Harbor Freight Tools rant....

[bpoteat]

In cases like this, almost all chain retailers will order it for you at the price so you could still get it. Most salespeople want to do as little work as possible so don't mention that when they tell you it's out of stock.

[911pcars]

Don't be a tool snob. I suspect some here shop at Griot's?

HF. Some are good, some are okay, some are borderline. It also depends on what you're using them for - occasionally or full time.

I have a very nice Proto dead blow hammer. I doubt if it's superior to the one from HF. I have a very nice HF 1/4" dr. ratchet handle. Use it all the time. Many examples like that. My Snap-On and Proto tools reside comfortably in the rollaway with many HF tools.

You'd be surprised how many items are manufactured in China to ISO specs. Our trade imbalance w/China is not due to us buying cheap HF tools. Unfortunately, it's a result of the world economy and trade.

If enough people object, they can ask Congress to impose tariffs on foreign-made goods to make domestic sources more competitive. I think we just did that with Brazilian ethanol. We don't want alternative sources of gas that cheap, do we?

Sherwood

[legion]

Originally posted by bpoteat
In cases like this, almost all chain retailers will order it for you at the price so you could still get it. Most salespeople want to do as little work as possible so don't mention that when they tell you it's out of stock.

Nope--that was the first thing I tried. The deal was good for merchandise in stock only.

[bpoteat]

Originally posted by legion
Nope--that was the first thing I tried. The deal was good for merchandise in stock only.

bastards!

[berettafan]

Originally posted by legion
Yep.

I had a similar issue with Dick's Sporting Goods. They had a shotgun I wanted, for $200 off the normal price. I stopped by the local Dick's, just in time to catch the only one they had in stock being sold.

They re-ran the special the next week, I drove up to Chicago and visited two Dick's, both were out of stock. I went to a Gander Mountain with the ad to try to get them to price-match. They called Dick's...they told me that they had a policy that they would only price match items in-stock at the competing store. Seems Dick's has a habit of shipping ONE item to each store then putting it on special at some super-duper price.

This particular special continued to run for another six weeks. I continued to stop in the local Dick's to see if they ever got another one of those shotguns. They never did.

That is one store that was named PERFECTLY!

Dick's is a golf equipment/wigger clothing store and nothing else. Gander Mt., on the other hand, has shown an interest in stocking exactly what local consumers want to see. The Gander near my house got the hint about nobody wanting junk Flambeu decoys and switched to a large selection of Greenhead Gear at the suggestion of several locals. Now they can't stock enough in season!

They also carry a much better selection of firearms including lots of lovely Beretta and Benelli bird guns.

[berettafan]

Originally posted by 911pcars

If enough people object, they can ask Congress to impose tariffs on foreign-made goods to make domestic sources more competitive.

Yeah, that surely has done wonders for GM, Ford and Crapler



Have you guys been to a HF store? The one i went to most resembled a dollar general.

[VINMAN]

Originally posted by legion
Nope--that was the first thing I tried. The deal was good for merchandise in stock only.

Not even a rain check?? Thats BS. The Dicks by me sucks! When they first opened they were great. Excellent camping, fishing, hunting dept. Carried everything.
Now its turned into a trendy fashion clothes store.

[legion]

Originally posted by VINMAN
Not even a rain check??

They told me they could order it, it would take 6-12 weeks, I wouldn't get the price, I'd have to pay for it upfront, I couldn't back out once it arrived, and I'd still have to wait 24 hours (Illinois Law) after I came in and filled out paperwork with its serial number to pick it up.

[speeder]

We have a bar up by our cabin in Wisconsin called "Skinny Dick's Halfway Inn"...

[legion]

Speeder, where is that?

I could swear I've driven past it.

We go to the UP every summer, so we drive Wisconsin from top to bottom (well...on the way home).

I'm thinking it's either in Eagle River/Boulder Junction or somewhere around Madison.

[Superman]

Originally posted by charleskieffner
by the way did any of you get your gauges calibrated??? torque wrench calibrated?

Yes. I had three HF torque wrenches calibrated, after they had been used for a couple of years (I was going to rebuild my 3-liter engine and I wanted to see if they were anywhere near accurate). I took them to the place where local aircraft mechanics are required to take theirs. All three (1/2", 3/8" and 1/4") were well within aircraft spec.

Still, I am not recommending them. Two of them have lost their 'ratchet' mechanisms.

A great deal of China tools are junk. But listen up: This was true of all Japanese products in the sixties. Right now, China is where Japan was then. China is determined to become the manufacturing center of the Universe, as well as the metallurgy center. They will acomplish this, guys.

[VaSteve]

HF makes great tools to take to the track.

I did get a whole set of long allen heads on 3/8" drive sockets. $20, they are pretty nice and it includes one the exact length of the 8mm HE tool I made a couple of a years ago out of sears tools.

[cashflyer]

Originally posted by speeder
We have a bar up by our cabin in Wisconsin called "Skinny Dick's Halfway Inn"...

Or...

[johnco]

I lose more tools than most people own. not going to pay $100 for a tool I may never see again when I can get one for $20 at HF. Sure they're not always the best quality, but they get the job done usually. at least while I can still find them. I think there must be some kind of tractor beam or something at the HF store. for some reason my truck is pulled into the HF parking lot everytime I get near one. And the closest one is 70 miles away from me. funny how some posters here have no problem buying Chinese tools at Harbor freight but let someone mention Walmart. hehe

[911pcars]

"funny how some posters here have no problem buying Chinese tools at Harbor freight but let someone mention Walmart. hehe"

I wonder if HF uses the same predatory purchasing practices as Walmart? The sales volume may be a factor. Good question.

Sherwood

[juanbenae]

chris, you can get an extension for your grease gun that is flexible at orchard or the like. like a braided brake line with a smallish grease fitting on the end that is great for the ER bushing.

i will leave your skinny deek extension topic alone.....

T$

[Joeaksa]

Originally posted by 911pcars
"funny how some posters here have no problem buying Chinese tools at Harbor freight but let someone mention Walmart. hehe"

I wonder if HF uses the same predatory purchasing practices as Walmart? The sales volume may be a factor. Good question.

Sherwood

My issue with WalMart is the way that they end up running all the "mom and pop" stores out of business in any area that they open a new store in, so its not apples and oranges here.

Have not been in a WalMart in over 5 years and no plans on changing this. Unfortunately like Johnco the HF tractor beam does pull me in to their store quite often. Some of their stuff is hard to beat.

[johnco]

I once checked into maybe opening a HF in my small town. No chance. from what I was told by someone and not sure it's true, one guy owns every store. He can research your area to see if it can support a HF, but the closest you'll get is maybe working as a manager. There's a store 70 miles west, 95 miles east and another 95 miles northeast from me. It's amazing how often I find myself at one of the HF store stocking up on cheap screwdrivers and wrenches I can never find again after they are put in the truck tool box. bought the usually $60-$80 small sand blaster for $14 2 weeks ago. $75 paint gun for $12. Never use them, but damn, they were on sale. got my eye on that Plasma cutter just waiting for a price drop and it's mine

[sig_a]

I enjoy being a DIY Porsche owner to the point of smugness. The $80/hour I save goes toward buying superior, US made tools. It's a small contribution in support of American workmen. Our trade deficit with China in 2006 was a record 1/4 Trillion USD. But for the borrowings of the US Treasury, we will never see that money again.

[911pcars]

"My issue with WalMart is the way that they end up running all the "mom and pop" stores out of business in any area that they open a new store in, so its not apples and oranges here. "

There are many issues with Walmart:

- Not providing health coverage to many of their full time employees, instead making them rely on their own devices or public-paid emergency centers.

- Hiring illegal aliens for janitorial services

- Sex discrimination in pay, promotion, and compensation (pending law suit in CA)

- Breaking child labor laws (fine paid in Maine)

... the rest:
http://www.now.org/issues/wfw/wm-facts.html

Not that there's anything wrong with being a billionaire, but this doesn't help public perception either:
Arkansas
17. Jim Walton, 58, $15.9, Wal-Mart
19. S. Robson Walton, 62, $15.8, Wal-Mart
21. Helen Walton, 86, $15.6, Wal-Mart
Missouri
278. Ann Walton Kroenke, 56, $2.6, Wal-Mart
350. Nancy Walton Laurie, 54, $2.2, Wal-Mart
Texas
20. Alice Walton, 56, $15.7, Wal-Mart
Wyoming
17. Christy Walton, 51, $15.9, Wal-Mart inheritance

The numbers are ranking, age and net worth according to Forbes.

Sherwood