[StrangeATractor]

This isn't a secret in construction, you buy one brand of cordless tools and stick with it. DeWalt sells tools so cheap you wonder if they're a loss leader. A single battery (one of the big 60V, 12Ah ones you use for circular saws and angle grinders) is $285 on Amazon. The biggest cordless circular is $178, the biggest grinder is $163.

You'll want at least two of those batteries per day if you're doing any serious work.

The real pain is when they they change the battery's interface, which will happen every so often. They stop selling the older stuff and eventually you'll have to upgrade and buy the whole product line all over again.

[bombcar]

It's not quite as cut and dried as that, but it's getting closer as the brands expand. My contractor friend would refer to various tools as the "Brand" because he had one cordless tool from that brand because they had the one he needed. "Go grab the Makita", that kind of thing.

From my experience it's the prosumer market that gets really rabid about their tool color. Do NOT cross the Red Army!

[datpiff]

> From my experience it's the prosumer market that gets really rabid about their tool color. Do NOT cross the Red Army!

Turn-over is much lower. A professional may buy a whole line of tools from a single brand but with the expectation that they may replace them all in several years. This allows some level of comparison and movement between brands as quality varies over time.

The part-timer/prosumer is locked in for a decade or more and ends up tying the tool brand to their identity...

[bombcar]

It can vary company-by-company, but many contractors are their own little company and use the tool they need; a $250 battery is nothing if they need to keep working.

They also may not even bother warrantying a dead battery or tool unless it is painlessly easy (literally give it back to Home Depot when there to get something else), since the time spent isn't worth it.

[JohnFen]

> They also may not even bother warrantying a dead battery or tool unless it is painlessly easy

I'm this way as an individual customer, to be honest. I ignore warranties entirely because they're rarely worth all of the hassle that comes with them.

[citrin_ru]

It’s a rational choice for an individual but if people would always use warranty it would create an incentive for manufacturer to keep some minimal quality level to reduce cost of replacements/returns.

[dieselgate]

Also the cost of it for the contractor is just passed onto the consumer/client if they’re doing business “right”.

I used to work at HD supply hardware store (store targeting commercial contractors) and there isn’t even price tags on the items at all. Stuff is super expensive but all that stuff is baked into contract budgets

[StrangeATractor]

There are exceptions depending on what you're doing, but generally speaking 95% of your cordless tools will be one brand.

[Arrath]

And it'll often be for the advantage of a single warranty/service/repair contract as much as a unified battery logistics chain.

When you have crews burning out a half dozen assorted hammer drills, recirc saws, electric rivet busters, etc. a week then the service side of the contract really comes in to play.

[mikecoles]

Dewault has a 'sneaky' tactic. I just needed a battery. Tools run fine. You can't buy a new battery, of the legacy style, from the big box stores though. They do sell a battery adapter so you can use with their new style batteries with your existing tools. Now that you have a new battery to use with your old tools, might as well keep buying new tools to match that battery.

[hgsgm]

Why aren't ZYXNOO and BAJIP and all those Amazon brands selling cheap and modular replacements?

[nikau]

They are.

I have some clone Makita batteries and tools that are fine.

Your average tradie would rather just do a cash in hand extra job vs spending that time researching and waiting for some clone tools from China.