Prime Day Heads-Up: Wiha Insulated Screwdrivers

[sokoloff]

I think that’s just Arrow’s bad website. If you open 2 tabs with products A and B, then you go to tab A, add A to cart, it works. Then go to tab B and add B to cart, your cart will only have B (and not A) in it (because that tab started with an empty cart). It’s infuriating!

I also don’t think that reserving product makes much sense, but rather things can be sold first check out gets it, especially for clearance items. They want to turn old, slow/non moving inventory into cash and warehouse space. First customer to commit gets it seems reasonable to me. It would be bad to show shopper 2 an “out of stock” message because shopper 1 has it in their cart and ends up with neither buying it and Arrow keeps carrying it as dead stock.

[MatteoX]

I also don’t think that reserving product makes much sense, but rather things can be sold first check out gets it, especially for clearance items. They want to turn old, slow/non moving inventory into cash and warehouse space. First customer to commit gets it seems reasonable to me. It would be bad to show shopper 2 an “out of stock” message because shopper 1 has it in their cart and ends up with neither buying it and Arrow keeps carrying it as dead stock.

My opinion is exactly oposite: Whoever puts an item first in the basket should have it reserved - not forever but for some reasonable amout of time, say half an hour. Same thing like in a physical store, if I put an item in my basket it is reserved for the time I am in the store. I can change mind mind later and put it back on the shelf. No one will grab an item from my basket because they will check out before me and there is a possibility I might change my mind.  If the item is really hot it will sell quickly even if the original buyer later changes his mind.

In the Arrow's sale there were several Wiha items for <$10. I had to buy at least 6 to reach the free shipping, not that I mind buying them but it takes some time to go through items - they have a lot of Wiha items (more than 1000) but only few tens on sale. I didn't spent more than 10 minutes looking when I noticed items start disappearing from the basket. I wanted to buy some other stuff like replacement batteries for HP 3478A but I didn't have time to look anymore.

[DaJMasta]

But such a system can be easily abused, either by an individual or with botting, and because their typical sales model has a fair amount of inventory on hand and relatively infrequent purchases of the same item, they probably don't run into such a conflict that often.

I think this is very common practice for online stores, and I'm not sure it matches a brick and mortar where people don't just add things to their cart they don't intend to checkout with, whereas people will use online carts for keeping of track of what they're interested in or waiting for sales and things sometimes.


I do think their cart thing is a little messed up, though, I ran into the same issue where buying an item in a tab, then buying another in a different tab results in the first one being lost.  Also had an issue where with like 15 items in the cart, I added another and everything except for the latest item was missing for some unexplained reason.... more interesting, I was able to add every one of them back to the cart, so it wasn't even that something in the cart had gone out of stock.

Surprised with the cancellations, though, do you think they had less stock than the inventory system thought?  Were they particularly large orders with a lot of multiples of a single item (maybe appearing like a reseller?)

[sokoloff]

My one cancellation was an item directly linked above up thread. Everything else I got multiples of and my cart looks indistinguishable from a reseller order. (Many items, all reduced/clearance, typically multiples per line, often buying the entire stock they had.)

So, I think they had one fewer than they thought when I added the 2 to my cart. Whether they sold one while I was shopping or just had a miscount in the warehouse, I don’t know.

[gslick]

Most of the reduced price Wiha tools sets that I noticed at Arrow are already gone.

Here are a few more that are still available at 1/6 or 1/7 of list price in very small quantities.

The System 4 sets are the older discontinued ones before they switched to the Drive-Loc latching versions of the blades and handles instead of friction fit.

EDIT: Everything in the list below is now gone.

https://www.arrow.com/en/products/26987/wiha-tools-usa
SYS 4 ESD SAFE TORX 8PC SET T3-T20 (DISCONTINUED)
$9.01   In Stock: 5 parts  NOT AVAILABLE FOR ORDER ON ARROW.COM

https://www.arrow.com/en/products/26996/wiha-tools-usa
Sys 4 ESD Safe Slotted/Phillips 5Pc Set (DISCONTINUED)
$7.78   In Stock: 4 parts NOT AVAILABLE FOR ORDER ON ARROW.COM

https://www.arrow.com/en/products/26997/wiha-tools-usa
Sys 4 Esd Safe Slotted/Ph/Torx 9Pc Set (DISCONTINUED)
$11.73  In Stock: 1 parts NOT AVAILABLE FOR ORDER ON ARROW.COM

https://www.arrow.com/en/products/28091/wiha-tools-usa
System 4 ESD Safe Slotted/Phillips Interchangeable Blade 6 Piece Set (DISCONTINUED)
$8.15   In Stock: 2 parts NOT AVAILABLE FOR ORDER ON ARROW.COM

https://www.arrow.com/en/products/32592/wiha-tools-usa
Insulated Cushion Grip Torx® Screwdriver Set T6 - T30. 10 Pieces
Torx: T6, T7, T8, T9, T10, T15, T20, T25, T27, T30
$11.86 ($80.94) In Stock: 3 parts No Stock Available

https://www.arrow.com/en/products/36267/wiha-tools-usa
Torx® SoftFinish® Cushion Grip Screwdriver 12 Piece Set
T5, T6, T7, T8, T9, T10, T15, T20, T25, T27, T30, T40
$12.72 ($86.92) In Stock: 5 parts No Stock Available

https://www.arrow.com/en/products/36259/wiha-tools-usa
Security Torx® SoftFinish® Cushion Grip 10 Piece Screwdriver Set T7s - T40s
T7s, T8s, T9s, T10s, T15s, T20s, T25s, T27s, T30s, T40s
$17.74 ($122.96)    In Stock: 2 parts No Stock Available

https://www.arrow.com/en/products/32872/wiha-tools-usa
Insulated Pliers/Cutters/Screwdrivers 5 Piece Set
6.3" Diagonal Cutters, 8" Long Nose Pliers,
Slotted 3.0, 4.5 and Phillips # 2 Screwdrivers in Belt pack pouch
$18.29 ($102.46)    In Stock: 2 parts No Stock Available

https://www.arrow.com/en/products/32985/wiha-tools-usa
Insulated Industrial Pliers/Cutters & Screwdriver Set with
8" Combo Pliers, 6.3" Long Nose, 6.3" Diagonal Cutters,
Slotted 3.0, 4.5mm & Phillips #1 & 2 Screwdrivers.
7 Piece Set in Belt Pack Pouch
$22.65 ($133.20)    In Stock: 8 parts No Stock Available

https://www.arrow.com/en/products/32296/wiha-tools-usa
Insulated 11 Piece Inch Nut Driver Set
Nut Driver: 5/32, 3/16, 7/32, 1/4, 5/16, 11/32, 3/8, 7/16, 1/2, 9/16, 5/8"
$23.15 ($158.84)    In Stock: 2 parts No Stock Available

[Hydron]

I think some damn reseller went through and swiped most of the stuff on that list. The second to last for example went from half a dozen to zero in a short period of time while I was finalising my purchase  Still grabbed a hundred bucks worth, but I would have liked that set and the torx driver set too

Edit: the stock numbers on some of the stuff seem screwy, maybe they're having issues

[sokoloff]

What I don’t get is why sell them for that little money? Wouldn’t selling them for half off (instead of 5/6ths off) generate more cash in the short term and probably still clear the warehouse space inside of a year?

(While causing less of a mad rush for the randomly hidden bargains on the website...)

[profanum429]

I also found a few Desco ESD mats that were marked down quite a bit;

https://www.arrow.com/en/products/66167/desco-industries
https://www.arrow.com/en/products/66168/desco-industries

and some other sizes if you search for 'desco mat'. I picked up two 24x48s with clips and cleaner for $52 shipped overnight; felt like that was a pretty good deal for 8 feet of decent ESD mat.

[gslick]

What I don’t get is why sell them for that little money? Wouldn’t selling them for half off (instead of 5/6ths off) generate more cash in the short term and probably still clear the warehouse space inside of a year?

Maybe there were earlier reductions for a while on some of these items and then later after they didn't get cleared out they were reduced further.

The interesting part is the free FedEx overnight shipping if your order is at least $50. They must have a great corporate discount rate on shipping. Without checking I imagine the normal retail rate for overnight shipping on good sized box with a few pounds of tools might be close to $50.

Here is a set I didn't bother listing because it is less exciting of a deal at around 1/3.5 of list price instead of 1/7 of list price. Still a good discount if you need a full set of screwdrivers, there were at least 3 in stock a few days ago, only 1 left now:

EDIT: That was quick, both of these are now gone.

https://www.arrow.com/en/products/30299/wiha-tools-usa
Set Includes:
Slotted: 3.0, 4.0, 5.5, 6.5, 8.0mm,  Phillips: #0, #1, #2
Square: #1, #2, #3,  PoziDriv: #1, #2
Torx: T6, T8, T10, T15, T20, T25, T30
$42.00 ($146.38)    In Stock: 1 parts  No Stock Available

If someone needs a torque control screwdriver set there is just one of these left at 1/7 list price. Somewhat of a specialized item:

https://www.arrow.com/en/products/28596/wiha-tools-usa
TorqueVario-S 5-18 In/lb Handle,
Slotted 2.5, 3.0, 3.5, 4.0mm Phillips #0, 1.
8 Piece Set in Canvas Pouch
$25.73 ($189.58)    In Stock: 1 parts No Stock Available

[Hydron]

I'm guilty of the first, missed out on the torx sets (had the 12 piece in my basket but then it disappeared), so at least this one covered the most useful torx sizes plus I got some Phillips and pozi sizes I was missing in good quality drivers. The double ups will do well for father's Day.

All up I can blame this thread for $160 + taxes!

...and they just cancelled the 20 piece screwdriver set purchase

[maginnovision]

It's good people were getting some of this stuff despite odd things like 32985 going from 8 to 0. I think all in I spent $300. I resisted buying anything after the scrapers so others could have a chance. I got a bunch of good stuff and I'll probably give a few things to my dad.

[gslick]

Who is going to buy up all of their remaining stock of discounted insulated tools and set up an eBay store for Wiha insulated tool aficionados?

Phase 1: Buy Wiha tools
Phase 2: ?
Phase 3: Profit

https://www.arrow.com/en/products/32017/wiha-tools-usa
Insulated Cushion Grip Slotted Screwdriver 4.0 x 100mm (5/32")
$1.13 ($7.82)   In Stock: 9 parts

https://www.arrow.com/en/products/32024/wiha-tools-usa
Insulated Cushion Grip Slotted Screwdriver 4.5 x 125mm (3/16")
$1.14 ($7.90)   In Stock: 9 parts

https://www.arrow.com/en/products/35811/wiha-tools-usa
Insulated Cushion Grip Square Tip Screwdriver #1 x 100mm
$1.26 ($8.76)   In Stock: 6 parts No Stock Available

https://www.arrow.com/en/products/32005/wiha-tools-usa
Insulated Cushion Grip Slotted Screwdriver 2.0 x 60mm (5/64")
$1.73 ($6.00)   In Stock: 200 parts

https://www.arrow.com/en/products/32046/wiha-tools-usa
Insulated SlimLine Slotted Screwdriver With Cushion Grip 3.5 x 100mm
$1.79 ($12.42)  In Stock: 10 parts

https://www.arrow.com/en/products/92112/wiha-tools-usa
Insulated Slim Slotted Screwdriver 3.5 x 100mm
$1.96 (?)       In Stock: 10 parts No Stock Available

https://www.arrow.com/en/products/32049/wiha-tools-usa
Insulated SlimLine Slotted Screwdriver With Cushion Grip 4.0 x 100mm
$2.04 ($14.18)  In Stock: 5 parts

https://www.arrow.com/en/products/30746/wiha-tools-usa
Insulated SlimLine Xeno Screwdriver With SoftFinish® Cushion Grip #1 x 80
$2.24 ($15.56)  In Stock: 2 parts

https://www.arrow.com/en/products/30747/wiha-tools-usa
Insulated SlimLine Xeno Screwdriver With SoftFinish® Cushion Grip #2 x 100
$2.75 ($19.10)  In Stock: 1 parts  No Stock Available

https://www.arrow.com/en/products/32947/wiha-tools-usa
Insulated Industrial Stripping Pliers 6.3" OAL.
Industrial brushed finish. Two component ergo cushion grips.
Strips up to AWG #8
$5.03 ($29.96)  In Stock: 2 parts No Stock Available

https://www.arrow.com/en/products/32836/wiha-tools-usa
Insulated High Leverage Diagonal Cutters 7'' (AWG #5)
$6.70 ($38.96)  In Stock: 1 parts No Stock Available

https://www.arrow.com/en/products/32292/wiha-tools-usa
Insulated Cushion Grip Nut Driver Inch Set Includes: 7/32" - 1/2". 5 Pieces
Nut Driver: 7/32, 1/4, 5/16, 3/8, 1/2"
$10.35 ($66.58) In Stock: 9 parts

https://www.arrow.com/en/products/32982/wiha-tools-usa
Insulate Industrial 6.3" Long Nose Pliers, 6.3" Diagonal Cutters &
Voltage Detector. 3 Piece Set
$13.24 (?)      In Stock: 2 parts No Stock Available

https://www.arrow.com/en/products/32942/wiha-tools-usa
8" BiCut Super Cut With Insulated Drivers
Screwdrivers: Slotted: 3, 4.5, 5.5, Phillips: #0, #1, #2
$13.97 ($88.10) In Stock: 2 parts No Stock Available

https://www.arrow.com/en/products/28394/wiha-tools-usa
Insulated Pop Ups SlimLine Driver Set
Includes Slotted 3.0, 4.0mm, Phillips #1, #2 and Square #1, #2 SlimLine Blades
$15.37 ($102.46)    In Stock: 3 parts No Stock Available

https://www.arrow.com/en/products/28392/wiha-tools-usa
Insulated SlimLine 12 Piece Interchangeable Set
Includes Handle, Slotted 3.0, 5.5mm, Phillips #2,
Terminal Blockl #1, #2, Sq #1, #2, Torx®T8, T10, T15, T20
$20.59 ($117.84)     In Stock: 2 parts No Stock Available

https://www.arrow.com/en/products/32188/wiha-tools-usa
Insulated Small Sizes Slotted & Phillips 7 Piece Set,
Sl: 2, 2.5, 3, 3.5, 4 & PH: #0 & #1 In Molded Case.
$26.08 ($60.44)     In Stock: 6 parts
(lower discount on this one)

https://www.arrow.com/en/products/32190/wiha-tools-usa
Insulated Cushion Grip Slotted 2.0 - 8.0mm Phillips #1 - 3
Inch Nut Drivers 1/4" - 1/2". 15 Piece in Carry Case
Slotted 2.0, 2.5, 3.0, 3.5, 4.5, 6.5, 8.0mm, Phillips #1, #2, #3
$30.10 ($203.94)    In Stock: 1 parts No Stock Available

https://www.arrow.com/en/products/28734/wiha-tools-usa
Insulated Adjustable TorqueVario-S w/ Window Scale 0.6 - 2.0 Newton Meter
$30.55 ($212.92)    In Stock: 1 parts No Stock Available

https://www.arrow.com/en/products/28726/wiha-tools-usa
Insulated Adjustable TorqueVario-S w/ Window Scale 10-50 In/lbs
$31.28 ($217.96)    In Stock: 1 parts No Stock Available

https://www.arrow.com/en/products/28727/wiha-tools-usa
Insulated Adjustable TorqueVario-S w/ Window Scale 18-62 In/lbs
(Comes with Adjustment Tool)
$33.24 ($231.60)    In Stock: 2 parts No Stock Available

https://www.arrow.com/en/products/28737/wiha-tools-usa
Insulated TorqueVario-S Screwdriver 2.0-8.0 NM (DISCONTINUED)
$33.24 (?)      In Stock: 2 parts NOT AVAILABLE FOR ORDER ON ARROW.COM

https://www.arrow.com/en/products/31395/wiha-tools-usa
Insulated 1/4" Metric T-Handle Socket Set
Includes Socket Sizes: 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14mm and
T handle in Storage Box. 11 Pieces
$37.58 ($261.86)    In Stock: 2 parts No Stock Available

https://www.arrow.com/en/products/13693/wiha-tools-usa
Insulated Metric Hex L-Key 10 Piece Set
1.5, 2.0, 2.5, 3.0, 4.0, 5.0, 6.0, 8.0, 10.0, 12.0mm In Canvas Pouch
$40.38 ($204.96)    In Stock: 2 parts

https://www.arrow.com/en/products/31595/wiha-tools-usa
Insulated 3/8" Drive Metric T-Handle & Socket Set Includes Socket
sizes 8 - 19mm and 125mm Extension Bar and T-Handle In Storage Box. 11 Pieces
$41.18 ($286.96)    In Stock: 2 parts

https://www.arrow.com/en/products/31496/wiha-tools-usa
Insulated 3/8" Inch T-Handle Socket Set Includes: 5/16 - 3/4" Sockets and
5" Extension Bar and T Handle in Storage Box. 11 Pieces
Sockets (3/8"): 1/4, 9/32, 5/16,11/32, 3/8, 7/16,1/2, 9/16, 5/8, 11/16, 3/4"
$41.77 ($291.06)    In Stock: 1 parts No Stock Available

https://www.arrow.com/en/products/21095/wiha-tools-usa
Insulated Metric Deep Offset Angled 15° Ring Wrench 8 Piece Set
Includes 10.0mm - 19.0mm In Roll Up Pouch
$47.03 ($327.78)    In Stock: 2 parts

https://www.arrow.com/en/products/21391/wiha-tools-usa
Insulated 6 Piece Inch Ratchet Wrench Set
3/8, 7/16, 1/2, 9/16, 5/8, 3/4 in Storage Case
$48.74 ($339.70)    In Stock: 1 parts No Stock Available

https://www.arrow.com/en/products/32891/wiha-tools-usa
Insulated Pliers, Cutters, Wire Stripper,
Slotted & Phillips Screwdrivers in zipper case. 10 Pieces
Screwdrivers: Slotted: 3/16 & 1/4", Phillips: #1, #2, #3
Pliers: 8" Long Nose Pliers, 8" Lineman's Pliers
8" BiCut High Leverage Cutter, 6.3" Stripping Pliers, Cable Cutters
$53.00 ($256.20)    In Stock: 2 parts No Stock Available

https://www.arrow.com/en/products/20194/wiha-tools-usa
Insulated Open End Inch Wrench 13 Piece Set in Molded Storage Tray
Sizes: 1/4, 5/16, 3/8, 7/16, 1/2, 9/16, 5/8, 11/16, 3/4, 13/16, 7/8, 15/16, 1"
$67.00 ($461.20)    In Stock: 2 parts

https://www.arrow.com/en/products/31390/wiha-tools-usa
Insulated 1/4" Drive Socket Inch Set 3/16"- 9/16" Sockets,
50mm & 100mm Extension Bar and 1/4" Drive Ratchet in Storage Box 13 Pieces
$67.00 ($409.96)    In Stock: 1 parts No Stock Available

https://www.arrow.com/en/products/31391/wiha-tools-usa
Insulated 1/4" Drive Socket Metric Set 5.0 - 14.0mm Sockets,
50mm & 100mm Extension Bar and 1/4" Drive Ratchet in Storage Box 13 Pieces
$67.00 ($409.96)    In Stock: 1 parts

[TopLoser]

Well at least getting orders cancelled gives you  a 10% discount code for the next attempt!

[sokoloff]

It turns out that it's enough to get just a line canceled to get the 10% off code. (A reduction from 2 to 1 unit doesn't seem to give a code, but a reduction to zero does give you a code.)

[TopLoser]

I just had a $55 order that had 3 lines cancelled. It’s being shipped from 2 different locations (next day free DHL for each shipment) so I got 2 x 10% discount codes plus the value of the remaining items is only about $15 per shipment. Utter madness.

[maginnovision]

I'm not sure if I should feel bad I didn't get a code.

[TopLoser]

VERC10-N22K-BRDT
VERC10-NT2K-DGGN
VERC10-YB2K-2BTK
VERC10-Y12K-TKN4
VERC10-YN2K-N4G9
VERC10-YY2K-NMN4

Help yourself, valid until Dec 31 2020 (edited!)
 

[sokoloff]

Mine were valid until Dec 31, 2020. (Might want to have a look and delete the post if yours are the same.)

[Hydron]

The day after the disappointment of item cancellations, I had another look and realised a lot of the individual torx drivers I was after were still available singly for a buck or so each - a bit of a pain but I got most of what was in the set for a similar cost. Probably a few left still after my order if anyone else is interested.

I then had to try and find other stuff to pad the cart to $50 for free shipping, and lo and behold a bunch of SiC diodes (mostly from "Rectron", but some ON Semi stuff too) are also heavily reduced. I now have a grab bag of a few dozen diodes (of various ratings) for the cost of the half dozen I actually needed for a project.

[thm_w]

Ordered a random flat head for terminals, should have checked the spec, ended up with this

doh

[maginnovision]

As long as you have good dexterity it'll work for smaller ones! 

[all_repair]

Bought 2 rounds of Wiha, and the 3rd was for their components.  I didn't consider Arrow last time and for components I always headed for Mouser, Digikey, E14 and RS.  As a non US residentr, Arrow pricing is better than Digikey and Mouser (maybe they are stocking tarrif affected parts outside US)

[TopLoser]

Personally I think their ordering and stock control system is messed up. A particular item was in stock @ $60 with only 1 available so I placed several consecutive orders for it. That can’t make any sense.

These were orders paid for by PayPal, it’s not like Arrow are waiting for confirmation of a wire transfer or anything.

If I place an order with Farnell or RS I see the stock decrease in real time. That’s how it should work surely?

[gslick]

If I place an order with Farnell or RS I see the stock decrease in real time. That’s how it should work surely?

When I placed my first few orders for these limited stock items the stock remaining numbers may not have updated in real time as soon as the order was placed, but I don't remember there being too much of a delay if I went and refreshed the page for each item after placing the order. When I bought the last remaining items in stock it wasn't long before their status changed to No Stock Available. I got every item that I ordered the first few times.

For the last order I placed on Saturday I didn't see any remaining stock quantity updates until today (Monday). I checked several times on Saturday and Sunday. I figured with the delay in updating the stock remaining numbers I might not get everything this time around. I did end up getting a notification today that some items were out of stock and some others had less stock remaining than I ordered so I would be getting none of some items and partial quantities of others.

At this point there are not many bargains left on the Wiha tools at Arrow, mainly individual screwdrivers around the $1 range. That is a good thing for me, I already spent way too much there on Wiha tools that I couldn't resist at the reduced prices.

The status on almost all of these reduced priced items has now changed to "THIS PRODUCT IS CURRENTLY NOT AVAILABLE FOR ORDER ON ARROW.COM". I assume that means they blew out their remaining stock of those items and won't be restocking those exact items.

[tooki]

Didn't bite cause I don't do enough high voltage stuff to really need insulated driverss(don't have prime anyways), but I got a couple sets of Wiha screwdrivers a few years back and a ratcheting driver set and I did not realize how much difference it would make until I used them.  Was used to working with moderately cheap stuff and old school Craftsman stuff and the Wiha drivers fit tighter (less stripping of the bolt), are more durable, and still barely even show any wear of any sort.


I'm sure they're not the only ones making tools of this caliber, but I would recommend them to someone who's on the fence.

IMHO, in terms of bit/tip quality, three screwdriver companies stand out: PB Swiss, Wiha, and Wera. They're all superb. (I suspect there are some Japanese brands of equivalent quality that I'm simply not aware of.)

In other things, there are differences. The Wera grips (seen in a reply above) are love-em-or-hate-em (me, I hate them). Wiha's precision drivers have scratchy rotating caps, which I find annoying. (However, their selection of precision drivers is larger.)

So far, the brand I like most is PB Swiss. I've already got lots of screwdrivers of theirs (both precision and regular), which are great. I recently got a ratcheting screwdriver handle of theirs, and I've never in my life used a ratchet with so little play. It just feels gorgeous. Their bits are also super nice, and color coded by kind. (They also cost a fortune.) I am in the process of little by little replacing all my lesser screwdrivers with PB Swiss, as they go on sale from time to time.