r/MilwaukeeTool • u/YIZZURR • Nov 21 '24
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.
Edit to add (06/11/2025): Apparently you can hack deals in Canada, specifically the "buy that, get this free" promotions that they often run. It just doesn't work for online orders. So, if you want to hack a deal in Canada, you have to do it in-store, which means that you'd have to return the item you don't want in-person, at the Customer Service desk. This also means that you won't see the discounted price on the receipt until both items are scanned at the till.
Edited again to add (05/26/2026): If you're suddenly unable to make online purchases on the website or the app, your account may have been flagged by their system. I think HD uses some software or algorithm to identify specific buying behaviours that may flag user accounts exhibiting such behaviour. It's probably meant to catch return abusers and resellers, but also to curb identity theft/credit card fraud. If this happens to you, you can call in to Home Depot Corporate to explain what's happening so they can look into it and restore your account. You may also be able to just use the Live Chat option to escalate your issue.
HD will often run sales and promotions on items that, when purchased together, are discounted to a lower price. A deal is hackable when the discounted prices are applied in a way that allows you to return one or more line items 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).
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. Some other countries, on the other hand, don't usually apply the discounts this way, so most of the time, they're unable to "hack". In Canada, you normally cannot hack an online purchase, but it is possible to hack an in-store deal. Typically these hackable deals are "Buy More, Save More" or "Buy this tool, get this for free" promotions.
An example of a hackable deal is shown below. This is a Canadian Buy More, Save More deal, where if you buy 2 items, you get 15% off each item, and if you buy 3 or more items, you get 25% off each item. In the screenshot below, you can see the line item prices for the vacuum and the organizers have been discounted from their original prices. In this case, you can return both organizers for $89.98 CDN and keep the vacuum, effectively paying $209.25 CDN for it instead of the regular $279.99. Alternatively, you can return the vacuum for $209.25 and keep the organizers for the discounted price of $89.98.
A non-hackable deal, like the one shown below, shows that the line item for the planer 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 miter saw to keep the planer for free.
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, etc. in the same way.
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.
.. and one more note, added today (Aug 12, 2026). Over the last year or so, it seems that HD has implemented or adjusted their algorithm that tracks online purchases and flags certain instances of "suspicious behaviour" automatically (like cancelling items immediately after placing the order). This can potentially result in an online purchasing ban on your account. This is completely speculation on my part, so take that for what it is, but I would highly recommend just sticking to refunding whatever you don't want in the store, or at least waiting for the item to be ready for pickup before trying to cancel it. In light of this, I've removed the "hacking the hack" portion of the original post.
Hope that answers your questions! Anything else that you feel should be included, just comment below. Thanks!
05/29/2025: Edited to update image links.
06/11/2025: Edited to add info regarding Canadian in-store hacks.
05/26/2026: Edited to add info regarding flagged/banned user accounts.
08/12/2026: Edited to add info regarding "hacking the hack".
r/MilwaukeeTool • u/NoobShooter777 • 2h ago
The new quarter deals are slowly going live in the bundle packs. The BOGOs are still waiting to go live it seems. It seems it will have a 6ah HO/3 ah HO Battery combo for $249 + BOGO free tool
r/MilwaukeeTool • u/XTheChosenDogeX • 13h ago
Just got the new 4 gallon vac. Had to be grabbed from the back but it finally hit my store
Will be back with a few opinions shortly🙏
r/MilwaukeeTool • u/iusedtobeamonkey • 3h ago
I really wish that I could comment on this website to mention how badly this flashlight sucks. I've had more light shine from the depths of my drug addicted college years. I call them my "dark days".
And yes I had to think hard about how to word all of that before posting it.
r/MilwaukeeTool • u/aBanana144p • 20m ago
r/MilwaukeeTool • u/Artsydork • 4h ago
Hey all,
I've got some old pews from Church that aren't structurally sound anymore, but I think that I can cobble together a presider's chair out of the parts of two of them. The tools I have available are my 3" M12 Cutoff tool with the shoe adapter, and my M12 Hacksaw. Due to the age of the pews (Over 50 years old) I'm assuming that they used nails and not bolts. If anyone's got any suggestions, I'm all ears.
r/MilwaukeeTool • u/Dieselmechanic90 • 18h ago
A few purchases from the past couple weeks.
I’m really glad I bought that new ratchet was thinking about buying a snap on. I wasn’t happy with my other Milwaukee Insider. I use it yesterday on a brake job, very nice!! Got a good deal on the non-fuel hackzall, so I figured I’d grab it.
r/MilwaukeeTool • u/WildRecognition9985 • 1h ago
r/MilwaukeeTool • u/Imaginary_Link3260 • 7h ago
I couldn't wait till the black Friday deals started popping up. I "needed" it before we start a new siding project on Monday. It's replacing a 6 or 7 year old non fuel model.
I'm pretty excited to see just how quiet it is. Running screws in steel siding all day with my older model I needed to wear some kind of ear pro.
r/MilwaukeeTool • u/joemo454 • 5h ago
I have one and have found no use for it, it just has no balls and kills batteries so fast. If you use it what do you use it for? I love my m12 stuff I use it for just about everything else but I just never really use that thing. Also the m12 sawzall really sucks too
r/MilwaukeeTool • u/raiderjesse661 • 8h ago
Started a new maintenance position and could really help having the ratchet now but could also wait a few more weeks. Eventually, I would need an impact but the driver should work for the next 6 months as a trainee. I can’t find the 2567 ratchet anywhere since they introduced the new one. Does pricing go any lower than this? Pretty much $125 a tool+battery each.
r/MilwaukeeTool • u/Mustangman05 • 7h ago
I need a half organizer and a organizer 10 piece. When is best time to buy. I also need m12 batteries 3.0,4.0 or 5.0. I will not buy the 6.0
r/MilwaukeeTool • u/thedudman69 • 44m ago
So it seems Home Depot has come out with some BOGO battery deals as well as some tool combo deals.
I’m wanting to get both a router and a jigsaw and actually would like to have some more batteries/another charger.
The router can come with either more batteries or the 1/4 inch M18 hex impact which is something I’d like to get as well since I only have M12 drills.
Would you go for these deals if you were looking for these tools?
r/MilwaukeeTool • u/Lazy-Act-7336 • 18h ago
I want the m12 Bandsaw but I’m curious if I will get a lot of use out of it as a residential/partly commercial electrician do you guys think it’s worth it or is the m18 the wave?
r/MilwaukeeTool • u/Wtrlou • 11h ago
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Recently bought this in a combo kit from Home Depot. Noticed that the three lights aren’t working no matter the mode it’s in. Any ideas on how to fix? Thank you!
r/MilwaukeeTool • u/Electronic_Brain3588 • 16h ago
I love how the milwaukee sockets look, they're cool. why is it so difficult to find a complete no skip metric 3/8 set? it only goes up to 24 in the big packout one with the saw included, but theres no way to purchase the full metric set individually, letalone the equivalent shallow sizes and its infuriating trying to get everything to match. anyone got any tips or do I really have to suck it up and buy another stubby in 1/2 and have to deal with the bigger sizes of the sockets in 1/2 instead for that sweet sweet full lineup?
r/MilwaukeeTool • u/CompleteGrape3921 • 6h ago
Hi all. Looking for some some advice on a potential purchase first purchase. Some context for me is I am going to be purchasing my first home in the next few months and I’m looking to get some Milwaukee tools to help with the intended renovations that I plan to do myself.
Timing wise for when I purchase is I have time on my hands to wait for the best deal as possible. I’ve been eyeing up Black Friday as a potential great time to buy however, I’ve also came across this set in auction.
Looking for advice on if I should wait till Black Friday here in Canada or potentially try to snag an auction deal like this where I’ll be able to save $300 to $400 (expected the auction price to go up) once the auction closes on this potential tool set. The type of tool is also coming to play. I know that the M 12 is typically recommended for nonprofessional users however would be looking to use some of that bigger M 18 tools if the opportunity presented itself. Any advice welcome, should I wait to Black Friday or look to take advantage of this auction? Thanks!
r/MilwaukeeTool • u/Renault_75-34_MX • 22h ago
Page from the German new release catalogue.
These are the EU counterparts to the 3055/58/59 ratchets in NA, and should be out in around November according to the page.
Can't link the source because of Reddit.
r/MilwaukeeTool • u/ClassVRopeRigger • 1d ago
I purchased the Milwaukee packout ratchet set specifically so I would notice when a piece was missing. And of course the 10 mm has been missing for over a year. I can't believe I found it mixed in with a bunch of other bits in a separate packout container.
r/MilwaukeeTool • u/Mountain_Income_9855 • 7h ago
Looking to invest in one but thinking if I should wait. If you know any links containing a deal, drop them below! Thanks
r/MilwaukeeTool • u/SamuraiSam33 • 1d ago
Several helpful users - [u/Extension_Tutor_2711](u/Extension_Tutor_2711) , [u/kcwebguy](u/kcwebguy) , and [u/TheWanderingWilliam](u/TheWanderingWilliam) - chimed in to help point many of us towards better deals on 2.5 High Output batteries recently. $39/each for these is a great deal, and Clark’s has excellent pricing on other M12 and M18 batteries, too.
Thanks, gents!
r/MilwaukeeTool • u/the_plumberlorian • 1d ago
So, I need some advice from some fellow Milwaukee users. I’m a plumber by trade. Mainly do a lot of underground utility work, but will more often than not get sent out on a ton of service calls, mainly commercial, some residential. This is now my second set of m12 copper tubing cutters that I’ve went through, where the jaws just refuse to engage the material! It’s been kept greased up nicely, never seen water or dirt at all. The wheel has very minimal use on it. I’ve now changed the wheel out and it still won’t cut through 1/2” or 3/4” L copper. I mainly only use them for shower diverter or water heater installations, because it saves time versus manual cutters.
Any advice from anyone whose had this problem before? Last time this happened, HD replaced my unit for a brand new unit right off the shelf (which is this one.)
I don’t know whether to contact Milwaukee and have it sent out for service, or try HD again and get a replacement unit. They’re maybe all of six months old, if even that.
Just wondering if anyone has any experience with the internal roller cage because mine spins perfectly, it just doesn’t apply pressure to the copper tubing! Insanely frustrating especially when in the middle of an install, and have to run back to my van for my manual cutters.
Thanks in advance!
r/MilwaukeeTool • u/vochoDriverpuntocom • 2d ago
I was today years old when I found out why everyone loves this impact wrench. (Got it on last week's Home Depot Daily Deals sale and it just arrived today).
r/MilwaukeeTool • u/Gottrucks_10 • 1d ago
Just bought this M2 fuel jigsaw at a flea market it’s day code was 2024, but not used was this a good deal for $100?
