Many readers have been commenting, emailing, and messaging me with questions about the Home Depot deal “hack” they saw hinted about on the internet.
Home Depot often partners with cordless power tool brands to offer free bonuses with select purchases. You will often see this with Dewalt 20V Max and FlexVolt cordless power tools, Milwaukee M12 and M18, Makita 18V, Ridgid, and Ryobi.
For years, tool deal and bargain hunters have been “hacking” these promotions by returning part of the package they don’t want.
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This isn’t a “hack,” it’s simply a part of Home Depot’s return policy, and how they treat the value of “free with purchase” tool and battery gifts as prorated discounts.
The Home Depot Deal “Hack” Explained with Math
The best way to explain things is with an example.
At the time of this posting, Home Depot has a Milwaukee promo – buy the M12 Fuel oscillating multi-tool kit for $169, and get your choice of free tool or battery.
When you select the free XC battery, it says “you have qualified for a free item and save $119.”
For this particular promotion, the Milwaukee cordless power tool kit and free battery gift are treated as two separate items that you are purchasing.
The way Home Depot effectively treats this promotional purchase, you are buying the tool kit at $169, the battery at $119, and a $119 discount is applied to your entire order.
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Let’s do some math.
Tool = Cost of eligible item, in this case the Milwaukee cordless tool kit
Gift = Value of free gift, in this case the M12 battery
Sticker = the assigned sticker value of the item you wish to keep
This assumes that you are buying one item, such as a cordless power tool, and receiving one free gift, such as a free tool or battery gift.
Note: This ONLY applies where a retailer might treat a “free gift with purchase” promotion as the purchase of two separate SKUs.
So, let’s say you wish to keep the OMT combo and need to return the battery for whatever reason. What’s the final price of the cordless kit after the “Home Depot deal hack?”
The prorated cost or return value of the OMT kit would then be $99.17
What if you need to return the OMT tool kit and keep the battery?
The prorated cost or return value of the battery would then be $69.83.
$99.17 + $69.83 = $169, the price you pay for both the OMT kit and free battery.
I should add that in this case, the Milwaukee cordless power tool kit is discounted from its regular price ($219), with the free gift on top of that. Often, this is not the case, with eligible tools and free gift items typically assigned their full list prices.
Does my math work out? Here’s a screenshot showing what I see when adding both items to my Home Depot online shopping cart:
It’s in agreement. According to this, you’re buying the tool kit for $99.17 and the battery for $69.83, for a total of $169.
Why Home Depot Does This
As mentioned, this isn’t a “deal hack,” it’s simply how Home Depot processes many of their “free gift with purchase” promotions.
Let’s say you buy a cordless power tool and get a free battery with it, but the battery is defective and doesn’t work. Stores have sold out of the tool, and you cannot part with it, as you need it for work.
What can you do? Return everything and suffer the loss of a tool you need for work? Go through a lengthy warranty replacement process even though you’re still with everything’s return period? Just deal with it?
With the free gift value prorated, you can return or exchange any part of your order.
Home Depot and other retailers know this tactic, and I assume this is why certain promotions will feature single-SKU tool bundles that must be purchased or returned as a single package.
I don’t like to encourage or even discuss this “deal hack, but there are sometimes legitimate reasons one might want to return only part of an order. Given the frequency I’ve been asked about this recently, now seems like a good time to discuss it.
I should point out that the way Home Depot applies discounts across all of the items in a purchase is not at all unusual. Retailers will often apply a discount across all of the items in an order. For instance, if you use a $20 off $100 discount at a store (as opposed to a percent-off coupon), or receive a free gift that’s not bundled within the primary purchase’s packaging, the savings will usually be proportionally distributed in case you return only part of the order.
A More Recent “Deal Hack”
I would assume that Home Depot and partnering cordless power tool brands generally anticipate that customers taking advantages of “free tool or battery with purchase” promotions will keep the bonus item(s).
There are ways Home Depot easily defeats “deal hacking,” such as by combining bundles into single-SKU purchases. If their itemized return policy is exploited beyond what they can or are willing to tolerate, they might do this more.
There has been increasing chatter online about a new ordering “hack”, where shoppers have been separating their order fulfillment options.
They would set one part of a “free gift with purchase” order to be delivered to their home, and the other part for in-store pickup. They would quickly cancel part of the order, saving themselves a trip to the store to return an unwanted item.
Home Depot caught on, and now requires the same fulfillment method for all parts of a “free gift with purchase” order. So if purchasing a cordless power tool kit is bundled with a separate free tool or battery (as opposed to being a single-SKU bundle), you must select both for home delivery or in-store pickup. It seems that Home Depot’s system no longer allows otherwise at checkout.
The Ethics of it
Is this a “deal hack,” or misuse of a store’s return policy?
To be frank, it doesn’t matter to me how you see it. I’ve steered away from this topic for years, as it’s too easily abused (especially by resellers), and I didn’t want to give anyone ideas.
But given how often I am now asked about “deal hacking,” I figured it was time to post about it..
The practice has been so prevalent that Home Depot and other retailers must be clued in by now. Maybe they don’t mind as much as one would think, especially if a return brings you back to the store. But, I would guarantee they’re watching sales and returns data, as well as inventory numbers.
Should the “tool deal return hack” practice become more the norm than the exception, Home Depot could easily defeat it, by switching to more single-SKU bundles, changing the return policy, or any number of other ways.
But, I suppose there are other things they would and should deal with first. At least when someone returns a “free gift” item for the sole purpose of getting an extra discount applied to the other part of a purchase, it’s usually in new and sellable condition.
Jared
I heard about this too, but never tried it. I also heard some customer service reps will refuse to return only part of a “free gift” purchase (though of course I don’t know if that’s true ).
I’m not sure how to feel about it. I see the “return value” right on my receipts. If I buy a tool that comes with a bonus battery I don’t need, it sure is tempting to return it for more savings… On the other hand, it was purported to be a “free gift” – and needed or not, I wouldn’t return it if they didn’t give me any money.
Stuart
It can be an ethical grey area.
I bought a computer two years ago, and it came with “free” wireless earbuds. I already had wireless earbuds. Nobody in my family could use new wireless earbuds.
So what am I do to do with this device that also has rechargeable Li-ion batteries?
I don’t sell things. I couldn’t think of who to give it away to. It seemed like a waste to immediately recycle it.
I asked Apple if I could return it even though it was a “free gift.” They said sure and gave me a prorated refund.
The return policy is there for legitimate reasons. If someone takes advantage of it to get a better deal than otherwise once or twice, is that exploitation or savvy shopping?
Resellers clearing shelves and flipping tools on Amazon and ebay? That’s definitely an abuse of the prorated return policy.
And then you have users buying tools, ruining them on jobs, returning them, and then repeating the process as if stores were their personal free rental service.
People are shoplifting at self-checkout – which stores absolutely know about and are starting to prosecute.
So in the grand scheme of things, while this is a practice I wouldn’t encourage, there are far worse things on the “is it ethical or not” scale.
I think this toes the line.
If it gets to be too much of a problem, retailers have tools available to them to put a stop to.
Take a look at the screenshot above, where Home Depot breaks down how much you’re paying for the Milwaukee M12 tool kit, and how much you’re paying for the battery.
Other online dealers simply have a price tag for the tool and “$0.00” for free gift items, which must be returned together.
This suggests to me that Home Depot knows exactly what’s going on and might even be welcoming it.
A few years ago, a “coupon hack” was shared online, where guessing EMS promotional codes could snag you a discount. The problem is, those codes were unique VIP member codes for real customers. So, some people got discounts they weren’t entitled, and at the expense of other customers that the codes actually belonged to.
I personally wouldn’t seek to do this for new purchases, but I can’t say I’d never do it. If I wanted to buy a tool, and it came with a bonus battery or tool I couldn’t or wouldn’t use, it’s hard to argue against extra money in my pocket in exchange for putting a new and sellable tool back on store shelves.
I once learned that a friend of a friend used to buy video games at Sam’s Club and do receipt-less returns at Walmart to make a profit.
With so many different schemes and exploitations, returning a “free gift” that is assigned a prorated return value doesn’t seem at all like a condemnable practice.
Retailers aren’t doing much to discourage the practice, and so I’m not going to care what others do. I don’t encourage it, but I don’t see it as my place to condemn it either. I don’t do it either, but in the context of my earbud return experience, I can see reasons why I might.
TomD
Yeah, this is more on the mild end of the various “hacks” you can do that are technically allowed, and since Home Depot can end it at anytime (via any number of ways including not offering the deal, requiring store credit for return of partial items, or only doing in-store swaps) I can’t say I’m too ruffled either way.
I do suspect we’ll see more and more “custom kits” on a single SKU.
Matt+the+Hoople
Those stores already get lots of my money. I haven’t used the hack but would have no issue with doing so to get a cheaper tool. The Stuart’s point, the battery or whatever that I return would be unopened and resellable so the store will still make profit on the discount item I keep and the one I returned.
Patrick+T
Slightly off topic, the line about stores knowing about shoplifting at the self-checkout rubs me a bit the wrong way in that it seems like a self-goal for these companies. All of the Home Depot and Lowe’s around me seem to be tripping over themselves to add self-checkout lines.
My closest Home Depot had none until about a year ago. Now, the only “real” checkout is over at the “pro” section. They have one, maybe two people loitering around the self-checkout helping people. It depends on who is around. One of the women that works there is awesome. Some of the others… not so much.
It seems to me that at some point, the cost of not having employees is going to outweigh the cost associated with 1) keeping the self-checkout stations working, 2) tracking shoplifters, 3) dealing with police and attorneys 4) losing money on selling extended warranties, services plans and credit cards, etc…
TomD
They do the math and determine it’s worth it. Then they find out it might not be.
The local grocery store just replaced almost new self checkouts with another brand. Someone’s paying for something.
Amusingly they’ve also hired more checkers as far as I can see.
Randy
HD knows exactly what they are doing and now Lowe’s has started it too. Nothing wrong with a reseller, they are always cheaper than stores and help people afford tools who may normally not be able to.
Stuart
Everything is wrong with reselling when they go into a store and clear out whatever promotional inventory is there.
Franco
Agreed, the promotion was setup by the MFR or HD to entice a customer to try a brand, expand their products of that brand, or other similar incentives…for the “customer”.
A reseller who clears the shelves is just taking them all away from the intended recipients.
Munklepunk
Den of tools, yes I know, had a video about this and it’s came out that Home Depot knows and doesn’t care.
teicher
I think it’s pretty obvious that its a misuse of the return policy/sales software, and ethically challenged. If they wanted you to have the deal that you get by returning the parts you don’t want, they’d offer it that way in the first place. People can justify it in all sorts of ways to make themselves feel good about doing it, but they all know what they are doing.
Chances are its not worth the time/money for Home Depo to redo the process at this time, but if it gets abused they will.
Stuart
On a sales receipt, the return value is automatic.
When ordering online, the website will now deliberately show a breakdown of how prorated values contribute towards the total price.
I think most people are system users who can always use more tools and batteries, especially when Home Depot and retailers give choices.
You’re not usually locked into a particular free gift, there are often choices. And if not, the next promo might be around the corner with a different “free bonus” offer.
Everyone has their own reasons, and I find it hard to judge.
It’s obvious when Home Depot discourages the practice, as there are many promos where prorated refunds aren’t possible.
You can also see different treatments across industries. If brands or retailers don’t want free gifts parted out, they include it in the same box or use a singular SKU for multiple parts. Home Depot can and does do this too.
The practice has been around for a long time. A reader talked about this in reply to one of my deal posts 7 years ago, and there might be earlier instances.
https://toolguyd.com/milwaukee-m12-fuel-tool-kit-freebie-deal-020215/
TomD
What is interesting is I seem to recall they used to NOT show the return value in the cart (and maybe not even on the receipt?) – that is new and indicates that they are trying to solve the problem where people return the “$119 battery” and want $119 back.
I could see poorly trained clerks who haven’t seen the trick yet doing that, myself. THAT would be pretty ethically bad imo.
Jared
I was mulling this question over after my initial post and I have a few more thoughts. I think what feels morally ambiguous is the idea that there’s a trick involved – and when I think about it, I’m not convinced there is.
All sales transactions are governed by contract law. Contracts have a few essential elements: offer, acceptance, consideration, intention, capacity, and legality.
A “return policy” isn’t a means of circumventing that contract, it is one of the terms of the contract. I.e. it’s existence is held out as an term to induce customers to enter into the purchase agreement. Certainly some customers agree to contract on the basis that the purchase agreement includes the conditions under which a product can be returned.
A company might have no return policy (e.g. sales are “as-is”) or might have a narrow return policy (e.g. a short period of time, only permissible when the product is defective, include a “restocking” fee, etc). Others, like Home Depot, offer very generous terms.
If this practice is permissible under Home Depot’s return policy, then the policy is an integral part of the purchase contract and I don’t see any moral blameworthiness from exercising that term. Home Depot authored the contract.
On the other hand, if Home Depot “accidentally” created this loophole, or if you need to trick the customer service reps into processing a return that shouldn’t be allowed, that’s not in good faith.
What still leaves me feeling undecided is that it doesn’t seem clear whether this is a customer-facing policy. I.e. it doesn’t appear in the return policy terms they advertise on their website: https://www.homedepot.com/c/Return_Policy . The advertisement also indicates the additional item is a “free gift”. In that context, how can a person claim reliance on that term when forming the intention to be bound by the purchase contract?
That’s not a complete answer though. The receipt that shows the “return value”, the cost is advertised online as a savings split between the two items and customer service reps are accepting these returns. All of that is evidence of “specific performance” indicating Home Depot believes this return practice to be a contract term.
All that to say I still don’t think it’s obvious whether returning a “free item” is ethical – but there’s good reason to think the “loophole” isn’t really a trick and that Home Depot believes this term is acceptable (even if the corporation would “prefer” that customers not exercise it).
Julian Tracy
Their receipt shows exactly what each item will return for, therefor an explicit acceptance of partial returns. No ethics involved – just a store policy you can take advantage of or not. Now – if you want to talk about possible ethics – Lowes handles promo items differently.
Their “free” item rings up as $0.00, the base tool rings full price. You actually could return the bade item for a full return and the computer won’t be looking for the free item as it’s a zero dollar un-associated item.
Of course – hopefully no one would take advantage of that…
Stuart
One person returns part of a promo because the battery is defective. Another does it to avoid e-waste. A bargain shopper does it to get a lower price on a tool they wanted to buy.
I have tried to put my finger on what feels morally ambiguous about this.
It’s not theft. It’s not fraud. If there are ample supplies, other customers’ deal-hacking behaviors are unlikely to infringe upon my ability to take advantage of a deal for personal use.
So while I won’t encourage it, and I don’t do this myself, I’ve learned not to condemn or judge about it.
I have taken advantage of “free with purchase” offers, but can’t think of a time when I didn’t want or need everything the offer entailed. Maybe there are scenarios where I might feel otherwise, but I have always been accustomed to simply waiting for dollar-off or percent-off promos.
TomD
Here’s what feels off – it feels like something that if and can be abused, and at some point it will go away, just like Costco’s “return it whenever” policy has changed over the years.
It feels to me like something you can take advantage of, but you maybe probably should consider first (also I suspect it works quite well and sells more tool overall, which is why HD does it).
Ryan
One key thing to point out is that the online bundles in the “Special Buy of the Day” discounts are single SKU even if the bundle contains the same items as an existing free gift offer. These are not hackable for the reasons you outlined.
Home Depot already does combat this tactic slightly if you watch prices over the long term. Items that are frequently on sale for $179 will often times go back up to the full $229 MSRP before a free gift offer goes live.
Stuart
Exactly. I think this is also because those are online-only deals, whereas multi-SKU promo bundles get you back to the store for a return where you’re highly likely to buy something.
Who doesn’t go to HD and look around at their current promos and seasonal offerings?
I look past higher assigned pricing for “buy this, get that” promos, as the end result is usually lower than otherwise.
For instance, a Dewalt charger and 2x battery starter set might be $249 and you get a free tool or two, but such a starter set might be valued a lot lower between seasonal promotions.
If a tool kit with 2 batteries is priced at $325, and you get it with the same 2 batteries and a charger as part of a “buy a starter set, get a free tool” promo, it’s not very productive to focus on the price of the starter set. (I will mention it though, for context, historical purposes, or other reasons.)
Ryan
Knowing these intricacies, I recently opted to forego the $179 Special Buy bundle pricing and instead opted for the same item at the normal $199 + free item bundle so that I could take advantage of the hack.
The ethical gray area gets easier to live with if you shift the focus to the trickery associated with the listed MSRP of items.
An example:
There is a Gen 3 Hammer Drill + 2x 5AH /charger full combo kit currently for sale for $249. This is also free 5AH battery eligible.
At listed MSRP this bundle is “worth”:
$159 per battery (x3 batteries) = $477
$199 list price for drill (but “on sale” for $169)
$79 for M18 multi volt charger
The listed prices for all of these individual items adds up to $755!
Yet they are willing to sell all of it as a bundle for $249.
The devil’s advocate in me is saying that if those batteries are truly worth the $159 list price, Home Depot should be thankful that I am willing to return that highly valuable item to them for only $93.22 instead of wanting the full $159. Sacrifices are being made on both sides!
The big takeaway is that none of these items have an actual cost anywhere near the MSRP.
If the costs and true values of these items were the MSRP, they would be “losing”$347 of value by selling each of those combo kits without even taking the battery hack into account. We all know that is not the case because there is a wide gap between the cost and MSRP and they are only going to put out promotions that ultimately make them profitable.
One benefit for Home Depot is that I will buy tools from them instead of other retailers during these promo periods because I am 100% familiar with their return policies, and do not want to venture out and learn the policies of other retailers in the area.
TomD
The one that really pisses me off is when ONE tool in a bundle is brushless and the others are not. It has almost caught me once or twice and I was annoyed.
Exceptions for led lights might be made.
MM
It is strange when you see bundles consisting of low-end models paired with high-end models; I would think that someone who was working on a budget might want to stick to a bundle with all basic tools, and likewise someone who was looking for a top-end drill/driver probably wants a top-end impact driver to go with it and wouldn’t be very happy if that fancy drill were bundled with last year’s brushed impact.
I suspect that at least some of the bundles–both those which are put together by the tool company and those offered by retailers–are designed to sell tools they have excess inventory for more than anything else.
Brian+A
Actually HD definitely does not care because they used to never have the add free tool or battery functionality online and would create all the possible bundle options as individual listings. Apparently creating dozens of additional product listings online was more costly than making it easier to exploit. The only time promos were self building was with buy more or save more as its way to complicated to create all the permutations. Though with the new promo they have both ways, prolly because they didn’t know if the self bundle building code would be ready in time.
I have been aware of the hack for over 10 years and so has HD, they don’t care as there is still profit either way, unlikely it will change anytime soon.
Stuart
That’s not the only reason; the way they used to do things, most notably their flagship holiday season promos, was complicated and confusing.
Speaking as someone who has had to communicate and condense their broad offerings and “Tier 1” and “Tier 2” separations every holiday season in concise posts, their modern promotional structures are a LOT easier to navigate, and probably perform better for them as well.
TomD
As mentioned elsewhere my real only temptation to do this anymore is to simply reduce the number of @#$@#$%@ batteries I have laying around; too many deals over too long means I have too many batteries.
I’d rather just get (even a smaller amount) off on the tool itself, but bare tool discounts are rareish.
Frank D
I fear it is only a matter of time before these deals will go away due to the rampant abuse, just like various benefit programs and membership perks. Time is ticking. The abuse starts to outweigh the benefit and poof … the number of times you read on deals sites where people do these “hacks”, get one shipped to home and one to store and not pickup or refuse delivery … plus within the first days, the desirable free tools get snapped up, while not honoring the intent of the deal … and ethical customers can’t get the deal.
TomD
I wonder who pays for the battery – Milwaukee or Home Depot?
And if it’s Milwaukee does HD report one got returned 🧐
PTBRULES
That’s stupid, wouldn’t it be better to direct people to the store first? Where they can get it cheaper initially.
This isn’t a hurricane where people are buying generators in the north and taking it in the south for resale, where the reseller is making money and benefiting the buyer.
This is just a waste of time and resources.
SamR
There is no such thing called free in business, so there is no ethical issue here!
%100 Home Depot and Milwaukee are both planning ahead for such sales. It has been two years since people figure it out!
The exact reasons for keeping it going, who knows!
But suppose I had to guess. In that case, it shows more cash flow on the company’s sheets.
And for sure, it is a smart marketing way, either by letting people talk about it and feeling good for scouring good deals or by filling the resale market (eBay and FaceBook Market Place) with Milwaukee tools!
We are talking about a company traded in the NASDAQ market, no such hack here!
Adam
Lot longer than that. Its been going on for as long as I recall buying tools in the last decade. further proof they know what is going on.
Some also forget that returning the batteries allows someone else to get the promo too. Usually the starter kit inventory is what ends the deal at stores.
SamR
Great point. never though about that one!
MFC
Something is not morally ambiguous if there isn’t a rule. If a company is in it to make a profit, then as a consumer, you should be in it to save a buck. It’s the eternal supply and demand tussle.
Corporations are extremely aware of “hacks” and if they leave one open unintentionally they will quickly seal it off and try not to make that mistake again. Their bad, move on.
However, this has no rule against it. They have given themselves a way out so that if there is a “serial abuser” of this hack, (someone who buys everything on the shelves and returns half of it) they can refuse to receive the returned item. It’s in their return policy and gives them discretion in “abuse” scenarios.
So, “‘Hack” away cuz it’s not a hack to Home Depot and with as much price gouging as is going on nowadays you should try to save a buck any way the rules allow.
Me personally, I buy from liquidators and get all my tools at 30-50% off if I can help it. Homedepot and Lowes will continue to supply me materials, but not tools unless it’s a “need it now” tool.
Avi
Not arguing with you general message, just your opening sentence. I would say the exact opposite it is only morally ambiguous if there is not a rule. For if there was a rule where would the ambiguity be? (Unless you argue about the interpretation of the rule.)
Adam
Thanks for calling out it isn’t a hack Stuart. Nobody is punching in a secret code, or getting into the HD mainframe to change prices. A register doing it’s job is far from hacking.
Maybe a little closer to hacking, is getting them price match another retailer & still getting the promo, but that is more presenting it the right way (and HD not wanting to lose a sale). On Sunday, another store had the new M18 drill/impact kit for less & offered free battery. I went to HD & paid $350, or on the receipt it says $245 for the kit & $105 for the battery.
John
It’s interesting that there are ways to maximum the hack. The free inflator in the 2.0/4.0 ah battery was $67.10, In the two 6.0am the inflator was $74.47.
I agree with Stuart that doing this seem against the spirit of the transactions, but at the same homedepot.com plays games with listing causing many customers to over pay.
The same item might be listed for $229, or bundled with a Inkzall pen for $179!!!
So as much as “hacking” is against the spirit of the transactions, HD is actively trying to over change customers with deceptive listing practices. Whenever I purchase an item I have to search all listings for that item to find the listing for that item with the lowest price. This means often I get an extra pen or battery just some so I can pay less for the item I need.
Charlie
These bundle deals (and not hacking them), is how I’ve ended up with a shelf full of chargers and tools in many shades of colors.
It’s hard to be loyal when you find any particular brand/model of a tool just a little bit better, and the battery/charger is free vs buying a bare tool of something you have.
John+E
This will probably end like most things end that to some degree rely on the ‘honor system’
Just like Costco had to amend their return policy on electronics and most tool stores now keep power tools under lock and key there are always people happy to take out more than they are willing to put in.
Franco
True
King+duck
For the ethics of it as you stated they are aware and the fact that they changed how online orders are fulfilled is proof that if this was unacceptable to them they would change. I never understood how anyone could see this as stealing the values have always been printed on the receipt. Heck during the holidays they have twice as many of each add on item as the starter kits so they know they will see returns. I have bought stuff and the lady then processed my return without even leaving the store.
Weldor
In my opinion there is zero moral or ethical issue.
Home Depot knows exactly what they are doing – and that is making a profit.
They make a profit off every sale , every time (a VERY FEW clearance/pricing mistakes not withstanding).
They don’t lament the morality of making more profit off you when you purchase something at regular (inflated) price – even more ethically important is that you likely NEED that item and thus are willing to pay full price.
If said item was 50% off just a day ago (at which point they still make a profit) Home Depot will not blink an eye at your paying full price.
Feeling bad for a billion dollar company making a little less extreme profit seems laughable. Especially given the questionable business ethics Home Depot employs (ask any former employees).
The day they lose money they will stop any pro-rating return practices and begin to sell only full bundles.
Sleep soundly fair toolguyd readers!
Matt J
So the hack was also to return a free item without a receipt and get a store credit. Last year popular thing was that if you bought package of two high amp batteries (2x8A) from Milwaukee you got another high amp one for free (1x12A). I think that at that time price of the 2 8a batteries was the same as the price of a single 12a battery. So in theory if you returned the 12a battery for store credit you could have kept buying the batteries until they run out of stock. HD got wiser and now tracks your returns w/o receipt and you can only make x amount of them until you can’t even return a screw.
Stuart
That kind of thing gets shut down FAST and are logged against your driver’s license.
Shoplifting has been an issue nationwide for a while, and so receipt-less returns are highly restricted, legitimate or not.
My last receipt-less return was maybe 16 years ago, and back then they didn’t have credit card order lookups like they do now. I wanted to make a gift card purchase return 2 or 3 years ago but misplaced the receipt and never registered the number with my Pro Xtra account. Their system wouldn’t let me return it. I had to go home and dig through everything to find the receipt.
Justin
I worked in the Atlanta territory as a TTI Rep and saw the “old hack” abused at my THD stores constantly. Example: New Milwaukee One-Key Drill/Impact kit launches with “free Fuel tool” promotion. Someone purchases the kit for $399, grabs the $199 Fuel Sawzall for free. Then returns the Kit at a different store for their $399 refund and keeps the $199 Fuel Sawzall in their truck. Some weeks inventory numbers would be +7 kits due to returns from other stores.
I’m very glad to see THD with these return updates so they can keep the deals coming! Selfishly wish they would have been updated several years ago.
Derek
I’ve almost done this a number of times but end up keeping the other half. I look at the prorated rates as what I could get reselling the tool. I once bought the battery kit and got a free tool and sold the tool at the rate I could have returned it. If not, I probably would have brought the whole thing back.
On a side note, what’s going on with Dewalt? I haven’t seen many deals on Dewalt tools anywhere, especially at Home Depot and compared to Milwaukee.
Also, the battery prices for Dewalt at Home Depot are all over the place. Here’s a sampling, without links so this comment goes through.
$79 – 20v 3.0 AH battery
$99 – 20v 3.0 AH battery and charger
$119 – 20v 2.0 AH battery
$119 – 20v 5.0 AH battery
$120.21 – 20v 6.0 AH battery
$129 – 20v 4.0 AH battery
$149 – 20 4.0 AH battery and charger
$149 – 20v 5.0 AH battery, charger and kit bag
Stuart
There are also battery 2-packs, which are also often subject to promotions.
And special bundles. The 4-port charger, for instance, is presently bundled with 4x 2.0Ah batteries.
All of this keeps me extremely busy during the winter holiday season!!
Derek
All very crazy. Definitely need to look online before you buy anything. I would be pretty upset if I bought a battery and found out a larger one was cheaper or I could have gotten a bigger battery for the same price.
Thanks for all that you do around the holiday season. It certainly comes in handy for me and there are many times I go back and look at the previous ads to check on pricing.
Haven’t seen you promote the new Wera Advent calendar yet.
Stuart
The advent calendar isn’t available for purchase yet, and so it seemed moot. I’m keeping a close eye on it though.
Saulac
Regarding why HD does this type of promotion, and the concern that HD will stop if people “abuse” it…HD counts on people end up keeping both due to the hassle of bring it back. Think about the length that some companies will go to just ship their stuff to people homes counting the hassle of returning. On that count, HD in store return is god send. I would much more hesitant had I have to ship it back instead.
Nathan
HD also does this to keep their numbers up – which props up their volume sales and makes them a sales driver for any company they do business with.
IE HD sells more M12 tools than anyone else in the US, right, probably. so these sales are sort of like a loss leader to prop those numbers up.
at least that’s my theory. at lot of stores have issues like this while mom and pop hardware store can’t carry some models or even some brands – not enough volume to bother.
Franco
Ethics, morality, ambiguity and any other words you want to use, seem to be used more by those justifying the practice.
John mentions above “the spirit of the transaction” in which he is correct. Just like in a court of law in front of a judge, someone trying to justify what they did on how they interpret something. And can be convincing or correct, but many time a judge will emphasize “the spirit of the law” and how it is not being followed.
If over the past 10 years you have done this once or twice, because…whatever, that’s fine. But someone who does this regularly, as in multiple times per year, or even more often; I suppose if you can sleep well at night, good for you. Me, I am not a religious person, far from it. By I have a conscious that is extremely difficult to live with. I was taught as a kid what is right and what is wrong.
Disagree all you want and use morality, ethics and ambiguity…twisted in whichever way you want to make your point…doing this is wrong.
Derek
I agree and haven’t done it but it’s getting harder not to as my tools expand and needs for starter kits decrease.
Bottom line is I don’t think Home Depot cares. They have a way to do this without it allowing partial returns. The hacks are on the front page of Slickdeals every time a sale happens. Home Depot is clearly aware, has the ability to stop it and doesn’t. To me that must mean they’re okay with it.
Now not being able to find tools in store because someone is buying them out and flipping them online is an issue. Again, Home Depot has processes in place for generators and snow blowers to prevent this, they could clearly do it here if they cared.
Franco
“Bottom line is I don’t think Home Depot cares”…this should not matter, I still feel it is wrong.
weldor
If home depot was concerned with the “spirit of the transaction” they would not sell items at such an inflated normal price that they can still make profits with “extreme” sales.
When you can sell an item on sale for 50% off your everyday price and still make a profit (home depot is not in the business of unprofitable sales and these items are
NOT loss leaders) it sounds to me like the “spirit of the transaction” is for home depot to squeeze as much as they can out of the consumer, and their employees.
Feeling guilty and losing sleep over home depot making a little less profit (they still make profit on every sale!) is very odd. Especially feeling guilty for a company that is well known to treat the majority of their workers poorly (ever wonder why HD employees are not very good?).
EJFudd
It seems to me by placing the “actual sale price” for both items on the receipt/cart, HD is admitting that this is not a “hack”. If you think about numbers, it makes complete sense for them to do this. Take 1000 drill+”free” battery combos. Lets assume 80% of the buyers do not return the extra battery. Further, lets assume only 20% of the 80%buyers would have bought the battery separately for the “actual sale price”. That leaves 60% of 1000 = 600 battery sales that would not have occurred without the buy a drill get a battery free promo.
Ian
Not sure I understand the antipathy towards resellers, especially if they are not retuning parts of the bundle to sell the rest.
Everyone in business needs to make a profit to survive, so buy low, sell high.
Resellers buy at sale price, break up the bundle and then resell on ebaY. I’ve managed to get several tools this, at good discount without having to buy the other “bits’ I don’t need.
Stuart
Stores have finite inventory. When a reseller buys *everything* so they can resell on Amazon or EBay for a profit, how many products are available at a store for someone who wants to make a purchase for personal use? 0.
The greedier ones might hit all all of the stores in a region.
They don’t return things, they mark everything up.
Starter sets? Gone. Freebies? Gone.
Greed ruins deals for the rest of us.
Thom
Resellers are bottom feeders.
SteveP
I’m interested in how people are feeling about the new tool cages at HD? I understand that shoplifting is an issue, but given there are often huge stacks of promo tools out on the aisles, it seems somewhat random what goes on the cage. It doesn’t seem to be predicated only on value, either
I have also found some clerks open up the cage and just hand you the tool to put in your cart. But one young woman must have thought I looked dodgy, because she told me I could pick it up at the self-checkout. Certainly discourages me from picking anything up on impulse
Franck B.
For a while now the 10″ and 12″ roundish saw blades have been locked up at most of our local HDs. Around here, what should be 5 minutes in and out becomes 30-45 mins to find the person who can open it.
Because of this, if I don’t need the blade for a few hours or the next day I will just get it for delivery from the lumber store, Lowes, HD, Amazon, etc. But if I need it right away because someone already boffed the spare blade in the morning, I’ll go anywhere but HD. The Hitachi/Koki/Metabo/whatever blades at Lowes are decent for the price.
Unfortunately a lot of specials in HD aren’t available to order online even for pickup, meaning I have to find someone to unlock my purchases. I don’t mind if loss prevention helps keep prices down, but it needs a serious cost-benefit analysis to see if keeping the personnel there to provide service is cheaper than writing off losses. Not having people to release the product is not my preferred experience. At the local Lowes, my normal method is to go to customer service where there a lot of people and tell them I need a tool from top side inventory. At that point a supervisor usually intervenes. Sometimes it is locked under the display, or they also have inventory in customer service. They can use their handheld to find it and check me out there.
Jmac
I dont think omdepot and yobi are clueless with this.
I initially wanted to buy just one tool, that’s about $200 with battery… One, tool.
Because of this… I end up having 5 tools, 5 battery, and spent close to $700… And I was thinking I saved a whole ton…
But, I would have never bought so much more if this wasn’t the case. My budget went out the window…
I don’t think they are losing.