How we pick deals
OnTimeDeals has one rule: a tool deal only gets listed if its price is reported as the lowest in about a year. Plenty of "sales" are just the normal price with a bigger strikethrough, and we'd rather show you a short list of real lows than a long list of noise.
Where deals come from
An automated check reads public deal feeds from deal-tracking communities and editors, including Slickdeals and DealNews, several times a day. Those sources are how we discover deals. Each listing credits the source with a "Spotted via" link.
We also scan Keepa's Amazon price-drop data for tools (power and hand tools, tool storage, outdoor power tools and automotive tools) that dropped at least 15% below their 90-day average and have solid ratings and sales. We list one of these only when Keepa's price history shows today's price is the lowest of the past 365 days and Keepa has tracked the product for at least a year. Those listings carry a "Price history from Keepa" credit, and the write-up only states facts from that history: the price, the 365-day low and the typical price.
What qualifies
- A verified one-year low. A source has to report the deal as a year low or better, and then we check it ourselves against price history (see below). If we can't confirm it, it isn't listed.
- Tools only. Power tools, hand tools, tool storage, outdoor power equipment, work lights and flashlights, shop and garage gear, and measuring tools.
- A real price. If we can't find a specific price, the deal is skipped. We never estimate or round a price into existence.
- Fresh. Deals older than about a week drop off, and deals that are reported expired are taken down from the lists right away.
How we check the price history
Every deal on the site has passed an independent check. For Amazon, we look at a year of Amazon price history from a price-tracking service. A deal counts only if today's price is at, or within 1% of, the lowest price in the past 365 days. For other stores we record the store's own listed price ourselves several times a day, and a deal from those stores only counts once we have a full year of our own records showing it's the low.
A price-history check can disagree with a source. When Amazon's history shows the price isn't actually at its 365-day low, we leave the deal off the site.
What we write
Each deal gets a short summary written by us: what the item is, the price, the store, any catch (a coupon to clip, a Prime-only price, a bare tool without a battery) and when we last checked. We don't copy other sites' write-ups.
Prices change
Every deal shows "price as of" with the date and time (Pacific). Tool prices can change within hours, so always confirm the final price at the store before you buy. If a price has gone up when you click through, the deal has most likely ended.
Expired deals
When a source marks a deal expired, or the deal stops appearing in its listings, we pull it from the homepage and category pages. Its page stays up for a few days with an "expired" notice so links don't break.