wrote

Absolutely. I have commented over the years that I have steadily watched
the quality of HF tools go up and the quality of higher priced, badged
tools go down. And with HF's in store exchange guarantee, it is hard to
beat them, too. The only problem I have with HF is that some of their
tools are really pretty good and the service life to price is an excellent
ratio. But some of their tools just aren't that good. But they are
expanding so fast and improving so much they just might make a credible
name for themselves across the board one day.

Yep, I feel the same way. It is an interesting business model. Open up a
bunch of stores. Sell tools at a super discounted price and expand quickly.
Essentially open up a bunch of stores selling crap. Then...... , once you
have people coming into the stores, start to improve the quality of the
tools. Which is the exact reversal of other tool company's approach.

I was looking at some of the reviews recently of some of their power tools.
Years ago, there were complaints about a tool was just fine except for one
part. Then the complaints stopped. Apparently, they fixed that one part.
I think that Harbor Freight deal with their customer base as one big
research and development lab. Make a tool cheap and see what the people
say. Then order an improvement based on the complaints. Over time, the
tool improves

I am not sure I approve of that model. But as a business-customer service
model. It is probably better than trading on an old reputation for quality
while making crappier and crappier tools. Like you say Robert, more and
more tools are meeting somewhere in the middle.

As far as cordless tools are concerned, most people I have talked to have
indicated that they are buying new tools based on the batteries they now
have. Makes sense the the big companies sell packages of tools and
batteries to get you in the door. After that, you don't want to make an
investment in new batteries and chargers. So you buy that brand for other
tools

I have been following this discussion and went and looked at the Ryobi
tools. They have a number of 40 volt tools for working in the yard.
Including lawnmowers and a chain saw. One lawnmower carried two batteries.
So when one battery runs out, you just swap them and finish the job. And an
eclectic chainsaw for landscaping or the odd emergency, that is perfect.
Obviously can't do a lot of cutting, but for small jobs, just perfect.

I haven't made the investment in a lot of cordless tools. But with the
cheaper versions of these tools getting better and better and the Lithium
ion batteries becoming so prevalent, I may not be able to hold off much
longer.