When Walmart told me they’re planning to launch a new Pro Tools store, I asked a very important questions: Why should I care? What is special about the new Pro Tools store? What will they do to earn my business?
The way they described things to me, the Pro Tools store is about making it easier for me to find the tools I want to buy, at a good price, and with as effortless an experience as possible.
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First, they’re bringing in some new brands. Brands like Klein Tools, Skilsaw, Knipex, Porter Cable, and Gearwrench. But they’re also filtering the brands that are featured in the Pro Tools store, meaning you won’t find entry-level homeowner-type products.
Please see the update below for a correction about Bosch 3rd party listings.
I’ve done a lot of online shopping in recent years, and it’s getting increasingly frustrating to find what I’m looking for. If I don’t know exactly what I want, and I start browsing, third party listings, cheap no-name products, and sponsored listings clutter everything up. In the Walmart Pro Tools space, you won’t find anything like that.
This creates a curated store-within-a-store experience.
There are going to be exclusive deals, of course. I posted about one such deal already – a Kreg R3 pocket hole jig bundle. There are others, a few of which I’ll link to below, and this is just the start.
I’m not shy about sharing feedback with Walmart about the Pro Tools section, and you shouldn’t be either. They already knew as much, but exclusive deals and bundles are one sure way to get my attention.
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There will also be Pick-up Discounts on certain items.
They gave me example of a popular mobile workshop cart. It’s $200 regularly, but will be $160 if picked up in store. While I tend to prefer home delivery over ship-to-store, that could be a big money-saver on certain items, and a time-saver such as on bigger bulky items (like tool carts) that typically get banged up by shipping companies.
Even on smaller tools, a couple of dollars here and there can convince me to pick up my order at a store, rather than at my door.
While the Walmart Pro Tools experience will be an online-only Walmart.com program, I’m told that in-store returns are quicker and easier than before. That’s something that might appeal to me.
I’d like to see a Pro Tools search filter (I’m told it’s something they’re working on), and a few more brands, especially USA-made brands and lesser-known European brands. I also asked about the potential for a product specialist chat or email option, but that’s probably harder to arrange for.
They do have my attention.
Shopping for new tools was a better experience a couple of years ago than it is today. I do believe that Walmart’s Pro Tools experience team is looking to change that. This is a good start, and from the conversations I had with some of the team members, their hearts and minds are in the right place.
Take a look, and tell them what you see. It might sound a little self-serving, but that’s exactly what I’ve been doing. I want them to build and grow the Walmart.com Pro Tools experience into a new tool destination that gives me reasons to shop there regularly.
A certain retailer – their name rhymes with tears – was one of my go-to tool retailers a few years ago, before they changed everything and lost me as a customer. My current go-to has been disappointing me with changes they’ve been making.
Walmart’s Pro Tools experience has some growing to do, but I think they’re off to a good start. What I am most optimistic about is their attitude. Speaking as an affiliate partner, they showed attentive interest when I told them what ToolGuyd readers would like to see or could benefit from. Another retailer partner recently asked what I needed to help prep for holiday season coverage, but everything I mentioned fell on deaf ears, again.
More Info(Walmart.com Pro Tools)
Here are some other launch deals that caught my attention. (The deals have varying end dates, but they should all be valid until the end of this month, 10/31/2018.)
Klein Tools Wire Stripper and Screwdriver Bundle
I have an older style of these strippers, and love them a lot. Even with Knipex automatic wire strippers in my tool box, I still use these regularly. I remember going back and forth debating about whether to buy them or not. I ended up not buying them, and going with Klein’s more budget-priced wire stripper. Every time I passed the electrical hand tool section, I checked them out again. The dual-dipped cushioned handle won me over.
Price: $20.58 for both, or $19.92 with pick-up discount
Buy Now(via Walmart)
The Klein 11055 wire stripper is $19,54, or $18.91 with pick-up discount.
Kreg Master Jig Bundle
It’s SOLD OUT at the time being, but hopefully they’ll get more in.
This deal featured the Kreg K5 Master pocket hole jig system, with a free 675-count screw assortment.
Gearwrench Ratcheting Screwdriver Set
I bought a Gearwrench ratcheting screwdriver set a few years ago, and although I prefer using some of my other drivers for regular use, I’ll dig my set out every so often. The beauty of this set is that you get 3 ratcheting screwdriver handles – a regular-length handle, a stubby handle, and a T-handle. It also comes with different shafts, including flexible bit holders, and a small assortments of screwdriver bits.
The handle and shaft options allow you to build different ratcheting screwdriver configurations for different needs. It’s a neat system.
Price: $68.48 or $66.29 with pick-up discount.
Buy Now(via Walmart.com)
This Seville Classics mobile workbench with drawer is typically $200, but with pickup discount, you can snag it for $160.
It measures 48″ wide x 24.7″ deep, and is 37.4″ tall. The worktop is 1.5″ thick and bench can support up to 500 lbs. The drawer has ball bearing slides.
Buy Now(via Walmart)
Normally $240, this Seville Classics workbench with pegboard is eligible for a $40 pickup discount, taking the price down to $200.
These kinds of products are pricey for retailers to ship to customers, and can sometimes be damaged by rough handling. They’re great examples of Walmart’s pickup discount in action.
Buy Now(via Walmart)
Update About Bosch 3rd Party Listings
Last week I wrote about the Walmart Pro Tools store launch, an online “store within a store” that aims to provide customers with a curated shopping experiencing.
In that post, I mentioned that Bosch and another brand would be included in the Pro Tools store via two third party sellers.
I wrote:
While there are two third party distributors, they’re specially partnered to bring certain brands to the catalog, such as Bosch and Metabo.
Our contact at Bosch informed me that:
Every Bosch branded power tool, accessory, or measuring device that’s shown on Walmart.com is listed via third party and is not authorized by Bosch.
Presently, Bosch tools are still listed by third party sellers at Walmart.com, but I am told they are not authorized.
Walmart.com commented on the matter:
The Walmart.com tools team respects Bosch’s channel management strategy. The brand’s presence via legacy third party retailers is currently not core to the direct Pro Tools experience, which continues to exceed expectations. We look forward to a continued strong partnership with Bosch’s Dremel brand and other brands and features to come.
We’ll follow up again if need be.
Chris K
While browsing through some their offerings I noticed KC Tools was the actual seller.
Stuart
In the Pro Tools section, or Walmart.com in general? KC Tool has a presence at a lot of marketplaces. You might have seen a regular Walmart.com listing, or maybe there was a Knipex tool that’s sold by both Walmart.com and KC Tool as a 3rd party seller.
DannyK
Wow. On their homepage is ToolGuyd’s pick. You made it big!
Stuart
=) I was going to mention that in a later post, but that’s something we’re experimenting with too. There will also be a Walmart.com post.
It’s exciting!
DannyK
I used to be against Walmart back when they edged out all the local retails. But now I’m used to shopping online at HD, Lowes, Walmart, Amazon, Acmetools, Zoro, etc… As consumer, there is a lot of benefits, easy to research, read reviews, compare prices. It’s just the way the retail landscape is. Some small specialized hardware stores will make a comeback after consumers get tired of the big boxes and endless selections. But right now, the big boxes are in. Anyhow, I’m glad more people will discover your site and fall in love with tools,
Chris
“Some small specialized hardware stores will make a comeback after consumers get tired of the big boxes and endless selections. But right now, the big boxes are in. ”
What? Do you know how economics work?
DannyK
No I don’t how economic works. But I know I would love to go to a curated tool store, with well regarded tools, without all the gimmick, poorly made tools. Not all the time, but when I want to. Why don’t you enlighten me? I don’t understand the point you’re trying to make.
Redcastle
Danny K
Perversion of the English language to describe a website run by a commercial for profit entity incentivised by its senior management and open to requests for “positioning” from suppliers (Tesco the UK’s Wal Mart was caught relatively recently charging suppliers for preferential shelf positions) as being curated as though the employees are somehow above all that grubby money stuff and are providing the users of the website with their impartial advice. You do not need to understand economics to see the blindingly obvious. It would be more honest if the front of the website had a statement along the lines of “The advice and opinions expressed herein are primarily for the benefit of Wal Mart, if they work for you that is a happy coincidence”. This like so much sloppy thinking and twisting of words stems I understand from the world of “social meeja”. I have suggested on more than one occasion that this website develop a list of tools which perform to expectations because I trust Stuart and a number of the commentators on this website, this would disappear in a heartbeat if it were to be sponsored by Bosch or Home Depot or any other commercial entity. One of the reasons attributed to IBM’s success for a long time was “no one ever got fired for buying IBM”. This twisted “curating” could also be called spoon feeding with an agenda. If you need a tool and you are not confident in your own judgement go to a local retailer and buy a brand you have heard of and it will be fine. To those of us who are interested in tools because we like tools or have specialised requirements website like this provide a useful source of information and sometimes amusement but I would not abdicate my own decision making to this or anyone else.
James McGregor
Ugh. Do they actually have manufacturers’ permission to sell the tools? Or is this going to be a debacle like their “premium outdoors store”?
Stuart
As I understand it, the Pro Tools team is working directly with their brands.
James McGregor
You’ve seen this press?
https://www.snewsnet.com/.amp/gear/black-diamond-equipment-sends-cease-and-desist-to-walmart
I wouldn’t let Walmart near my “pro” brand with a ten foot pole. They’ve lost a bunch of key brands in the last few months.
mattd
Except this c&d seems ridiculous on so many fronts. The first sale doctrine means that walmart can sell whatever they want as long as they can get their hands on it. Since they own moosejaw, and moosejaw can get a hold of black diamond then walmart can sell black diamond, at worst all they need to do is list moosejaw as the “third party” seller. Then the fair use doctrine means that as long as they are selling the black diamond item then they can use the black diamond images to advertise it. It is no different then me selling a black diamond item on ebay and using a picture and the BD logo in my product page.
Hang Fire
If Black Diamond has contracts with their specialty resellers not to mass market their products (Amazon, Walmart, other store fronts), and a contracted Black Diamond reseller is doing just that, they have every right to send both a C&D.
Redcastle
Are they selling Hitachi or Metabo HPT?
How does it work if they are using a third party seller for Bosch and Metabo presumably the third party seller has to offer the product at the same price as they would directly (Wal Mart is a big dog and knows how the game is played) or people would just go direct which means they will be making less as Wal Mart will want a cut, some of the middle sized independent retailers over here sell via Amazon but they mark the price up but they are generally just looking for opportunistic sales and Amazon reputedly makes more money these days from being a distributor and transporter than a retailer so it does not care.
Stuart
It’s uncertain, we’re going to have to see how things work out.
Redcastle
Just to be clear the “direct” brands are not exclusive to Wal Mart’s website but do not have a disclosed third party seller?
I notice you are once again expressing the hope that less well known European brands will appear, I still believe the interest level from them would be minimal.
How is this business supposed to become meaningful to the world’s largest general retailer it is a small subset of what is already a small subset of their business? So it will either vanish completely or be reabsorbed back into their tool business when it falls to hit budget.
Stuart
As far as I’m aware, Walmart.com is the direct seller, except for Hitachi/Metabo HPT – which is part of the Pro Tools program through select 3rd party distributors.
Sears introduced me to lesser-known higher-end tools before letting me down big time, and then Amazon did the same. They gave me more reasons to shop there than simply offering lower prices.
Adding smaller brands is like adding sprinkles to a cupcake. They might not change things on a grand scale, but sometimes the small touch can completely change the experience.
JoeM
Walmart lost my business when they tried to build one of their stores on ancient Native American burial grounds, and in the shadow of Teotehuacan.
Lower Prices! Paid For by the bones of the Native Americans!
No. I’m Native. That company will never get a penny from me. Neither will the Hudson’s Bay company.
MichaelHammer
I noticed that many items are being sold and shipped by companies I already do business with. Why introduce a third party? What is the goal of Walmart here? To be the Amazon of professional tools? Amazon is the Amazon of professional tools. Furthermore, do we consumers actually hope to find a better deal? Don’t you guys find that most manufacturers practice price fixing? Seems as though every outlet has the same prices and the same deals at the same time.
Stuart, I am excited for this new outlet for ToolGuyd. Congratulations on a job well done. I look forward to seeing how this pans out for you and us consumers. Maybe Walmart has the ability to break the shackles imposed by manufacturers and make me less jaded.
Redcastle
I thought the whole purpose of this new adventure for Wal Mart was to access the professional not the consumer market in pursuit presumably of the perceived much higher margins in much higher priced professional tools. In the UK the general retailers no longer try to play in this area, there are a number of highly professional dedicated internet based (although year by year they increase the number of physical shops) who will match prices, know their products and provide excellent delivery in some cases same day. I suspect that Wal Mart will wind up being disappointed.
They will pickk up business but it will be either opportunistic purchases on massively discounted loss leader items or sole traders or consumers buying for themselves.
Stuart
This is the Walmart Pro Tools store
They’ve had 3rd party listings and sellers for years. The Pro Tools section is a sort of store-within-a-store “curated” experience that basically strips all that out, and the entry-level beginner stuff, to focus on specific brands and offerings.
Think of the brands we cover here at ToolGuyd. Knipex, Klein, Hitachi. Brands of higher quality and better features. Walmart is looking for a bigger piece of the pro tools (and discerning DIYer) tool market.
How will they gain my attention? Money-saving promotions, exclusive bundles, pickup discounts, and easier returns. As a customer, I have other wants and needs. I haven’t been shy about sharing this with them, and they’ve been active listeners.
They have the ability to do a lot. The same can be said about other multi-category retailers too, but it’s been the trend for such retailers to stop caring. Look what happened to Sears – they went from being my top tool source to my blacklist. Amazon has in recent years lost some of what made them my top tool source. As you said, we’ve got to see how this pans out.
Redcastle
Stuart
Sears and then Amazon as your top tool suppliers, do you not have access to speciality tool retailers? If you did you would find you are not being plagued by third party sellers or poor quality products not a criticism but a statement of fact.
I like your site and am always impressed by the knowledge and strength of conviction of your commentators however I believe you are embarking on a dangerous journey, for instance you trumpeted this website as being for professionals but you are already saying “(and serious DiYers)”, you are usually more coherent than that.
Stuart
Oh, very many.
When expanding my tool collection, Sears earned a lot of my business. Then, Amazon earned the lion’s share of my purchases.
Now, I have different favorites for different types of tools. I bought my dust collector from Acme Tools. A router from Acme Tools (before having to return it). A band saw from Rockler. I’ve been yo-yoing about a Festool sander, which I might purchase from Tool Nut/Festool Products. I got my Proto wrenches from Zoro. Bondhus from Amazon. Wera from KC Tool and Amazon DE. Klein from Home Depot.
I like more choices.
I’ve slowed my purchases down in recent years, partly because I have less needs, and also because I have fewer new needs.
It’s hard to explain exactly why I’m enthusiastic about the POTENTIAL of all this, because some of my disappointments in other retailers is as a customer, and others are in a ToolGuyd context.
So when Walmart’s Pro Tools team went into detail describing what they planned to do, how, and why, I was excited about what I was told, and also very excited about the work that they were putting into it.
They say it’s for professionals, I think the current tool selection could appeal to a broader audience comprised of “sophisticated hobbyists” and anyone with advanced and pro tool needs.
Redcastle
Stuart
I think everyone knows you are excited, I have been reading this website for a number of years (it is only recently that I have been in the position to comment) and with the exception of when you are writing about PB Swiss hex wrenches I have never seen you this excited before.
I am not a big fan on labels and unlike some of your other commentators prefer not to justify my interest in this website other than a lifelong interest in tools which I believe at the end of the day is the common denominator of all your readers. The reason I raised the professional point was that it has been a big part of the articles you have written.
While it is good that they are listening to you it might be better if you tempered your enthusiasm, at the end of the day they are only another retailer whereas Toolguyd is in my experience unique in that unlike other superficially similar sites you are not a shill for the producers or retailers.
Stuart
While I do tend to be overly excited about tools, my feelings almost always normalize after I figuratively let some energy out.
But to get there, I need to let that energy out.
I’m not a pro tool user, and never have been. I haven’t a clue as to how to characterize myself. Under a limited characterization system, I’d be considered a sophisticated hobbyist. In a broader sense, I’d characterize myself as having MRO (maintenance, repair, operations) and hobbyist woodworking tool needs.
Redcastle
Stuart
Your background and knowledgeable amateur status may be one of the reasons this site works. You bring being happy to find something new to the table and I have not observed any of the tribal attachment to a particular manufacturer which is common in the industry, I never understood why Makita was the only game in town for most of the carpenters who worked for me until it was explained that they were very active in training colleges. I would not like to see anything real or imagined prejudice that.
Mr. Potato Wedge
This is incredibly disappointing.
I will not be going to the dark side with you…
Happy blogging
James C
A discount for picking up in store is an interesting strategy. Seems like a good way for them to offer something that Amazon (currently) can’t. The discount might eat into their profits a little, but I bet they will more than make up for it when people buy other things on the same trip, including impulse buys. Get someone in the door and they’ll spend some more money.
Redcastle
Amazon is already in the bricks and mortar business and according to press over here is a potential purchaser of some Sears stores presumably to provide at least in part the service you are referring to.
Stuart
Yes, but I heard horrible reviews of their “4 star +” store. It seems that product selection was based on online sales figures, leading to a random assortment of arbitrary stuff.
Redcastle
One thing experience with Amazon has taught me is that they are not afraid to keep trying. Their lockers which initially were poorly executed are now in the current iteration being more successful as they have expanded the number of locations and entered deals with supermarkets (including Wal Mart’s UK subsidiary) which are open twenty four hours a day Monday to Saturday.
I have been a customer of Amazon since they came to the UK order stuff from them on a frequent basis probably one hundred and eighty orders this year alone but hardly ever a hand tool and never a power tool because I can get better prices from firm’s whose sole business is selling tools and that is what they do.
Stuart
Here are the tools I ordered from Amazon in December 2008:
Channellock snipe nose pliers
Malco wood mallet
Felo multi-bit screwdriver
Robert Larson carpenters mallet *
Wiha T-handle bit holder
Wiha 9/64″ MagicRing ball end hex driver
Part Tool P-handle wrenches in 5mm and 6mm sizes
Xuron 170II micro shear flush cutter *
Stanley 21oz Compo-Cast hammer
Of all these tools, the Robert Larson mallet and Xuron shears are the only ones still sold directly by Amazon. Some of the others aren’t available anymore at all, the others are available through 3rd party sellers charging high shipping, and one is available from a 3rd party fulfilled by Prime seller.
To order all these same tools, I’d probably have to order from several retailers, spending more on shipping or mark-ups, or make alternative purchasing decisions.
I still shop at Amazon a lot, but they did more to earn my tool purchases 10+ years ago than they’re doing today. Now, promotions are buried under 3rd party listings, there are fewer brands that I’m personally interested in, and it’s harder to browse for anything new.
Redcastle
Stuart
You are making my point for me I have hardly ever bought a hand tool and never a power tool from Amazon and it seems you have reached the same conclusion albeit after giving them plenty of opportunities.
I have heard more often in recent years that the counterfeit curse which put many people off buying tools on eBay has now become an issue on Amazon.
Stuart
That’s the thing – it won’t necessarily eat into profits, bit decrease the costs. And it gets people into the store, where they might want to pick up the latest Blu Ray, a toy, shaving cream, or a box of stuffing.
If the pickup process is anywhere as smooth as I was told it could be, I’ll likely give it try myself. Maybe not to save a buck or two, but when we’re talking about 10, 20, $40, or maybe even more, and on items that I hate getting delivered anyway due to a higher likelihood of shipping or delivery damage?
John S
Not sure i really understand the reasoning. I’ve been going through the brand pages looking at specific tools I own or know well from Bosch, Hitachi and others. The third party sellers shipping the items are ones I already know and use over the years, CPO, Tools Plus, Woodcraft. But the arrival date is 10 days from today. I can order directly from any of them and get it in half the time, or just order from Amazon with prime and have it in 2 days at the same price, and from the same online retailers who are actually shipping the product. There are some top tools online retailers, such as Acme Tools, Tool Nut, CPO and others who regularly deliver in just a matter of a few days 2-3 generally when ordering directly from them, free shipping with their threshold, and no sales tax with some of them.
I understand this has just launched and there will be changes and improvements, but there is nothing I see that makes me “need” this middleman called Walmart.
Redcastle
I spend a lot of time being jealous of the very low prices that products are available to you in the USA however I am now feeling slightly better. Most of the speciality tool suppliers in the UK will deliver same day for free or for a small charge but obviously the potential distances for delivery are much smaller.
Interestingly one of the medium on the cusp of becoming large speciality retailers will deliver items in a maximum of forty eight hours usually twenty four of any value for free if you order direct, it is seven to ten days and a delivery charge for orders under £10 if you order the same item via Amazon.
Mike S
Is Porter Cable really a pro brand? They are featured prominently and with a tag line of value…
The Home Depot pro checkout is what pros want: always available product, a human ringing it up, dedicated lanes away from homeowners, dedicated parking and loading, and easy job accounting and reporting.
This seems like it’s more about a different market than the name would suggest to me.
Redcastle
UK equivalent of Home Depot has two sub firm’s which cater to tradesmen, one in branch which sounds like the pro counter in Home Depot and the other which now has six hundred stand alone shops where they further discriminate by having a restricted access section for electricians and plumbers where free tea, coffee and biscuits are on offer. I have always said that the social aspect of visiting a supplier particularly for sole traders is a very powerful soft marketing tool.
Matthew
Forget PC, why are there Bostich drills/impacts in the professional power tools section? Pneumatic tools sure, but corded/cordless power tools?
Stuart
I’ve given up on wondering about that. Stanley Black & Decker positions Porter Cable as a value-oriented professional tool brand.
Redcastle
Stuart
Every no name fly by night “producer” has professional and industrial all over the packaging and it does not make it so. Professional is a very abused word with curator heading the same way. SBD was trying to push Stanley Fatmax power tools over here for a while however rightly or wrongly they were perceived as DeWalt lite and now you see them either as the deal of the week or sold via second line online retailers. For a variety of reasons including the fact that my personal tools include a number of Stanley products I hope that SBD manages all its runners and riders and remains successful. Retailers particularly in this day and age are not particularly hard to replace losing a company like SBD would be.
satch
Well, count me as happy to see this development. Personally I am glad when any avenue opens for access to better quality tools. I really do not understand the negativity to it. We have a giant retailer, one which has enough clout to influence major electronics manufacturers into making mutliple millions of dollars worth of special product runs just for them, listening to people ‘on the ground’ like Stuart. And concerning a rather specialised market, albeit a significant one, that affects people just like me. I plan to give it a fair shot before making up my mind.
Redcastle
I understand your view but am at a loss to identify the “new” technology you consider WalMart’s website would be able to demand from the likes of DeWalt, Bosch, etc that they will not already be actively pursuing, these companies are all intensely competitive, however in the last few years they have between them ticked off all the major wish list items batteries that can last all day, tick, a battery system that is the equivalent of a desktop replacement laptop, tick, courtesy of Flexvolt, so leaving aside battery technology which has been incremental since the development of lithium ion, what other new products have there been in the last ten years, attaching a track to a specialised circular saw rather than running a circular saw beside a clamped track, everyone and their wife making an OMT following patent expiry.
The tool business both DIY and “professional” could well be entering a phase similar to that of the IT and mobile telephone industries where the products on offer do not offer a real inducement to upgrade because the previous models are still doing a good job.
Three of the four tools on the front page of the website, Dremel, Kreg and Porter Cable are not by any stretch of the imagination “professional” tools on a personal basis I own both Kreg and Dremel but have never signed off on a purchase order for them in the professional sphere and the only SBD power tools which would be considered professional over here are DeWalt. The concept of “professional” is constantly subjected to abuse by the marketing departments of producers/distributors that branches of B&Q have had to put up signs listing those tools which are not considered fit for trade use including Ryobi, Dremel, Bosch Green and then the plethora of here today gone tomorrow gaudy tools with professional and industrial writ large upon them.
It is important that you recognise that while the industry you work in is rightly very important to you it is in the eyes of multi billion dollar companies very small potatoes a bit like the Bosch tool business being a pimple on the behind of Robert Bosch.
When this new offering was first mentioned on this website I was concerned that it would be another me too project and worse than that a distraction for the person for the person who produces it. Now seeing it, not only is it me too, but it is very much second tier with nothing new or original and when you are launchjng into an established, crowded and competitive market if you have something new you put it out there straight away.
The next step will be competing on price and then when whatever launch subsidy has been approved is exhausted it will quietly disappear under the old adage success has many fathers, failure is an orphan.
satch
Redcastle, I am not suggesting Walmart will influence tool companies to make special tools just for them. I was only pointing out that it is rather amazing that a company with their clout is even pursuing such a venture. Let alone talking to someone much closer to the user side of things rather than strictly to a strategy team or marketing division only. Assuredly they are involved too but I am amazed they took the time to deal with such an outside channel so to speak.
Of course it is a small niche in their portolio of endeavours. I am not even sure it will take off, let alone be a big player. But when you live in a nation that is nearly 3500 miles wide, the ability to have items delivered, pick them up at your leisure, or return them down the street is a nice inducement. We shall have to see if it catches on. And I never underestimate the abilty of corporate types to miss the forest for all the trees.LOL
Redcastle
Satch
The distance element was driven home to me by another comment, we expect delivery for pretty much anything to be within twenty four hours and from the specialist retailers same day because we all live on top of each comparatively speaking. This does not apply when I am at home in the north west of Ireland where in parts you can still drive for most of a day and not meet another car mind you there is no Inernet access there either. I hope you are correct.
satch
Redcastle, Ireland is my dream destination for a holiday. After thirty-one years of working around university students I learned a few things. As did they about about America. They would always recommend me to go see the dead people(museums and monuments) in the large cities but after a day or three of that, go to the countryside to meet the real people. I always tell them the same is true here as well. Someday…
TonyT
“In the west of Ireland, where I grew up, we didn’t have a word to express the fierce urgency of mañana” (quote from an Irish friend)
Redcastle
Satch and Tony T
I come from the North West of Ireland a place which is stunningly beautiful, mountains and beaches on the Atlantic one of which regularly features in lists of the Worlds Top 10.
However the mountains make as they seem to the world over for a clannish people who do not welcome strangers (this often confuses visitors who expect and in most parts of the country receive the friendly welcome Ireland is noted for) and the reason ranks up there with the manana story (matches my experience) which is the story goes an American was visiting Donegal and said to his guide “how could anyone bring themselves to leave such a beautiful place?” He received the response “but you cannot eat the scenery”.
Still my mother’s family has lived there since before written records began so they like it and all of those who do not already live there full time scheme to achieve that goal.
Corey
I’m impressed with the offerings but I’m not going to take them in earnest until they stop trying to push Porter Cable as professional grade. Seems small, but it compromises their legitimacy to me, despite having a relatively good pool of initial offerings. It says that they’re just gathering right but not familiarizing. I’ll likely try them at some point, but not now. Congratulations on the big partnership and exposure though, Stuart! Well deserved, 100%?
ktash
They have a “shop our brands” section, but there is NO link to Bosch, the only pro-grade power tools on the list (from what I can tell). When I scrolled down, the front page did not invite me to click to “have a look around.” That said, I’d welcome a site that is better than Amazon with it’s clutter, fake reviews, and confusion.
The fact that they are heavily promoting Porter Cable makes them look like they don’t know what they are doing. It instead reinforces the idea that Walmart is bottom tier, which is how they are seen now. I hope they change this and succeed, because we deserve better than the degraded Amazon website experience we now have.
Competiton may induce Amazon to clean up their act/website. Amazon is very good in many other ways, though. For instance their credit cards give 5% off on the site. They have two-day prime shipping. I can also watch lots of movies as a prime member their Whole Foods discounts are added on top of that if I shop there locally. So that infrastructure will be hard to compete with.
They’ve made a good start for hand tools with Knipex, but now having Wera, etc. would make a difference.
ktash
P.S. when I do a Bosch search I get a bunch of wiper blades and automotive stuff mixed in with some tools.
John S
Bosch is the first brand listed under “Shop by Brand”
Not sure why you don’t see that.
ktash
Very odd. I doubled checked using a different browser, but nope, Bosch is not listed. Guess my next suggestion is that they need to fix that. Then I used my browser to search for the word on that webpage and got no hits. “Porter” as a search term works, though. The only evidence of Bosch is a picture of a Bosch drill under “drills” category, but no brand name there, either.
Might it be based on what is available locally?
smee
I think they need to fix their web site. The link above takes you to the pro tools portal, but it is too easy to leave it.
The search field at the top of the page is a generic search for all of walmart.com; it is not limited to just the pro tools area. And all the other links at the top are generic. So I think I’m searching for tools in their curated environment, but in reality I’m searching all of Walmart, including third-party sellers.
If they want me to feel like I’m shopping for pro tools in a pro environment, they need to make it a little easier to search within that environment without seeing the rest of walmart. There needs to be something other than just following the links to specific categories and manufacturers that they have now.
fred
I’m not generally a fan of Wal-Mart – but I like the thought of them providing different choices and competition for tool buyers. When the market gets sorted out a bit more, I hope that the number of choices will remain – and the behemoths don’t drive more of the little guys out of business.
When Wal-Mart is targeting the “Pro” market – I’m still not sure what that means.
In the US – many folks using tools to make their living are individual “contractors” or work for small businesses. I suspect that most of these folks buy their own tools. I was involved with small to medium sized businesses where the business bought most of the tools. Then there are large industrial, manufacturing, utility and other businesses with thousands of employees each – with a portion of those employees using company-provided tools. I suspect that Wal-Mart may be more successful selling to individuals and small to medium contractors – but who knows.
For the businesses I was involved with – in buying tools we gravitated to industrial and commercial suppliers within our territory. We liked some firms that not only sold but also serviced what they sold. Some of those spots now also sell via the Internet – but still have a brick-and-mortar presence. We also did some modest tool buying at places like Home Depot, Lumber Yards, Plumbing/HVAC Supply houses Fasco etc. when picking up materials – and needing something unexpectedly that was not on the truck or in easy delivery range from one of our workout centers.
For our shop-based businesses MRO needs we had contracts with Grainger and some others – where because of location we could often get same day delivery. Usually, however, we did not buy tools from Grainger – but sometimes did from their ZORO subsidiary when they were doing a 30% off deal.
A W
I just remembered the biggest thing I would like Walmart to improve: credit card based returns. At the big box home improvement stores, I don’t need to save receipts. I just walk in with the item to return, they scan my credit card, and they can instantly pull up the appropriate transaction.
As a millennial, it amazes me that Walmart is years behind Lowe’s and Home Depot in this regard.
With Walmart, you have to save all your receipts on in store purchases, or scan it into their app, which adds just enough stress that I’d rather drive twice as far and be at Home Depot.
fred
Maybe being dumb about this is Wal-Mart’s was to discourage returns. But it certainly can not build customer satisfaction and loyalty.
A W
A more charitable reading would be that it’s a security measures that leaves user data less exposed in the event of a breach.
TonyT
I browsed around a bit, it has potential but a few initial comments:
I REALLY want to be able to search within Pro-tools ONLY, looks like can’t do this yet…plus it’d be good to be able to search within the current selection (say Metabo tools) , which the usual suspects (Mouser, Digikey, Newegg) allow. A couple others have already commented on this.
Stuart
Me too! I asked and was told they’re working on creating a Pro Tools search filter.
Bill
I tried searching in the Home Improvement department and it still kicked me back to the entire site. Search “Grizzly” and it takes you straight to Pets.
TonyT
Also steal good features from competitors– just to give one example, I really appreciate being able to search within reviews and questions, which Home Depot, Amazon and Newegg allow.
The discount for store pickup is a potential big plus for expensive to ship items.
fred
A discount for buying in multiples – might also encourage small business owners to buy – but maybe that’s not their target audience.
J
Walmart describes you as a “pro.” Quoting Cameron from Ferris Bueller’s Day Off, “A professional what?” I appreciate your blog, but let’s not get carried away.
Stuart
I brought that up. They said I’m experienced and capable of making pro recommendations, which I’d agree with. So I left it to their discretion.
satch
Also, I noticed the site is very slow on my Android tablet browser. This is a problem I have noticed at Walmart’s site in general. I hope this can be addressed.
Framer joe
After using your (Stu) link to Walmart pro tools….either I’m missing something or you got screwed or Walmart pulled a Chinese rug over your eyes.
PRO tools? Ryobi, Porter Cable, No Name brands, BD, ..Pro Tools? Pink drill sets..Pro Tools ?
Walmart is not an authorized Milwaukee dealer or dewalt.
Uncluttered Pro Tool experience? Seriously? That site has got to be the biggest joke I’ve seen. Picking up (in store) a new Milwaukee grinder, warranty by who,where.bring it back to walmart..? Walking out of Walmart with a Milwaukee 800$ tool. ? Not acme ,tool nut, ..even Amazon is not an authorized dealer.
I don’t see anything Pro about this except some people making more money.
Pros don’t shop wamart or Amazon for tools….DIY people sure will. Weekend warrior sure will…the same people that shop HF and swear it’s as good as Pro brands….
Extremely disappointed in my lunch being wasted checking this out.
Matthew
A couple of oddities/observations after checking this out.
There is no way to search for a particular type of tool (I put in planer just for kicks and was immediately taken to all of walmart . com search results).
When I was looking at their categories there were some things that looked out of place (Bosch SDS roto hammers in the pro woodworking tool section).
I checked out their Kreg page and was confused by there being a filter for gender (male or unisex?) on the left.
As others have mentioned, the brands listed don’t seem to be the top end professional brands and/or are sourced from places we already look to (either directly or through Amazon as 3rd party sellers such as CPO). Whatever this site is meant to be there’s still a lot of work to be done to get there. If they can’t even match Lowes or HD filtering within a category (let alone a specialty site/store) then this is a non starter for me. I wanted to give this a shot but it’s way too clunky to mess with.
Paul C
Here’s my experience with “returns” at walmart.com and this one is just plain strange. Walmart.com automatically ordered a cell phone for me. It was for a cell phone network that for all intents and purposes does not even exist in my area (T-Mobile) so I had no reason to ever order one. It also ordered an email-only cell phone minutes card type of thing. It had it shipped not to my home address but an address I used one time to ship a couple things to where the family met for a get together at a house that was for all intents and purposes shut down for 3 months so all that time I never knew about it. By that time of course they did not accept returns of any kind. The local clerks at Walmart told me that they have nothing to do with walmart.com and you have to deal with them online…which has no way to contact them via phone, email, or anything except what their web site allows.
So I canceled the order via my credit card, which got bounced back. I was charged over $300 because some Walmart employee or computer system screwed up and there is nothing at all that I can do about it, and “Walmart” refuses to deal with it in any way and “Walmart.com” also refuses to do anything about it.
Bottom line: You have better customer service and better consumer protection from 3rd party retailers at Amazon and Ebay. I’ve had occasional incidents there too including an attempted scam through Amazon but in every case, Amazon and Ebay very promptly cleaned it up and took care of their customer (me). Don’t take chances with Walmart.com and you won’t be disappointed. Dealing with them is like dealing with Ebay except imagine if Ebay had no consumer protections whatsoever? That’s what you get with walmart.com. It would have to be a huge improvement to ever do business with them again. I still don’t see any email addresses, 800 numbers customer-no-service numbers, or anything like that. They might advertise that they have returns and/or customer service but from experience, don’t believe for a minute that “Walmart” the local discounter your may know and trust is anything like “walmart.com”, the shady side business that avoids their customers like the plague except when it comes to taking your money. So my advice is stay as far away from them as you can. They are NOT the same as your local Walmart. They aren’t even the same as any major online retailer. It’s more like typing in a random search on google and finding some fly by night retailer.
Paul K
There’s a lot of Milwaukee tools on the pro site, sold by rando 3rd party suppliers.
Matt
As much as I wanted to be excited about a “Pro Tools” section, I’m just not seeing much to be excited other than one more website to scan the weekly email for a hot deal. Most, if not all, of the hand tools that I spot checked were the roughly the same price on Zoro, lots of them actually sold by Zoro. I really feel that Zoro doesn’t get the publicity that it should in the “tool deal communities.” There’s a lot of premium hand tool brands (Knipex, Wera, Wiha, Bondhus, Proto etc.) that you’ll never find cheaper anywhere else. Most of those brands are competitively priced already, but then you get 20% (most of the time) on top of that, I honestly don’t know how they do it sometimes.
Jon Miller
No homeowner/DIY type products? Tell me more about those “work benches” you featured. ?????