Why tools on eBay or Amazon are so cheap

[Milwookie]

I was shopping for a Milwaukee hammer drill recently and came across a number of listings that seemed too good to be true, including the one I ultimately purchased: a brand new Milwaukee 1/2" Fuel M12 Hammer Drill for under $100 with three day shipping.

My guess is it's a 3rd run product, meaning it's probably identical to a legitimate product, but Milwaukee isn't getting any money for its sale (this is why manufacturers get uppity about warranty coverage on products not bought through an authorized distributor). It's very likely with items listed as new that have no packaging, manuals, or hang tags.

There's a great article about 3rd run production here I thought people would find interesting: http://archive.fortune.com/magazines/fortune/fortune_archive/2006/05/01/8375455/index.htm

I realize that I'm taking a gamble. If this thing dies, I may not be able to get warranty coverage, and I'm out $100. It's possible they may have skimped on an expensive component like the motor, assuming it's 3rd shift. But I'm willing to give it a shot and see what I get.

 

[ryan20021982]

Your amazon link is bad
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00BYFNDTU/?tag=atomicindus08-20

But that drill is only $126 at Home Depot which is always a little higher so I don't see how that's an indicator it did not come through Milwaukee

And there are many on ebay for cheaper

 

[Gmonkee]

Reconditioned warranty returns maybe?

Esales carry little overhead and drop shipping means no warehouse. Savings like that mean lower prices.

 

[ptschram]

W/R/T third shift, my niece lives in HK and when I received an email offer to buy a genuine Ford IDS scan tool cheap, I indicated I had an HK agent...

When she visited the factory in nearby Shenszhen, she was told quite candidly that first and second shift were for Ford but third shift made the same product, but I could have the case in any of four or five colors. She sent me pics of IDS cases in all manner of colors. The big difference in this case was that the software was bogus.

Your article is the first I've seen anyone recognize it in popular media.

 

[Milwookie]

People are noting that the price doesn't seem out of line, even though it's quite a bit cheaper than authorized dealers. I even confirmed with Milwaukee earlier this year that they don't honor warranty coverage on items bought from unauthorized sellers through Amazon. I checked, and they're not an authorized seller.

 

[Milwookie]

Your amazon link is bad
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00BYFNDTU/?tag=atomicindus08-20

But that drill is only $126 at Home Depot which is always a little higher so I don't see how that's an indicator it did not come through Milwaukee

And there are many on ebay for cheaper

Neither thing you said indicate this isn't 3rd party. Why would they sell it for cheaper just because it isn't legitimate? They're going to try and make as much money as they can just as any other outlet. They're the cheapest seller on Amazon, which is all that matters.

 

[Milwookie]

W/R/T third shift, my niece lives in HK and when I received an email offer to buy a genuine Ford IDS scan tool cheap, I indicated I had an HK agent...

When she visited the factory in nearby Shenszhen, she was told quite candidly that first and second shift were for Ford but third shift made the same product, but I could have the case in any of four or five colors. She sent me pics of IDS cases in all manner of colors. The big difference in this case was that the software was bogus.

Your article is the first I've seen anyone recognize it in popular media.

Manufacturers are generally unwilling to discuss the problem exists because it can damage sales for their products of people know they can buy what is often the exact same product for less from an unauthorized source.

 

[AdamRos19]

Many listings on Amazon and eBay are pieced out combo kits. For instance they had the hammer drill and impact driver for $399 (some would find it cheaper) and they were giving away the bare tool fuel sawzall or circ saw. Or other various kits where one would get free battery deals. Guys could easily sell those for cost or slightly less than cost and recover money fast. Or make there own bare tool plus battery kit that they essentially got for free.

Based on some of the volume certain eBay sellers have there has got to be guys sitting on piles of free Milwaukee stuff

 

[Thumper68]

Another thought, I guy I know bought 500+ brand name cordless tool kits for pennies on the dollar at a going out of business auction, he broke up the kits and sold the bare tools and batteries because he could make more selling them that way.

According to the guy I know the retail business tried to get the wholesaler to buy back the kits but they said no, so up for auction they went.

 

[Superbec]

a sad world we live in... they made you believe 100$ for a cordless tool without battery or charger is the greatest deal ....

let me brake it up for you

plastic case 3$
12v electric motor 6$
gearbox 6$
keyless chuck 4$

That's how much it costs ,the rest is shipping from China,taxes and profit.

 

[Sloper0204]

a sad world we live in... they made you believe 100$ for a cordless tool without battery or charger is the greatest deal ....

let me brake it up for you

plastic case 3$
12v electric motor 6$
gearbox 6$
keyless chuck 4$

That's how much it costs ,the rest is shipping from China,taxes and profit.

You forgot research and development, prototyping, warranty replacements, engineering, overhead, distribution, etc.........

 

[FigureItOut]

a sad world we live in... they made you believe 100$ for a cordless tool without battery or charger is the greatest deal ....

let me brake it up for you

plastic case 3$
12v electric motor 6$
gearbox 6$
keyless chuck 4$

That's how much it costs ,the rest is shipping from China,taxes and profit.

Do you have links or part numbers please? I plan to assemble my own brushless drill for this $19. Also, if you could post pics of your own build, that would help all of us also.

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I337Z using Tapatalk

 

[turfgnome]

a lot of those items come from auctions of overstock stuff and stolen products from box stores. It is hard to warranty items you do not have a paper trail on.

 

[Superbec]

Do you have links or part numbers please? I plan to assemble my own brushless drill for this $19. Also, if you could post pics of your own build, that would help all of us also.

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I337Z using Tapatalk

sure, buy 100k of each and I'll personally deliver the order to you complementary MIlwalt of you choosing.

just because some ppl are way over-payed and 100 looks like nothing to you doesn't mean it's unde cost...




p.s. that's why I will have different hourly rates, normal for most ppl, 2x for bmw owners, 4x for Ducati , 8X for Mv Agusta

 

[egdede]

Instead of **** America, how about **** 'small minded idiots'. We've got some, that's for sure. But there are small minded idiots everywhere!

 

[stikman56]

a sad world we live in... they made you believe 100$ for a cordless tool without battery or charger is the greatest deal ....

let me brake it up for you

plastic case 3$
12v electric motor 6$
gearbox 6$
keyless chuck 4$

That's how much it costs ,the rest is shipping from China,taxes and profit.

Now, if we can just get you some spelling lessons. Break, overpaid. Looks like you do have the numbers down though. Depends on the tool. Motors for Snap-On impacts are around 60 bucks, housings 30, switches, 60, nothing comes cheap from them, nor does it from Milwaukee I'm sure.

 

[zendriver]

Does anyone believe that it cost anything near $35, for Snap On to build a wrench, or $1100 for Walker to make a jack?

It's called markup.

How much does each it cost Milwaukee to make millions of hammer drills? $90? $19?

A Milwaukee retailer sells the product for $139 and they are making money off it. So maybe Milwaukee figure a discounter selling for $100, is yet another drill sold, (which might not otherwise be), just with not as much profit figured in.

Maybe the are facing the real world of business.

The Op's related to an article about counterfeiting. One would think building and selling selling fake Milwaukee drills in the US, is a tad more complex than knock-off tennis shoes, plus another poster stated, that for the low price, the drill likely excluded silly things, like a battery and charger.

 

[BDT/NWMN]

Instead of **** America, how about **** 'small minded idiots'. We've got some, that's for sure. But there are small minded idiots everywhere!

The moderators have thankfully sawed that diseased limb off of this thread.

Myself, I would have axed the whole thing and burned it...

I submitted a couple posts with hopes to carry on an intelligent, informative conversation.. That sure proved to be a waste of time.

 

[Ole Slewfoot]

I have a lot of Milwaukee stuff, and I've never had to warranty anything but batteries, but the prorate on batteries is so bad it's cheaper to buy them on ebay or Amazon.

 

[ryan20021982]

Neither thing you said indicate this isn't 3rd party. Why would they sell it for cheaper just because it isn't legitimate? They're going to try and make as much money as they can just as any other outlet. They're the cheapest seller on Amazon, which is all that matters.

Your the one that said it must be third party because it's so cheap not me, all I said was it's not that cheap.

 

[Greg85mcss]

Might just be an older model. I got an m18 combo pack with xc batteries deeply discounted at hd because they came out with a higher capacity battery. Tools are the exact same & I could see someone snatching up a pile of them to resell for an easy $100 profit each. A couple flea market guys did that all the time when I worked in the tool department at sears.



Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[CJM8515]

It really all depends:
-is it an older model and a new generation tool came out
-maybe it is 3rd shift and being sold out the back door
-in the case of tools, is it parted out kits
-is it stolen merchandise

The list goes on.

I mean I paid 40 bucks shipped for an M18 LED light and 69 for an M18 fuel hammer drill off ebay. Both work fine, both have the proper labels on them. Honestly I dont care where they came from, they work.

 

[Ign]

Soooo.....why are people talking about authorized retailers and paper trails?

Most important question: does it have a valid serial #? If yes, what's the date code? I've warrantied several things through Milwaukee with no paperwork at all if I knew the date code was within 5 years.

IOW the only penalty you pay for no receipt is the length of TIME from date of manufacture to date you purchased it. So, if it was built 9 months ago, you lose 9 months of warranty coverage without receipt or without receipt from authorized distributor. Now, if it's 2 or 3 years old, yes you've lost a lot of your warranty. If it's a few months to a year old, I wouldn't care personally.