Watch your refunds...

[Dangeruss]

No longer having a Sears tool department to wander around in, many of us are left with only Harbor Freight to fill the void. But, should you return something to them, pay attention to your CC statement. H/F recently instituted an 80% return policy. Only select items qualify for a 100% refund. I was told as it's "new to the cashiers" they seem to be using 80% as their defacto refund amount. So, you might not be getting the 100% refund you deserve.

If you don't know what the world outside of a Snap-On truck looks like, you can disregard this message

[juicedcoupe]

Go to Lowe's. Same Craftsman (now made by Stanley) junk but with less rude people.

[Lowgear]

Is it just me or has Harbor Freight prices gone through the roof? It was a place to get dirt cheap disposable stuff, and now the prices seem to be on par with far better options. Whenever I go to their site to look for something, I'm astounded by the prices.

[juicedcoupe]

Is it just me or has Harbor Freight prices gone through the roof? It was a place to get dirt cheap disposable stuff, and now the prices seem to be on par with far better options. Whenever I go to their site to look for something, I'm astounded by the prices.

From what I see, they have just added multiple grade of products.

While they still offer cheap and downright junk options, their mid and upper grade stuff seems well made. Honestly, their top grade hand tools are probably better than what you will find on the shelves of other stores, and their prices do reflect that. They aren't Snap-On or Matco quality, but you aren't likely to buy those off the shelf either.

[Lowgear]

I was mainly going by all the things I have bookmarked or wanted for years that I refrained from spending the money on. Now those same items are double or triple in price.

I didn't know they had multiple grades of products. I assumed it was all the same low-grade junk. I suppose I should look into their offerings a little more in depth.

[Dangeruss]

I was mainly going by all the things I have bookmarked or wanted for years that I refrained from spending the money on. Now those same items are double or triple in price.

I didn't know they had multiple grades of products. I assumed it was all the same low-grade junk. I suppose I should look into their offerings a little more in depth.

Their power tools went from just Chicago to having Chicago (at the low end) Bauer (in the middle) and Hercules (their high end) each with a step in price. But yes, a lot of their other stuff tripled in price. Though shockingly they seem to be coming back down... albeit slowly.

I mostly use H/F for consumables... but lately I've been going to laugh at the price of their tool cabinets... $6k for a H/F cabinet?!?

[Lowgear]

I didn't realize the different names signified different quality levels. That's good to know.

The tool cabinets are one of my biggest gripes as they skyrocketed in price. I got one of their 5 drawer tool carts years ago, and quickly realized I'd rather have one of their regular tool cabinets. You could by an entire setup for under a grand. I waited too long, and now they're way more than I'm willing to spend. I can't remember the details but I read an article about there being a problem importing them due to the metal gauge I think it was. They had to start building them differently which is what caused the drastic price increase. I just quickly looked, and couldn't find the article.

[Dangeruss]

I figure the price increases were shipping related. Fewer thingy's being shipped means higher shipping cost per thingy. Interestingly it shows the only reason things from China are cheaper is because of cheap shipping. For years the pap has been "You've got to manufacture in China if you want to compete"... but the last few years have shown that Chinese manufacturing can only compete if shipping is cheap.