One or two cordless power tools on clearance at a retailer would not be surprising.
But when there are at least 7 SKUs including multiple types and categories of tool, and at a brand’s near-exclusive retailer? This has me wondering what’s going on.
The clearance includes bare tools and kits.
Advertisement
That’s strange – why are there numerous Craftsman V20 brushless cordless power tools on clearance at Lowe’s right now?
These are the Craftsman brushless tools that are marked as on clearance and unavailable for online purchase right now:
- Reciprocating saw
- Circular saw
- Impact wrench
- Drill/driver
- Angle grinder
- 2-tool combo kit
- Hammer drill
- Impact driver
Also, while there are many different drill and impact driver SKUs, where few shoppers will notice if a couple of SKUs are no longer available, the same is not true for the other core tools – the circular saw, reciprocating saw, and angle grinder.
Is Craftsman coming out with new models? Are these Craftsman brushless power tools not selling well enough? Is Lowe’s shifting their focus towards other brands’ brushless offerings, such as from Kobalt, FLEX, Skil, Metabo HPT, or Dewalt?
This is peculiar, and with Lowe’s as Craftsman’s primary retail and online sales partner, there’s likely significance to this.
Why do you think Lowe’s has clearanced out so many different Craftsman brushless products?
Advertisement
Tom
I noticed this at Lowes recently. My local store had item #1045302 on sale for $139. on the website it’s still full price at $199. They had a bunch of them just sitting on a pallet.
I can’t imagine why these are on clearance right now. I am still waiting for the rumored v12 system from Craftsman!
Michael Martin
Holiday sales. Look around, other brands are also on sale.
Adam
Clearance items don’t come back (seasonal is the usual exception), where as sale items should continue to be sold after the sale period or if they ran out at some point.
Big Richard
My understanding is new models. While I can’t speak to all of the tools listed, I do know the circular saw (CMCS550B) is being replaced by the new CMCS551BLW. The new line of tools is labeled as “Brushless RP”, which I haven’t been able to get any additional info on yet. Possibly similar to DeWalt’s Power Detect technology?
https://www.lowes.com/pd/CRAFTSMAN-CM-V20-RP-BL-Circ-Saw-Bare/5012964691
Lance
This makes sense, but they’re doing themselves a disservice by putting it on the website. If it was an in-store only initiative it wouldn’t look so bad.
If it is new models, why do them all at once? This looks like bad planning to me.
Gary
I don’t know why these tools are on clearance, but it does strongly resemble SBD’s signature brand mismanagement that we’ve seen recently with the likes of Craftsman (V60), Dewalt (FlexVolt), Porter Cable, Bostitch, etc.
Jared
V60 is what I thought of too. That would be shocking with Craftsman’s main-line 20v tools though. Fingers crossed this isn’t the death of something.
Come to think of it, I didn’t expect it for V60 either. I assumed there were new models coming or something since surely SBD wouldn’t spend all that money buying Craftsman, launch a new line of tools and then end it after one season. Yet, they did.
Still, I say it’s 80% likely these are just being phased out for new models.
Jim Felt
Precisely! Or they’ve simply hooked up with the much much lesser of the two largest big box home center vendors.
Perry
The hammer drill bare tool was $29 at my local lowes just before Thanksgiving. I was surprised that they sat there for about a week before they were gone, apparently craftsman isn’t a big draw at our local store.
Mike
Not really that shocking. While they have name recognition, they’re not what they used to be and that sways many consumers away from them.
Gerald
Sways me for sure
OldDominionDIYer
The CRAFTSMAN name is now unfortunately associated with cheap Chinese junk. Even though now owned by SB&D it is a hard stigma to shake. Until SEARS is no longer allowed to use the CRAFTSMAN name to push their own junk knockoff laughable gear it won’t change. The idea of buying the name but letting the previous owner (who ruined the brand over a decade) to continue to use the name to peddle more junk is tragic really. While I had hoped for a concise and intentional branding of Craftsman from SB&D they seem to be wandering as well not really sure what to do with the brand.
Mike
So if craftsman is cheap Chinese junk so I guess so is Milwaukee
J
Correct
OldDominionDIYer
Comparing Sears Craftsman power tools to Milwaukee is ridiculous, but to each his own. Enjoy your Craftsman I would buy Harbor Freight 100 times before spending my money of Craftsman.
Ron
Harbor freight?? Yeah right! Don’t buy any of their electronic garbage. Only very few items do you buy from them. Craftsman power tools, never really been good. But way better then Harbor Fright crap!
Greekgoddess
Craftsman was bought by Lowe’s from Sears
Stuart
That is incorrect.
Craftsman was acquired by Stanley Black & Decker.
Davis
check all of stuff you have on your body, you are wearing Chinese “Junk” clothing, using Chinese “Junk” computer, saying Chinese “Junk” powertools.
shame on you
Steve
My guess is new more compact brushless models coming in Q1 would be my guess, following what they are doing on the Dewalt side.
Fyrfytr998
While I have been happy with the brushless “Assembled in the USA” Driver and Hammer Drill which are DeWalt clones, all the other tools I bought from Craftsman have been lackluster at best.
And has been stated, it seems SBD doesn’t know what it wants to do with Craftsman at Lowe’s. SBD’s presence in Lowe’s is limited as far as offering an extensive indoor and outdoor battery line up like Home Depot and Ryobi. Not really sure why SBD hasn’t pushed to carry DeWalts OPE stuff in Lowe’s too.
Michael Veach
Ace hardware is increasing the number of craftsman 20v that they carry.
Greg
I’ve been saying it time and time again SBD will be the complete death of Craftsman eventually. My local Lowes has clearenced all Craftsman v20 tools. I was told Dewalt is going in its place so other stuff can get shifted around. A ton of the Craftsman hand tools are on clearance too along with the single replacements in the bin.
Honestly Craftsman just keeps burying itself deeper and deeper offending the people that have loved and liked it over the years. Once those people have moved on or are no longer with us we’ll be left with the population that has no idea the history behind the brand and probably won’t care either. I think at that point its done. There’s really no point in picking up most of the their stuff, either you get a cheaper alternative for one time use or you pay more and get something from a way better brand.
joeg16
I bought some Hitachi and Bosch tools a few years ago from Lowe’s and asked the guy why they were on clearance he said the new CEO was all about reducing the number of brands in the store so my guess is that they’re trying to cut inventory number of items in their catalog
Stacey Jones
Who cares? Nothing Craftsman appeals to me at all. It’s either chinese junk marked up to or overpriced high end tools that don’t stack up against the other premium brands. Hard pass.
Stuart
I do.
Whitlow
I care too I bought into this line because I’m getting it dirt cheap just like I did Porter Cable – LoL
Julian Tracy
Those are not “clearance” prices. I call BS on this. 15-25% off is just a weak ass sale.
Stacey Jones
Agreed.
Whitlow
Actually some tools they did they were over 50% off. This year it was the CMCF820 bare tool I noticed first but they threw in the free 4AH battery/charger starter kit free as well with the bare tools which retails for $99. The CMCF820 varied in price at different Lowe’s from ~$40 to $55. They are gone now so it was clearance. It was weird to see the 3/8 impact wrench bare tool got from $99 to $50 at all stores and then back up to $99. I found one Lowe’s that marked it down to $34.xx and seemed to good to pass up, but that are still in store and I think they marked them down again.
But I looked around and they have clearance marked tools in Kobalt, Dewalt, etc as well so not unique to Craftsman.
My thoughts initially from the clearance items earlier this year was they didn’t want to sell high-end Craftsman V20 tools that compete with DeWalt so they were getting rid of them. Lets face it some of the Craftsman seem to be exact copies of DeWalt, but most are old Porter Cable copies. The tests by the torque test channel on YouTube confirmed the 1/2 mid-torque impact is the same as DeWalts 1/2 mid-torque impact.
Maybe they are coming out with new tools that are better or maybe Lowe’s has just become like Walmart and once something sits on the shelf too long not selling they just clearance it out. 😉
Whitlow
So Stuart I guess you didn’t notice they cleared out some of the more powerful similar to DeWalt tools earlier this year or last year? The first one I picked up was the 3 speed impact driver Model# CMCF820 with 1700 in-lbs of torque. It’s no longer in store and they left the 1500 in-lbs single speed model. I grabbed one for ~$50 and got he 4AH battery/charger starter kit for free! The also don’t carry the more powerful Hammer Drill Model# CMCD720 that had the metal chuck I picked that up off FB Market with two batteries/charger for ~$80.
Yeah Lowe’s doesn’t make any sense like the 3/8 inch impact wrench went from $99 to $50 clearance, but then it went off clearance and back up to $99. I was lucky to find one for $34 at one Lowes and the best purchase I’ve ever made because I use it all the time now.
Now I want the 1/2 impact because according to the YouTube Torque Test Channel it is the same as DeWalt’s for $100 more.
I don’t understand Lowe’s or SB&D but they keep sucking me in with these crazy clearance prices.
x lu
Lowes seems to have a fruit of the month club strategy. Mark ’em up to mark ’em down, skinny down the pickin’s, swap out the line. Then play make believe with the new guy for a while, then wash , rinse and repeat. Until they actually develop and stick to a cohesive brand strategy, they are not a serious place for serious tool users. But if you only need a couple of tools and arent investing big $ in a system, it forsnt really matter. Home Depot seems to have a more serious committment to its brands while Lowes seems to believe churn and burn provides better value for them and their customer base and assuming L and HD have different enough customer demogrsphics, this might well be true. I just no longer consider them as a valuable tool source except in a crisis. HD also leaves a lot to be desired. But at least it branding committments provide a sense of safety and security.
Leslie smug
Craftsman has been losing ground as the “go to” brand for some time. They’re being upstaged by Dewalt, Kobalt, and the other new technologies. That’s progress.
Ricky Trice
I have been a craftsman user. I had a bunch of the 19.2 tools but the movers needed them more than me. I had to get a new set. I got SBD set and it hasn’t failed me. I purchase tools based on my needs. They work! I also have a few Worx tools based on what I was going to do. I’m a DIY person. Not a home 👷.
Roger
A slight notice I’ve seen is the “BRUSHLESS” vs the “BRUSHLESS RP” labels. I assume it’s mostly brand labeling. A comparison would be the portable air compressor.
Big Richard
The air compressor still has the same model number as the non RP branded model (CMCC2520), so it doesn’t seem to be any different other than brand labeling. However, the new 7 1/4″ RP branded circ saw has a new model number – CMCS551 vs the “old” non RP branded CMCS550.
SBD will make minor updates to a tool and just give it a new “type” number, but retains the same model number. If there are significant changes they give it a new model number, which is the case with the circ saw. Could also be errors on the Lowes website. So I guess we wait and see.
Big Richard
While I couldn’t get much more info, the “RP” branding stands for Runtime & Performance and is akin to DeWalt’s XR branding. This will allow them to have budget brushless tools along with premium brushless options (the RP models). That’s all paraphrasing a product manager, so I could be a bit off and we should learn more once/if any new models are announced.
DanB
IMO, Lowes are doing their own brand and the others they carry, a disservice with this craftsman silliness. There’s a rainbow of colors in the battery tools area and the C’s brand cachet is long gone.
Deve
I will never buy craftsman hand or power tools from lowes!! sick of them pushing the brand in my face, its Kobalt for me as I found my first 24v power tool about 4 years ago before this craftsman nonsense… I have however just got my first Milwaukee M12 ratchet and driver from The Home Depot and thinking this will be where I will take my business in the very near future… and to just up and leave NASCAR like they did leaves a bad taste in my mouth and many others imo, and in the last several years I have spent about 14k at lowes but never again….
Fyrfytr998
I said screw it and went to Lowes for the 1/2 inch wrench. It was priced at $112. Still too rich for me.
I instead got the deal for the 4.0ah battery two pack for $79 dollars. My mom tagged along and gave me an early Xmas gift in the forms of the $89 blue tooth speaker and V20 Oscillator.
Ron
Like every thing, it’s all mark up! Then throw a bone to get people into store. The more a store buys the less they pay. I worked at a hard ware store. Did inventory, the smaller items have a hugh mark up on them. The larger items, not so much. But there is some room for adjustment. There is only so many companies that make items. Like car batteries. One company makes several name brand batteries. Years ago, anyone remember Chief’s, I picked up a case of Chief’s oil and case of Valvoline. Any way I got a discount on both, just had to fill out paper work. The papers had same address. The guy said valvoline makes their chief oil. Same with Knudsen, Safeway cottage cheese is Knudsen. Kmart paint was made by Dutch Boy or Sherwin Williams. Can’t remember which one it was. But any way. A friend, had a friend that worked at the plant. He watched them put Kmart cans on the conveyor belt. They filled Kmarts order. Then filled their name cans from same batch of paint. Just their name one was higher price then Kmart. Several companies make their stuff available to other companies under that companies name brand. Just people look at the name brand, think it’s better. When there’s another name product made by the same company. You just pay more for the name brand. Yes there is a lot of garbage out there to!! Do some searching of name brand companies and you might found out companies they sell to! Under that companies brand name!
Whitlow
It looks worse than I expected at some Lowe’s. It honestly looks like they are getting rid of some Craftsman V20 tools
Steve
And now we know why. I guessed correctly. Lowes let it slip, new V20 Craftsman RP Brushless power tools are coming. They are showing up in the Lowes app. They look to be clones of Dewalt XR tools from eyeballing the specs and looking at the pictures. Probably a response to Ryobi HP, now there’s going to be a Craftsman RP.
https://www.lowes.com/pd/CRAFTSMAN-CM-V20-BRUSHLESS-Jigsaw-Tool-Only/5013008835
https://www.lowes.com/pd/CRAFTSMAN-CM-V20-RP-BL-Circ-Saw-Bare/5012964691
Stuart
I saw the RP circular saw on the website, but from what I can tell it’s identical to the existing/outgoing brushless model but with fancier labeling.
Steve
Looking at the geometry of these things they look like they are really close to their Dewalt XR siblings.
Big Richard
You are correct sir. I mentioned this above the other week, the RP branding stands for Runtime & Performance and is akin to DeWalt’s XR tools as you suspected. This will be their “premium” brushless line. Some products are new where others are simply re-branded.
In the case of the circular saw, CMCS551, it is essentially the same as the old brushless CMCS550 saw, just a rebrand.
The jigsaw on the other hand is an entirely new product, as they previously did not have a brushless jigsaw.
Only time will tell what other tools get a complete re-fresh vs. a re-branding. They’ve also got a few other Ryobi-esque niche tools on the horizon that should help give the brand a little more identity.
Stuart
Right now there’s just 3 data points.
New & unique jigsaw.
New circular saw SKU w/ identical appearance.
Existing air compressor with tool-only option given RP branding.
I couldn’t find anything more than this anywhere.
Craftsman has 4 different drill/drivers:
Basic w/ brushed motor.
Better w/ brushed motor.
Brushless.
Premium brushless.
I can see RP being given to the premium model, brushless being used for the mid-priced model, and brushed for the basic tools.
Milwaukee does similar, with brushed, compact brushless, and FUEL brushless.
If the current brushless tools are moved to RP branding, Craftsman could shoehorn additional budget brushless models into the mix. Or, some current models could stay where they are with new models coming to RP.
Or maybe it’s a way to differentiate Lowe’s brushless offerings from others that might be released at Amazon (or elsewhere)?
Frankly, I don’t see how Lowe’s has any room for so many different Craftsman tiers.