Lowes is having problems with their affiliate link program, and so all of our Lowes links have been deactivated and will be directed here until things are fixed on their end, which will hopefully be soon. I’m sorry for the inconvenience.
While we’re talking about Lowes, did you buy any new tools from their holiday sales?
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I bought 2 pairs of work gloves. I don’t really want to talk about it here, though, since it wasn’t a positive experience. I bought some Craftsman stuff in-store, for testing and review purposes (most of which are of course now at “new lower prices”).
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How to Still Get to Where You Were Going
Here is a workaround until the hopefully temporary issue is remedied:
Go back to the other tab or window where you clicked the link that led to this page.
Copy the link. It should look something like this:
https://toolguyd.com/lowes/something
Change it to:
https://toolguyd.com/retired-links-lowes-workaround/something
And it should take you back to the originally intended destination.
OhioHead says
I was not impressed this year w/ the Lowe’s BF deals, HD had a lot better selection (stocking stuffers to tools). IMO Lowe’s need to “step up” their game.
Glad you are feeling better Stuart!
Ryan Jacob says
I agree with you on this 100%. I also felt like HD had much better organization and layout to everything than Lowes did as well.
TonyT says
Overall, I was more impressed by HD, too, but I couldn’t find the plastic saw horse deal at HD. So when I was at Lowe’s, I saw they had a set of BlueHawk plastic sawhorses there for $20 (USA made, 1000 lbs vs 750 lbs for HD’s IIRC) so that was my big purchase…
I also seriously thought about the $90 Hitachi miter saw and the $100 PC folding miter saw (but decided to pass) and checked out the Craftsman VersaStack (maybe in the future, but need to think about VersaStack/Tstak versus Ridgid, DeWalt ToughSystem or a tool chest — Packout, Systainer, LBoxx are too pricey for me).
David S says
Really wish Lowes would step up their game and get the website fully functional. Has been highly dysfunctional for weeks. If they want to be competitive they need to get it together. Very sad for them.
CountyCork says
I bought the new Bosch 18v vacuum GAS18V-3N. I’ve decided to boycott Home Depot because it’s almost always a hassle when trying to receive a military discount (either give it or don’t). At Lowes all I have to do is use MyLowes card and it’s automatic 10% off in store or online. It’s very easy to attach your military status to your MyLowes card directly online. This is one area I’d say Home Depot could learn from Lowes.
J.B. says
I picked the Craftsman vacuum. So much better than the Shopvac I had! Was greatly underwhelmed also with this years offerings.
Steve Cecil says
It’s sad when I have a $50 gift card to Lowe’s and all I can find to spend it on are peg board hooks. I don’t really need anything, but there isn’t much of anything that jumps out at me in store.
Matt says
Here in the midwest, Menard’s beats Lowe’s and HD both by a long shot IMO. Nicer stores, better layout, better pricing. However, very recently HD has gone all out on our local store here. Whatever happened to cause this I don’t know but I was in HD today getting paint (we always get our paint there) and I was shocked. The lighting was better, the store was spotless, they somehow have their orange color popping out more to the eye like Menard’s does with their green. Yet it’s a toned down more appealing shade. The biggest change though was their organization. A place for everything and everything in it’s place. Big displays of perfectly organized power tools and all in their own groups/sections by brand. They kind of had this before but it’s far better now. Nice wide/open aisles to walk down, no clutter… not too narrow. I was impressed!
I’ve mentioned before that Lowe’s will be my new Sears for all things Craftsman and I Want to support them but I’ve also mentioned before that our store needs a complete makeover. I mean gutted and re-arranged with a new design and layout. If they can’t get their stores together sadly they’ll end up like Sears who also refused to update their stores. Lowe’s just isn’t a nice place to shop. Not here anyway. And they have their bent up tool boxes right up front to try and get peoples attention. Ones that looked like they were damaged in shipping at discounted pricing. Brand new Craftsman’s looking like crap. They need to have that off to the side or in a back (damaged goods section). Because right now it looks like they’re proudly displaying them. Their employees are great though. Very helpful. And yes, their website isn’t great but I don’t like HD’s either. We did finally get our brushless Craftsman stuff in though. All 2 items. I bought both.
Scar says
Once I discovered Menards I’ve rarely set foot in an HD or Lowes.
Everything is organized, the associates know their stuff, but best of all they sell actual building materials. Lumber, sheet goods, custom millwork, etc.
OhioHead says
Excellent observation about Lowe’s, bringing in a CEO from a failing clothing retailer does not inspire me with confidence.
I like Menard’s a lot, the overall tool selection is not as good as HD in my opinion.
Scar says
Yes, I agree re: tool selection. They are seem to only be a retailer for Bosch and Hitachi among the major brands.
Though I’ve found they have really good pricing on Knipex
Drew says
re: Marvin Ellison, CEO of Lowes…
Give the guy a chance. He didn’t understand the JC Penney model as it exists today. Have you shopped there? At Penney’s? Their system is to markup everything that they sell to the point that you’d be a fool to buy anything there which isn’t currently on sale. However, the other half of their model was to have constant alternating sales which made items marginally cheaper than the price at a competing store. When Ellison came in at Penney’s, he wanted to simplify their system and get rid of the only-buy-on-sale shell game that was being played. I was actually excited when they hired him, b/c their pricing system drives me nuts.
Ellison failed to realize just how much people enjoy a sale… that psychological belief that you were getting a good deal. I think that most intelligent people see through these gimmicks, and clearly so did Ellison. He thought that normalizing the system would draw in new customers… and maybe given more time it would have? But in the relatively short time that he was the CEO there, those sales-loving shoppers were alienated by standard pricing; they wanted their “deals” back! Sales dropped, and Ellison was out.
Could this have been avoided if JC Penney made more effort to bring in new customers? Possibly, who knows? But what is obvious is that the customers that were established were not happy about the change. I’m not sure if JC Penney can be revived; he tried and he failed. Obviously any change to the store will require finding a way to appeal to the current niche customer base as well as bringing in new customers who find something about any new model appealing. I don’t think most people enjoy fake deals as much as the JC Penney faithful, thus why it’s a dying chain, even before he came in and tried unsuccessfully to turn it around.
I have no clue what his vision for Lowes is, but the problems that he faces there are completely different from the Penny’s model.
Frank D says
For us HD is nothing but clutter everywhere, less friendly staff, and absolutely stupid contractor parking in the covered loading zone … god forbid it is raining or snowing, you’ll be loading outside of the loading area because it is filled with pickup trucks that don’t move for 20-40-60 min.
Never mind that for years now there has been no discount nor Lowes credit match for store credit cards holders. I used to have a card for each, and ask for the 5% credit match … easy peasy, they scan an extra barcode, done.
At some point I was accused of stealing by a new employee when asking for it, when as a pilot program HD did away with it in our state … So, I talked to the manager who apologized and said he would honor it, gotten other complaints about it, he was going to add me to a list of customers and I just had to mention his name and checkout at the pro desk from now on to get my 5%. I jotted down his name, date and call time. Fast forward a couple weeks, big purchase, checkout at the pro desk, you can guess what happened next, right? … no list, denies conversation ever took place (… ….. … .. . …..)
I did not set foot in a Home Depot for years, even though they’re a mile away.
In contrast, clean Lowes stores, much easier to navigate the isles, less clutter, easy returns with a return desk that is always open ( our HD you wait in cs queue), 5% credit card discount at checkout no questions asked, just swipe done, covered loading area is always open or active loaders only, many more discounts and faster clearances on everything seasonal, whereas home depot waits as long as possible and some things like plants and trees, just loaded them back up and trucked them south.
littlehead says
The lowes in brooklyn is the same. Everything on display is dented or ripped open and thrashed. Racks are half empty, and they have clearance tables of dollar-store type crap everywhere.
The tool section has a separate checkout, and the cashier is always the worst. I think it is to prevent loss, but they seem to staff it with the worst employees. They don’t know anything about anything, and get annoyed if you even try to ask. It blows my mind that someone still has a job managing the place.
Honestly, I expected it to be on their list of closings. The manhattan location was shuttered. How you manage to run a chain store into the ground in manhattan is beyond me. There is construction everywhere these days. HD is filled with gophers during the day.
Jim Felt says
Stuart. Glad you’re recuperating successfully!
I indeed bought the three Channellock set with the USA made bottle opener at Lowe’s for about $25.
I bought it online through their App and they set one aside.
When I dropped in they were fairly quick in finding it (they seem to have no Pro Counter) and then I wandered around the Tool Section.
Lots of “new” Craftsman and not too much else new-ish or even vaguely useful to me. Or us at work.
Left with my single online purchase.
Clean modern tidy store. But a big snore.
Tim says
I grabbed a few things from Lowes on Thanksgiving day since they were running the 15% back rebate. I’m not 100% confident that I’ll get all of that, since the wording was clear as mud. I do like how Lowe’s lets you order MOST Black Friday items online with free shipping.
Ended up with: Dewalt miter saw + stand, nail gun, cheap air hose reel
Like several of the other comments here, I think HD did a better job with BF sales this year, and Lowe’s in general is becoming a distant second choice when I start to head to a box store.
Doug says
I thought that Lowe’s had the best Black Friday deals of any big box store. I was there at 6:05 and came away with a snowblower, little giant ladder, and various tools which will be Christmas gifts for family. I first saw the BF ad here, so thank you again, Stuart.
Joshua says
What do you think about the Little Giant ladder? I have one I’ve owned for years and love it. I wasn’t impressed with their new plastic handle (if you can call them that) to pull out for extending the ladder. They seem hard to grip, especially if wearing gloves and plastic tends to break in cold Colorado winters.
Doug says
This is my first true Little Giant ladder, after using a cheap clone for years. Seems to be reasonably well made. I hear what you’re saying about the adjustment handles being a bit hard to grip, but they work fine since it isn’t necessary to pull them out, only to twist them sideways. I’ve been using it outside for the last couple weekends here in Minnesota, wearing warm gloves.
ktash says
Lowe’s website has always sucked. They are heavily invested in Craftsman and that took over Black Friday and store space. Hope it works for them.
I’ve gotten some of my very best deals through them. Unfortunately this was when they were discontinuing Bessey and the German made Irwin pliers. In addition Kobalt saw and batteries were very cheap at one time. Hitachi miter saw on sale further discounted due to damaged box. Others as well. These were all better than Black Friday prices.
Home Depot has a wider variety of better brands. The store’s just ok. The pickup desk is frustrating no matter what time of day it is. Much better plywood than anywhere, even the local lumber yard. Formaldehyde free if you are using it in living spaces.
Menards does have an amazing amount and variety of stuff, many woodworking products you’ll only find at Woodcraft, Rockler, etc. online. The biggest drawback is that the tool section focuses on their house brand. They do carry some other brands but not the best ones that Home Depot does. Their location is not convenient, somewhat far away from our metro area.
Craig says
I got the Hitachi table saw, $40 Craftsman vac, the Channellock 3 pack and opener, and the 5 foot Werner fiberglass ladder. All were great deals but dealing with the pick up counter was a headache. Also my girlfriend wanted some of the $0.50 poinsettias on Black Friday but they were sold out by 9 so store manager gave us the much larger ones normally priced at $6.98 for the $0.50. We got 16. So after the terrible experiences with the pick up counter at Lowe’s at least they made it right on the flowers. Ha
Offbeat says
I bought the Dewalt 735X planer, which finally came in. Going to pick it up today. I rarely shop at Lowe’s anymore, but the deal was good.
MT_Noob says
I bought a pair of tongue and groove pliers (like channellock)since they had a pair of 12 and 10 inch on sale, I think they were the house brand. I needed some to just throw in a tool box in the trunk of the car for emergency use. I figured I get them since the HD set was 8 and 10 inches and I wanted a basic set that had the larger ones. Once I took them out of the package I was immediately disappointed. Now for the price I know I wasn’t going to get high quality. But both pairs were pretty much unusable. they were impossibly tight to open in close in some of the grooves, and they had no way to adjust them. Even if they loosened up they were just so poorly made they had a horrible grinding feel. A perfect example of “not fit for use”. I took them back promptly and got a refund. I opted for the irwin set that was on sale at amazon for a few bucks more and while the sizes were smaller the quality was vastly superior.
Lesson learned.
Mike says
When Lowe’s first came around NY it was way better than HD they’re tool section was better displayed and tgw store was generally neater and HD was nicknamed home dump but now HD has become cleaner and displays it tools much better than Lowe’s
OhioHead says
Lowe’s needs a major refresh……
In the past 5 year’s Menard’s has expanded & HD refreshed, Lowe’s now is a store I avoid b/c they have not refreshed & selection is sparse (not a great business model).
MichaelHammer says
Omw, your kid is so freakin cute. I just picked up a couple of Craftsman Versastack aka Tstak boxes. Great price. They’re Black Friday was bad, Lowe’s blows.
Stuart says
Thanks! He won’t pose for me anymore. =(