Savings on returned Home Depot goods (and tools specifically)

Recently I've noticed there are sellers ( even local ones) on Facebook Marketplace with apparent Home Depot returns they sell much cheaper than retail. So wanting to upgrade a couple of tools I've owned for 20 years now, I decided to look for a more portable table saw, a 10 or 12 inch miter saw (upgrade to sliding from non-sliding), and a router table (never had one of these). All from Ryobi, as it happens, since I already own quite a few of their cordless system tools and like them.

I found all the items I needed from two sellers, one slightly cheaper than the other (but who never got back to me), and made arrangements to meet the seller who responded promptly to my inquiry. I scored a 10" table saw with rolling stand for $160 (retail is $269), the 10" sliding miter saw for $150 (retail is $219), and the router table for $60 (retail is $119). The other seller would have been about $40 less for all three items.

So, what should one expect when buying returned Home Depot goods:

1) Invariably a tool will have been used at least once.
2) There will quite probably be missing parts, and the seller may not be able to provide them.

I my case, the table saw was missing the material push stick and the knob for the miter gauge. The miter saw had been used and, although it looked like barely, whomever returned it had somehow managed to dull the blade to the point that it was all but unusable. And the router table was missing all the mounting screws, the miter gauge, and the throat plates (these sit in the router mounting plate around the router bit).

I didn't need missing table saw or router table accessories (though I really should have a throat plate to protect my router from possible damage), a replacement (carbide tipped) miter saw blade would have been $30 additional, but I simply took the blade from the saw I was retiring instead. And replacement screws for the router table were $20.

So I saved around $325 on tools that would have set me back almost $700 new (after tax).

Now, I know many of you will feel like it's foolish to buy and own tools at all, preferring instead to rent as needed. I only disagree with this (after many years of renting tools myself) because I do more DIY than the average person, hate having to hunt down and collect the tool I need from the rental place, hate even more guessing how many days I'm going to need a tool and/or being under pressure to get it returned by the end of the rental period. And forget about renting a tool for a longer project. No, my friends, I like my tools available at a moments notice, exactly when I need them. YMMV.