Dave Dunfield wrote:
My beef with them is that new packs list at $79.99 (Canada) while
a new 12v drill which comes with two packs is $159.99. This means
that Dewalt/B&D consider the drill disposable, encouraging people
to toss them in the landfull rather than replace the batteries. I'm sure
I will be able to rebuild the packs for less than 1/2 that, but it leaves
a bad taste...

why do people expect low volume goods to sell at the same prices pro
rate as mass market goods? No use blaming B&D for the realities of
business.

Any why would these be low-volume items? (because the drill is
disposable due to the fact that it gets replaced for free at the same
cost of two replacement batteries). This drill has lots of life left in it,
and could easily go through several sets of batteries (in other words,
battery sales should be at least a significant portion of drill sales,
and might be an even higher total volume - with the added bonus
that fewer drills might be tossed in the landfill every year).

Nobody is suggesting that replacement packs should be the same
price as the two that are included in the drill package - but the same
price for two batteries as two batteries + drill + charger + carry case?

Exactly...and I really can't understand the economics of it. If most
people toss the drill and buy a new one (due to the high cost of
replacement packs); how is it more profitable for the supplier? The
only reason I can think, is that the batteries are second-sourced and
not really produced by the manufacturer of the drill itself.
Consequently, they have a much higher cost to the OEM drill maker, who
is in the business of selling *drills*, not batteries.

There must be some sort of agreement in place with the battery pack
producer to not sell the specific packs to end consumers at a reasonable
cost.

jak