HF- "Huge Parking Lot Sale"

[willbur]

Originally Posted by hallstevenson
Originally Posted by willbur
They have these tools competing against their own Pittsburgh Pro hand tools that are a really good value. Cost appears to be 2x greater. Don't know if this will work.

They're not really competing. Someone looking for a 2' breaker bar in the $20 price range isn't likely to see the Icon for $50 and go for it instead.


Exactly. Average HF customer is looking for low price. $50 ICON will just sit there and remain unsold until HF realizes almost no one wants it while the $20 one flies off the rack. Sale time!

 

[littlehulkster]

Some HF stuff is fine, really. Their tool boxes are as good as anyone else's and much cheaper. Some stuff just makes sense to buy there, too, like their consumables. I very much doubt that anyone has nitrile gloves that are noticeably superior to the ones at HF, but just about everyone has nitrile gloves that are noticeably more expensive.

Also, I see no reason to buy a megabux Snap-On tool (many of which are also junk, by the way) when I'm only going to use it occasionally. I got a torque wrench at HF that I use about once a year, and for that application it's just fine.

That said, their stick style soldering irons, at least, are garbage. They don't get hot enough, and the heat is focused away from the tip, meaning about the most complex job you could do with them is joining wires. The helping hands I got there, however, worked just fine.

Originally Posted by Fawteen
Originally Posted by A_Spruce
For the record, EVERYTHING at Harbor Freight is utter dog feces, el poo poo, bull excrement, cow dung, caa caa, doo doo! With that firmly in mind, you then weigh the task at hand and the amount of use that tool will see as to whether it is going to be able to perform the job you need it to do.


Yup. Not to mention that the majority of it is made in a foreign communist country that is hostile to the United States. Personally I have no time for garbage tools, and refuse to support a company that does business the way that harbor freight does.


Hate to break this to you, but the computer you used to post that comment is probably 100% made in China, even down to the Ethernet cables the signal traveled down.

 

[Saabist]

Harbor Freight is a mixed bag. There's some good stuff there but you need to be selective. Most of the Pittsburgh Pro hand tools are about the same quality as Chinese-made Craftsman. Not great, but serviceable for home use. Their jacks are good. Electrical items and power tools are mostly bad and come with a lousy 90-day warranty.

They have been improving quality lately but even their new higher-quality brands still have the same garbage warranty and repair parts are not available. If you want a decent warranty you have to buy it at extra cost and what you're really doing is pre-paying the wholesale replacement cost of the tool. With some shopping around you can get traditional-brand quality tools for around the same price.

 

[dlundblad]

They really push the extended warranty. They even say it covers abuse, neglect, leaving in the rain, backing over with car etc.

 

[Saabist]

Originally Posted by dlundblad
They really push the extended warranty. They even say it covers abuse, neglect, leaving in the rain, backing over with car etc.


Why not, it's not costing them anything. If you never use the warranty they get to keep your cash. If you do use the warranty you've already paid for the replacement item up front. It's a win-win for HF!