"Keith Stelter" wrote in message
. ..
With so much stuff being made in China and India these days, The Harbor
Freight situation is kind of like the Family Dollar situation. You can buy
name brand athletic shoes for $100.00 at a sporting goods store, or you
can buy a nearly identical shoe made in the same factory by the same
people at Family Dollar for $10.00. You just aren't paying for the name.

Most of the tool companies who used to make quality tools are having their
stuff made in China now, so the impact wrench that you get with a
"Pittsburgh Tools" sticker on it at HF is the same as the Rockwell or
Ingersoll one that costs 3 times more. I own a machine shop so I HATE that
everything is going overseas, but at least Harbor Freight is selling the
imported stuff at a reasonable price without trying to portray it as high
quality by selling it under a well known brand name.

There is some truth to what you are saying, the name brand is greatly
overpriced but often the cheap stuff is cheaply made. Same with some, but
not all of the tools. China is capable of making some good quality, equal
to what the US has made, but they also make junk. You have to be diligent.