DrillSpot.com's Blog

While scrolling through the list of orders we have on any given day the products that sell can range from tool boxes to cooking supplies, but one thing we (as DrillSpot employees) love is watching which seasonal items sell.  One of the Christmas decor staples over the last 3 years has been the Air Blown Sitting Santa.

We have sold hundreds of these inflatable Santas to anywhere from Florida to Saint Louis. Since this item ships from our warehouse in Denver, and our headquarters are in Boulder we have never seen this item in real life, but have all been wishing for a customer to return one.  Finally after 3 years we had a customer send one back to us (all returns come back to our headquarters). It really was like Christmas in the office!  Jennifer and I could not open the box and set up Santa fast enough (we have to check to make sure it is in working condition after all).  After we plugged him in, we were amazed at how quiet the built in fan was, not much more sound than my space heater.  As he sits in his big green chair, his constantly waves to everyone and even has built in songs and voice recordings.  The recordings are sound activated so all you have to do is clap (or yell) and he starts laughing, saying “Ho, Ho, Ho” or playing Christmas music.

Since his unboxing, Santa has traveled all of the office in hopes of catching us at our worst (it hasn’t happened yet).  He has sat in for Paul our CEO while Paul traveled through Spain:

Sat behind Leo to make sure he did not make any mistakes while programming:

He is even waiting patiently in Brandi’s office to help celebrate her birthday!

After traveling from one corner of our office to the other (including hiding in the bathrooms – that was a fun day) he has now found his spot right in front of the door, ready to greet anyone that comes to DrillSpot.

Last month we (DrillSpot.com) became an approved vendor of Milwaukee Tools!  To kick off our new status our Milwaukee rep, Dan, came in to demo their new M12 line of products.

Milwaukee Demo Day

Not only were we able to hold the tools, but Dan brought in copper tubes, pvc pipe and a bunch of wood to let us test out/play with all of the Milwaukee products.  You would have thought it was Christmas at DrillSpot!

We had so much fun testing out the new 12 volt line and comparing it to the older 18 volt tool line.  The new 12 volt line is slightly smaller in size and weight which makes it a little easier to hold (at least for those of us whose hands are on the small side) and was slightly less noisy, although it still made some of us jump!  The 2 tools that everyone passed around were the Milwaukee M12 2471-22 Cordless Copper Tube Cutter:

and the Milwaukee M12 2470-21 PVC Shear:

While this was a great opportunity for us at DrillSpot to get to know the Milwaukee brand and tools a little better, it also resulted in a new promotion for our customers!

Until December 31st we are giving away a free Milwaukee Power Port Charger with the purchase of one of 7 select Milwaukee M12 products.  The charger (pictured below) uses the M12 12 volt battery to charge small electronics, such as an iPhone, iPod, MP3 player or cell phone through a USB or DC (car charger) port.

Milwaukee Power Port Charger

BOULDER, Colo. — DrillSpot.com is offering a free Milwaukee Power Port with purchase of select Milwaukee M12™ power tools. The promotion kicks off DrillSpot.com’s new status as an approved vendor of Milwaukee Tools and features M12™ products like the industry’s first cordless PVC shear.

In preparation for the event, Milwaukee provided in-house training on the M12™ line to DrillSpot.com staff, including hands-on operation of the tools. Each promotional M12™ product was also specially photographed by DrillSpot’s in house photographer, providing detailed, high-resolution images of each item and allowing customers to closely inspect the tools before they buy.

The M12™ line includes portable drills, Hackzall™ cordless reciprocating saws, inspection cameras and more, each powered by a long-lasting and lightweight 12 volt lithium ion battery. The free portable power port uses the 12 volt battery (included with purchase of a M12™ tool) to charge cell phones, mp3 players and other small electronics that use either a DC or USB outlet.

The promotion is featured on DrillSpot.com’s homepage.  It starts today and will run through December 31^st.

With over 360,000 products, DrillSpot.com sells a wide variety of home improvement and industrial supplies. Milwaukee products range from the innovative Milwaukee M12™ cordless line to a traditional 18 volt line and an industrial set of tools.

DrillSpot.com closed out October with year-to-date sales up 39% over 2008, amounting to an additional $2.4 million in revenue.

The sales increase was due to a quickly growing conversion rate, which last month improved 5.28% over September and 20% over July. While year-to-date traffic increased only slightly, the number of orders placed on DrillSpot.com in October was 30% higher than October 2008, meaning more relevant traffic is reaching the site than before.

The internet retailer has remained sensitive to customer expectations, recently providing more targeted pricing and free shipping on select products. DrillSpot.com regularly improves the quality and relevancy of its content: the company’s popular products are photographed in-house and technological improvements have made the site more navigable, both contributing to a 12.64% gain in the average time a customer spends on the site.

With over 360,000 products, DrillSpot.com sells a wide variety of home improvement and industrial supplies. Products range from Honeywell Thermostats to Bussmann Fuses, and include well-respected brands like Robertshaw, Ames True Temper, Briggs & Stratton Generators and Lithonia Lighting.