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Comment by kodah | Hacker News Reader

I own a number of power tools, I've never seen one come without a necessary component for basic operation. Maybe you can link to some brands that bare costs similar to an iPhone that are sold without basic components.

The problem is that you can't compare the US to other countries in this way. The salaries and what people take home are drastically different. Even inside the US, if anyone bothered to look, you'd probably find that most US citizens outside of wealthy areas give something up to get the next iPhone. Adding the charger on top of that likely has impact, just less so than a place like Brazil.

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Search “tool only” and you’ll find tons of power tools with no batteries. You have to own their batteries already. For example, I own about 20 dewalt tools and only 3 batteries. When I buy a new tool, it’s usually cheaper for me to buy dewalt because I have the batteries. Most manufacturers do this, or the common ones you’ll find in big box retail. I’m not sure if it’s US only thing though.

I don’t buy the wealth/income factor. A company prices their products and if you can’t afford it, you shouldn’t buy it. That’s a pretty universal concept.

>I own a number of power tools, I've never seen one come without a necessary component for basic operation.

it's very common for power tools to be sold "body only", i.e. without a battery or charger

I asked for links. I've never bought something like a drill or battery operated saw that didn't come with a battery. Did they come with drill bits or a blade? Not always, but I think a customer can expect a battery and a way to charge it.

You can usually buy it both ways, with or without the batteries.

To add to this clarification, the reason is that the power tools from one company typically have interchangeable battery packs, therefore if you have purchased a few full sets with battery and charger, often you do not need more, therefore tools can be purchased "body only".

Here is an example: https://www.homedepot.com/p/RYOBI-ONE-HP-18V-Brushless-Cordl...

Edit: GP asked for link to tool that costs similar to an iPhone that is body only, here's one priced at $2500: https://www.homedepot.com/p/Makita-18V-LXT-Lithium-Ion-Cordl...

Thanks for the link!

So, I own some Makita equipment. There's a big difference in what Makita is doing and what Apple is doing. Makita sells a baseline product with no battery for the reasons you mentioned at $2500, they sell a bundle with two 5 Ah batteries and a charger for an extra $100, and you can buy batteries and a charger separately for significantly more: https://www.homedepot.com/p/Makita-18V-LXT-Lithium-Ion-High-... (This is one battery with less amp hours)

Apple lets you buy the phone and charger separately; there is no bundle.

You can buy most cordless power tools “bare”, without battery+charger. Because those are a significant portion of the cost and if you already have several tools in that family, you probably don’t want to pay for another battery. (Or charger…. I admit to having a couple duplicate chargers, which bugs me.)

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