When shopping on Amazon, they will usually show you an alert when there’s a new version of a product, or if there’s a “renewed” version that will save you a couple of dollars.
I had pulled up the listing for Dewalt’s 18V XRP battery 2-pack, and it showed a listing for “Upgraded” batteries.
At first I was confused. Upgraded Dewalt 18V XRP batteries? I then realized that this was the brand name for 3rd party alternate batteries at much lower pricing.
Amazon is showing advertisements for 3rd party battery packs in the spot where I have become accustomed to seeing new and sometimes renewed/refurbished product version alerts. This strikes me as unusual.
Oh, I’m certain this is just the algorithm delivering related-theme product advertisements, as confirmed by the Ad Feedback link. Still, how strange.
You’ll see different advertisements if you reload the page. This time, there are 3rd party batteries from another brand, promising Extended Run-Time for Your 18V Dewalt Power Tools.
And then there was an advertisement for DC9096 Replacement for Dewalt batteries.
These weren’t the only advertisements I saw on this page – there is also an Ingersoll Rand real tools for real work advertisement promoting their 2235TiMax impact wrench.
Scrolling down a bit, there are sponsored listings featuring 4 star and above 3rd party batteries and adapters. Following that, there is another section of sponsored products related to this item featuring 86 “pages” of groups of 5 product listing tiles (so ~430 products) with the first couple of dozen (at least) featuring 3rd party batteries and chargers said to be Dewalt-compatible. Then, there’s a section of what other items do customers buy after viewing this item, with one being a single pack of the same Dewalt batteries and the other three being “for Dewalt” products from 3rd party brands.
Scrolling down the page for the single Dewalt 18V battery listing and you’ll see more or less the same.
There is also a compare with similar items section that lists the Dewalt batteries side by side with the replacement for Dewalt options.
Search for Makita battery packs, and you’ll find sponsored listings among the Makita battery SKUs. The Makita 18V 3.0Ah battery 2-pack product listing is a little different, but also has a lot of 3rd party battery offerings featured in sponsored products related to this item and 4 stars and above sponsored sections. Scroll down towards the user reviews, and you’re again faced with a sponsored products related to this item section that features replacement for Makita batteries and chargers, some of them looking very close to the real thing. Scroll past the reviews and there’s another section with what other items do customers buy after viewing this item with three out of four being for 3rd party battery packs, and then a sponsored ad placement for replace for Makita 18V batteries.
Sources:
- Dewalt 18V Battery 2-Pack Product Listing
- Dewalt 18V Battery Product Listing
- Makita 18V Battery 2-Pack Product Listing
See Also: Would You Use Cheaper Off-Brand Cordless Power Tool Batteries?
Here’s a zoomed-out look at the Dewalt 18V battery product page, up until around the part where the review starts.
For the sponsored listings, there are a greater number of product tiles than normal, due to the browser window being set to lower magnification for the sake of being able to capture more vertical space in the screenshot.
Maybe it’s me, but it seems to be a bit much to me. I don’t think I would feel the same about products such as cordless drills, screwdrivers, power tool accessories, or televisions. Off-brand batteries, especially Li-ion or LiPo, make me nervous. I know how much R&D and testing that goes into pro tool brands’ batteries – does the same care go into these far less expensive off-brand batteries?
