How can you tell a Black Friday power tool deal is real?

A power tool deal is real when the price holds up against its own history and the box contains everything you need to run the tool. A big struck-through list price proves very little on its own, and a cheap bare tool can turn into your most expensive purchase if you don't already own the battery it needs. Check three things in this order: the platform, the contents, then the price record.

What a price record can and can't prove

The list price on a listing is the seller's number, and nothing forces anyone to have sold at it. So the gap between the strikethrough and the current price is the weakest evidence you have.

A better test is how the price has actually behaved. DealStoker checks the Amazon price of each product regularly, and the records for the tools below are short. These notes describe each record as of Nov 4. We started tracking the drill and impact driver kit on Oct 14; it held one price until a single drop on Oct 24 and has stayed there since. We've tracked the other five since Oct 9. The sander has moved up and down several times. The work light and the pressure washer have shown the same price at every check. The Greenworks blower held one price until a drop on Nov 1, and the 650 CFM blower stayed within a cent of one price until it rose on Nov 3. That's useful to know, but it is a few weeks of data, not a year. It can't tell you what these tools cost last Black Friday, and it can't tell you what they'll cost next month. Each product card shows when we last checked its price, so if a card and this text disagree, go by the card.

Read it like this: movement inside a narrow band means the "sale" price is close to the everyday price. A flat line means the only case for a deal is the list price, which you can't verify. Neither is a reason to skip a tool you need. It's a reason not to rush because a banner says the offer ends tonight.

Warranty is the other thing a listing hides. It isn't in our product data, so open the manufacturer's page before you buy. Tool, battery and charger can carry different coverage, and an unfamiliar seller may complicate a claim.

You own no cordless tools: buy the kit, not the bare tool

This is the easiest call in the guide.

The DEWALT 20V MAX Drill and Impact Driver Kit DCK240C2 puts a drill, an impact driver, two batteries, a charger and a bag in one box. That matters more than any discount. The batteries and charger are the expensive, platform-defining parts of a cordless system, and here you get them with two tools you'll use constantly. It has a large review base, which also means complaints are easy to find if you want to read them.

The limitation is the batteries themselves. The listing doesn't state their capacity in our data, and a "C2" kit typically means two compact packs. Compact packs are light, but they run down faster on a long job, such as driving a few hundred deck screws. If you're building a fence or a deck, check the amp-hour rating on the listing and think about whether a third battery would help. The data also doesn't mention a hammer-drill mode, so if you drill into brick or block, confirm that before you buy.

You already own DEWALT 20V MAX batteries: bare tools make sense

Here the logic flips, and tool-only listings become the genuinely good buys.

If you've got a 20V MAX battery and charger in the garage, the DEWALT 20V MAX Orbital Sander DCW210B is just the sander. No second charger, no duplicate battery, and the sander is the only thing you're paying for. It has a large review base. It's a sensible pick if you refinish a table or a set of cabinet doors a couple of times a year. The sander is brushless and has dust collection, but remember that a small onboard collector won't replace a shop vacuum when you sand drywall or a whole room's trim.

If you don't own a battery, the equation changes entirely. The sander needs one, and the missing battery and charger are the expensive part of this system. In that case, the kit above is the better starting point, and the sander can come later.

The DEWALT 20V MAX LED Work Light DCL050 follows the same rule, and it earns its place in a narrower set of situations. It's useful if you're working under a sink, in an attic or in a dark crawlspace, where a pivoting head lets you aim the beam without holding it. It has a large review base. But its price hasn't changed since we started tracking it on Oct 9, so there's no history to show the markdown is more than a list-price gap. It's also bare, so a work light with a drained battery is a paperweight; if you only have one battery, the light and your drill will compete for it.

You're clearing leaves this fall: two very different leaf blowers

Yard tools are where platform confusion bites hardest, because outdoor brands each run their own batteries. The Greenworks 40V blower won't share a battery with DEWALT's 20V tools, and neither will the second blower below. Treat either one as its own island unless you plan to buy more tools from the same brand.

The Greenworks 40V 550 CFM Leaf Blower comes with a 4.0Ah battery and its charger, so it's a complete package for a suburban lot with a few mature trees. Its rating rests on a much smaller review base than the DEWALT tools have, so one or two bad batches would sway it more. It held one price from Oct 9, when we started tracking it, until a drop on Nov 1; the card shows where it stands now. The main limitation is that you get a single battery. If your yard takes longer than one charge to clear, you stop and wait, or you buy a second pack.

The Cordless 650 CFM Leaf Blower with Two 4.0Ah Batteries answers that problem directly. Two batteries, a fast charger and six speed settings, and owners point out how light it is to carry. If you have a bigger yard or want to swap packs mid-job, that's the better fit on paper. The catch is the brand: the listing doesn't name a recognizable platform, its review base is much smaller than the DEWALT tools', and warranty or replacement-battery support is harder to judge. Don't compare the 650 CFM figure to the Greenworks 550 and conclude it blows harder. CFM measures air volume, not force, and makers don't measure it identically. Check whether the listing states air speed as well.

If your yard is small and the leaves are already down, this one is easy to talk yourself into. If you want to be able to buy a spare battery in three years, it's worth some extra reading first.

You wash a patio twice a year: go corded and skip the platform question

A pressure washer is a different animal. It plugs into a wall, so you skip the battery question entirely.

The Sun Joe SPX3000-XT1 has a 14.9-amp motor rated at 2,200 PSI, four quick-connect nozzles and a 35-foot power cord. That suits a one-car driveway and a small patio. It has a large review base. Its price hasn't changed since we started tracking it on Oct 9.

The limits are practical. Add the garden hose length and the 35-foot cord, and you'll still be hunting for an outlet if the far side of the house is your target. And 2,200 PSI is on the gentler side for a pressure washer, so old oil stains on concrete will take patience. Read the manual before the first use, especially the sections on nozzle choice and surfaces that shouldn't be sprayed closely.

What isn't worth paying extra for

Some of the things deal pages push hardest add the least.

• A bigger CFM or PSI number on its own. If you clear a quarter-acre of oak leaves, a blower's comfort and battery count matter more than a 100-CFM gap on a spec sheet.
• A third or fourth battery you can't use. Two batteries in the box is plenty to start. Add more only if you've run out of charge mid-job.
• Brushless as a deciding feature on a tool you'll use six times a year. It pays off for heavy daily use. For an occasional sander, it's a bonus, not a reason to pay more.
• Kits bundling tools you won't touch. A kit with a drill, an impact driver and a saw sounds generous, but if you never cut anything, you've paid for a saw.
• "Limited time" badges. They're a sales tactic, not information. The price record and the box contents are information.

When it's fine to wait

Waiting may be reasonable if no project is pressing. If you're buying a sander for a table you won't refinish until spring, you could consider watching the price record for a few weeks instead of buying on the first day of a sale. We can't tell you where prices will go, and a short record can't either.

Waiting makes less sense if the job is already in front of you. If leaves are down and your yard is covered, a blower you don't own isn't saving you any time. A drill kit for a repair you've put off for months is a similar case. Consider whether the use you'd get out of it this week outweighs the chance of a better price later, because only you can judge that.

Before you click buy

Open the listing and write down three things: the battery voltage and brand, the contents of the box (battery count, charger, bag), and the warranty page link. Then open the price record on the product card and look at whether the current price sits inside its normal range or just beside a big list price. If the tool is bare and you don't own the battery, decide now whether you want the whole system from this brand. If you don't, the kit is usually the better buy, and the bare tool can wait.