Bare Tools vs Combo Kits

[PearlWhiteGT]

Do you fellas prefer purchasing Bare Tools without the batteries and charger or just purchasing the whole Combo Kit? I plan on putting some new Dewalt 20 Volt Brushless Tools on eBay and not sure if I should just list the bare tools separately from the batteries and charger. I have a few batteries already so if I was shopping I'd like to find good deals on just the tool by itself. So what do you guys think?

 

[Ditch]

I do both
you have to shop what you want and do math

 

[joseywales]

I think it's rare to see a good deal on the bare tool. There are so many combo packs and sales, it's hard to justify not getting a charger and battery. Think about how low your bare tool price would have to be, for it to make sense to the buyer. Sellers always want too much for bare tools.

As an example:

I bought the Ryobi 6 piece kit for $199, plus 10% off. @ $25 per tool, if you take away the batteries and chargers. Then I spent another $1,028 on other Ryobi tools and more chargers and batteries. The cost per tool went up, because only one of those was a kit. Still, I'm somewhere around $50 per tool overall and that includes a $129 nailer.

 

[Waterh20]

Are you going to sell the redundant pieces from the kit? If you do some research you can see if it makes sense. I've gotten many free / near free tools by buying a kit and selling the remaining pieces separately.

 

[PearlWhiteGT]

Are you going to sell the redundant pieces from the kit? If you do some research you can see if it makes sense. I've gotten many free / near free tools by buying a kit and selling the remaining pieces separately.

No, I have a few new in the box stuff that I don't need or have already so figured I'd try selling them to fund other stuff I want.

 

[Ole Slewfoot]

when you have few batteries, combos make more sense. Once you have plenty, I think it skews the other way. Last I got heated hoodie kit on closeout, made most of my money back on the hoodie, but the new excess charger was only worth $12 on the market. Still, I got a free battery for very little effort and somebody got a pretty good deal on a hoodie.

With Milwaukee, most of the combo deals seem to include lower end stuff that isn't what I'd shop for.

 

[Ditch]

once I had enough batteries and chargers , kits just didn't make sense anymore.
I find bare tool deals all the time
I don't feel like reselling, too much hassle

 

[CJM8515]

Depends. I bought a combo kit with impact driver and drill and bought my 3 other impact guns and 2 flashlights afterwards and then bought extra batteries. I think in the end I probably spent more, but they dont make a kit I could buy with those items.

 

[malibu101]

I'm heavily invested in the Milwaukee M12 line.
After a few combo kits I had 8 batteries and 4 chargers. More than I need.

I then watched for, and got some good deals, on bare tools.
Because I have enough batteries, and the tools I wanted were not available in combos without duplicating what I already have.

 

[earlthegoat2]

Bought a Bosch drill with two small batteries. Bought a Bosch impact driver with 2 large batteries. Bought a Bosch recip saw bare. I already had too many batteries so the bare tool made sense.

I find buying the more oddbally tools bare makes more sense. The deals you can get on drills and impacts with batteries are too good to pass up. A recip saw kit or a 1/2 impact wrench are lower volume and tend to cost marginally more.

 

[Tallpilot]

once I had enough batteries and chargers , kits just didn't make sense anymore.
I find bare tool deals all the time
I don't feel like reselling, too much hassle

This is the way I feel about it as well. If I can get a combo with a newer battery tech (3.0,5.0,etc) then I will usually do that but otherwise, I just buy the bare tool when something new comes out I want.

 

[kctyphoon]

For the most money it's probably best to split everything up.. most of my purchases have been bare tools unless deals or promos where I get Chargers and batteries for free come up.

 

[jd_1138]

It basically works out to be about the same. I'd buy combo kits until you have 4 batteries, then start buying bare tools unless the kits are super cheap. Local HD had Makita 18v impact driver kits on clearance for 49. They each came with a large battery, case, charger. I bought 3. Gave one away and kept the other 2 kits. I had seen that bare Makita drivers were only going for 35 on eBay, so I just kept it.

 

[PearlWhiteGT]

Thanks fellas for all the advice. I might have most of the stuff sold here locally but if not I'll post it on eBay and see what happens.

 

[Cope]

Bought the combo kit for my drill and impact driver because I swore that was all I was buying. I now buy bare tools since I have enough chargers. I buy batteries as needed and get the power I need.

 

[superskaterxes]

combo kits are a complete waste. You always get a smaller battery and if you buy the bare stuff on ebay you can always get a deal. I dont need another charger with every tool either.

 

[PelicanPines]

Milwaukee... 7 tools... 9 batteries
Dewalt 20v... 4 tools... 6 batteries

I tend to do the math for value... give me a free $90 battery... plus the kit stuff... for $60 above bare tool... I'm likely going for the kit with the free battery.

Sell a bare tool for less than normal... I may just do that.

 

[PearlWhiteGT]

I have a Dewalt 20 Volt Deep Cut Band Saw Kit that retails at Home Depot for well over $500. Most people don't want to pay that much for a tool so was considering trying to sell the band saw as a bare tool then sell the batteries and charger.

 

[PelicanPines]

Bare tool price for the deep cut looks like $315

 

[Finky198]

I bought 2 Hilti 18v kits years back on sale. 2 drills (1 compact 1 hammer) and a recip saw. All together I have 2 chargers, 2 compact batteries, and 2 large batteries. Since then I've bought one bare tool a 3/8 impact. I'd like to pick up the Angle grinder I could see that coming in handy. But all in all I'm not a big cordless user. I'm Much more dependent on air and corded tools due to the time we spend using them...

You get to a point were bare tools make sense unless you find some great deal otherwise.

 

[PearlWhiteGT]

Bare tool price for the deep cut looks like $315

Wonder what it would sell for on eBay as a bare tool.

 

[cherrybomb]

If you buy the combo every couple of years,you stagger the life of the batteries you have in your herd,fresh is good,some of the older ones get used on some of the easier tools,until the can't cut the mustard.

 

[jocww]

If you buy the combo every couple of years,you stagger the life of the batteries you have in your herd,fresh is good,some of the older ones get used on some of the easier tools,until the can't cut the mustard.

thats pretty smart. Do you have to do this with lithium ion batteries too? Nicad I see doing it,but i figure the tech is pretty good now.

 

[ThatSickRip]

I tend to do the math for value... give me a free $90 battery... plus the kit stuff... for $60 above bare tool... I'm likely going for the kit with the free battery.

Sell a bare tool for less than normal... I may just do that.

Agreed, same here. Some of the kit deal and the +1 battery make it hard to pass up the combos

 

[PearlWhiteGT]

The +1 battery on kit deals is always hard to pass up. Thanks for all the advice fellas. I might try selling local first and see what happens.