Harbor Freight lawsuit

[Pixguy]

And exactly what is accomplished by this? [*]The lawyers make a bunch of money. [*]A few customers get a few cents. [*]The poor and vulnerable are once again reassured they don't need to make the effort to think or to educate themselves because Big Brother will protect them, therefore, they continue being suckered. [*]HF (or whomever) just adjusts their methods and carry on suckering the suckers. [*]The people with common sense are unaffected because they were never stupid enough to fall for the hype in the first place. The only significant change is in the lawyer's pockets. Oh, and the "government is the answer" crowd gets to preen in their supposed moral superiority because they are the ones who care about the vulnerable. While doing everything they can to make sure they stay vulnerable.

Like! :thumbsup:

 

[Creamer]

And exactly what is accomplished by this?

1. The lawyers make a bunch of money.
2. A few customers get a few cents.
3. The poor and vulnerable are once again reassured they don't need to make the effort to think or to educate themselves because Big Brother will protect them, therefore, they continue being suckered.
4. HF (or whomever) just adjusts their methods and carry on suckering the suckers.
5. The people with common sense are unaffected because they were never stupid enough to fall for the hype in the first place.

The only significant change is in the lawyer's pockets.

Oh, and the "government is the answer" crowd gets to preen in their supposed moral superiority because they are the ones who care about the vulnerable.

While doing everything they can to make sure they stay vulnerable.

Totally agree except with the last part of #4. Some of what Harbor Freight sells is not the best but some have a great luck with it. The same could be said for what you buy at Lowe's or Home Depot. You still need to know what you are buying. Most of the stuff at Harbor Freight is well worth what you pay for it, also they have a great return policy if you do not like it. It is up to you. Some of the stuff they have is excellent and I would compare to almost any brand except it may not be as pretty.

 

[daugen]

Much of the "higher end" merchandise at HF is similar to what Northern Tools sells.
Quite a difference in the two company's approach, though both have sign up memberships for special deals.
Northern Tools of course runs ten to thirty percent more on similar tools, and are they thirty percent better? Not likely. As Creamer said, you still need to know what you are buying.

I think HF's market positioning is spot on. I have quite a few of their tools, but would I buy their 16 dollar cordless drill? No. If only because I don't want another "different" battery and charger when I already use Makita and Sears. Many of you use Dewalt and Milwaukee. I think if you earn your living with your tools, it isn't likely HF will satisfy and I'm not sure that was ever their intent.

Since a lot of what you can find in HF is also on Amazon, there are plenty of places to buy inexpensive tools, but HF lets you hold it in your hand or at least look at it.

I was raised to speak plainly and tell the truth. When companies don't do that, they are likely to get in trouble.
And one can cynically say well they all do that. No they don't. And we can agree to disagree on that.

 

[TemporaryKubotaOwnerMark]

Totally agree except with the last part of #4.

That wasn't a comment on the quality, just the marketing. The sucker getting suckered is the guy who thinks "Compare at!" actually means you are getting an equal tool that sells elsewhere for that "Compare at!" price.

I buy HF tools when they meet my needs, but I do it with my eyes open. I don't count on Big Brother to think for me.

 

[hayden73]

You get a free (with purchase) microfiber cloth to dry your tears and polish your rock!


View attachment 505047



Void where prohibited. Some restrictions apply. Not available in all states. This is not an offer to buy nor a solicitation to invest. If you need the government to protect you from routine marketing hype what are you ever going to do if you actually have to think for yourself? See dealer for details.

I disagree with this coupon. It SAYS it's a 5 dollar value, but I've never seen them cost that much. We shoul all call up some seedy TV lawyer and go try to get some money that doesnt belong to us.

 

[TemporaryKubotaOwnerMark]

... some seedy TV lawyer....

Hmmm.... "seedy TV lawyer". I'm pretty sure that's redundant!

 

[flyerdan]

After we'd pretty much all forgotten about this, I got a gift card in the mail today, a year and a half later. If I remember, some of the receipt scans were pretty faded, (the actual receipt, due to the famous disappearing ink that sometimes shows up in all stores at times, it seems), but they accepted all of them, as the amount is actually more than I had figured.
As stated earlier, it's all going back to them anyway; I've had my eye on those ratcheting combo wrench sets for a while...I need them like a hen needs a flag but they'd be nice to have.

 

[John Fitzgerald]

I don't care how they advertise. I don't care if they say this is a $1,000 value for only $19.95. I will look at and evaluate the merchandise and decide if it's worth their asking price to me. I buy some things there that I think are a good value for infrequent use. For things I need to rely on to always work, I buy more premium brands.

 

[Kyle_in_Tex]

HF smells of cosmoline so bad it hurts my nose.

That said, I still get a few things there.

Their ads have so much fine print, after all is said and done, only 1 free item with coupon per day, and you might have to buy something to get it.

My screen's ads at the top are all HF ads right now.

 

[Diggin It]

and the folks in the class action each end up with a few dollar check.

Ditto. I got the notice. Lawyers get $10 million everyone else gets a few bucks after hours of assembling paperwork.

I agree totally but watch all the leeches that will glom onto the lawsuit to get "their" $5.

In my case, it's close to $400.00, considerably more than the initial estimates.

Basically a coupon though that will be spent in-store. The ones that opted for checks got 50-60% of their qualifying purchase amounts.

Option A claimants will receive cash payments equal to 54% of their documented "You saved" amounts or gift card payments equal to 60% of this amount. Option B claimants will receive payments equal to 18% of their documented Harbor Freight purchases. Option C claimants will receive one $160.00 gift card.

National Sale Price Settlement