Kobalt router

LowRider CNC Hardware Development
527

Short: Found and bought discounted Kobalt Trim Router from my local Issaquah, WA store. Don’t believe the website price/stock, don’t believe the stock mentioned by staff and system. Don’t believe the full $99 price listed when you stumble on them in seasonal/rotating section. Persist, and you will succeed! Bought for $70 (+tax) today.

Long:
Observations/Feedback for Lowes/Kobalt Product Marketing, and/or Designers that invested time into creating this router…

  • Reality:

    • https://www.lowes.com/pd/Kobalt/5014100299 says “Unavailable in your local stores”. This is wrong. I just drove to the Issaquah WA store and personally saw 4.
    • https://www.lowes.com/pd/Kobalt/5014100299 also says “Clearance” $99.98. Yet in store it’s listed for $69.97 or $99.98 depending which section you look within the store…
      • Trim Router section has a spot for the router, listed as $69.97. Great, but… There’s no Kobalt routers on the shelf.
        • A normal Customer would reasonably assume out of stock and pick up a Competitor product.
      • However, I asked friendly staff what their system says about stock. System said 2 in stock, but system doesn’t give Staff any hint/clue as to where to look to find them. No problem, we both aimlessly burn time wandering around staring up at the overhead inventory. Giving up after 5 mins.
        • A normal Customer would reasonably say fluff-it at this point and walk out sad and empty handed.
      • However, I suspect maybe the system is wrong, maybe they’re out of stock, but I spent 20mins driving to the store, so I may as well wander around, and look for some other stuff/deals…
    • Saw a well placed Kobalt clearance section at end of aisle near power tools, a logical place, had great deals. But no Kobalt trim router. The aimless hunt continues…
    • Had mentally given up, but then recalled forum posts of the router being spotted mainly on temporary cardboard displays in seasonal/rotating sections of the store. So, I head over there, and behold…
      • I see 4 Kobalt routers, but listed for $99.97, huh? A mismatch between the labeled priced at the Trim Router sections (where you’d expect to find these routers in the first place…).
    • Grabbed one, and paid $70 +tax at the till. Photo’d receipt to hold onto for 5yrs…

    Expected:

    • Ideally, Customers should be able to find Kobalt Trim Routers in the Trim Router section.
    • Ideally, stock inventory and location would be accurate, and easy for helpful Staff to accurately discover.
    • Ideally, website would reflect accurate price, and store stock levels.

Effects of mislabeling, placement and inventory fluff ups are occurring elsewhere. People are understandably sharing pics/info based on what they observe, for example Lowe’s Launched a Mysterious Kobalt CNC Router says (incorrectly/incompletely) …

  • It was a “limited time buy” at $100. Now it’s $60 and seemingly no longer available.

@Kobalt, for the love of Delighted Customers, and your bottom line, consider tweaking some things.

4 Likes