i've been buying from harbor freight for years, and am completely satisfied. quality for price is excellent. i like knowing my total cost including freight, before i purchase. many places offer cheap prices and inflated shipping handling costs, not so with harbor. when you place an order, expect it to take a month to be delivered, many times it's quicker. the only problem i've had , is they'll pack heavy and light items together, have had some minor damage.

I buy tools for home and have also purchased $20 digital calipers for work. I've been using them for years. I've probably spent a couple thousand dollars over the past several years. Much of what they sell is cheap in price and quality, but for the most part, I've been pleased with the value. Delivery usually takes at least a week. Some stuff comes weeks later. Overall, I've been pleased and will continue to buy from them.

I have purchased loads of stuff from Harbor Freight to start a personal wood shop (mitre saw, mortise drill, 14" table saw, wood lathe, lathe tools, 12" planner, 3 1/2" portable planner, scroll saw, dust evacuater, etc). With a few minor exceptions, I have been exceedingly pleased, especially with the price.  
I was also surprised(good)with technical support, which I mistakenly assumed was no existent. They were very help, with a wait time of about 15 sec. Very impressive.

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.

You get what you pay for most of the time. It all depends on how you look at it. If your life depends on a tool or you are going to use it every day, you might want to look elsewhere for there non brand name tools. However they sell Dewalt, Makita and Skill tools CHEAP. I bought a 4 tool Dewalt 18v combo set for $399 and could not find it anywhere else for cheaper than $460 plus way higher shipping. There shipping is sketchy and slow as hell. If you order something under $10 and its not in stock, they will remove it from your order and never ship it. It will take up to 4 weeks to get there and some of there stuff is crap. I have had very good luck with the stuff I bought during the re-modeling of my house. I bought a nail gun that can hang with the best for 1/3 the price and lots of hand tools as well as supplies that have saved me mucho denero! I am a priority club member and it has paid off many times over. I have mixed feelings but if you set your expectations accordingly, you can feel comfortable that you can return your stuff and you wont get screwed and just might save a Chinese boat load of money.

I HAVE ORDERED $THOUSANDS FROM THIS CO. IN GENERAL, THOSE THAT ARE DISSATISFIED 1)HAVE ORDERED CHEAPEST (THEY HAVE A TAP AND DIE SET $39 THAT WILL CUT THREADS IN HARD WAX, BUT NOT MUCH ELSE, THEY ALSO HAVE SETS THREE TIMES THE PRICE!), 2)GET CHEAPEST SHIPPING, ALMOST FREE, (THEIR HANDLING CHGS ARE AUTOMATIC BUT CHEAP) AND 3)HAVE BAD EXPERIENCES WITH TECH HELP (BAD) OR CUSTOMER SERVICE (ATROCIOUS), OR BOOKEEPING DEPT (MINIMUM WAGE, WORKING ON THEIR GEDS).  
I AM STILL TRYING TO GET MY SEWING MACHINE TO WORK BUT I'M ALMOST THERE BECAUSE I GOT AN OPERATING MANUAL FROM SEARS (GENERAL INFO VERY HELPFUL, I DON'T KNOW HOW TO SEW!). ON THE OTHER HAND THEIR SMALL TOOLS ARE TOPS EQUAL TO ANY HARDWARE STORE, ALL CHINESE MANUFACTURE. MY LATEST ACQUISITION IS THEIR PLASMA CUTTER FOR $599. I FEEL BAD BECAUSE I ORDERED THIS IN NOV04, I EMAILED THEM AFTER 5W, NO ANSWER! I FINALLY SAW THIS ON THE WEBSITE FOR $399, SO I ORDERED AGAIN. AFTER A FEW WEEKS, UPS DELIVERED TWO UNITS! I CALLED HF FOR A RETURN #, AND NEXT DAY UPS CAME TO MY DOOR. GOT RECEIPT FROM UPS!  
MY CREDIT CARD STILL SHOWS ME CHARGED FOR TWO, AND AT $599 EACH! THE EQUIVALENT MACHINE IS OVER $2K HERE, & IF ONE OF THESE CHARGES DISAPPEARS I'LL BE HAPPY, IF NOT I'LL GO THE DISPUTE ROUTE WITH THE CRED CARD CO! YOU MUST HAVE ALL YOUR DOCUMENTATION.  
HAVE YOU EVER DEALT WITH THE PHONE CO? I HAVE BEEN TRYING FOR MY DSL FOR 1Y NOW FROM THREE DIFFERENT, VERIZON TWICE, AND ONLY WHEN I INQUIRED OF GWS WAS FINALLY TOLD IT WAS IMPOSSIBLE AND WHY. I HAVE TWO SETS OF MODEMS AND FILTERS, FROM VERIZON & ATT, NEVER ASKED FOR EITHER BACK.  
AFTER ALL I FIGURE, ON THE WHOLE I'M EQUIPING A MACHINE & WOODWORKING SHOP FOR AROUND $10K, ENRICHING HF, AND MAKING THE CHICOMS HAPPY. WHAT MORE COULD I ASK FOR.

I have ordered several products from this company and am now have a Inside Track membership with them. I have been very pleased with the products timely shipping in most cases, and well packed boxes. I have had contacted customer service on at least 3 occasions and I've had very good service. I have one item with my one order which is on back order status. Most B.O's come in in a very reasonable time frame. I order most of the time online and they keep me updated on prices regularly by send me catalogs in the mail or with my order. I am very pleased with this company and will continue to make purchases form them because of value, prices and service. I am a website owner and I noticed the ease of use of their website and the way it tracks any sale items or free items as you shop. On the back of the catalogs they post dated items that you can get free for a purchase of $50 or more. That is easy when you buy tools. The lower prices allow you to purchase more items for less money.

Not great, not terrible. Sort of like what J.C. Whitney used to be (haven't ordered from those boys since I was a lad). Good prices on tools and gizmos, if you pick and choose carefully. Bear in mind that even if they say "free shipping," they also charge and handling fee. When I placed an order in January, one of the items was back ordered until May 31 (they don't have a clue about real time inventory systems). In the process of following up on that one item, I was told multiple different stories about when (and if) they would fill it. This company seems honest enough, just not very competent. Ultimately had to re-order the one item.

On Log #1036632 I ask for part #14 from the owners manual of item SKU97622 on page 16. I received only a partial of this part. It was returned with a letter of explaination of its defficiency and a complaint of the lack of capability of their Customer Service reps. The complet part was received Feb 8, 2009  
 
On Log #1036633 I ask for part #39 from the owner manual of item SKU45861 shown on page 33. When the part finally arrived it was part #33 from page 33. The complete information must have been too complicated for their Customer Rep to understand. The wrong part was returned with a letter of explaination and a complaint of their utilization of incompeten help. No further word has been receive on this order.  
 
I rate their customer service at an absolute zero for their lack of ability to understand the English language and product their knowledge

As a long time customer and user of Harbor Freight tools, I am appalled that even while they know their shipping process has been and remains broken, the company seems uninterested in fixing it.  
My in-store experiences have all been good, but the internet ordering process has been abysmal.  
My lathe drive belt failed and a replacement belt lasted for only 1.15 hours of use. Ordering a replacement belt on 17 November and two more on 18 November, Harbor Freight states all were shipped via HFT shipping on 18 & 19 November and charged my credit card for three belts.  
As of 6 January 2009, none have arrived. With the lathe being inoperative for nearly two months I was finally able to find a U.S. supplier for the belt and cancelled my order at Harbor Freight.  
I am now awaiting some sort of letter from them, (their estimate of 5 days) which I must sign and send back to them(my estimate of 5 days) for a refund. Glad I don't respond to my customers in this manner.  
 
 

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.

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.

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!

Placed the order on 1/12  
Today is 1/25, and it did not arrive yet.  
Emailed their customer support: please advise if you shipped it, and the tracking number  
Their response:  
Your order number is <> and it was shipped on 01/15/04 please allow 14 business days for delivery.  
 
14 business days, huh. I wonder what shipper would take 14 days to deliver. No wonder they "forgot" to provide the tracking number.