Buy tools before or after?

[Jronman]

I am wondering when the best time to buy tools are. Before the Holidays ie mid Nov to Dec 31 or post holidays ie Jan 1 to Jan 31. When buying before the holidays you got black friday, black friday week/month, cyber monday, cyber week, usually some kind of 12 day of Christmas or similar deals, and deals that expire on Dec 31. After the Holidays you don't have as many special holidays except for Jan 1st. I hear about post holiday deals for those that wait out the holidays that are supposedly better than pre holiday deals. I find many current deals/promotions/sales expire on Dec 31. Will we expect even better deals to replace them?

[Grumpy MSG]

It all depends on the store and how they handle sales. For my local Home Depots, if it is a special item/ packaging it will get a couple of markdowns until they are all sold. When the quantity gets low enough it will get moved to the regular clearance area. For example the DeWALT clamps 4 packs will be put into regular stock in the store that routinely stocks them. In the one that doesn't stock the 4 pack they will mark it down a couple of times until they are all sold. It is the same way that stores that were not stocking the  FlexVolt table saws  marking them down until they were all sold. Some stores might sell out after the first markdown others may take 2 or more markdowns before they are gone. The question you have to ask is how bad do you want/ need something. If you hold out for a bargain, it might be gone before you buy it  or you might get a great deal. Last year the small DeWALT blower and bluetooth speaker were $99, by around February 1st, I got both for $49 each because they just didn't move that quickly. I wasn't really looking to buy them, but eventually the price got to be worth it.

[Mordekyle]

Some business owners like to splurge on tools at the end of the year for tax purposes.


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[fm2176]

I've found post-holiday deals to be better, but much more hit or miss for the reasons Grumpy MSG described.  The holiday sales are nice, but I've lucked out in the past and found holiday specials at HD as much as 75% off their sale price.

 

It is good to check for promo cards at HD throughout the year, though.  In my opinion cordless tool deals can be better in the summer and fall, as holiday deals usually require a particular tool or kit to qualify for a free tool.  As an example, I took advantage of Ridgid's buy two bare tools, get the 2.0Ah starter pack for free last year.  This enabled me to buy tools I didn't already have in Yellow of Red, instead of having to buy yet another drill kit.

 

Diablo is also good for promos throughout the year.  They often have special buys on flap discs, saw blades, and other consumables.  They also offer $1 recip blades every so often.