Readers have been asking whether there will be a Black Friday 2021 deal on the Makita 18V X2 cordless track saw kit.
I have not seen any indication that there will be a Makita track saw kit deal this year, but we just found a clue that increases this possibility.
Shown above is the Makita 18V X2 cordless track saw saw kit, XPS01PTJ. This is a great tool and Makita occasionally holds promos where you can get a free guide rail, batteries, or both. We have not see any such deals recently.
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Makita has recently launched a new XGT track saw, and the USA model has started to appear at online retailers under model GPS01M1J. This could be important for context. (You can preorder this XGT saw at Tool Nut.)
This is where things get interesting…
There is also a NEW Makita 18V X2 cordless track saw kit, model XPS01PMJ.
The Makita XPS01PMJ cordless track saw kit comes with 2x 4.0Ah batteries instead of the 2x 5.0Ah batteries that you get with their usual track saw kit and other 18V X2 cordless power tool kits.
Pricing on this new kit option ranges from $499 to $519 and up. The existing kit that comes with 5Ah batteries is regularly priced at $499.
The way I see it, there are 2 explanations here:
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A) Makita launched the XGT track saw here in the USA and also introduced a new 18V X2 kit with lower capacity batteries at the same time for reasons unknown.
B) This could be a secret Makita Black Friday 2021 deal for the track saw, and it’s bundled with the 4Ah batteries so as to allow for lower deal pricing than would have been possible with the 5Ah batteries.
Makita’s cordless track saw promos usually feature a free guide rail and batteries. They could be taking a different direction here, where they’ve created a cheaper “special buy” that can be sold at lower pricing.
So, either Makita created this new kit with the lower capacity 4Ah batteries as part of their regular lineup, or as a Black Friday 2021 deal.
Makita’s new SubCompact cordless drill and impact driver kits are bundled with 1.5Ah batteries (which their website says are actually discontinued) instead of the typical 2.0Ah batteries, and they’re on sale for Black Friday.
We asked Makita USA to clarify what’s going on with the new SKU, but don’t expect to hear back.
If the new track saw SKU does go on sale for Black Friday, just keep in mind that it comes with lower capacity batteries than the usual kit. 5Ah batteries have 25% greater charge capacity than 4Ah batteries, but it’s not a big deal if the price is right.
Also be aware of any “savings” or “was pricing” claims. The 5Ah kit is normally priced at $499. The 4Ah kit was introduced at $499 to $519 pricing (and higher at some retailers), but this doesn’t mean anything if it was really only introduced as a Black Friday deal.
If this isn’t a Black Friday deal, the battery downgrade seems strange. Most brands tend to raise prices when necessary, rather than cheapen the bundled contents of their cordless power tool kits. That’s why I’m guessing – and hoping – this is simply a Black Friday “special buy.”
Most retailers are not shipping the 4Ah X2 kit just yet. One retailer does have it in stock, and if this is a Black Friday deal, its availability should change around Thanksgiving.
Some retailers are reporting the 5Ah X2 kit as out of stock and with an extended ETA (e.g. April 2022). If the 4Ah kit is meant to replace the 5Ah kit, you might want to buy the 5Ah kit at comparable pricing if it’s still available.
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bwh
Or Makita is phasing down to 4ah batteries because it’s cheaper on their end, and keep the cost to the consumer the same. With materials harder to come by, they’re having to pay more for the same things, and that naturally gets passed on either by shrinkflation (smaller batteries) or price increases.
The former is more often chosen because the consumer “doesn’t notice” and it keeps them at a competitive price point.
Stuart
That’s possible, but this would be unprecedented in the cordless power tool industry.
Makita isn’t a “let’s cheapen things and hope nobody notices” type of brand.
For example, their special buys have historically featured 3Ah when some other brands went with 1.3Ah and 1.5Ah.
They went with 1.5Ah in certain Black Friday “special buy” kits, but this is more of a flagship product.
bwh
“Makita isn’t a “let’s cheapen things and hope nobody notices” type of brand.”
That’s not what happening here. Cheapening isn’t going on, is a reduction in AH.
Cheapening is moving from US or Japan manuf to China or Vietnam. Cheapening is a lower quality product, not the same product with slightly smaller batteries.
The industry is in a new era where lithium is harder to get. Steel is more expensive. Certain chips are almost non-existant or have been pre-paid for years, making supply even smaller. You will see brands testing creative ways to limit their costs and avoid impact in sales rates.
Just because you think it’s unprecedented, doesn’t mean it is.
As VGC noted in Jan, Milwaukee is moving prices up.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BTfZjRU-mYs
Echo’d by WAPO at the end of October – but this time for Stanley/Black & Decker
https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/prepare-to-pay-more-for-electric-drills-and-power-saws/2021/10/28/e29c9ac2-3816-11ec-9662-399cfa75efee_story.html
If you think that’s unique to those two brands, you’ve wildly off track, and not just on this saw.
Stuart
4Ah batteries cost less than 5Ah batteries. We can argue the semantics, but the new kit gives you less value for the same money (or more money if the list prices are accurate).
Other brands have not (yet?) backtracked and bundled their premium tool kits with lower capacity batteries.
Prices are going up across the board, and that’s not changing any time soon.
When Leatherman’s prices increased, they launched new affordable models.
IF this is Makita’s response to rising costs, it’s going to confuse a lot of people. But IS this Makita’s response to rising costs?
I’m hoping this is just going to be some kind of Black Friday deal, which is supported by the timing and the fact that we haven’t seen any other Makita cordless track saw deals. The track saw has been a staple promo for the past few years, and this year there are instead a couple of other brushless saws in the “buy this, get that” freebie tool bundles every Makita retailer is running right now.
So far, this is the ONLY kit where Makita has swapped battery sizes. If it was a response to rising costs, wouldn’t there be additional SKUs where they’ve done the same?
The starter kit featured in the Black Friday promos includes 4Ah batteries. There’s also an XT288 kit, and as far as I am aware, it still includes 2x 5Ah batteries. If Makita was swapping battery sizes to maintain costs, they would have done this for their highest volume sellers.
Additionally, pricing on the track saw kit was flexible enough so as to allow for promos that gave users a free guide rail AND second pair of batteries. Makita can simply forego those promos to lower costs, and it seems they’ve done this.
If pricing increased so much so as to force Makita to skip their regular free guide rail and bonus battery promos AND swap out the batteries for less expensive ones, why is this the only 18V kit to be updated in such a manner?
I think this is just going to be a “special buy,” which is the best explanation possible. If not, then wouldn’t you expect Makita to start modifying more of their kit configurations?
And if they do that, they’d surely make an announcement of some sort that they’re combating rising costs by changing kit configurations.
Patrick T
The interesting thing regarding the battery sizes is that Milwaukee’s “buy the kit and get a free tool” promo went from 2 x 4ah batteries last year to 2 x 5ah this year. Same price as last year. $199.
JasonLin
The Makita subcompact drill/impact driver kit I got from local Home Depot has 2 of 2ah batteries and a slow charger.
Stuart
Which kit?
CX203SYB advertises 1.5Ah batteries and a slow charger. 2.0Ah batteries is a nice surprise.
JasonLin
CX203SYB. It is a surprise, even on the box it advertises 2 of 1.5 ah batteries. But there was another open box subcompact drill kit also included a 2ah battery in the store.
Stuart
That’s good to hear, but it could also be luck of the draw.
4/5 of the Home Depot stores I checked have imported PowerLock tape measures, one has a box with dozens of USA-made ones.
Ryan
Me too
Derek
I hope they do, I’ve decided to buy a track saw, and I’ve been thinking Makita, but I was thinking the corded one, since I have no other cordless Makita tools. Would be nice if the corded one went on sale.
Chris
NOOOO!!!!! I’ve been holding out for a Milwaukee track saw or the Makita to go on sale, and I just bought the Makita last week from our builder supplier.
For anyone on the fence, it’s awesome and worth it!
Plain grainy
Perhaps it’s a supply chain maneuver. Caused a large inbalance between the 4ah & the 5ah batteries. I think the old model is missing a roving knife, which may appear on new model.
Stuart
The tool model number has not changed, only the kit contents.
I doubt it’s a supply chain maneuver, as only this 1 SKU is affected, and there are thousands of other 18V kits that shipped for Q4 promos that include 5Ah batteries.