Specifically, the same part number part of it. how about checking each receipt walking out the door??? Cutaways was several years ago and I didnt take any pictures, as camera phones were not that common at the time. Changing the tools will do nothing. But to meet the new lead laws, they either have to use higher grade brass or switch to plastic. Power tools can also mean different things. Machined steel screw is zinc plated. Do you know who owns the tools in the store ? What about USB dongles? I guarantee people will find a way to bypass it almost immediately. Your email address will not be published. Im really happy with my tool platform of choice, but the major tool companies are all close enough in price and performance that I wont hesitate to switch away from any brand that participates in this to one that doesnt. My local HD used to have that setup, but it honestly felt kinda creepy to me and I noticed they took it down about a year ago. If I buy it from my usual supply house it has chrome plated pot metal handles, brass stemmed cartridges and grid strainer or pop-up my choice. In other words, it seems that Home Depot is experimenting with technology that prevents power tools from working unless you buy them at a register. Mostly I agree HD could be replaced with a large Milwaukee tool vending machine and Id not really notice the difference. Its not the most sophisticated. How would the tool dept employee stop that? So, in effect, shrink is going up because of the self checkout program and its incompatibility with the rfid tag system. Now, pretty much every powertool and some handtools I bought in many years had a small security device in the packaging / on the box behind the barcode or even on the power cord of the tools, setting off the buzzer, if it was not deactivated at the register. if their employees actually did their jobs instead of telling everyone theyre on a break, there would be no tool theft. It has been around 20 months since this initiative was first announced, and despite the fresh media attention, there is no indication as to which brands and tools this will affect, and how the anti-theft measure will work. I really dont see how this is reasonable or feasible. But Im sure theyve figured all this shrink into their budget and insurance. Today, when I buy stuff in stores, they forget to deactivate the security tags quite often. Using this hardware the frame can not easily be removed from the wall without the use of a T-Security wrench. As a retired LE I would hire off duty police officers in uniform if possible who have powers of arrest not private security in each store. Poor employee morale is probably most of the rest. The more items chipped, the higher chance a cashier will miss a paid for item and the alarm is tripped for nothing. Its takes a lot of loss from stolen tools to rise above the mountains of legal bills they would have (from customers, employees, and the criminals) if they tried to physically stop the theft. smh. Im not that old but old enough that I dont want a bunch of smart tools. She has no reason to stop because its just a slap on the wrist if she gets caught. A demo tool out with a security cable so customers can play with it. That went away, though, and I would have to agree with Andy that the tool corral would hurt sales. This is going to be similar, where the customer is going to be associated with theft immediately instead of a employee mistake. Festool Tool Shortages due to COVID Disruptions, New Milwaukee USA Manufacturing Facility is Coming in 2022. So now instead of Home Depot budgeting in shrinkage, the cost of the shrink prevention will be built into the tool, and be directly (instead of indirectly) paid for by the consumer? great idea! 100 pack of red 10 gauge anchors used with 1 x 10 screws for the security hanger kits. They go hand in hand. On Wednesday a guy walked out with two buckets full of DeWalt merch. Using this hardware the frame can not easily be removed from the wall without the use of a T-Security wrench. Hows that going to work with cordless power tools, which are arguably the largest segment of power tools purchased today? Used with wood security hanger system. Actual theft is usually stopped before they get to the cash registers. In the lab, there is always a salesperson to assist in reality, thats rare and while you can see what you want, you cant actually have one. There were also half-unloaded pallets of stuff in the aisles, along with packing material lying around, creating a slip and trip hazard. Unless, like costco, you make it a membership shopping store. I know Id be pissed if I got a tool home and it wasnt activated properly. I cannot stand shopping for tools at H.D., Ive waited 30 minutes or more to find a vest for assistance. Its win win ur right man & I dont wait in lines, I steal the shit. Im sure if this happened, then all that would be focused on is hacking the software to enable everything for free. I am a stockholder so a bigger bottom line is nice but I hate having to check my self out. Zinc Plated. Nylon. No need to worry about unwieldy security measures; our hardware can get the job done for you without compromising aesthetics. That forces you to either try to twist the package around and contort yourself so you can see the specs on the back, or waste time trying to hunt down the person with the key to unlock it. Theft is part of any big box store overhead. What was the ultimate solution there? Im sure it would take about 1 day for someone to figure a way around this and it would be useless. Bulk metal security hanger set. Next: Milwaukee OneKey to require you to activate & register your tool with bluetooth to your phone and scan your receipt to make it work. Plus, who do you think will eat the cost of adding a feature like this? From multiple heights and angles at each exit Only issue is that people dont like to basically broadcast themselves at every waking moment. Its easy to say the employees are to blame Theyre not. I can absolutely assure you that the black and yellow brand and the red brand manufacture two different tools under the same model numbers. If you know what you want, thats okay I guess. These groups may travel hundreds of miles to hit specific stores at specific times, its often much more than a crime of opportunity. I mean that seems more feasible than a special HD version of the tool which is the only one that has the additional anti-theft tech. First of all because Im not installing any app on my phone that I didnt pick. How long before you are only renting the tool you picked up at the store. Lots of stores have done this kind of thing with other products. If they get stolen less, it might actually lower the cost of those tools. I bought an 18v stapler the other day, self checkout, nothing to deactivate, mmm, so I handed it to a staff member with my receipt, explaining I dont want to trigger the alarm, no, I was good, it doesnt need anything??? I could ALMOST see it working IF brushless motors are actually cheaper to make than brushed sell a normal tool that has a Fuel upgrade for $30 in the app or something. Everytime someone brings up DRM I remember how much I hate apple. Going to respectfully disagree with you. They are resold to wholesale companies which in turn resell these items, again, to the public. It was to make buying music easier. Wouldnt it be easier/cheaper to put a corral around the tool section along with a register. Zinc Plated steel. Then put processes and procedures in place to make it more focused on reducing shrink, even if that mean having one employee solely dedicated to tools and helping people buy them. How it is going to work with self checkout? 1000 pack of security moulding bracket. Screws are not included. Earlier someone had mentioned if XYZ brand puts that in their tools Im no longer buying them. One Home Depot store does this around me. I would rather live life as a gentleman and have UPS deliver it to my door by mail order than wait in even longer lines. E-retailers could care less about this, so are the manufacturers working with HD on this? Made of hardened steel it is 6 inches long and 3/4 inch wide. The underlying hardware is identical. Agree 100%. Screws are not included. Some cordless power tool brands have specific models and connected technologies that allow tools to be locked-out via an app, but you need an app to do it. Just like most laws trying to keep honest people honest. Much of these stolen items as Stu noted are people looking to sell it quick for a few bucks (no real idea what the retail cost is) but also theres a large export market to Asia, Eastern Europe, and Africa.much of these groups are basically organized crime with what they steal already sold in the black market. See my previous comment on dongles: Maybe we will only see this feature on expensive brushless tools. Most of what were putting in is specd on the prints and a lot of it is junk nowadays. I just purchased a brand new Dewalt XR combo kit with tool connect and the drill /driver doesnt work. My assumption is that the checker is really just there as a deterrent and to keep an eye on things in case someone tries to fly out with a cart full of high-value merchandise. But the guy that said people will just go steal something else in ur store is 100% correct, the best bet I have seen is that AI software that follows packages not people & tuffer, stronger, more intense looking dudes standing RIGHT DIRECTLY AT THE ENTRANCE TO THE DOOR so I cant duck around him & who gives a shit if u put a 70 yr old women at the door & they have to restate alot & only work 2hrs at the door a day cause only a pathetic fawk would agree to work that job day n & day out, the quality workers u throw up there quit quick. That these greedy sobs would rather impose a complicated tool activation system on vendors rather than admit they screwed up is all I need to see upper management is full of hubris. That or maybe go the small electronics route and have a display item in store and you take a card to the register and the item is brought out after you pay. Net guns. HD has to shoulder a bit if the blame, they are fostering these losses, take action, and even install highdef cameras in the parking areas. My homedepot just put a lock cage on all of the lower shelf tools or placed them up high. Like car alarms. Being in law enforcement its sickening the number of tools that walk, usually briskly, out of THD and Lowes. but there are always those times when you might need something right this moment. In almost any HD you can walk right out the door with a full cart and no one will say anything to you. Im not saying youre wrong, but if a retailer has policy allowing employees to aprehend thieves, even security guards, their workers comp rates would go through the roof. So not only are they going to break, er I mean, secure the power tools, they are going to make the customers do the work to activate them. This is common place among electronics and plumbing parts, so why not tools? yea i work at a tool store and we got some of the Dewalt tool connect product and you have to get it activated so is there a way around it? Required fields are marked *. This may ultimately halt eBay sales of stolen items when the consumer buys a non-functional tool and gets a (eBay absolutely sides with the buyer on everything) refund. Home Depot is introducing power tools that wont work if theyre stolen. The Harbor Freight store in a high risk area of my state has all ratchets locked up in cages. Anything that can be activated or authorized can be deactivated or deauthorized. This will continue to be an interesting development to follow. Pay for security, prosecute thieves to the fullest. Haha! In one instance the guy just gave the tool to me once I asked but at a more-urban store the woman took it to the checkout and held it there for me, Ironically, this is in Maine where about half the cars and trucks parked out front will have the keys in the ignition, Oh and all the Ryobi deals are still piled up on aisle ends and in the sale bays at the front of the store loose no security. Bulk wood security hanger set. Zinc Plated. . Now tools require activation at HD point if sale. I listened to a transcript of the presentation and Q&A session, and Home Depot did indeed say that they areaccelerating plans around technology that can help bring shrink down, includingpoint of sale activation whereyou buy a power tool, and the only time that power tool can work is if it goes through a point of sale. Store manager bonuses are tied to hitting lean payroll targets. I have zero sympathy for shoplifting losses at major retailer. See, then you have to PAY more people, which is what HD is trying NOT to do. Keep your precious artwork safe with our security picture hardware. If this is truly about shrinkage, and not a money grab to force customers into stores, then this isnt about walk-in shoplifters its about shrinkage from employees. Hardly is that all HD could do. The impact driver, however works great. How about an annual fee to keep the drill running, just for the hell of it? I hope they dont do something drastic like come up with subscription based power tools instead! Lock Framed Pictures to the Wall to Prevent Casual Theft and Tampering. I have no interest in buying an inferior product at their store because HDs management thinks making their products worse is the right response to the result of managerial choices. This is the best idea so far. These plans need to be well thought out so that consumers are not impacted, and I havent seen a solution yet that is engineered that way. Why not put the power tools behind locked cages. Used with both wood and metal security systems. Interesting idea. Bad people will find a way around it, all of us will just be inconvenienced by it when you buy something and the fancy tech didnt work out. Just dumb garage that we will have to pay for, cause they sure arent paying for the extra costs! Now that I think about it HD used to have those annoying pedestals at the door that would randomly go off, but they got rid of them the same time they put in the self checkouts. Use #8335 anchor to attach to the wall. Theres someone about an hour from me that sells stolen Milwaukee batteries. Will online retailers have different tool versions? That being said, I still have never seen any of these pictures/cutaways as proof. Once more details are available, a new post will make more sense. Its a trick question they cant. I have over 30 years or retail operational experience, primarily as a consultant. In reality itll be more of the same and maybe a Ryobi that wont work without an internet connection, quickly clearanced. It works with cars. What about remote software activation? Play with the displays all you want, when you actually want to buy one go up to the tool guy counter and pay for it and he hands you one from behind his counter in a locked case. She said, no need, we dont have the ability to read these tags anyway, so you can clip it off at home.. When trying to pair the drill/driver through Tool Connect itll say it needs to be activated at the place I purchased it from. In order for this to work, buyers would have to accept the hassle assuming wed have a choice. When all hardware is engaged, frames are not easily removed from walls without a Secure-T Wrench. Same thign happened with music. What? But dont forget to watch the employees as well, That explains the reason behind this Mikwaukee patent: https://patents.google.com/patent/US20210122024A1/en. Somewhat. Secondary benefit, maybe the online inventory will be more accurate? Maybe have them in secure area and once ready to buy, get the item for the customer, with demo tools out on the floor. Use #8335 anchor to attach to the wall. If Some dude is in a sealed room getting off to me in 4k hdr, I should at least get 20% off. Next thing you know tools wont work without wifi and will require software updates. The previous self checkouts had a deactivate area, but the new big flat screen ones do not??? In my limited experience, many of those tools are bought by employees that get to see the clearance price before it hits the rack. Simple. This will not work, it just wont. The comes down to 3 things: HD going to all-self checkout, shrinking staff to the bone, and having a well known and explicit policy of doing nothing to stop thieves. I dont think customers will like having tools that are subject to an activation system that could potentially fail. Here on the West Coast its not just HD that often gets hit, Apple Stores, LuLu Lemon, Sears, Nordstorm are all hit on a regular basis. 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FWIW, I think you should have created a new article and linked back to this one rather than updating an article that is almost 2 years old. What we need to do is start prosecuting shoplifters much harsher. Pablo, good point, but not legally allowed, with one caveat. That is the easy way, but typically store see a double digit loss in sales when they do this. tools for quick money and sell them to buyers with the means to circumvent the DMR and finally an eBay sale as unlocked Power Tools. Professionals quit shopping at these low end places and support your local businesses. Only one staff member at the register area distracted with one person, just roll on through with whatever they want undetected????? Any Radio frequency generator or even magnet to turn on the switch would be for sale at Ebay the following week. Our anchor has more holding power than standard anchors adding to the strength of the security hanger system. People buying on craigslist (or others) will have to be less trusting and double check everything from then on (Ive met way to many people that totally trust me when I say that something works and I have to make them test stuff out, those are the people that get screwed on things like this DRM type system). If the upfront cost is less than the cost of the theft as a total, maybe Home Depot would cover that cost so the consumer never sees a price increase in the first place. Secures to the frame with #8210 1/2 x 8 screws. I didnt get bombarded. Unfortunately for HD, they dont have total control over tool pricing. It wont be long before someone figures out how to bypass the security activation and then we are back where we started. Figure out another way to sell expensive tools and hire more skilled people and you will reduce shrink. It should be easy to add some parts and code to brushless tools that already have a processor and already have all of their electronics sealed inside epoxy. But if TTI develops that why not just give the tools away and you activate them online for $? 1 pack of a security T wrench used to lock the T screw into either the security mounting bracket on wood frames or #11 style metal frames. No way decreaesed theft would offset the cost. Then when a tool needs a repair. What ever happened to frying crooks? Walk-in shoplifters are a HUGE problem: on Tuesday we had a walk-out with a cart full of Milwaukee 12hr batteries and Fuel power tools. Im sure cities like London with many surveillance cameras have spent a ton of effort trying to add AI and other aids to help with people tracking and intelligence gathering, and Id imagine that some of that tech has spilled over into casinos. Use #8335 anchor to attach to the wall. Requires #8333 security T wrench to install and secure frame. You can not legally stop a customer to check a receipt. A few features here, Its strange how that works both ways. Ive worked at two HD stores and no one has been fired or arrested for stealing except for company time (hiding in the break room). I dont see why they dont just set up a separate storage space thats a tool warehouse. Thats another trick question. Pay for the labor or pay for the shrink. Are you ALWAYS where you should be? If youre looking or want to compare, its terrible. If Milwaukee alone starts sending out tools with this tech, I absolutely will NOT buy their product. I was told recently by the Red Brand representative that the batteries can vary slightly between the box store and pro counters. And the added cost of the activation tech has to be passed onto the purchaser, upping the price. Each set contains enough hardware to hang 100 frames. Shouldnt this be easy to find proof or pictures of if true? Stuart says no politics,, Yes, I have the Bosch DDS-183 18V drill from ~2013 that has the anti-kickback feature. Yes it could be a website, but this would just be a headache remembering to do this transfer or making sure the seller does it. Just like the computers at Wal-Mart. Haha, exactly! He dropped the gear in a turn and ran off into the parking lot. Used with wood and metal security systems. No Thanks! Lowes is usually out ahead on its defensive measures against theftIm all for enhanced measures so long as it doesnt overly inconvenience the paying customer. Not HD. The employees cant even reliably deactivate those anti-theft tags. Yes tool theft at HD is a huge problem, one they really havent cared about forever. is just creating a new market segment, unlocked power tools.