If you want cheap tools at a cheap price, this is the place. Many tools if they break, throw them away and buy a new one from HF. You'll still be way ahead. Ordered several torque wrenches and they seem just fine. Got order in about 10 days...not the quickest. One wrench is back ordered. Oh well. Prices are great. I'd shop here again for sure.

Ordered some tools from them. It took a little bit long for them to ship, but I received the order in good condition. Will recommend this company to others.

I HAVE BEEN BUYING FROM HF FOR THE PAST ALMOST 25 YEARS NOW. STARTED WITH A BENCHTOP DRILL PRESS  
I BOUGHT FOR MY FATHER,A PROFESSIONAL CARPENTER. IT HAS SEEN ALOT OF USE AND NEVER A PROBLEM. I RECENTLY HAVE BECOME ITS NEW OWNER AS MY FATHER IS RETIRING.HE BOUGHT A BANDSAW FROM THEM A COUPLE OF MONTHS AFTER I GAVE HIM THAT DRILL PRESS. BOTH ARE STILL GOING STRONG. I SHOP THERE ALL THE TIME AND HAVE NEVER HAD A PROBLEM. I DID HOWEVER CREATE A COUPLE OF MY OWN, BUT THEY ARE THE DUE TO INFERIOR PRODUCTS OR ANYTHING LIKE THAT, IT WAS ME.CONTINUE TO SHOP STILL- A COUPLE OF TIMES A MONTH.HIGHLY RECCOMMEND THEM.

I have been ordering tools from Harbor Freight since 1980. My family owned a small lumber remanufacturing plant. We made mostly cedar siding, but also manufactured specialty products such as hardwood flooring, paneling, moldings, and did lumber grading and trimming.  
 
At that time Harbor Freight was sending out flyers with tool specials. I was skeptical that tools that were so inexpensive would actually give good service, but I decided to give them a try. As expected the quality wasn't quite as high as the name brands we had been using, but the tools seemed to work and last just fine. My expensive tools seemed to disappear at an alarming rate at times, but the Harbor Freight tools didn't seem to have the same appeal to employees with sticky fingers.  
 
Over the years I have spent thousands and thousands of dollars on Harbor Freight tools. Maybe I am easier to please than some people. I don't buy tools to impress others; I just want them to work. Obviously one can't always expect a tool that costs multiple times less to be everything that the more expensive tool is. But, I have been pleasantly surprised on numerous occasions.  
 
My best advice is to spend the $9.99 on Harbor Freight’s online Insider Track Club. You will probably save the money on the first tool you order. Normally, I shy away from discount club schemes, but I have saved thousands of dollars over the years on their Insider Track specials. At one time Harbor Freight’s shipping was always free, but now they add shipping charges that make it cheaper to wait until you can order several tools at once.  
 
In conclusion, Harbor Freight tools are not going to make prestigious displays that will impress your friends, but they do get the job done for far cheaper than one could have imagined in previous times.

I've been a Harbor Freight customer for long time and I can say that considering the price of the tools. I don't really expect their brand tools to go head-on against a Makita, Milwaukee or at least the Ryobi tools. But it's always fair to expect a drill to be able to drill holes and a saw to be able to cut. Their tools are just fine or meet the requirement for non-professional use. I always used ground shipping and I always get my stuff within the alotted time-frame. Back-orders can easily cancelled via email if it cannot be delivered within your expected time-frame. I also like the once-in-a-while free ground shipping offers on any order or the standard free ground shipping on orders over $100. My thanks to Enrique Rally

Harbor Freight found me about a year and a half ago.  
 
I ordered online only once from them, a 9" metal grinder and a box of nuisance dust masks, both on sale for $40 or so and $1, respectively. Package arrived promptly, but contained only the grinder. I used it to cut concrete, wet, and it is one of the best buys I ever made. The way things tend to go, I never called the web sales support about the dust masks. I learned my lesson, though, and now drive to their Newark, CA, outlet about 20 minutes from work.  
 
I suggest you subscribe to their email list, check their catalogs, and buy stuff in the store, when it's on sale. Stack it with a 10% email coupon. If items are on sale on the web site I just print the article page and go to the store. Have them write you a rain check if they are out of stock. Give the tool a workout when you're home and return it if it breaks. Keep the receipt. I returned several items, and only one of them because it was broken. Much better bang/buck than any other tool outlet I know of.  
 
I bought several cordless tools there, and the tools themselves are very good quality, including the NiCd batteries. The chargers are the usual junk and tend to overcharge the batteries, which will ruin them. The manual actually states not to charge the battery over 5 hours. My little older 12V Ryobi drill kit is just as bad, at over twice the price. I think you have to spend $200+ for a name brand hammer drill to get a smart charger.  
 
For instance, I bought an SDS rotary hammer at HF to bolt our newest fixer upper to its foundation. I wish I had bought this thing years ago. Sixty bucks plus Arnold, on sale, less than renting one for a long weekend. I got a set of Chinese 16" bits at a fraction of what Home Depot charges for one Bosch SDS bit. I tend to have a couple hours here or there to get things done, and running to rent specialty tools does not make sense for me. I am a serious DIYer, not a contractor, and while I love to ogle the Dewalt and Rigid eye candy on the shelves I just don't see myself buying their gear (yet).  
 

This review was modified by its author, jochenroth, on 11/7/06 1:37 AM.

I have ordered from Harbor Freight many times and until now have been VERY satisfied. Shipping time, cost and service have all been very good to excellant. This last order however has been a nightmare. While cost is good, order has not arrived after 9 days (UPS still does have physical package, but billing occurred 1/17/06 - only 1 day after order was placed). Realizing H/F says upfront that delivery may take 7-10 business days I contacted the on-line customer service rep to find out when UPS would have physical custody of package. I think this customer service person has a standard response, "7 to 10 business days". She was no help in locating the UPS hub the shipment was sent to and absolutely no help in assurring me that order is not lost. While I recommend purchasing from Harbor Freight, I would recommend they invest in some customer service training before letting their employees deal directly with the consumer. Had I not had several good prior experiences with this company I would never order from them again and would not be recommending now. Over all I would rate the company "9" on a scale of 1 to 10 with 10 being most highly recommended. I would rate their customer service a "2".

Harbor Freight offers good customer service with excellent prices! Shipping is always fast, although items are sometimes back-ordered. While stock information isn't always up to date, the low prices definitely make up for it!

First time buyer. Purchase was a "Haulmaster" complete small boat trailer kit made in Twaiwan by Long Chih Industrial Co. Before ordering, I called HF to confirm that they had the item in stock and got an estimated arrival date -- three weeks. Northern Tools had same kit for $30.00 more. The kit arrived in three heavily taped and very damaged boxes within the three weeks. However, all the parts were there and in good shape. Each box was dropped off by UPS over three days. Assembly was fairly easy and instructions were clear enough. I'd buy from them again. I need a spare tire.

I've needed a torque wrench for years but never got around to buying one and have always ended up borrowing one from someone. I then questioned where my one friend purchased his from due to the quality and ease of use of his wrench and suggested to purchase item# 239-3VGA from HFT. I highly recommend this torque wrench to anyone.

For a do it yourselfer, I don't believe that every tool I own needs to be a name brand tool. Many tools I buy, I buy for a particular project that requires it. Chances are I'll use that tool again maybe once or twice a year. All the items I bought fall into this catagory with the exception of one item. I bought a bench vise for a really good price and it works perfectly. I priced out belt sanders at about 175 dollars at other stores and bought one at Harbor Freight for 26 dollars. I bought a 2 year free replacement policy for 10 dollars, so I spent 36 dollars. It worked perfectly on the project it was intended for.

I hadn't ordered from Harbor Freight for about 10 years and never had issues before- and this time was no exception. Ordered 8 5" heavy duty casters some magnifying glasses and scissors and they packed them with foam peanut shells but everything arrived in working order other than a mangled box that the glasses came in. 27lb box for $8 shipping to my front door in 7 days I am very pleased.

I have easily spent between $1000 and $2000 with this company in about 10 orders since 1997 and felt compelled to write positive comments about harbor freight direct due to the low score. My mail order experiences never left me with a problem I had to complain about. Now that I have two outlet stores near me, I check out the merchandise first. . My latest purchase was the 2.5 HP tile cutter (on sale for $199) which I would have felt nervous ordering online but after seeing the quality, worth every cent.  
 
Cons:  
A lot of the products are inferior quality, know this before ordering.  
Shipping is slow. Keep this in mind if you need an item in a hurry.  
 
Pros:  
Prices are great.  
Save big on name brand electric tools.  
Some great deals to be had on some of the made in china tools too!!  

Outstanding experience with this company as a first time buyer. From the layout of their internet site to their ordering process to their packaging of the end product, it's all fantastic!  
 
Zero problems encountered, the tool was exactly as was described and the UPS shipping was pretty quick (and did I mention free since my order was over $50?).  
 
I will definitely be doing business with this company and recommending them to others in the future.  

My first order with this company. I tried them out based on the very inexpensive tool prices. I placed my order online, took about three weeks to deliver. I am very pleased with the service and although I didnt receive email updates about the order I was able to use my order number to check the status at the web site. Order arrived double boxed in good shape (brad nailer, torque wrench). I will definetly be back.