The joys of Christmas shopping.....
I went to Home Depot yesterday.
Spent way too much money, and completely forgot all about what it was I went there for, so I ended up back there again today, with a few side-stops along the way.
They had a 300-piece "Husky" set on sale for $99 yesterday.
Home Depot was having some whoopie-doo promo on DeWalt and they had the music blaring so loud yesterday I couldn't wait to get out of there. GAH! They had a mess of different gloves on sale. Can you stuff gloves into Christmas stockings?
I walked up and down the tool aisles but didn't see anything that set my hair on fire. Still can't figure out how they got me for almost a C-note.
Lowes was down to pink and white only on their "mini" Kobalt tool boxes. They were on sale for $12.98 but pink or white was a deal killer.
They didn't have the black rubber mat I was looking for, which is why I ended up at Home Depot
again. Bought a roll of some black "liner" stuff from Home Depot for that one-inch-drive box. Better than nothing, I suppose.
I had to pick up an item at the Tacoma "Mall". Three near-misses by people trying to kill me in the parking lot. Not sure if the guy in the red truck was drunk or having some sort of "medical emergency". I was reminded once again why I never go there any more.
Harbor Freight was completely out of their "U.S. General" "mini" tool boxes. The girl at the cash register said they are expecting delivery of more in about two weeks. So much for that idea.
I looked at their "ICON" stuff and asked if I could look at one of their ratchets.
"Only after you pay for it," the girl told me.
Another deal killer. I do not buy tools sealed up in black cardboard boxes, sorry. I get to touch and feel or no sale. Terrible marketing blunder, considering virtually every other contemporary tool manufacturer has designed packaging that allows you to spin the ratchet around while it's still in the package. So... another big ZERO for Harbor Freight. Was really hoping to get my money's worth out of that $30 membership fee, but it looks like it ain't gonna happen. Walked out empty-handed again.
When I got to O'Reilly's Auto Parts after the Harbor Freight visit, a young man working the counter said he just bought a "Kobalt" 297-piece set at Lowes for $99.
The girl who works the counter said she got a Craftsman "V" set on sale at Lowes for $99. (Go figure!)
Their tiny little "Titan" ratchets were on sale and I got to play with them first, so they got some more of my money.
I gave them half of the poppyseed cake I'd picked up earlier at the Russian deli. They loved it.
I was at McLendon's a couple days ago. They didn't have the black rubber mat I was looking for either, but they did have an intriguing pair of
Milwaukee 9-inch lineman's pliers. The $54 price point seemed a bit stiff, so I left empty-handed.
After I left Home Depot earlier today, I swung over to Pratt Electric. They had the same pair of "Milwaukee" 9-inch lineman's pliers for $46. I asked the guy helping me if he'd gotten any feedback on them.
"Hmm... it's a new item, I don't think I've sold any yet," he replied.
One of his co-workers chimed in "Hey, with Milwaukee it's 50-50."
They got a bunch of my money for some Klein stuff.

I'll take
@sparky 1971 's word on pliers any day of the week over "50-50".
Even though it's not what I wanted, that black mat looks pretty snazzy in that box.
YMMV