Harbor Freight

Cheap, crappy tools. Brand new multi-​meter broke one hour out of the package. They
would not return, or even replace unless I had my receipt. It was a gift, so out of luck at
this place. This isn’t the first poor quality item I have gotten from Harbor Freight, but it will
be the last! 2 stars is generous.

They have your purchase info but will not use it for returns. They force you to use the original receipt that fades in your wallet. Only reason why I gave 2 stars and not 1 is because they have affordable items that do not need to be of best quality to utilize.

This place has everything tool wise that you can think of for the average Joe. I’ve bought all kinds of tools including wrenches, drills, grinders, etc for a fraction of the cost of other stores such as home depot or lowes. If you are like me and use a given tool less than a few times a month or so then this might be the place you should be shopping. I have actually never had any quality/​breakage issues with anything that I’ve bought here and if you are on the mailing list they send out a 20% off coupon via email about once a month for even bigger discounts.

Great customer service! They didn’t had what I was looking for but they had someone get it from the warehouse and then gave me a 20% of coupon for waiting. Great prices too

These people have some really cheap tools. I would stay away from power tools but for wrenches and sockets this place is hard to beat

Been here a handful of times, every time takes 10 – 15 minutes to check out. Takes even longer trying to get any assistance finding something. Some of the stuff I have gotten it home and it is broken. Always check everything you buy before hand! Be sure before going to get a coupon online for ~20% off one item. Can almost always find them.

I must be making it habit to go in February, Since I have been home so much I never get done there is always something to do, but to my surprise they carry wrist wraps and much cheaper than drugstore or medical supply so should you need one go there you Will be glad you did.

Harbor Freight is a great place to buy cheapo tools. You’re not going to get the best quality tools in the world (or even China), but you’re going to pay a fraction of what you’d pay elsewhere. With some research and experience, you can learn what tools you can lowball and which ones it’s necessary to pony up on.
You need to be an educated consumer to shop here, as there is very little help available in the store, and a pretty poor return policy that will likely not be worth your time and energy.
They send out coupons with deals, and you can pick up a paper in the store as well. They also have markdowns in the store that are good, but not quite as good as the coupons in the store paper, which aren’t quite as good as the ones they mail out in their circular or that you can access online.
There is legitimately a lot to complain about in terms of the overall experience with HF. Some quality issues, store experience, out of stock items, service, and return policy. This is a 2-​star joint that’s price adjusted to 4 stars because it is that stinking cheap.
I recommend it as a place to pick up tools proactively that you’ll need for future projects, and stuff that is just handy to have, because it can save you big bucks in the long run. Plus it just freaking rocks to have tools because it makes you a total badass.

I understand that this is just cheap Chinese crap and if you know that and choose to buy that’s fine. But the guys that work at this dump are complete idiots. Not only are they rude and hate their job, but are not even smart enough to figure out how to load a car. I bought a three piece tool box and it took the guy 15 minutes just to find it. This is the tall guy with the Islamist beard. He could not figure out how these pieces would fit into the SUV. I did not want to be rude but after waiting for a quarter of an hour for him to bring it to the front I had had it win this stooge. He tried three times but obviously this guy had failed geometry class. I hope you have to work at this job that you hate the rest of your miserable life you pinhead.

One of my friends made me take him here. He said he needed to buy some stuff, but that he couldn’t remember what he wanted to buy. I don’t know if he ever found what he was looking for.
It’s called «Harbor Freight Tools» but I’m not entirely confident that it’s a tool store. They seemed to have a bunch of random stuff scattered among the hardware. They even had book safes! I managed to walk out with a 3-​pack of garden gnomes for less than $ 10! I don’t even have a garden, or a lawn!

So honestly I have been ordering things from them online for a long while now. It isn’t the highest quality stuff, but the price is certainly right. The store was very clean and signage was a big help. They did also even carry the small things I order by the sack full come xmas time, like the 99cent LED light key chains, and 5 dollar LED flash lights. Gotta love being able to pick them up local instead of waiting on a shipment. Had alot of things I wouldn’t expect them to have as well. Kind of fun looking through isles and finding random things. From over sized dolly wheels, to heavy duty tricycles lol Will def come here for random things I need that don’t have to be top of the line tool wise.

It is hard to think that there is a hardware store that I dislike more than the HoDe and Lowe’s, but there is. Harbor Freight seems like they might have more hardware since they don’t have lumber and all the home decorating stuff that HoDe and Lowe’s have. But still, the stock is disappointing. I went to find a drill bit so I can finish a project at the house. The one I had was just a little short. I figured it may be a longer shot, but there might be a drill bit that was just a little longer, if I went to a more dedicated hardware store (which was also convenient to the fabric store).
When I went in, it was crazy-​busy, and I was the only woman who’d been there since probably the last time I went there. I was doing perfectly fine on my own looking for the bit, when a staff member came over to ask if I needed help. This is the single most annoying thing ever: I can finagle around and try to find stuff on my own, I don’t need another «expert» to come over who actually can’t help me, and just makes everything worse. He immediately said, «We don’t have anything like that that’s longer.» Thanks. Real helpful. The he said, «Maybe over here.» Nope, he took me to an empty rack. Then I asked is there anything else that may work – even something a little off-​label. He said no. And I said, «You’re really going to make me go to Home Depot? Really?» And he said «Sorry» and walked off. The second most annoying thing: people saying sorry when there are not sorry at all. I left, off to hit up the HoDe.

I love wandering the aisles finding all sorts of little tools I’d never think about using until I saw one. I like finding things like an air compressor that plugs into my cigarette lighter and inflates my tires when they’re getting low. Chisels… screw drivers… dremel accessories… This is sort of a Five and Dime of tool places. I even bought me a dolly for moving stuff here.

Saks-Dillard’s Home Depot– Harbor Freight
You can pretty much get anything you could imagine in this little store. It is packed to the gills with everything from wall safes to swivel head sockets. Everything is made in India or China but it is priced accordingly. If you need a tool you know you are gonna only use once, this is your spot. They don’t really have the selection of power tools that the other big box home improvement stores do and I most certainly wouldn’t skimp on those and buy them here, but they have a great return policy and if something blows up your skirt, give it a shot.
Their bits and sockets fit, they are close, cheap and always have something new in their inventory. Kinda like a girl I used to date. Give them a shot if you want to save money and get decent quality items.

In general, Home Depot and Lowes frustrate me. They seem clinical and geared towards contractors more than the average, drill-​clumsy home owner (aka, myself), and I still resent that HD staffer that tried to sell me a steam vaccum when I asked for a shop vac. The two are totally different, and if I know that, everyone working at HD should, too.
Harbor Freight could easily take the place of the above big box home improvement stores. Not only do they have a massive selection, there are also great sales on tools. I got a grommet tool kit for $ 3.99 — more than 50% off the regular price.
While one can still run into the issues of «where do I find item X,» staff here seems to be acutely aware of most items’ locations. While there is a whole aisle devoted to fasteners, where some grommets lived, I asked a staff member where more might be. First he barked, «Speak up!» Then he took my elbow, led me to an aisle, pointed, told me to look up when I got to the end of the shelf, and gently propelled me with the slightest push down the right aisle. Kind of bossy, but effective!
Fun items like solar walkway lights, bingo kits, and amusing signs for the home (TRAINED ATTACK DOG signs only make me giggle — ROTWEILER CROSSING are straight-​up funny) are here, too. But most of the merchandise here are useful tools.

This place is good for one thing and one thing only: cheap tools. Cheap in the price as well as in the quality. Yet, this is not always a bad thing. Say you need a basic screwdriver or wrench, or even a set of these, come here. The prices here are WAY below what you would pay at Lowe’s or the Depot. For simple tools or items that are tough to be designed incorrectly or made improperly, and tools you will not use very often, come here. A tool set here is cheap as hell, and might be a good gift for that nephew you see once a year. For someone you might see often enough to hear about the assembly of a new futon, shop elsewhere.

Say you want to use a rotary tool for some unlicensed dentistry or a generic sawzall to loosen up some dirt, this is the place. At $ 26, the sawzall was a bargain. It’s about ¹⁄₃ the price of the cheapest one at the Depot so I don’t feel guilty about digging with it or blasting bedrock with it. In fact, I love it so much, I was thinking about walking the streets with it slung over my shoulder and asking housewives if they needed any sawing done.
Some of their other tools like the ratchet I bought their are useless though so buyer beware.

I appreciate the location, selection, and availability of items that this Harbor Freight has to offer. I was looking for an aluminum can crusher (believe it or not, I called all over and nobody had any in stock) and after several attempts, I finally found a nice one here in stock, for just about 5 bucks.
I like the tools they have, at least they get the job done, and the prices on zip ties in bulk are very low, and their weekly advertised specials are a nice incentive, too.
I feel like this is a nice, basic tool store with several items that are worth getting, and if you take care of what you buy, you can get some good years out of the tools, even though they are not the highest quality. Most people going here know this anyway.

OK, you’re the uglier duckling of the two Austin Harbor Freight’s, but you keep it real by having what I need in stock when I need it. Thanks for keeping up with the inventory and knowing what we need even before we do.
Oh, and the young lady at the front register rocks. Don’t assume she doesn’t know her tools. While waiting to check out, I couldn’t believe my ears when she told one of the other male staffers «That compressor doesn’t come with anything. No oil, no hoses, no quick connects, no nothing. Just the compressor.». He still opened the box to be certain, and sure enough, she nailed it. That’s way cool.

Harbor Freight Tools is special. Everything there looks like it fell of boat and onto the shelves, which one would expect from a name like «Harbor Freight.» Needless to say, there is no such thing as brand-​name tools here, and that’s exactly what makes it great. Everything is dirt cheap, and their weekly ads can be a gold mine for the tool enthusiast who is not concerned with long-​term durability.
There are two kinds of tools I buy from Harbor Freight. Tools I only need to use once, and tools that are impossible to screw up. For instance, I bought a crow bar from these people. You can’t screw up a crow bar, so consequently theirs works great and is useful for breaking things. Air compressor fittings, Teflon tape, cheap gloves, or an oil drain pan are all fair game. They have cheap electronic safes that are good enough for keeping you from losing your checkbook, but they probably are not going to be used by any banks as their primary vault in the near future. I would not, though, buy a table saw from them as such a device is worthy of investment since you usually keep them for a while.
Also, just FYI, their electronic safes are easily opened with a crowbar in the event of battery failure (and you subsequently forgetting where you put the override key) when you need to write a check.