No, posting power tool sales on Facebook is illegal.
Fraudulent Facebook posts show photos of tool kits from brands like DEWALT starting at $29.99. Kits usually sell for hundreds of dollars.
From 2019 to 2021, American homeowners spent about $624 billion on do-it-yourself home improvement projects, according to the U.S. Census Bureau’s American Housing Survey.
Many DIY projects require large purchases, such as expensive power tools.
VERIFY VIEWER Nate recently sent us Facebook posts promoting huge power tool sales that typically cost hundreds to thousands of dollars. He asked if they were legitimate sales.
One post advertises a 32-piece DEWALT set for $29.99; another advertises a 24-piece set for $39.99. Other Facebook posts show that full pallets of Milwaukee Tool are on sale for over 90% off at retail including shipping.
QUESTION
Are power tool sales posts on Facebook legal?
SOURCES
ANSWER
No, posting power tool sales on Facebook is illegal. This is a fraud.
WHAT WE FOUND
Both DEWALT and Milwaukee Tool have posted statements on their websites warning buyers to beware of these scammers.
“Recently, we have become aware of fraudulent websites posing as an official DEWALT account or a legitimate platform for the sale of DEWALT products. These websites have also advertised on a number of social media platforms such as Facebook, offering DEWALT products at prices that are too good to be true,” the DEWALT website reads.
According to DEWALT, fraudulent websites try to get your credit card information or trick consumers into making a non-refundable payment.
Milwaukee Tool and DEWALT sell their products through authorized retailers, whether they’re small family owned stores or large specialty stores like Home Depot and Lowe’s Home Improvement.
According to the Home Depot website, as of March 2, the DEWALT 10-Piece Combo Tool Kit cost $649. A 7-piece set with a different set of tools at Lowe’s Home Improvement is also $649. That’s about the same price as Milwaukee Tool combos at Home Depot. VERIFY has not found any wholesale tool kits for sale from authorized retailers at prices similar to the scam reports.
A list of authorized DEWALT dealers can be found here and authorized Milwaukee Tool dealers can be found here.
The Better Business Bureau reports that Facebook scams in local buy and sell groups are on the rise. The BBB recommends a few tips before you buy the sales you spot on Facebook, including:
- Look carefully at the post, profile and website
- Perform a reverse image search
The VERIFY team used these BBB tips to independently investigate these reports. Here’s what we found.
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We looked at a post, profile, and website promoting a DEWALT tool sale.
This Facebook post from Bulletevent.shop advertised a 24-pack DEWALT combo set for $39.99. When VERIFY looked closely at the Facebook post, the word CLEARANCE was misspelled. First red flag.
When we looked at the Bulletevent.shop Facebook page, it turned out to be a clothing brand with only 10 followers. Second red flag.
We then navigated to a site shared from a Facebook post. This led us to a poorly made website that was never completed. The homepage of the website still displayed template text such as “insert title here”. Third red flag.
More from CHECK: 3 Ways to Avoid Clicking on Malicious Links
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We did a reverse image search for posts purporting to show tool sales.
VERIFY did a reverse image search of this Facebook post promoting the sale of full pallets of Milwaukee Tools and this post offering the DEWALT combo set. Both results have resulted in websites that are not authorized tool sellers. For example, some results led to Russian sites, and others to a Chinese-owned retail site.
Many of the same tools found on the Home Depot and Lowe websites can be seen in images posted in scam Facebook posts promoting cheap tools.
This is further evidence that the images seen in Facebook posts were likely stolen from official retailers in order to deceive the consumer.
A reverse image search also showed that the same image is being used by different “sellers”. This is another example of a fraudulent tactic.
You can report a fraudulent seller to Milwaukee Tool and DEWALT by completing the form on their websites and distributors will investigate further. The companies are also urging consumers to inform their financial institution as soon as possible of making a purchase on a fraudulent site.
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