Playbooks · The contractor flip · updated September 19, 2026
Milwaukee M18 Fuel drill
Not everything worth flipping has a screen. The M18 Fuel hammer drill / driver kit is the tool contractors buy and re-buy, and it shows up on Marketplace from retiring tradesmen, cleared-out garages and, yes, job-site thefts, which is why the checks are about provenance as much as function. Priced here as a kit: tool, two batteries, charger, case.
This week in Salt Lake City · from the desk, not a writer
The ceiling is for exactly this: Milwaukee M18 Fuel drill, as listed. Priced the way the app prices a target you add yourself: from eBay comps (23) on Sep 19; sells-for is 90% of the eBay median, the ceiling leaves 25–30% after you sell. eBay fees 13.6% + $0.40 + ~$20 shipping.
Is it the right one?
- The label on the tool: model 2904-20 (Gen 4 hammer drill), 2804-20 (Gen 3), 2903-20 (drill/driver, no hammer). "FUEL" printed on the body means brushless; plain M18 is a different, cheaper tool.
- Batteries: M18 REDLITHIUM with the Ah on the label (5.0 Ah XC and 8.0 Ah HD are the valuable ones). A date code is stamped on every genuine pack.
- A kit ships in a red contractor bag or hard case with a charger; the ceiling assumes two batteries and a charger.
Before you drive
- Ask what exactly is included: tool, how many batteries (Ah), charger, case. The ceiling is for the kit as the desk priced it; a bare tool is a different number.
- Ask for a photo of the label on the tool (model number) and the batteries (date code, Ah).
- In person: battery on, trigger, both speeds, the clutch clicks through, the chuck grips and releases, no smell of burnt windings, no wobble at the chuck.
- Drive a screw. Listen. Pay after.
Bring
- A charged battery of the same platform if you own one (to test a bare tool)
- A screw and a scrap of wood, or a bit you can spin
- Cash
What to check in person
- Battery on, trigger: smooth start, both speed ranges, the mode collar clicks through drill / hammer / clutch settings.
- Chuck: tighten on a bit by hand, it must hold; spin it and watch the bit tip for wobble (a bent chuck spindle means it was dropped hard).
- Under load: drive a 3-inch screw into scrap or drill a hole. No burning smell, no stutter, no clutch slipping at the top setting.
- Batteries: each one charges (the charger light goes green) and runs the tool under load for more than a few seconds. Check the terminals for corrosion.
- Charger: genuine Milwaukee M18/M12 charger; fakes are common and dangerous.
- Ask where it came from. A tradesman knows the story of his drill. A stack of identical tools with no story is a job-site theft.
- Serial number on the tool; you can note it on your receipt.
The desk's own checklist for this unit
- Run it under load; listen for bearing noise and check the chuck is true.
- Batteries hold charge and are genuine (fakes are common); charger included.
- Serial not ground off — stolen tools flood Marketplace.
- Ceiling comes from current eBay asks, not sold prices. Treat it as a starting point and tighten it with your own sales.
What goes wrong
- Stolen from a job site
- A stack of the same tools, no case, no charger, "found them", at 11 pm. Contractors report serial numbers. Walk.
- Wrong generation
- M18 vs M18 Fuel vs M18 Fuel Gen 3 / Gen 4 are different prices. The model number on the label (2804 vs 2904, etc.) settles it.
- Dead batteries
- A 5Ah battery is a third of the kit's value. Check it charges and runs the tool under load; a battery that dies in a minute is done.
- Counterfeit batteries
- Fake M18 and 20V MAX batteries are everywhere online. Weight, label quality and the date code tell you; genuine packs have a stamped serial.
- Brushed sold as brushless
- "Fuel" means brushless on Milwaukee; "XR" on DeWalt. The plain versions sell for far less.
The message
What the app writes for you, one tap, never above the ceiling. If the ask is under $180 you meet the ask; if it's over, you offer the ceiling.
Hi! Is the Milwaukee drill still available? I can pick up today with cash near Salt Lake City. Would you take $180?
Then, before you drive: "Could you send a quick video of it powering on and working? Then I'll head straight over with cash."
Where it sells
- Contractors buy tools on Marketplace every week and pay cash the same day. Photograph the model label, the batteries with their Ah rating, and the tool running.
- Kits sell; bare tools sit. If you buy bare, pair it with a battery and charger before you list it.
- eBay is a fine floor for bare tools; batteries and kits ship heavy.
List it as "Milwaukee M18 FUEL hammer drill kit — 2904, two 5Ah batteries, charger, case". Contractors search the model number.
Why this one
Tools are the flip most people never think of: strong local demand, buyers who pay cash the same day, and a price that does not fall every month like a phone does.
In the app