Too bad I read all this too late. Same here, ordered Product, charged next day, product supposedly shipped one day later, so far nothing here. Tracking number does not work as they say it shipped Postal Service but their website points to Fedex. Customer NO Service is as expected of no help whatsover and claim the 14 day rule - which by the way is NOT stated in their shipping terms.

It's a love hate relationship with Harbor Freight Tools. I love their tools and prices yet I hate their shipping practices. I have been a faithful customer for many years yet every time I place an order, they always fail to deliver everything I ordered. I place my orders on-line so there is absolutely no excuse for not alerting customers as to what is actually available and what is no longer in stock. Everyone else doing business on the Internet lets you know what is available yet Harbor Freight does not. I almost think it is an intentional effort to get customers to reorder on a regular basis. If you plan to do business with this company, expect to not receive everything you ordered. I have yet to receive a complete order from them.

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.

As others have siad wished I read their reviews first, ordered 3 items 2 do not work. Customer service does not answer and their retail store does not accept returns from online purchases (too easy for the consumer). Anyways a little more weary of online ordering please pass this info on to any that plan to order from them.

My Letter to the President. I have never heard a word back from them.  
 
Dear Sir,  
 
You have lost a customer due to problems with an order and a resolution that was not satisfactory.  
 
I placed an internet order online (# 9888983) and waited 21 days for delivery. Your internet order form asks for a shipping address which I provided.  
 
My shipping address is different from my mailing address. I live out in the country where there is no mail delivery, so I have a P. O. Box as a mailing address.  
 
In talking to your Customer Service folks (Dexter-he did a fine job and was very professional and polite) it turns out when an order is under a certain weight it is mailed instead of shipped. There was no notification on your web site of this so my order was mailed to my shipping address. The result is I never received the order.  
 
Since the problem was on your end and appears to be a procedural problem I asked for the order to be reshipped with expedited shipping at your cost for the faster shipping. I agreed to still pay the regular shipping charges so your cost would of only been the difference.  
 
It appears the only option was to get 7-10 business day (11-14 real days) which I accepted, but it means due to HF error I will get my order about 35 days after I placed the order.  
 
I look at it as, I have just saved you a lot of money by identifying an error in your order processes that has and would caused your future customer problems resulting in more lost business.  
 
For someone who just saved you some real money in the future, I feel the way my order was resolved was not appropriate.  
 
Needless to say my only recourse is to not do business with HF in the future.  
 
Sincerely,  
 
 
 

Shipping from this company is terrible. I ordered on 5/24 and the item is not here yet, 6/12. I was told the item was shipped on 5/24 via fedx ground. Obviously it was not. To get my business again they need to improve customer service by delivering orders in a timely manner. I would rate this company poorly in it's ability to deliver customers orders. I can't comment on the quality of their products, as it is not here yet.

I wish that I had checked resellerratings.com about this place BEFORE I ordered from harborfreight.com insteaf of after becoming curious to see if other people were left in the dark about their orders, too.  
Same problems as everybody else:  
I place an order and get an automated e-mail response.  
After checking my order status several days later and my invoice number comes back as being invalid, I contact customer service.  
42 HOURS LATER, I get an e-mail from them telling me that my order has "shipped" and to please allow 10-14 business days for delivery. Checking the order status now shows my order as "shipped" and I get a FedEx tracking number.  
After 10 business days and the FedEx tracking number is still coming up as invalid in their system, I e-mail FedEx customer service and get an immediate response that the information is correct - the tracking number I was given is invalid.  
I e-mail customer service at harborfreight.com with my concerns that my order has not actually shipped yet even though THEY IMMEDIATELY CHARGED MY CREDIT CARD WHEN I PLACED THE ORDER, and get a response a couple of days later reminding me to allow 10-14 business days for my shipment to arrive.  
Well, it got here today via the United States Postal Service Parcel Post (hence the 10-14 business days, I suppose) and not via FedEx.  
The item was well packed and it was all there. I surely hope that it works because I don't want to deal with their customer lack-of-service department on a return - I'd rather go through a divorce from my first ex-wife again.

Great prices, horrible shipping. Placed order online and shortly after I received the typical order confirmation email. A couple of days later the online order status page showed the order as shipped via Fedex but did not provide tracking information. After a week had gone by I never received the order nor a tracking number. I have never had a Fedex ground package take more than 6 business days to reach it's destination in the contiguous US (aside from lost packages). I contacted customer service a couple of times and each time nobody would give me a tracking number. They insisted that tracking information is only provided after 14 business days have passed! That is almost 3 weeks! I did eventually receive the package just shy of the 14 business day mark. It was sent just a couple of days before I received it via USPS. So basically I paid for the item and they had my money for roughly three weeks before actually shipping the product. Furthermore they informed me that the product was shipped when it did not. I think it is bad business practice to charge customers for merchandise before it ships. In their defense their website does say 10-14 days for shipping but I feel they are lacking on communications when it comes to shipping. As of this writing the website still shows my order as shipped by Fedex only 2 days after I placed the order yet it arrived by USPS postmarked 3 weeks after the order date.

I've shopped at the local retail store several times and the service is always great. I honestly expected the online experience to be the same... Well, it's been over a week now and the package still hasn't been delivered to UPS, the CS rep directed me to a faq that states processing can take up to 4 days, delivery to the carrier 2 weeks and another 2 weeks in the hands of the carrier. Thats worst case time in real days vs. business days, But either way a month to get a product from CA to TX????? It reminds me of that commercial of the fat guy running with the Gateway box! Their prices are great but if you really need the product I'd suggest looking for a local supplier.  
Thanks again to the guys at the San Antonio store for amazing service, I wish corporate new the value of customers!

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".

Ordered a automotive battery filler 1/16/06. Contacted customer service 1/24/06 and they gave me a tracking number ups cannot find. They asked I wait the 14 days they say it may take for the package to arrive then recontact them. I don't understand the delay and no tracking info.

In May of 2005 I ordered a fire pit as a Christmas gift for my sister. Instead of sending the fire pit, they sent a two ton hydraulic jack. Then they gave me a hard time when I asked them to send UPS to pick up the jack they mistakenly sent and send me my fire pit. They finally agreed and said the fire pit would arrive before Christmas. This promise was made on November 29, 2005. The fire pit finally arrived on January 9, 2006, too late to be a Christmas gift for my sister. I will never order from this company again.

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.

This review on HF is generalized since i have placed several orders with them. I like the prices and selection. I also have had no problem with support. My gripes are the fact I have to call or use the online support in the first place. Orders are very slow taking usually 3 weeks (sometimes more) here in Michigan and the online order status doesn't always work. When you need a tool thats a long wait. I have experienced a sorted order this time around on a fuel injection tester I realy needed. They did ship it without a hastle once contacted but again had to wait. Always had english speaking support calls which helps. Products are usually beter than expected for the price.