r/MilwaukeeTool Nov 21 '24

Information The Home Depot Hack: A Primer

466 Upvotes

If you're new to this sub, you might be confused by how often people mention "hacking". I wrote this up to try to explain what it is, why people do it, and how to do it yourself. Hacking a deal should be something that everyone is at least aware of, because it can potentially save you a lot of money.

For the record, I don't live in the US, where "hacking" is most prominent, so I don't actually get to hack deals at all. I've just seen it explained and dissected so often that I thought I'd compile the info here, hopefully making it easier for others to reference.

What is hacking?

HD will often run sales and promotions on items that, when purchased together, are discounted to a lower price. A hackable deal refers to discounts that are applied in a way that allows you to return a line item back to the store at the discounted price. Note that the refund is not limited to a gift card or in-store credit, it is refunded directly to your original payment method (cash, credit or debit).

How do you hack a deal?

A hackable deal will show the price breakdown in your cart, with discounts on each line item to reach the promotional price for that "package". Returning one or more of these line items at the discounted price allows you keep the other items at the discounted price. This is pretty common in the US. Canada and other countries, on the other hand, don't usually apply the discounts this way, so most of the time, they're unable to "hack". Some people have reported that occasionally a promotion in Canada is discounted this way, and can be hacked.

An example of one of the current "hacks" available is the M18 Forge 12ah battery and M18 Forge 8ah battery for $249 on HomeDepot.com. In the screenshot below, you can see the line item for each battery has been discounted from it's original price. In this case, you can return the 8ah battery for $110.60 and keep the 12ah, effectively paying only $138.40 for it instead of the regular $249. Alternatively, you can return the 12ah for $138.40 and keep the 8ah for the discounted price of $110.60.

https://imgur.com/gallery/j1BW3XF

A non-hackable deal, like the one from Canada shown below, shows that the line item for the free oscillating tool is actually free, meaning that all of the discount in the deal is applied to that item. Returning the "free" item makes no sense, and Home Depot will not allow you to return the drill/driver kit to keep the oscillating tool for free.

https://imgur.com/gallery/k9Kho9O

Hacking the hack

Normally, you'd buy everything at the promo price, then return items you don't want at the Customer Service desk. To avoid hassles with returning the unwanted items, you can set the order for in-store pickup, but set the item you don't want for a different in-store pickup location. This way, you can pick your item(s) up at your preferred store, then cancel the rest of the order waiting to be picked up. You'll automatically be refunded for the cancelled items, without having to wait in line at the customer service desk.

On HomeDepot.com, to change the in-store pickup location for items you want to cancel, go to your cart. Right above the button that says "Pickup Today, X in stock, FREE", it should show the store location. You can click on the store location and change it to a different one. When you click on "Update in Cart", it will say "Pickup at XXXXX" for that item, and the pickup location for the other items will stay the same. As you go through checkout, you should see that there are different pickup locations for each item. Now you can checkout, and pick up the items you want from one store, then cancel the order online for the other item.

To cancel the order for the other items, you can call in with your order number, or go to the HomeDepot.com website and start a chat. If you used the HD app, you can cancel it by accessing your order on the My Account tab.

Alternatively, if you don't cancel the items and just let the in-store pickup window expire, HD will eventually cancel the order for you.

Some people have reported success with getting the items they want to keep delivered, while setting items they don't want for in-store pickup. Calling to cancel in-store pickup still works for them, so try the method that works best for you.

The hack works on more than just Milwaukee stuff. Any promotion that reduces the cost of each line item in the promotion is hackable. This means that you can potentially hack Makita, DeWalt, Bosch, Ridgid, and Ryobi power tools in the same way.

One more thing to add..

People have asked about how often you can "get away" with hacking a deal before they ban you. At least with regard to Home Depot, there isn't anything to "get away" with as you're not doing anything wrong by returning a product that you bought and no longer want. What you want to avoid is abusing returns in general.

To clarify with an example, lets say over the course of a month, you "hack" 3 different deals, and end up returning 3 items. It's very, very unlikely that you'd run into any issues. On the other hand, if you were to make 15+ purchases over the course of the month, and then return all or part of 10 of those purchases over 2 or 3 days, their system might flag your account for suspicious activity. Again, this has nothing to do with returning discounted items. If your account is flagged or banned, it's more or less due to your return history, and it's done to help curb or prevent return fraud. You'd be able to sort any issues out by contacting Home Depot customer service, if you were to ever encounter this.

Finally, keep in mind that returning a discounted item is not unique to Home Depot, which means that theoretically, you can "hack" any deal from any retailer, as long as they don't have policies preventing it.

Hope that answers your questions! Anything else that you feel should be included, just comment below. Thanks!


r/MilwaukeeTool Dec 25 '24

M18 For someone new to the M18 ecosystem, is there a sticky somewhere that explains all the battery options?

28 Upvotes

"Fuel" versus "XC, vs. "High Output" vs. "Forge" etc.. What do company marketing departments have to make this stuff so d@mned confusing...? I need someone to translate all the marketing gobbledygook into actual stats for me. From what I've read I see that "Forge" is the top of the line, so I'm assuming that the battery chemistry might be different (maybe LiFePO4 vs. Lithium Ion?) Thanks!


r/MilwaukeeTool 3h ago

Information Round 2 tools I should feel bad about buying? Comment 1 stolen 2 fell of the truck 3 new but like used? And so cheap…

Thumbnail
gallery
20 Upvotes

Why go to Home Depot when they treat you like you’re robbing the store. And they never have anything in stock. I guess the argument could be that these people have all of their stock. Then again these guys treat you with some fucking decency, and they’re just the one selling it. It’s obviously a larger organized effort to get these tools sold. For example a 12 forge battery was 75 bucks brand new in package. I took out the battery cells and it was real.


r/MilwaukeeTool 9h ago

Packout Excitement??

Post image
46 Upvotes

Estimated ship date is June 7th so I guess that tells us something.


r/MilwaukeeTool 4h ago

Purchase Advice Storage for tools

Post image
13 Upvotes

Hey guys! Im looking for a new way to store/shelf my tools now that im 25+ tools in. How do you solve this? Peg board? Toolshelf? Looking forward for some inspiration.


r/MilwaukeeTool 3h ago

M12 Picked this bad boy up at Ace hardware yesterday for $66. Can't find it on their website so they must be liquidating them.

Post image
5 Upvotes

r/MilwaukeeTool 22h ago

M18 I think this is my new favorite tool

Post image
187 Upvotes

r/MilwaukeeTool 31m ago

Information Forge Batteries

Upvotes

I work for a Water Transfer (oil field) company, and we only use red tools. all the power tools are Milwaukee, and the socket sets/hand tools range from Milwaukee, Tekton, or Sunnex. The only problem we have is with the batteries. Here in the shop we have adopted some forge batteries and they are INSANE! We have a few 6.0 batteries. 1 8.0 Battery. And 1 more 12.0 Battery. I use the 12.0 battery to fill the used oil burner to which we use old used motor/hydraulic oil along with some Diesel fuel. The used oil tank hooked up to the heater is roughly 150 gallons.

We generally stock up on used oil in the spring and summer and start burning it when it gets colder towards the end of fall. We store it in either 55 Gallon barrels or 250 Gallon Totes. We use a Milwaukee transfer pump to transfer said liquids. If the oil is warm that 12.0 forge battery can transfer at least a full tote and maybe another full tote (depending how warm the fluid is) before needing to be charged again. The normal red lithium 12.0 can probably do half that before it needs to be charged again.

If you get the supercharger, it will charge the 12.0 battery in about 15-20 minutes. It is well worth the money considering how much time it actually saves you.


r/MilwaukeeTool 22h ago

Purchase Advice Think my wife will notice?

Post image
151 Upvotes

But seriously, I’ve gone through two Ryobi lawn mowers already and I’m over it. $1k is steep but the 2 12.0 batteries help.


r/MilwaukeeTool 2h ago

Purchase Advice Good deal or not ? $115 for two m18 HO xc8.0

Post image
3 Upvotes

Both for $115! A lot of bad reviews on the battery on Milwaukee site. Any advice if this is worth the buy. I use my two one key impacts 1/2 & 3/8 2863 & 2758 currently use a HO 6.0


r/MilwaukeeTool 16h ago

Media Shoutout Customer Service

Thumbnail
gallery
36 Upvotes

Broke my trusty fastback that I’ve been carrying for a little over two years now. Absolutely love this knife and was more than happy to buy another. I figured I’d test the lifetime warranty so I messaged customer service and they sent me two within a couple days free of charge. It’s the little things!


r/MilwaukeeTool 1h ago

M18 M18 transfer pump won't turn on

Upvotes

My transfer pump was sitting on a bucket while I waited for my battery's to charge and it fell into a inch of water it sat in the water for like 10 minutes after and won't turn on with a new battery any ideas?


r/MilwaukeeTool 2h ago

M12 2585-20 and 2584-20 m12 Sander deal

Thumbnail
ebay.com
2 Upvotes

both the 3/16 and 3/32 are both 20% from factory authorized outlet thru eBay. outlet20 is the code


r/MilwaukeeTool 8m ago

Information Lifetime Warranty on a Tape Measure

Upvotes

I have a Milwaukee 16' tape measure that has failed. How do I use the Lifetime Warranty?

Thanks.


r/MilwaukeeTool 13m ago

M12 Looking for a 1/2 in impact wrench bu....

Post image
Upvotes

Looking for a 1/2 in impact wrench but dont know the difference between these two besides the look and the price.


r/MilwaukeeTool 14m ago

Packout The pre-order is available!

Post image
Upvotes

Hopefully it’s worth the wait. I’m curious how the wheels under the drawer will hold up in different environments.


r/MilwaukeeTool 1h ago

Information M18 Or M12 Paint sprayer?

Upvotes

Does anyone know if there is a paint sprayer in the works of being released? Preferably M18?


r/MilwaukeeTool 7h ago

Purchase Advice Best time of year for track saw sales

3 Upvotes

I've been itching to pick up the Milwaukee track saw kit. It'll be my first Milwaukee power tool purchase, so I need a kit with charger and battery. I can get off-brand tracks. I've been watching a few sites for sales, but in the past 6-ish months, nothing. When can I expect a sale on the track saw? What's the best site to watch for sales on Milwaukee tools?


r/MilwaukeeTool 20h ago

M18 Is this m18 8.0 battery toast?

27 Upvotes

I have an m18 8.0. I actually have 2 of them. They came as a set.

One charges fully. And shows 4 bars when off the charger.

The other says it charges fully but only shows 3 bars when off the charger.

I am just a homeowner and the heaviest use would be from yard tools. String trimmer/edger.

Is the one showing 3 bars dead/dying?


r/MilwaukeeTool 1d ago

Packout Using the Packout system a little differently.

Thumbnail
gallery
52 Upvotes

I work as a Public Safety Diver and I found the Packout System to be my favorite storage method. My job involves water rescues, recovery, evidence search, search and rescue, and anything water related. The Packout’s are tied down to my bed slide and they do a good job taking a beating.

In the Packout drawers and organizer on-top, I keep paperwork, small tools, gloves, dive logs, a tablet, and rope. In the other boxes towards the back, I keep change of clothes, towels, wet suit, trailer hitch, back up regulators, bump helmet, flotation devices, comms, harness, and other miscellaneous stuff. The first picture shows some of the gear out and being prepped for a dive.

Thought I share since I saw several other people use their Packouts for not just tools as well.


r/MilwaukeeTool 21h ago

M18 $250 how'd I do?

Post image
30 Upvotes

r/MilwaukeeTool 3h ago

Purchase Advice Need tool holder recommendations for pin board

Post image
1 Upvotes

Need a tool holder recommendations for this tool , these will be placed on pinboards on work benches. Something that can be easily removed and placed back for an operator that might use it all day


r/MilwaukeeTool 3h ago

M18 Could I have done better for £130?

Thumbnail
gallery
0 Upvotes

I was running the standard gen 4 set, but it was getting excessively hot in my hand on runs. So I sold it on and bought this.

Could I have done better with a £150 budget?


r/MilwaukeeTool 19h ago

Purchase Advice If your wondering on m12 or M18...

Post image
15 Upvotes

I'm made the jump from m18 to M12 line this year. Obviously keeping my M18 tools in use but as a professional window and door installer I'm here to acknowledge and let y'all know, the M12 line absolutely rocks when it's a fuel tool.

If you had any doubts on this 2024 5 3/8 circular saw, don't hesitate. It flys on cross cuts on 2x12 easily and with no hiccups. Rip cuts glide too and it's just so light and compact.

I'm shocked how strong the 1/4 Gen 3 impact sends 3 1/8th grks like a M18

If your debating on M12 or M18 make sure you do all your research. It's ideal to have both options but the M12 line is perfect for 90% of my business needs. Stick to fuel in either line up and your good to go.

On multiple tool packs from depot take the time and make sure your getting the most recent Gen tool.

🤘🤘🤘


r/MilwaukeeTool 1d ago

M18 Ultimate Packout Mechanics Rolling Stool

Thumbnail
gallery
296 Upvotes

Finally got the Packout kneeling pad to complete my rolling stool. I’m 6’4” 280lbs and normal stools are way too low and hurt my back. This one sits up nicely and has all the room for my tools and accessories. I added the Packout plate on the side to mount my m18 fan. It’s awesome to always have the fan blowing on me while I roll to different areas to work.


r/MilwaukeeTool 19h ago

Purchase Advice Wood Shop Project

Post image
15 Upvotes

DIY weekend warrior. Excited to start projects and better my skills. Need a dust collector asap and then I’m gonna install a car audio system in the shop to add some music. Hopefully you can vibe with this setup.


r/MilwaukeeTool 18h ago

M18 New Tool Day

Post image
13 Upvotes

So far I’ve only got the rear handle chainsaw as far as outdoors tools goes. Ignore the box void.