Veteran-built.
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Pick one of our real receipts to see how it works, or start blank. Change any number and the answer updates.
| Tool | Tag price ($) | Qty | Free? |
|---|
Real cost each spreads what you paid across every tool by its tag price. That is how stores split the discount on your receipt, and it is what you get back if you return one piece. The last column shows the other way to look at it: the free tool at $0 and the paid tools carrying the whole bill. Fees such as the California e-waste fee are not included.
What counts as a good deal for our crew
We run the same math on our own receipts. Here is what we actually paid this fall:
| Store and date | What we bought | Tag value | We paid (before tax) | Off |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lowe's, Oct 26, 2026 | Bosch 18V 2x6Ah starter kit, brushless planer, jobsite radio | $687.00 | $269.00 | 61% |
| Lowe's, Oct 15, 2026 | DeWalt jobsite radio adapter, 20V 4Ah battery 2-pack (plus the military discount) | $488.00 | $197.10 | 60% |
| Home Depot, Nov 7, 2026 | M18 FUEL rear-handle circular saw with a free M18 FORGE XC 8.0Ah battery | $529.00 | $300.00 | 43% |
That sets our bar:
- 55% off or more: crew-grade. That is where our best buys landed.
- 40% to 55%: a good deal. Buy it if you need the tools.
- 25% to 40%: OK. If you can wait, the bigger free-tool events usually beat it.
- Under 25%: pass, unless the job can't wait.
How to hack a free-tool deal
- Make the free tool the expensive one. On our DeWalt buy, the free item was the $269 battery 2-pack, not the $219 radio adapter. Pick the priciest free option you'll actually use.
- Count batteries as tools. A free FORGE 8.0Ah battery is worth more to a crew than most bare tools.
- Stack what stacks. Lowe's applied the military discount on top of the buy-and-get deal on our DeWalt order. Ask at the register.
- Check online-only versions. On PACKOUT, the online versions with organizer inserts cost the same as the basic boxes for us, and they count toward the spend-and-save tiers.
- Return all or nothing. Lowe's splits the free-tool discount across every item; to get a full refund you return the whole set together.
See every live deal with its dates on the deals page.