*
The thought has crossed my mind that the tool manufacturers aren’t
really in
business to sell tools. They’re in business to sell batteries for them.
Sure, you get the tool and you do your work with it, but it appears to
me
that they really make their money on the batteries. If you pay full
retail,
the cost of a couple replacement batteries isn’t too far from being in
the
same neighborhood as the price of the kit with the charger and the
batteries. It seems like they’ve cut the margin on the kit, knowing
full
well that eventually, you’ll be back for another battery since you have
to
use their battery and they’ll make some really decent margin on that
sale.
Am I the only one out there who when faced with the prospect of spending
nearly as much for a couple of replacement batteries as the kit has
simply
thrown down the additional thirty or forty dollars and bought another
kit
because for only a bit more you get another charger and an extra drill?
Does anyone else pick up spare batteries when you run across a sale,
just
because you know eventually you’ll need it? Since they closed the Home
Base
stores here in Portland recently, I made a point of picking up
replacement
batteries for my Makita’s while I could do so without spending a small
fortune on them. That’s what really started me thinking about this.
Perhaps I’m wrong, maybe batteries really do cost more to manufacture
than
the bare tool does, but it sure seems like when you have to buy a
replacement, you end up with a wallet that’s much lighter than it
probably
should be.
Any thoughts?
Replies
*
The thought has crossed my mind that the tool manufacturers aren't
really in
business to sell tools. They're in business to sell batteries for them.
Sure, you get the tool and you do your work with it, but it appears to
me
that they really make their money on the batteries. If you pay full
retail,
the cost of a couple replacement batteries isn't too far from being in
the
same neighborhood as the price of the kit with the charger and the
batteries. It seems like they've cut the margin on the kit, knowing
full
well that eventually, you'll be back for another battery since you have
to
use their battery and they'll make some really decent margin on that
sale.
Am I the only one out there who when faced with the prospect of spending
nearly as much for a couple of replacement batteries as the kit has
simply
thrown down the additional thirty or forty dollars and bought another
kit
because for only a bit more you get another charger and an extra drill?
Does anyone else pick up spare batteries when you run across a sale,
just
because you know eventually you'll need it? Since they closed the Home
Base
stores here in Portland recently, I made a point of picking up
replacement
batteries for my Makita's while I could do so without spending a small
fortune on them. That's what really started me thinking about this.
Perhaps I'm wrong, maybe batteries really do cost more to manufacture
than
the bare tool does, but it sure seems like when you have to buy a
replacement, you end up with a wallet that's much lighter than it
probably
should be.
Any thoughts?