Harbor Freight
Reviews
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The
unofficial review forum for Harbor Freight™ tools. |
Guide for the Novice Harbor Freight™ Shopper
Even the savvy shopper occasionally comes to the store armed with the latest coupon only to find that the item is actually on-sale for less money than expected. Usually, the lower in-store sale price is honored. Also be aware that quite often the sale price is NOT posted on the shelves. Use the current sales fliers and coupons as your guide to special sale prices.
One of the most useful features of this discussion forum, and indeed our Harbor Freight Reviews website, is the price comparisons--we list the "regular retail price," usually a "frequent sale price," a "target price," and sometimes even a "best price" that has been found for the item within the past year. Keep in mind that the better prices are usually purchases made with coupons and even with a coupon applied to a deeply discounted sale item (see below). Part of the 'game' played by many Harbor Freight™ customers, including us at Harbor Freight Reviews, is to buy their products at the lowest possible price. The object is not just to fill your home shop with the most tools but to do so at the most economical price: "he with the most toys [assembled at the lowest cost] when he dies, wins!"
Harbor Freight™
Coupon Redemption Policy
Harbor Freight™ is usually very generous with their coupon redemption
policy. We have had no problems at our local, Buffalo-area (New York)
store. Coupons received in the mail, clipped from magazines, and
printed from their websites have all been honored without incident. Of
course you can't combined coupons on a single purchase, but the usual
20%-off coupon is honored even on deeply discounted sale items.
Sometimes, the resulting price has been ridiculously low; usually it's
just a 'sweeter deal.'
Never make a large purchase without at least using the 20%-off coupon found in several national magazines and often in newspaper inserts. And for the best savings combine this coupon with a deeply discounted sale price whenever possible.
Hidden Inventory? Ask for Help!
Sale items are sometimes difficult to locate, depending on which actual
retail outlet you visit. The staff can be very help in finding that
special item or checking their inventory online. A lot of the larger
items don't even get shelved but remain in the back storeroom. You have
to ask for them. Recently, I discovered that a 9-LED
mini flashlight
that has been repeatedly offered for free with a coupon is kept behind
the cash register in an unmarked brown paper bag. Bad sport
, but at least I now know the trick. At our
Buffalo area stores the staff always seems busy and often difficult to
track down. Nonetheless, find a "sales associate" and ask if you can't
locate a sale item.
Harbor Freight™
Warranties & Satisfaction Guarantee
Harbor Freight™ boasts the best warranty in the business for all of
their hand tool lines, matching the famous Craftsman™ hand tool
lifetime warranty. They also have a 30-day 100%-satisfaction guarantee
whereby any product may be returned for any reason within the first
month. And recently, they claim they will price-match for up to a year
after your purchase. It just can't get any better than this! (These
policies were accurate at the time of writing, but check their websites
and their retail outlets for any changes.)
Harbor Freight™ Quality
The tool snobs usually degrade the quality of products found at Harbor
Freight™. Don't be surprised to see them in the store too, but they'll
argue that it's a fluke that Harbor Freight™ occasionally has a product that
they find acceptable for their "professional" work (e.g., Harbor
Freight's™ reinforced
rubber air hoses find their way into many professional shops
because of their high quality and unbeatable price.). These are often
the same tool snobs that will tell me that my Craftsman™ tools aren't
really high quality and then go on to exault the properties of their truely "professional" tool.
But for many of us Harbor Freight™ does fill a niche and fills it quite
well.
Harbor Freight™ allows me to
purchase special-use tools that I wouldn't normally be able to 'afford'
for occasional or one-time use, and they allow me to purchase
duplicate sets and duplicate-purpose tools so that I always have the
right tool at hand. For projects that I work on frequently and for
those requiring a lot of torque, I have good-quality tools set aside.
(I don't want to round a rusty nut with a cheap wrench or to strip the
head of an over-tightened screw with a poor quality screwdriver.) For
everything else I have everything else. Depending on how often I use
the tool and how much torque or precision is required for the task, I
have a lot of varying quality tools, many of which were purchased from
Harbor Freight™. (My duplicate Craftsman™ tools also get distributed
around the home and shop, but I seldom buy duplicates of this tool line
because they are relatively expensive.) And with the typically low
prices on generally acceptable-quality tools at Harbor Freight™, I'm
able to buy an entire set to replace a few wrenches or screwdrivers
that are misplaced around the shop or that "walked off" from my
toolbox. (Ever notice how often that 1/2" wrench, eh, 12mm wrench, goes
missing and how often that's just the wrench you need?)
Harbor Freight™ quality is
sometimes near the top of the line, but the bulk of their
products consists of medium-quality tools. For most purposes these
tools suffice and at a considerable savings too. A few products at
Harbor Freight™ are very low quality and the savvy shopper has to be
on-guard to sort through the various products. At Harbor Freight Reviews we try to
help you sort through the product line by identifying the good-quality
products, the "Hot
Buys" (also check the "Hot
Buys" category on our discussion forum for the most updated list), "The Junk,",
and "Everything
in Between." Although your experience might differ, our reviews are based on our first-hand
experience with each and every product for which we post a review
and not on radom individuals posting their unvetted opinions to some
unmoderated commercial Internet site. We test every product, sometimes
extensively, and we post updates as our experience with the product
changes. You can read our online tool reviews on our Harbor Freight Reviews website
or for the latest additions on our Harbor Freight Reviews Discussion Forum.
Please keep in mind that we cannot garantee that you will be similarly
satisfied or dissatisfied with any specific product but only share our
honest, candid opinion about the products we test.
Bottom line: Shop knowledgeably at Harbor Freight™ and you'll be a "happy camper." Check both of their websites online (i.e., Harbor Freight Tools AND Harbor Freight USA) for their latest coupons (links are usually at the top or side of their home pages; look carefully). Check local newspapers for advertisements and inserts and check national magazines for coupons including the ubiquitous 20%-off coupon. Be a savvy shopper and spend money (on the best deals) to help keep them in business so that we all continue to have access to this fabulous low-cost tool outlet.
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Copyright 2010 Beaux Arts Last
revised:
27
July 2010 18:58 (EDT) Contact:
info@HarborFreightReviews.com |