How did I get hooked on Harbor Freight??

Let me start off by saying that I never understood the appeal of Trader Joe’s. You try to park in a lot that charitably holds 20 cars if your driver is skilled in Tetris, then you go in the store and all the food is branded with Trader Joe’s specialty brand names. This apparently is very appealing to some people.

A few weeks ago, I needed a wrench for one of my drive-in speaker projects. And although I might traipse over to my local mom-and-pop hardware stores – DeLollo’s in Watervliet, or Hatchet Hardware in Troy, or even schlep up the hill to the Tool Box used tool store in Latham – for some reason that day, I was nowhere near any of them. Instead … I passed a Harbor Freight store.

Harbor Freight, for those not in the know, is like a custom-branded tool and work store. You can purchase tools and equipment from the store, and all the products are manufactured by Harbor Freight and sold under Harbor Freight branding.

No, I’m not kidding. Instead of Black & Decker or DeWalt tools, you can purchase Hercules or Bauer tools. You want a Kobalt socket set? You’ll just have to use their Pittsburgh socket set instead.

I know. It feels weird.

And slightly intriguing.

So I purchased the wrench at the Harbor Freight. And on my way to the cashier … I asked one of the workers about how this all operates. Was this some sort of Dollar Tree for tools shop? Or was this some hidden treasure only known to wink-wink mechanics?

Apparently, from what I was told, Harbor Freight does manufacture their own tools and machines and equipment, and they stand by the quality of their product. And yeah, it may be branded as “Quinn” or “Bauer” or “Warrior” or some other generic nomenclature … but the products are compatible with ANSI or metric standards as needed.

Okay …

I bought the wrench, then headed home.

And then began the coupon barrage.

See, Harbor Freight not only wants you to buy things in their store … they also send you lots and lots of coupons to buy things in their store. Seriously. If you don’t go into Harbor Freight with your phone pre-loaded with coupons … you’re wasting your purchase power.

And they even throw in free stuff if you use one of those coupons to purchase X amount of products. Last weekend, for example, I walked out of Harbor Freight with a color-coded socket set (sometimes I need a 1/2″ socket, sometimes I need a 5/8″ socket, and at least now I can tell them apart by color), a crimping tool (those spade connectors don’t just affix themselves to speaker wire, no they do not), and a package of microfiber cloths (dude, they were 12 in a pack for $3.99), and after all that … I received a free big orange bucket.

Okay, the bucket does say “Harbor Freight” in big white letters, and we all know I just purchased a stable ad for Harbor Freight that anyone can see if I use it on an outside project … but still …

This is crazy. A few months ago, I wouldn’t know Harbor Freight from Barter Kate or Paper Late, and now I’m scouring for coupons and visiting YouTube update sites for the latest Harbor Freight future sales and discounts.

And … did I just see what looked like a foam-padded hard case that could safely hold my camera gear so that I’m not traveling around in mis-matched Nikon camera bags? And I don’t have to go to New York City and buy a Pelican case at B&H?

I mean, as long as I don’t mind that it’s branded as “Apache,” I’ll be fine.

But yeah … thus run with Harbor Freight can be very, very appealing.

Oh, wait … I just received some more coupons in my personal email.

I’ll be back in a bit.

FTC DISCLAIMER: At no time did I receive or request any discounts or compensation from Harbor Freight for mentioning their store or their products in this blog post. All opinions are those of the author and not influenced in any way by Harbor Freight or its employees or marketing department.