Harbor Frought; pick a tool, any tool

[rtz]

Same price; same model right? One might say; oh only the grips are different. Same tool underneath? Same metal, same heat treat, same maker? Maybe. If they have an item with 6 sku's; sometimes 5 of them will be from China and one is Taiwan.

 

[Negen]

This post makes little to no sense.

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[rtz]

Those 2 different looking sets of tools are on the same rack, same price.

I'll get a pic of the price tag showing all the sku's that are "the same":

https://www.harborfreight.com/4-pc-tongue-and-groove-joint-pliers-set-64093.html

 

[Negen]

I am still missing the point most companies that sell items both made in Taiwan and China do this gear wrench is another example when they have a volume higher than the OEM can handle so they source multiple OEM's. Quality and other things may vary this is very common with lower priced tools as the demand is higher than the production lines can handle.

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[zendriver]

Hmmm

Maybe they have more than one source for their tools and might think that people might like different colored grips.


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[David0858]

The OP is right. At HF just because items are supposedly the same, different stock numbers on the "same" item could have different quality or specs. For a good example I just saw tonight look on YouTube for Predator Engine Hemi vs non Hemi.

 

[ScottsGT]

A perfect example is one of their floor model drill presses. I've been looking into buying one. 17" 16 speed has two different Item#'s. Reading all the online reviews, stay away from 43389 It has aluminum pulleys and a few other non desirable parts. 61487 is the one to get. They both look identical, same exact price. But internally they are different. I also think the 61487 has a slower low RPM setting.

 

[Professional Tool User]

Harbor Freight likes changing up their suppliers often. They've got Made in China and Made in Taiwan versions of their Pittsburgh impact sockets.

 

[Michael_in_DE]

This is awesome. On a quality scale of 1 to 10, we have here a 1 and we have a 2..at the same price no less! Those slimey bastards!

 

[Aaron_W]

My understanding is Harbor Freight uses different skus so they can their track suppliers. The items are theoretically identical, but if most of the warranty returns come from one sku they know they have an issue with that supplier's quality control.

Here they have their 4x6" bandsaw listed under 2 different skus, same price, same specs and looking at them side by side most would not be able to tell them apart other than perhaps paint color being slightly different (I've seen some red, some more of a burgundy or maroon red).

#62377

https://www.harborfreight.com/1-hp-4-in-x-6-in-horizontalvertical-metal-cutting-band-saw-62377.html

#93762

https://www.harborfreight.com/horizontal-vertical-metal-cutting-bandsaw-93762.html


I'm not sure how you can tell which factory or country of origin a particular sku comes from.

 

[PugetDude]

Trying to pick the fly **** out of the pepper....

 

[Aaron_W]

Trying to pick the fly **** out of the pepper....

I'm not a big fan of HF, but I'll defend their 4x6" bandsaw. It is a solid saw and a great bargain for a home shop.

 

[purplezr2]

My understanding is Harbor Freight uses different skus so they can their track suppliers. The items are theoretically identical, but if most of the warranty returns come from one sku they know they have an issue with that supplier's quality control.

Here they have their 4x6" bandsaw listed under 2 different skus, same price, same specs and looking at them side by side most would not be able to tell them apart other than perhaps paint color being slightly different (I've seen some red, some more of a burgundy or maroon red).

#62377

https://www.harborfreight.com/1-hp-4-in-x-6-in-horizontalvertical-metal-cutting-band-saw-62377.html

#93762

https://www.harborfreight.com/horizontal-vertical-metal-cutting-bandsaw-93762.html


I'm not sure how you can tell which factory or country of origin a particular sku comes from.

They have a few jacks like this when you look on the online catalog you notice this more than in the store where they may only stock one sku.

 

[Moparman390]

Yeah, they just changed over to the black and green, they are pictured that way in their new flyer.

 

[PugetDude]

Yeah, they just changed over to the black and green, they are pictured that way in their new flyer.

You know Craftsman is truly circling the drain when Harbor Freight quits mimicking their colors.

 

[Gmonkee]

Black and (color) schemes are shared widely between brands.

Milwaukee, Urrea and three AZ house brands are black and red.

Mine have been shifting to yellow with Pretul and Stanley with a lot of black and orange in my Truper.

In two more years it probably will have shifted again to a decent quality market friendly color code.
Its just the nature of the beast.

 

[thesilverone]

who the hell cares

 

[6PTsocket]

I think it depends on the item. Sometimes there is no significant difference and sometimes there is a significant difference to the point where one SKU should be avoided. The worst HF case I recall was an alternate to the 5hp, 2 stage, 60 gal air compressor. It was a 3 cylinder single stage that they listed as a two stage. Same price, different specs. I think it only went to 145 psi. The reviews at HF are by SKU. The various SKUs often do not have the same customer satisfaction. I just bought a power tool where the display model was a different SKU from the current stock. Quite a few differences Just one of the facts of life at Horrible Freight. When HF says it is better than *** brand, maybe it depends on which SKU is on the shelf that week.

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[rtz]

 

[zendriver]

who the hell cares

Firstly, I have very high expectations, for a company that sells a set of lifetime warranty screwdrivers for $8.


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[dogdog]

I am confused about this post... is it about how to decode HF sku for COO or is it yet another HF bashing? LOL OP, as much love you have for HF stuff, not sure why you still patronize it.

 

[Spiffers]

Given a choice I'd take the orange because Hi Visibility!

 

[zendriver]

I am confused about this post... is it about how to decode HF sku for COO or is it yet another HF bashing? LOL OP, as much love you have for HF stuff, not sure why you still patronize it.

Most Everybody got used to the "Harbor freight smell "so they had to come up with something different.


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[tarbellb]

You know Craftsman is truly circling the drain when Harbor Freight quits mimicking their colors.

Winning comment

 

[finn]

Sometimes the free tape measures have different sku numbers.

Oh, the horror!

 

[gungatim]

it's called "dual sourcing", and nearly all retailers do it. my current occupation allows me to see the inventory from our competitors and what % we supply of their particular offering.

nothing new or different about any of this at HF. it has nothing to do with quality, just how they track the split between suppliers...