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I visited a nearby Home Depot store yesterday, and their Makita tool deal displays were fully stocked and neatly organized.
With the deal shown here, you buy the Makita 18V cordless circular saw and get a free 18V battery 2-pack.
You grab the saw, and the free batteries are right there. After you make your purchase, you leave the store with the tool and your freebie item.
I like this promo format, where you “buy this, get something for free.” It’s not as good as a deep discount, but is the next-best type of tool deal.
So when I got an email today about Makita’s new promo strategy, I thought it was a joke at first.
An industry insider sent a heads-up that Makita is moving to rebate-based tool promotions:
thought you might be interested in sharing this with your readers and getting their feedback. It seems that Makita is moving to an online rebate model for promos
REBATES?!
For all of you younger readers, mail-in rebates are the worst. You buy something, fill out a form, cut out a UPC code so that you can’t return the product, and send them to a rebate processing center. You then wait, and wait, and wait, and then after 6-8 weeks you complain about having never received your check or free item, complain some more, and then after resubmitting photocopied proof of everything, eventually your discount or free stuff will arrive.
E-Rebates are a bit different, in how you don’t have to snail-mail anything in.
Makita lays out the steps:
Buy a qualified promo.
Submit your purchase details online.
Receive your promo offer shipment.
Be sure you check Makita’s list of qualifying retailers before you make your purchase.
Submission requires sending Makita a photo of your receipt or invoice, as well as the products, serial number, and UPC bar code of the outer box.
Your invoice or receipt needs to show the store, store address, purchase date, item, quantity, price, and order or transaction number. And you need to highlight the qualifying item on the receipt or invoice.
Makita will presumably check with the retailer to make sure you didn’t return the item. There are limits and all kinds of other factors that might invalidate a rebate – be sure to read the fine print and follow all of the steps.
Also:
Makita reserves the right to substitute products of equal or greater value if any product is unavailable.
With their current offers, you can buy an 18V cordless power tool combo kit and get a free jig saw or reciprocating saw. So does this mean if they run out of your choice, you’re likely to get the other?
If all goes well, you can expect to:
Please allow 4 to 6 weeks for processing time.
It has been years since I bought anything with a rebate offer – I thought those days were over.
I get antsy waiting 4-6 days for online orders. 4-6 WEEKS for fulfillment?
I’m guessing there’s no way around this, as they have to make sure you didn’t return the item after sending in for the free tool.
Given how few and poor Makita’s Black Friday and Holiday 2023 tool deals have been (at least in my opinion, tell me yours), I guess it’s good to see them trying something.
On the other hand, maybe it’s good to stick with what you know. For instance – Makita’s Outdoor Adventure loin-warming heated blanket.
I really hope that Makita is simply adding rebate deals, as opposed to moving or switching over to them.
What do you think about Makita’s new e-Rebates program? Are there any positives for customers?
Does anyone prefer rebates over instant “buy this, get something for free” deals?
