About Deal Workbench
Who runs this site
Deal Workbench is a one-person project run by someone who spends an unreasonable amount of time in the tool aisle. I started it because I kept watching friends overpay for drills and saws during "sales" that weren't actually sales. The pattern is always the same: a retailer advertises 30% off, and the "regular price" it compares against is a number nobody ever paid. I wanted a place that checks the receipt before calling it a deal.
The method
Every deal that lands on this site goes through the same filter:
- Price history check. I look at what the tool actually sold for over the past several months, using price history tools and saved listings. If today's "sale price" is the same as last month's everyday price, it doesn't get posted.
- Is it worth buying at all? A cheap tool you hate using is not a deal. Picks have to be models I'd recommend at full price, so the discount is a bonus, not the whole argument.
- Cross-retailer check. The big box store price is not the only price. I compare Acme Tools, KC Tool, Amazon, and Home Depot before naming a deal, because the best price often hides at a smaller retailer.
If you want the full breakdown of the tools and alert setups involved, read How I track tool prices.
How affiliate links work here
This site earns money through affiliate links: links to retailers that pay me a small commission if you buy something after clicking. It costs you nothing extra. It is also the only reason this site can exist as a one-person operation, because price tracking is hours of unpaid-looking work otherwise.
Two things matter to me here. First, rankings are never for sale. No brand or retailer can pay for a better review, a higher placement, or a deal slot. If a product is mediocre, it doesn't get recommended, no matter the commission. Second, the commission never changes what I write about a product. The full affiliate disclosure spells all of this out.
What this site is not
Not a news site, not a forum, and not a store. I don't sell tools directly and I don't take review units with strings attached. When I haven't used a tool myself, I say so, and I lean on long-term owner reviews and teardown data instead of marketing copy.
Questions or a deal I missed? The honest answer is that I read everything sent my way, but I respond fastest to deal tips with a link and a price.