Warning ⚠️: Long rant ahead. Beware all who enters.
I use to go to harbor freight at least once a week. I had an addiction and spent many paychecks there. Lately though I noticed I might drop in once a month or every other month and I've been disappointed/frustrated every time.
First off the free coupons are gone and if the rumors are true they aren't coming back. And if the rumors are true they may be doing away with all coupons, which at this point wouldn't surprise me. Before I go I look up to see if they have a coupon for what I need and most of the time they don't.
The other thing that has been frustrating is almost every time I've gone lately they never have what I need in stock. I got a gift card for Christmas and I needed a new workbench so I wanted to pick one up. For several weeks they didn't have any in stock and the best they could tell me is they get the truck in on Tuesday so check back then. I ended up going to Home Depot and building my own.
I also needed the 10x16 portable shed. Same story, never in stock check back Tuesday for the truck. Ended up going with something else. I now want to get the green tool cart, none in stock check back tuesday for the truck. I'm going to let you in on a little secret. The truck doesn't exist, sum bitch ain't ever coming. These are just a few examples of times that they never have what I need in stock.
I also feel like it was a mistake doing away with the free catalog. Whenever I got one in the mail I felt like a kid around Christmas time going through the sears catalog looking at all the toys. I'm hoping HF doesn't go the way of sears.
Im not typically claustrophobic but damn I feel it when I go in there now. It's so packed with items and feels so cramped. They just keep adding more and more stuff so everything is just piled on top of each other. I've literally had to move things around just to get to what I need.
I know HF is trying to compete with the big boys like Home depot and Lowe's but it's not really a competition. Since HF never has what I need I end up just going to Home Depot most of the time. On the odd chance that Home Depot doesn't have what I need they can usually give me more of a answer than check back Tuesday for the mythical truck. I can also order what they don't have in the app and have it delivered to the store or to my house and it doesn't take 6 months.
Then there's HF offering better tools to compete with the other stores, which is fine until you compare them and the
... keep reading on reddit ➡
Maybe it’s just me, I’m laying here browsing Reddit and waiting for sleep to come when off in the distance I can hear a BNSF or Union Pacific freight train making it’s way through the valley while occasionally blowing it’s horn. I only get this feeling late at night, like right now and thought I’d share. I’m pretty sure that the people living next to the train tracks disagree but I love the way it sounds.
Be careful before buying any planes on Facebook marketplace or the like. I’ve come across 3 different sellers trying to sell a $14 Harbor Freight hand plane for $30-45. They’ve even used the stock photo off the HF website:
https://www.harborfreight.com/no-33-bench-plane-97544.html
Research every purchase. Especially in this day and age where everyone and their mother decides to pick up woodworking.
