Does anyone go to Harbor Freight on line check local inventory, etc.?

General Discussion
21

Since HF is so close, I just go over so I can see and touch the tool in person. Yes their website leaves something to be desired. O’Reilly, Advance and Autozone have good sites but Autozone is very hit-and-miss on accuracy. Napa and Pep Boys have terrible sites but Napa is accurate, Pep Boys not so much. Pep Boys in-store service leaves a bit to be desired as well. All suffer from poor descriptions in-store and on the website.

List a brake caliper kit but not which end of the car it services? Or brake rotors and not list V6 or V8 (on some Mustangs they are different sizes) ?

Hard to believe inventory control is so poor in any store with bar code scanners. Shrinkage may be part of the problem but miss-filed parts seems to be equally to blame.

22

In a little defense of the employees working in the individual stores I can also see where mistakes will happen.
Every time I’ve been in a HF store I see the few cashiers swamped and floor employees going 100 MPH stocking, pulling stuff out of the back room, and all the while being asked for assistance from customers.

As to AutoZone, O’Reilly, Advance, etc it seems that every few years they revamp their websites and paint a new face on it. Every time they do it seems to make their site more unwieldy to use and accuracy seems to suffer.

23

Possibly corporations prioritize website image significantly ahead of ease of usage by customers @ok4450. Like the Texas expression “Big hat but no cattle,” so many businesses spend far too much money and effort to have an impressive appearence while they overlook delivering results. HF’s site is quite impressive in appearence but quite disappointing in user function. Maybe the new young owner will miss his gravy train when he runs it off the tracks.

24

Companies like HL are looking to do things on the cheap for highest possible profit. I wouldn’t be surprised if the website is farmed out to India or China.

25

Fifty years ago I thought that the 'Fair Trade" laws were ridiculous but what we have today doesn’t seem to be working out real well either.

26

Time for a direct email to corperate.
At the bottom of their web page find the heading ‘’ customer service ''
Then find ‘‘contact cutomer service’’

For a major software change , any results will not be quick . but tell them directly in that manner.

( btw, my …’‘local’’ HF is 140 miles one way. )

27

Fair Trade laws work when there’s an exchange of goods. Doesn’t work very well for software. Now that’s tax season is here…something to think about. Many tax companies (mainly the larger ones) out-source the tax preparation to India.

http://usatoday30.usatoday.com/money/perfi/taxes/2004-02-23-overseas-outsourcing_x.htm

This one is from 2004. Last estimate I hears was that in 2015 there will be several million taxes prepared in India.

http://www.rediff.com/money/2006/nov/24bpo.htm

28

America’s public education is totally failing when high school graduates are unable to file their own income taxes. I have never paid to have my taxes filed and for more than 30 years my income was from businesses that I operated that included employees, asset depreciation, etc. It amazes me to think that a young person cannot file the 1040 E-Z form with the information from their W-2 forms.

29

^
It isn’t just young people!
The man who was my supervisor for many years was definitely very intelligent, although he was very weird. Each year, this 50-something man (who held a Master’s degree) paid one of the accounting teachers to “do” his 1040 tax form for him, and–IIRC–he paid something on the order of $150 for that service, back in the '80s. I recall asking him about his tax situation, and it was not at all complex, so he should have been able to do it himself–but if he wanted to pay somebody else to do it for him, I guess that was his business.

However, what absolutely astounded me was when he mentioned that he paid the same teacher $50 to fill out his teenage son’s 1040 short form. I said, “Jerry…the kid has a part-time job, one bank account, and no real estate or other investments. Surely you can fill out your son’s 1040 short form if he doesn’t want to do it.”

His response was something along the lines of…That form is so complex that nobody could possibly figure it out without special training.

Go figure!

30

Intelligence aside . . . maybe the guy simply felt more comfortable paying somebody to file his taxes

On the flip side, I’ve known some seemingly “low grade morons” who somehow managed to have multiple houses, several cars, and the kids in private school, and no problem paying for all of it

Although they probably would have scored modestly on an old school IQ test . . . I hear they haven’t been administered in some time, now . . . they did quite well for themselves, financially

You sci-fi guys will probably recognize the phrase “low grade moron” from the movie “Forbidden Planet.” It was Walter Pidgeon, a great actor, if I may say so. But he was using the term in a joking manner, because he said he himself was a “low grade moron” compared to the Krell . . . ?

31

This got off the subject some!

I thought I’d add that, in my experience, the prices for car parts at O’Reilly or Auto Zone are cheaper online than in the store, but if you print out the online price page they will match it without a hesitation.

Harbor Freight is clearly a crap shoot on inventory and on quality. You should know that up front. If you drive far you are taking a big chance that it won’t be there when you arrive, but you’ll probably buy 6 or 7 other things that you didn’t know you needed. And you will find out that, in fact, you did not need at least 3.

32

I always liked to think I was above average. But just barely. Maybe because I was working and filing a tax return when I was 13(1962) when it wasn’t difficult, and in the years since the complexity crept up on me. It is a needelessly time consuming proposition that for the most part is pieced together to make it difficult to back your way through it beginning with the amount of tax you want to pay. And the itemized deductions page is the most ridiculous. I doubt if there were 3 years that I actually exceeded the automatic exemption after keeping up with the piles of receipts and cancelled checks. And one year when I actually exceeded the automatic exemption the medical bills were so high relative to my gross income that a great deal of the expense was excluded, to be filed on the next years return. It’s really a bad joke.

33

Guess we’re off the OT a bit, but since this involves management…

My wife worked computer tech support for a few years and was very good at it. The company charged beaucoup money to those calling in.

One of the calls my wife used to take was from the CEO of a Fortune 500 company whom she cannot name even to me. This guy was clueless regarding PC use and used to call in multiple times a week while stuck in a computer jam.
He was so impressed with the better half that he always asked for her by name and if she was off work that day he would just put things on hold and call back another day.

The wife said the problem solving was usually fairly simple but not to the CEO. She did say that he was always very courteous and greatful for bailing him out so at least he wasn’t an unappreciative and condescending lout… :smile:

34
America's public education is totally failing when high school graduates are unable to file their own income taxes.

I don’t do my taxes…and I have a MS in applied Mathematics. I don’t have the time to keep up with the changing tax laws every year. I have income property and other investments that make it a lot more complicated. When I was single I’d file my own. My time is more important then the $300 I pay an accountant. I was doing my own for a while with Tax-Cut. But it has problems. Biggest one was I was working in MA (live in NH)…So I had to file for MA tax. The problem is that tax-cut automatically applied all my earnings when I filed my MA return…even my interest on NH bank accounts which are exempt from MA tax. It also got confused on my side consulting jobs…some in NH and MA.

35

I absolutely agree that our primary and secondary schools are totally failing, but I don’t know that I’d use inability to figure out taxes as an example. Studies have shown repeatedly that even the IRS gives out incorrect answers more than 50% of the time in returns with any complexity at all.

I did my own taxes except for the years I went through the company bankruptcy, divorce, and real estate sale all the same fiscal year, but now I just use the AARP free service. My taxes are no longer complicated. They can do the basic stuff just as well as I can, and it gets me out of the house.

36

I realize that this is OT but education is a sore spot with me. The amount of money shoveled into public education vs the results does not equate and it’s top heavy with administration.

My kids attended a small town school with a total K-12 enrollment of about 280 students. There were 2 secretaries and 2 principals; one elementary, one high school.
Checking this past weekend I see total enrollment is 165 K-12 students and they now have 5 secretaries and 5 principals. Seems like overkill to me and guess who’s payin’ for it…

When they only had 2 principals the elementary principal did nothing but wander around or surf the net and think about his failed dream of becoming a MLB player.
He’s still there and still dreamin’…

Rant over… :wink:

37

Morning – could you please bring this one back around to something automotive…ish? Thank you. :smile:

38

Automotive…ish In Nature…
My Nearest HF Was A 4 Hour Drive. Now I Have A New One Within 2-1/2 Hours! I Have Not Tried The HF Online Inventory Check. I’ll Have To Give It A Go.

I like the free merchandise each time I visit. I have several tape measures, screw driver sets, multi-meters and LED flashlights, all free with any purchase.

I bought a very useful set of plastic trim removal tools on sale at a nominal cost. I have used them several times working on dash trim, radio bezel removal, etcetera. They worked great and didn’t leave a mark!

I buy tools there that I plan on using infrequently or even once. I bought the 1/2" corded electric impact for $40 and have not been disappointed.

I know less than zero about welding except that when I’ve needed it done it costs me a minimum of $40 or $50! So, I bought a HF 90amp 120v Wire-Feed Welder for $90 (and an automatic darkening helmet on sale, additionally). I’ve already used it 3 or 4 times making some awful looking (“self-taught”), but effective welds on cars, furniture, lawn equipment, etcetera. It has more than paid for itself and my downtime was cut way down and traveling with heavy, bulky parts was eliminated.

I will keep buying occasional use power tools there and other handy seldom used tools that don’t justify a big investment.

I have probably thousands of dollars worth of mechanics hand tools that are name-brand (not HF, but Snap-On SK, Gear Wrench, Craftsman…) and made for everyday use.

I doubt I would have an impact or a welder if not for HF.

Also, I question whether or not my auto-darkening welding mask was working correctly several months after purchase and HF cheerfully replaced it under warranty.

CSA

39

speaking of harbor fake tools . . .

When I’m there, I always see a lot of blue collar guys buying tools. I know they’re blue collar, because they’re wearing their work uniforms, with the name on the shirt

Interestingly enough, a lot of those guys work for towing services

And I see a lot of guys buying tools for home projects, and from the conversations I overhear, it seems like they need it right now, and don’t particularly care if it breaks next week. As long as it gets the job done, it’s fine

40

Db, that has been exactly my experience.
HF stuff may not compare to the stuff the trade guys get out of the trade catalogs, but it’s a fraction of the price and can be bought on the spot, no waiting. And for the average homeowner who’ll use it once every other year, it’ll hold up forever.

Granted, you can’t get a gantry crane there that’ll lift a military EMI shelter, but how often does the average homeowner need to lift a military EMI shelter?