"blueman" wrote in message
...
"Doug Kanter" writes:
"blueman" wrote in message
...
I keep on being tempted by the cheap prices at Harborfreight that
allow me to indulge in tools that I never would be able to justify
otherwise.

If they arrive in good condition, I have found them to work
satisfactorily for my type of DIY projects (despite the warnings
others have about quality).

My problem, however, has been that the items are typically so poorly
packed that they arrive broken.

For example,
(1) I had to order 3 compressors before I received one
without a broken plastic motor casing.

(2) I have now received 2 broken nailers in a row

(3) Twice my shipments of nails have arrived with the boxen open and
the nails strewn all over the box.

(4) The boxes themselves are almost always poorly packed with
heavy/rugged
and light/delicate items mixed together in one large box,
separated by only a few kernels of styrofoam. Often the box itself
arrives ripped or damaged.

- Am I just having bad luck or have others experienced the same
problem?

- Has anyone succeeded in getting them to have better quality control?
(with just about every order requiring some re-shipping of items it
is hard to believe that they are saving money this way...)



I think it's a given that the WORST way to reward bad service is to keep
doing business with a company. Why do you keep going back?

I understand (and agree) with where you are coming from. Just that my
wife already thinks I spend too much on tools and I can't beat the
HarborFreight pricing. As a result I am willing to put up with
somewhat worse service than "retail pricing" but I just was curious
whether my experience is "par" or whether I have been more unlucky
than most.

Time your purchases to coincide with things going on sale at Sears. Some of
their stuff is ALSO made in Peoples' Dictatorship of China, like almost
everything at Harbor Freight, but at least at Sears, they'll mindlessly
accept almost anything in return because of their warranty.