Lowe’s has this Craftsman 5-tier plastic utility shelving unit on clearance right now, which by itself is interesting but would not have been particularly newsworthy.
However, a reader emailed in recently – thank you to Jarrett for the heads-up! – informing me that “Lowe’s just dropped a whole new line of Kobalt branded storage bins, including some weatherproof options,” and “also looks like they designed a new shelf for the purposes of fitting these bins on.”
These might be unrelated, but that’s seldom the case when talking about home center and retail offerings.
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I took a closer look at the Craftsman shelving unit that’s on clearance, and the new Kobalt model.
The Craftsman garage and home shelving product has 5 tiers and measures 72″ tall, 40″ wide, and 24″ deep. The Kobalt shelving unit that was pointed out to me measures the same.
The Kobalt 5-tier shelving unit is marked as being made in the USA. Looking closer, Craftsman says the same, although it’s buried in the product details.
Both are said to have a load capacity of 250 pounds per shelf if distributed evenly.
The racks look nearly identical to me, and might be made by the same company.
At the time of this posting, Lowe’s stores in my area have the Craftsman rack on clearance for $80.67, from $94.98. The Kobalt shelving racks are priced at $109.98.
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I checked Home Depot for comparison – they have a smaller shelving rack for $70, and a larger one for $109.
Mopar
The Craftsman one still shows at $95 at my local one here in New Hampshire, as well as the random ones I checked in a few nearby states. Maybe only a regional sale?
Mike
Same here in West Virginia. Nuts.
Doresoom
I have 3 of those Craftsman ones in my basement, they’ve been great for the last 5 years. No sagging, and plenty sturdy. Love the adjustable feet too! I think I bought them for $75 each on sale.
Matt_T
Not sure about the regular Kobalt totes. They look similar to the yellow lidded ones at about 2X the price. If they’re heavier duty maybe they’re worth it??
The “weatherproof” ones are interesting. Claimed IP68 rating which is pretty much waterproof. And NSF so they should be good for food storage. I’m probably gonna pick a couple up for storing chicken feed.
Samuel V.
It’s certainly regional pricing as the closest store to me with clearance pricing is about 88 miles miles away in TN. It has 1 in stock for $71.47. Happy hunting to those who can find the clearance price instead of unavailable.
MattT
Still $95 at the stores around me in Michigan, at least according to the website. I might go look later. It wouldn’t be the first time Lowes in-store pricing was cheaper than the website.
Mopar
I had something like that happen recently at Home Depot. Looked online before I went and screen shot the time just so I would remember not just the exact item, but the aisle/bin info to find it faster. Well, it rang up significantly ($50-$75?) higher than what I saw online, so I questioned it. I was told that was the store price, and the store doesn’t always follow the online price, and I would have to pay the higher price. So I said, fine, cancel that and everything else you already rang up and just take everything over to the customer pickup counter. While all these people behind me are waiting for you to do that I will reorder it online right now and go pick it up there when you’re done, He grumbled a lot and fixed the price “just this one time”.
GG
Lowe’s nearest me was also had the Craftsman 5 gallon tote with lid on clearance. I like the size and nabbed a couple more for the garage. Looks like all the Lowe’s in Albuquerque have them on clearance. What gives?
Jack
$109 for the Craftsman at my local store in Maryland…
Cameron Kelley
I’ve purchased the same racks branded as Walmart/Hart and Lowe’s/Project Source. Nice they all interface together!