| ▲ | delichon 4 hours ago |
| > Ryobi handles DIY at Home Depot. Milwaukee handles pros. The two brands don't eat each other. They serve different people at different price points with different expectations So market fit is driving both worse and better products at the same time. Cheap DIYers like me are buying the cheapest stuff we can find, and complaining that it's as cheap as its price. My neighbor the contractor buys the expensive stuff and finds that the quality at least somewhat reflects that. Worse on purpose is my fault, because I'm the guy who bought a cheap Ryobi saw, instead of none at all. Plane flights are worse because I'm the guy who buys the cheapest ticket and tolerates the resulting discomforts, instead of staying home. You can see that through the lens of greed and exploitation, or as just a market evolving to supply consumer demand. |
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| ▲ | legitster 4 hours ago | parent | next [-] |
| I don't think there's anything to apologize for. Buying a professional tool with tens of thousands of hours of potential runtime and 1000lb+ of torque is wasteful. A Ryobi tool will realistically last for the many decades you need it for and do everything you ask of it. Lower price points doesn't just mean something is junk. It can also be engineering efficiency. |
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| ▲ | massysett 4 hours ago | parent | next [-] | | As the saying goes, anyone can build a bridge that lasts forever. It takes an engineer to build one that lasts fifty years. | | | |
| ▲ | RobotToaster 3 hours ago | parent | prev | next [-] | | Are new ryobi batteries still compatible with all their old tools? I remember it used to be a big selling point that that they never changed their battery system. | | |
| ▲ | infecto 2 hours ago | parent [-] | | Yes and IMO one of the selling points. They have upgraded the batteries over the years but still base compatibility |
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| ▲ | nubinetwork 4 hours ago | parent | prev | next [-] | | > A Ryobi tool will realistically last for the many decades you need it for and do everything you ask of it Until you buy one of their lawn mowers and the SLA batteries die after a year... | | |
| ▲ | lesuorac 4 hours ago | parent | next [-] | | What year? I got one like 5(?) years ago and it was lithium. Definitely doesn't run as long as when it was new but does enough. For those of you getting a lawn mower, don't get the cheapest one you can. A 13" wide blade is uh gunna take nearly double the passes a 20" wide blade will. | |
| ▲ | stronglikedan 4 hours ago | parent | prev [-] | | you can cherrypick similar stories from any company |
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| ▲ | dfxm12 4 hours ago | parent | prev [-] | | What are the price points though? Maybe I lucked into a sale, but when I was looking at drills, all the prices were similar. Maybe Bosch was the (expensive) outlier... |
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| ▲ | jlglover 4 hours ago | parent | prev | next [-] |
| Ryobi make mostly good tools though. The results produced by most Ryobi users, myself included, are limited by user skill not tool quality. |
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| ▲ | arka2147483647 4 hours ago | parent | next [-] | | If you are a DIY, you might use a tool once a week, or once a year. A pro might use a tool everyday, all day. A different durability requirement. A Ryobi is not bad, if it fills your needs, but might not be enough for heavy use. | | |
| ▲ | Aurornis 4 hours ago | parent | next [-] | | Which is market segmentation at work. If the DIYers get good enough tools at cheap prices and the pros have a separate line that’s more expensive and more durable, what are we supposed to be mad about? | |
| ▲ | peatmoss 4 hours ago | parent | prev [-] | | If you buy their brushless line, you can add a few decent tools to your lineup while using the cheap stuff for everything else. Same battery platform generally. I have a lot of their cheap stuff, plus a few good ones that see more use. | | |
| ▲ | sitkack 4 hours ago | parent [-] | | You can buy or make adapters so there is no battery platforms. If we had a functioning FTC there would be no battery platform. | | |
| ▲ | peatmoss 3 hours ago | parent [-] | | Didn't realize adapters were common! I agree on the FTC / standardization point. |
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| ▲ | 0xbadcafebee 4 hours ago | parent | prev | next [-] | | Their tools work, but that's different from being good, in comparison to others. They feel and sound terrible and don't perform well at all. If you buy any other brand than Ryobi, you will immediately go "oh, this is clearly better". It's like they designed Ryobi to be as bad as possible without being defective, so that you can't complain about it, but have a great reason to buy Ridgid or Milwaukee. | |
| ▲ | bluGill 4 hours ago | parent | prev [-] | | There has generally been a grade below Ryobi that is junk. Been that way for decades before Ryobi even existed. Ryobi isn't the best quality, but it is generally good enough and cheaper. |
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| ▲ | Swizec 4 hours ago | parent | prev | next [-] |
| I love my Ryobi drill. Bought a set ~10 years ago and it’s still going strong. I charge the battery once every 3 to 4 years. Used it to assemble a bunch of furniture just this weekend. Some of the screw heads are getting a little worn from me being an idiot, but so far haven’t had to replace anything and never needed any more parts than came with the initial beginner set (1 hand drill for screwing, 1 strong drill for drilling, 2 boxes of screw and drill attachments) A more expensive “proper” set would be completely wasted on me. |
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| ▲ | jszymborski 4 hours ago | parent | prev [-] |
| What are my options if I'm one of the unwashed massed that aren't able to afford anything but Ryobi/Spirit (RIP)? What if I'm a professional who needs to use Milwuake/American Airlines if I plan to get my work done? These feel like choices in the same way you can choose to pay your extortion fee to the mob or choose to pay your taxes. |
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| ▲ | sokoloff 4 hours ago | parent | next [-] | | I own some Ryobi and Harbor Freight tools as well as some Milwaukee and SnapOn. I don’t see it as a problem that tools of different quality, specifications, and price are available in the market. I wouldn’t want there to be only select 80% ground beef nor only A5 Wagyu beef for sale. Both have their place. | |
| ▲ | jrajav 4 hours ago | parent | prev [-] | | Who's breaking down your door with muscle to make you pay for Ryobi? | | |
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