Milwaukee Impact from Amazon, loose in box with manual - keep or return?

[BrandonV]

No way in hell would I purchase any power tool off Amazon. Too many fakes. I worry even about online retailers where somebody might do a bait & switch with a return.

I want that unit straight from the pallet at Home Depot or Lowes.

 

[AJHD]

No way in hell would I purchase any power tool off Amazon. Too many fakes. I worry even about online retailers where somebody might do a bait & switch with a return.

I want that unit straight from the pallet at Home Depot or Lowes.

That is the only way I buy my power tools and batteries. They are way too expensive and I don't have disposable money for me to even hassle with potential fake and counterfeit tools.

While on the topic, I am also not risking my expensive Milwaukee power tools with cheap knock off Chinese batteries.

 

[M635_Guy]

As Milwaukee makes it a pain to get warranty service if you don't have a receipt from an authorized dealer (and Amazon isnt'), I'd return. Not worth the $30 IMHO.

 

[IndyGarage]

No way in hell would I purchase any power tool off Amazon. Too many fakes. I worry even about online retailers where somebody might do a bait & switch with a return.

I want that unit straight from the pallet at Home Depot or Lowes.

Amazon is literally 10X as large as either of those places. They probably sell many times the tools they do. I've bought dozens of power tools from them, including 2 this week. I've never gotten anything bad.

That said, I don't think Milwaukee allows Amazon to sell power tools directly from Amazon, although I think there are many distributors that sell through Amazon. I think Milwaukee goes exclusively to the big box stores.

 

[mikedodge]

Well you could always spend part of the difference from amazon on the 3 year protection plan.

As far as prime goes I got it during the pandemic when they shut down local stores. But for the cost of it the shipping balances out over the year and there some things I buy regularely on there that the cost savings of one purchase pays for a couple months of membership. Then there are a lot of things that the prime price discount can be another 25% or whatever off the normal Amazon price.

 

[AJHD]

Amazon is literally 10X as large as either of those places. They probably sell many times the tools they do. I've bought dozens of power tools from them, including 2 this week. I've never gotten anything bad.

That said, I don't think Milwaukee allows Amazon to sell power tools directly from Amazon, although I think there are many distributors that sell through Amazon. I think Milwaukee goes exclusively to the big box stores.

Sounds like more reasons to buy from an authorized vendor.

Maybe it's more expensive or whatever else but I know exactly what I am buying when I walk into Home Depot or buy online something they don't have in store.

There are no questions, no doubts. There is also a better paper trail, like proof of purchase, should I ever need it.

I have been buying less and less on Amazon for years, and other things I have never and will never buy.

We are all free to spend our money however we wish to.

 

[finn]

No way in hell would I purchase any power tool off Amazon. Too many fakes. I worry even about online retailers where somebody might do a bait & switch with a return.

I want that unit straight from the pallet at Home Depot or Lowes.

Out of curiosity, do you have personal knowledge of fakes, or is that allegation something you read on the internet.

i know there are knock offs, with odd names, and heard about fakes, but have never personally seen a fake, or known someone who bought a fake.

 

[zendriver]

Almost seem like they go to the trouble to make a fake tool why not just make a fake box?

Wonder if they figure just taking the box and tossing it why not just not put it in there in the first place? They can probably ship more of them in less space.

China is a big country and so is Milwaukee. Maybe they’re selling some in bulk.

 

[BrandonV]

Out of curiosity, do you have personal knowledge of fakes, or is that allegation something you read on the internet.

i know there are knock offs, with odd names, and heard about fakes, but have never personally seen a fake, or known someone who bought a fake.

Fake products are definitely out there. Platforms like AliExpress and Temu often have imitation versions of almost every major brand of power tools. These tools may have similar physical designs but lack proper branding. Some even come with counterfeit logos, while others leave it to another third party to add fake labels.

I’ve personally been burned at least two dozen times by items purchased from Amazon "shipped and sold by Amazon" arriving as fakes. These have ranged from drywall anchors and Bose headphones to a DVD that turned out to contain something entirely different. I’ve also heard horror stories about fake batteries, which I wouldn’t risk buying at all. Several coworkers have had similar issues with counterfeit batteries.

While I might order more frequently than the average person, my experience IMO shows that Amazon struggles to maintain the integrity of its supply chain. Even products marked as "shipped and sold by Amazon" can become "contaminated" with counterfeit items from third-party sellers, which seems to be the root of the problem.

Luckily for now the majority of the fakes in the tool category are pretty freaking obvious:

 

[tarbellb]

Fake products are definitely out there. Platforms like AliExpress and Temu often have imitation versions of almost every major brand of power tools. These tools may have similar physical designs but lack proper branding. Some even come with counterfeit logos, while others leave it to another third party to add fake labels.

I’ve personally been burned at least two dozen times by items purchased from Amazon "shipped and sold by Amazon" arriving as fakes. These have ranged from drywall anchors and Bose headphones to a DVD that turned out to contain something entirely different. I’ve also heard horror stories about fake batteries, which I wouldn’t risk buying at all. Several coworkers have had similar issues with counterfeit batteries.

While I might order more frequently than the average person, my experience IMO shows that Amazon struggles to maintain the integrity of its supply chain. Even products marked as "shipped and sold by Amazon" can become "contaminated" with counterfeit items from third-party sellers, which seems to be the root of the problem.

Luckily for now the majority of the fakes in the tool category are pretty freaking obvious:

@BrandonV PLEASE post pics of your actual fakes! Im super interested in this topic and would appreciate some firsthand legit fake/counterfeit/knockoff proof

Thanks!

 

[BrandonV]

@BrandonV PLEASE post pics of your actual fakes! Im super interested in this topic and would appreciate some firsthand legit fake/counterfeit/knockoff proof

Thanks!

Sure, let me see if I still have any of that stuff lying around. The worst part was the snap toggle anchors, which, once unboxed, were clearly nothing like the real thing. A quick call to the manufacturer confirmed they weren't theirs.

The DVD was the funniest one. It looked fine when I removed the outer wrapper, but I had a hard time convincing Amazon that the DVD I ordered was actually fake until I showed them it was clearly burned on someone's DVD burner.

I bought some fuses and the packaging looked so low quality it was blatantly obvious. Then I was told by the manufacturer, "Amazon isn't an authorized retailer" so that summed that up quickly.

 

[PCustoms]

Sure, let me see if I still have any of that stuff lying around. The worst part was the snap toggle anchors, which, once unboxed, were clearly nothing like the real thing. A quick call to the manufacturer confirmed they weren't theirs.

The DVD was the funniest one. It looked fine when I removed the outer wrapper, but I had a hard time convincing Amazon that the DVD I ordered was actually fake until I showed them it was clearly burned on someone's DVD burner.

I bought some fuses and the packaging looked so low quality it was blatantly obvious. Then I was told by the manufacturer, "Amazon isn't an authorized retailer" so that summed that up quickly.

Were these bought FROM Amazon or ON Amazon?

 

[BrandonV]

Were these bought FROM Amazon or ON Amazon?

FROM Amazon... that's what has iriked me. They're clearing mixing items submitted by 3rd party sellers in the marketplace with actual stocked Amazon items.

I refuse to purchase ANYTHING not "Shipped & Sold By Amazon".

 

[PCustoms]

FROM Amazon... that's what has iriked me. They're clearing mixing items submitted by 3rd party sellers in the marketplace with actual stocked Amazon items.

I refuse to purchase ANYTHING not "Shipped & Sold By Amazon".

Link to the fuses?

 

[BrandonV]

Link to the fuses?

This was a year or two ago but this was them. At the time there was an "Shipped & Sold by Amazon" bit.

Amazon.com

Interestingly there were a few people pointing out they were fake... those reviews are now magically gone.

Can't believe people would fake fuses... of all things...

Fake Eaton Bussmann fuse case settle

Bussmann fuse distributor-As Beam Electric, help you select Eaton Bussmann genuine fuse

asbeam.com

 

[areyouanywhere]

The only thing I'd be concerned about is manufacturing date. Technically I don't think tools from Amazon are covered under warranty by Milwaukee. However they usually can just go by serial number so they won't know where it was purchased. However if you had to use the receipt you might have issues.