowner quality tools have improved. Basically, we now buy the same stuff.

But tradesmen can, and WOULD buy better if they could. We WANT the ability to show up to a jobsite better equipped than the homeowner.

So, the gold ring would be to have Trade Depot, an industrial tool division using HD's network, available only to licensed contractors.