Up yours Black & Decker.

Any why would these be low-volume items? (because the drill is disposable due to the fact that it gets replaced for free at the same cost of two replacement batteries). This drill has lots of life left in it, and could easily go through several sets of batteries (in other words, battery sales should be at least a significant portion of drill sales, and might be an even higher total volume - with the added bonus that fewer drills might be tossed in the landfill every year).

Nobody is suggesting that replacement packs should be the same price as the two that are included in the drill package - but the same price for two batteries as two batteries + drill + charger + carry case?

Exactly...and I really can't understand the economics of it. If most people toss the drill and buy a new one (due to the high cost of replacement packs); how is it more profitable for the supplier? The only reason I can think, is that the batteries are second-sourced and not really produced by the manufacturer of the drill itself. Consequently, they have a much higher cost to the OEM drill maker, who is in the business of selling *drills*, not batteries.

There must be some sort of agreement in place with the battery pack producer to not sell the specific packs to end consumers at a reasonable cost.

jak