Harborfreight
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46mac
New member
You get what what you pay for. Harbor freight's tools are good for causual use, the tools I make my living with I buy elsewhere. There shipping can drive you nuts if you are in any kind of hurry, but overall many bargains can be had.
AndyM
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- NW PA, USA
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- 1948 Ford 8N and 1993 Toro WheelHorse 520H
Most of their stuff is Chinese, like buying from Homiers, which explains the cheap prices. Much of the time they offer free shipping and other specials.
Locally, I have a Harbor Freight retail store, and they are adding more all the time. Since I have that, I've never bought anything from them through their catalog.
Like the other poster said, the quality isn't for everyday use, but if it's something that you're not going to use every day, this is a cheap way to get one.
Locally, I have a Harbor Freight retail store, and they are adding more all the time. Since I have that, I've never bought anything from them through their catalog.
Like the other poster said, the quality isn't for everyday use, but if it's something that you're not going to use every day, this is a cheap way to get one.
RichZ
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- Apr 4, 2001
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- Kubota 4630 with cab and loader
You can sometimes get some unusual stuff that I haven't seen elsewhere from Harborfreight. For example, I bought a T-bar puller from them. It was cheap, under $20, and it works great. It's basically just a lever with a doo-dad that hooks to the T-bar, but it sure comes in handy when I remove temporary pens set up when you need to isolate an animal.
My step-son bought a battery inverter from them 4 or 5 years ago. It was a more powerful one, than he could find elsewhere. And it has worked perfect. He is on oxygen and uses it in his car to run an oxygen machine, when he goes any place in his car. So they have the good and the bad, just watch what you buy from them.
PondKeeper
Silver Member
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- Jun 4, 2002
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- 158
- Tractor
- Kubota B7500, New Holland LS45
I have bought from them without any problems. Backorders can cause a delay. Like other posts I agree that you need to know what you are buying to avoid quality issue; ie: I wouldn't buy chain or hooks because I want American made quality for my peace of mind for safety reasons.
Mike
Mike
I have bought a lot of stuff from Harbor Freight. Most of the time I have been completely satisfied. Sometimes I bought cheap stuff even for daily use in my business because in a harsh environment, the good stuff didn't last any longer. Electric drills are a good example. We'd buy a $120 Dewalt and, drilling with a lot of cement dust (Hardipanel), it wouldn't last any longer than a $24 HF drill. I would buy 3 or 4 HF drills at a time and just toss it when the bearings went out.
Others I bought because I couldn't justify it any other way. We did a little gas plumbing, mostly with copper but every once in a while with pipe. There was no way I could justify the cost of a Rigid pipe threader, but I got a pipe thread kit, pipe cutter and pipe vise from HF for a fraction of the cost. We just took it a little slower and made sure we didn't over stress it. If I was using it every day, I could have justified getting a more expensive setup.
Right now, the hottest item is their aluminum racing jack. Almost every racer I know has bought one. They are down under $150 for something that costs $600 or more elsewhere. No one has any complaints about them. If you've ever had to load and unload a heavy floor jack you'll understand.
Everything I've ever bought from Homier was flat-out junk. Might come from the same country, but the best comparison is thin sheet metal as opposed to cast iron. I bought 2 Homier 4" grinders and both burnt out within 10 minutes of use! I bought some Homier roller saw stands and the bearings fell out of the rollers while I was assembling them. I wouldn't buy even a screwdriver from Homier.
Others I bought because I couldn't justify it any other way. We did a little gas plumbing, mostly with copper but every once in a while with pipe. There was no way I could justify the cost of a Rigid pipe threader, but I got a pipe thread kit, pipe cutter and pipe vise from HF for a fraction of the cost. We just took it a little slower and made sure we didn't over stress it. If I was using it every day, I could have justified getting a more expensive setup.
Right now, the hottest item is their aluminum racing jack. Almost every racer I know has bought one. They are down under $150 for something that costs $600 or more elsewhere. No one has any complaints about them. If you've ever had to load and unload a heavy floor jack you'll understand.
Everything I've ever bought from Homier was flat-out junk. Might come from the same country, but the best comparison is thin sheet metal as opposed to cast iron. I bought 2 Homier 4" grinders and both burnt out within 10 minutes of use! I bought some Homier roller saw stands and the bearings fell out of the rollers while I was assembling them. I wouldn't buy even a screwdriver from Homier.
ns_in_tex
Platinum Member
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- Mar 24, 2002
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- East Texas
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- Kubota L4610 HSTC, International 2400, Hesston 1280,
I bought a pipe expander that broke the first time I used it, but I also bought a 9/16 through 1" drill bit set for 22.00 2-1/2 years ago. I have probably drilled more than 50 holes with one or two of the bits in 1/2 or 5/8 steel and have not sharpened one yet.
k8ny
Silver Member
I have purchased quite a number of items from HF over the years. As many posters here mention, most of their offerings are fine for casual use ( I don't make a living with tools any more) . The grease gun you 'won' I purchased for 12.99 less shipping. Since I had a larger order shipping was free. The gun is chrome plated and works well but again, I wouldn't purchase this if I needed to make a living with. For my tractor use, it's fine.
Now, on my last TELEPHONE order I made in March of this year, I used my credit card. I noticed about 2 weeks after this transaction that additional purchases had been made and not by me. These purchases were on the same day and a few days after I placed my order with them and were all made in California. My credit card company also noticed it and informed me at apporximately the same time I noticed my bill (I was able to view my credit card account billing online). There was, I believe, an investigation by the credit card company however nothing was conclusive from that. The credit card company didn't charge me for the purchases (approx $250) and they immediately issued me a new card. After this experience I only place orders with them online as opposed to by telephone (online is more secure than a manual phone order in my opinion.)
That has been my experience with their products and billing.
Now, on my last TELEPHONE order I made in March of this year, I used my credit card. I noticed about 2 weeks after this transaction that additional purchases had been made and not by me. These purchases were on the same day and a few days after I placed my order with them and were all made in California. My credit card company also noticed it and informed me at apporximately the same time I noticed my bill (I was able to view my credit card account billing online). There was, I believe, an investigation by the credit card company however nothing was conclusive from that. The credit card company didn't charge me for the purchases (approx $250) and they immediately issued me a new card. After this experience I only place orders with them online as opposed to by telephone (online is more secure than a manual phone order in my opinion.)
That has been my experience with their products and billing.