When is the Best Time to Buy Power Tool Batteries?

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When is the best time to buy cordless power tool batteries? Oh, that’s an easy one – the last week of November is the best time to buy power tool batteries.

The first week of December is usually a good time too, and most of the biggest promotions by the most popular brands are still in stock.

Shown above is a Milwaukee M18 CP 3.0Ah battery 2-pack. A reader messaged me – they’re looking to buy a couple of Milwaukee cordless power tool batteries, and they want to know if Home Depot’s $129 “special buy” is a good deal.

Around Black Friday is the best time to buy power tool batteries, because that’s when the broadest selection of batteries are at the lowest prices of the year.

There are other promotions throughout the year, with the weeks ahead of Father’s Day being another great time to shop for batteries.

But, what about the rest of the year, aside from a couple of weeks separated nearly 6 months apart?

“I need it now, but I also want the best price.”

Acme Tools has a 30-day low price guarantee, where they will match the price should you find the identical item in stock at an authorized dealer for less money.

Home Depot also has a low price guarantee. This applies at the time of purchase, but they will (usually) also adjust the price for you within a 30-day period.

Home Depot also has a 90-day return policy, with some exceptions.

Let’s say you buy a Dewalt battery, a Makita battery, Ryobi batteries, or the displayed Milwaukee M18 cordless power tool batteries. We’re currently in mid-March, and 90 days from now would take us to mid-June.

Between now and June, there might be a spring promo, and there will certainly be Father’s Day promos.

If the exact item you purchase decreases in price, you have options. First, you can request a price adjustment. If the item is within the return period, customer service (in-store or on the phone) will likely accommodate this.

I should mention that this has been my personal experiences. I could not find any specific details on Home Depot’s website, but my understanding is that Home Depot’s post-purchase price adjustment and matching policy is limited to 30 days.

If for some reason you cannot get a price adjustment, but you are within the price adjustment policy, you can do a rebuy-return. Or, in some cases a return-rebuy.

If you are within the return period and the item is still new-in-box, you can return it and repurchase it or an identical product at the new low price.

If the item is not new-in-box, some customer service associates might recommend a rebuy-return if they are unable to do a price adjustment for a purchase that is still in its return period.

A rebuy-return involves purchasing the identical item and returning it on the original receipt.

Rebuy-returns usually aren’t sanctioned practices, but as mentioned it’s something that has been recommended to me, and it’s something that shoppers will occasionally do.

So, you have some low-price security of up to 30 days, and perhaps up to 90 days if you’re willing to exploit a return policy loophole.

In my opinion, a rebuy-return is better than returning a used product to buy a new one at low pricing, as the rebuy-return results in the store getting back the identical product in original sellable condition.

Promotions can be unpredictable.

For instance, the $129 price on that Milwaukee M18 battery 2-pack might be the lowest price we’ll see in a while. I don’t believe it went on sale for the 2021 holiday shopping season, and it’s not certain whether it will be any lower priced for Father’s Day.

Let’s say you do buy that battery bundle at Home Depot today, and it goes on sale for less within 30 days. In my experience, they’ll adjust the price, and I usually only need the receipt in-store or my order number via phone.

Things get more complicated between 30 and 90 days, but you do have some options if you’re within the return period for eligible items. As far as I am aware, Home Depot and Lowe’s are the only tool retailers that offer a 90-day return policy.

Festool has a 1-month money back guarantee, but their prices tend to be fixed year-round.

Metabo HPT has a 30-day satisfaction guarantee.

Craftsman has a 90 day satisfaction guarantee on corded and V20 cordless power tools.

Some retailers will not adjust prices. Amazon, for instance, typically will not grant price adjustments. When you return products to Amazon for “I changed my mind” types of reasons, they will sometimes deduct return shipping fees from your refund. But, some return methods, such as store drop-offs, might be possible without incurring any return shipping fees.

For the Dewalt 20V Max 6Ah battery 2-pack, Amazon says it is eligible for Free Returns:

Free returns are available for the shipping address you chose. You can return the item for any reason in new and unused condition: no shipping charges

That is for a direct sold-by-Amazon listing, but I am also seeing the same for a Dewalt PowerStack 2-pack listing where the batteries are sold by a 3rd party seller and shipped by Amazon.

Note: Although Amazon is often an authorized dealer, 3rd party sellers on Amazon usually are not. As such, retailers generally won’t price-match to Amazon unless the listing is both sold by and shipped from Amazon.

So, to revisit the title question, when is the best time to buy cordless power tool batteries? Generally, the winter holiday shopping season, and although there are usually fewer promotions and smaller selection, the weeks leading up to Father’s Day.

If you cannot wait, depending on the retailer, there’s some low-price-assurances 30-90 days ahead of promotional events.

Basically, this means late-August through December, and late-February through June for brands and batteries available at Home Depot and likely Lowe’s as well.

With some other retailers, you still have a 30-day window, which is long enough to make most people feel more confident about not waiting to make a purchase. For instance, if I buy something that I need right now, and it goes on sale 40 days from now, I’m not going to feel as bad compared to if it dropped in price after just 7 days,

I should also add that customers’ accounts can sometimes be flagged for excessive returns, and so it’s best to avoid exploiting return policies except when necessary or the price difference is sizable.

Some retailers seem to increase pricing leading up to promotions, but higher prices are not a predictable indicator that a sale or promotion is coming soon.

Do you agree or disagree? When do you think is the best time to buy cordless power tool batteries at the best pricing?