I have bought many HF tools with low expectations and some how still have most of them. I bought a 15 dollar set of standard and metric wrenches in a roll out pouch over 10 years ago for my salvage yard bucket, the pouch failed right away but the wrenches have yet to break even after the abuse that I have thrown at them. I recently bought their newest spectrum black widow paint gun, 200 bucks -25% made it 150 bucks, every review I have seen on it says it shoots paint better than a sata 5000 that is over 600 bucks. I personally like that they are offering higher quality tools for a fraction of most retailers and they are likely all being made in the same place.
Harbor Freight
- Thread starter joesregalproject
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There was a local lighting store that did the same thing, they were going out of business for like, 6 years. Then one day they actually closed and no one could believe it 😆
I have "crappy" Hazard Fraught ratchets. One has an offset in the handle so i don't drag my knuckles as often, the other has an extra long handle. Both are 3/8 drive and have a plastic overmold that makes them nice to use in temperature extremes. I've been rough on these two ratchets on purpose and they have handled it well. My 220+ pounds of shop gorilla standing on the end of them for extra leverage hasn't damaged them yet. Don't get me wrong, they sell plenty of junk. You just have to sift through the marketing schtick and garbage to find the occasional gem.
I'm showing my age here- but- I remember when they were strictly a mail order business. Late 70's- early '80's maybe. I was a letter carrier and they had these little catalogs come through all the time. Mostly the "storehouse" collections of nuts, bolts, screws, little storage bins, that sort of thing. Cheap prices, large quantities, and (gasp) FREE shipping over $15 I think. NO TAX! I bought some stuff and knew right way it was low quality. But they expanded, got better, more diverse, bigger catalog, still cheap though. Then came the actual stores. Somewhat better stuff, more expensive prices, no more free shipping. Now? Still cheap crap. I don't trust anything with threads. They lost the recipe. Hammers? OK. Little else.
I agree the sales are pretty decisive. I bought my wife a safe at Christmas and was going to use a coupon as I only had a couple more days on it. Get to the checkout and find out you can’t use it. Why send all these coupons out and then not be able to use it. I like harbor freight and have gotten good stuff from them
I have limited faith in anything they sell. Had some impacts sockets of theirs a year & a half I used when I did the struts & lower front arms on the wife's Santa Fe. They ate the nuts forcing me to pay someone to finish the job. They now live in a land fill in Indiana County & now have a some Kobalts that took their place.
I too fell for the "lifetime warranty" deep impact sockets. Half of them split open.
Ok, I'll be that guy:
Can't bring myself to stop into the new store that opened up about 1/2 hour away.
Can't bring myself to stop into the new store that opened up about 1/2 hour away.
I manage an Auto parts store in a small town, and they, Harbor Freight, are trying to recruit me. "We will give you a 2% raise over what you are making now".....
Me:
Me:
The running joke in my house when a Harbor Freight flyer shows up is as follows.
My wife, "Well, they're shutting 'er down again".
Me, "That son of a ……………………well we better get down there".
It's only deceptive marketing if you believe anything that they say. And any 20% off super coupon that I have ever used wasn't for the cheapest thing, it was for whatever I bought that was eligible, no matter the price. Read the fine print and you won't be as upset as when the counter lady reads it to you.
I go in every HF that I pass buy. Where else can you buy a box full of different size copper washers, O-rings, tension pins, etc for 3 or 4 bucks?
Over the years I have owned and still do own Blackhawk, Craftsman, Proto, Bluepoint, Stanley, Advance Auto house brand, Gear Wrench, you name it...………….I have a lot of hand tools. Now I only buy Pittsburgh. The Pittsburgh stuff is just fine for me. If, and I mean if it breaks, I throw it in the trash. I don't remember breaking one, but I also don't put cheater bars on ratchets. At this point I'd rather spend my money on horsepower instead of a horseshit brand name tool.
Pittsburgh tools for the win, because don't they all really come from China anyway?
My wife, "Well, they're shutting 'er down again".
Me, "That son of a ……………………well we better get down there".
It's only deceptive marketing if you believe anything that they say. And any 20% off super coupon that I have ever used wasn't for the cheapest thing, it was for whatever I bought that was eligible, no matter the price. Read the fine print and you won't be as upset as when the counter lady reads it to you.
I go in every HF that I pass buy. Where else can you buy a box full of different size copper washers, O-rings, tension pins, etc for 3 or 4 bucks?
Over the years I have owned and still do own Blackhawk, Craftsman, Proto, Bluepoint, Stanley, Advance Auto house brand, Gear Wrench, you name it...………….I have a lot of hand tools. Now I only buy Pittsburgh. The Pittsburgh stuff is just fine for me. If, and I mean if it breaks, I throw it in the trash. I don't remember breaking one, but I also don't put cheater bars on ratchets. At this point I'd rather spend my money on horsepower instead of a horseshit brand name tool.
Pittsburgh tools for the win, because don't they all really come from China anyway?
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