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.

Placed order on 1/18/2004 got email conformation that order was placed. That was the last I heard from this company. No shipping information no tracking number. Credit card was billed on 1/19/2004. Contacted customer service, took 20 minutes to reach someone, then they still had me waiting. Appeared they were working with other contacts at the same time. Finally received order on 2/2/2005 and it wasn't complete some items back ordered. No way to tell on sight if items are in stock. Took 15 days for order to travel from GA. to FL. Prices of items are cheap and so is quality. Very poor service. Don't know if back ordered items will ever arrive.

I ordered about half a dozen items; they cancelled two without telling me. One of the items that came was a cordless drill, which was DOA. I called up, and was told they they would send out a replacement 7-10 days after they received back my broken drill. They would pay for shipping (ground) back and would ship (ground) back to me, CA-NY. So we're talking a minimum of three weeks roundtrip.  
 
The sales rep I talked to:  
 
-- would only tell me her supervisor's name, Lauren, after great effort on my part  
-- claimed to be unable to transfer me to her supervisor (needless to say, I called back immediately, asked to speak to Lauren and was transfered immediately to her extension)  
-- her supervisor never called me back after I left a message  
 
I eventually opened up the drill myself and fixed the broken trigger with a small screw of my own and some krazy glue. Sure, might have voided my warranty but something tells me I don't really care.  
 
It's the last time I buy from them. They're definitely cheap, but it's just not worth it. The drill itself is fine; the screwdriver bits are made of soft metal and last about a screw or two, and the drill bits aren't much better.

Ordered several products and chose for UPS shipping ground, they did let UPS deliver products after their truck drove them cross country. If they would let UPS pick up the order would have been here in 3 to 5 days but the way they did it it took 15 days. They backordered 1 product and did not even notify me. 1 product I recieved came in broke (welder) and had to be returned.

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.

On the 3rd I ordered 35777-5VGA 17-3/4'' x 12-3/4'' x 5-3/4'' ALUMINUM CASE and 47802-2VGA SELF-CHARGE AUTO JUMPER from harborfreight.com. I haven't received any email updates, no phone calls, no letters, and not even my items. I called Harbor Freight's 800# to be put on hold for 20 minutes, finally a representative picked up and said I had to call a different 800# for customer care. On hold another 20 minutes, finally someone picks up and tells me that the Toolcase is on backorder until next month and that it takes up to 14 business days for an item to go through the shipping process. She said the auto jumper already shipped but I need to wait till at least the 28th of august before I should expect it. So I get to wait 1 month for 1 item, and then I get to wait another month for an item to come in from backorder then 14 business days for it to ship. This is unacceptable and HORRIBLE business practice. There is nothing on the website that says 14 days to ship and it DEFINITELY doesn't say anything about the Toolcase being on backorder, especially not for at least a full month. I cancelled the backorder but there was nothing she could do for the auto jumper until the 28th. I would avoid this company's online business at all costs. The only reason I ordered from them is b/c there is a Harbor frieght 2 hours from where I live and I figured it wouldn't take long to get me the items. I didn't know they were shipping from some warehouse across the nation and that they were backordered.

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.  

I placed an order for $32... However, somehow they changed my order # and added items worth $207... I used live help chat, and talked to CS rep. I gave her my original order number and she said "it has been shipped and I was charged $32..." However, My credit card statement was showing $207..  
Took me 2 hours over the chat to find out, that they have changed my order (did not send any notification )and added other stuff to my order and DID charge my card $207  
 
When I requested my money back -- she said I can dispute charges on my Credit Card, but they will not credit my credit card.............. She had no idea of what happened  
 
Unacceptable, they made UNAUTHORIZED CHARGE to my credit card and I can' t get my money back  
 
I like their tools, but I would not suggest buying them online, go to BM store.  

This review was modified by its author, gendos, on 6/4/04 10:33 AM.

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.

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 placed an order on 3-21-04. I called two days later, to check on the order. Customer service said the order was processing. After the fourth day, I called back . They said the order was cancelled. I did not receive an email notice or  
phone call. I had to call them to verify. This is very unprofessional. I asked the CSR,"Why was  
this order cancelled?" She said, " She did'nt know." Now ,I am behind schedule on my projects, because Habor freight "dropped the ball."  
I thought other consumers should know about Harbor Freights "no excuse cancellation policy."

Horrendous customer service. Didn't receive part and have spent the last 38 days emailing and calling to receive a refund for a compressor HF said was lost in shipment,then backordered, then sent but never arrived. I drove over an hour away to buy another compressor and called to cancel the original compressor as agreed upon with customer service manager and they still didn't cancel the order. I am still waiting for my refund of $159.99 as of today, 2-26-04 and HF is still refusing to acknowledge my existance, although they certainly didn't ignore my credit card when I paid. The only thing I got was lies,excuses and false promises. I urge anyone looking to buy from this company think twice, no three times about it - bottom line - what you think is a good deal will cost you much more than you save. Never again will HF or any other of it's affiliates get a dime from me.

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.  

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.

It has been going on 2 months since my order. I reviewed my canceled checks today and sure enough it was cashed. I called customer service and they said it was canceled. I asked why they said i still owed $11 the check was over $32. They said i should have gotten a letter but i did not. I think they should at least sent what was paid for if nothing else. I used coupons which they said they took off. My math may not be great but i check it twice before i send, and the last time i checked handling was not $11 as she said i did not pay that. I will not do any more business with this company and will warn others also!