Icon Tool Storage Has Huge Price Drop

[kngelv]

So has anyone else received the email from Harbor freight regarding Icon tool storage? They dropped the price on the 56” and 73” by $1200.00 each. Huge drops on everything else too. Email had a 20% off coupon which took the 56” from $3999.00 to $2239.00.

James

 

[Tallpilot]

I wonder if I can trade my jack stands for one? I think we can assume from this big drop they weren't selling at the volume expected.

 

[bubinga]

I wonder if I can trade my jack stands for one? I think we can assume from this big drop they weren't selling at the volume expected.

I don't know, but I signed up for the email coupons, several times , for that matter, and never did get any.

Sent from my A502DL using The Garage Journal mobile app

 

[1982fxr]

Can't use 20% off on toolboxes right?

Aside from that, has anyone signed up for the credit card or whatever, which was expected to be part of their marketing plan? No interest...

 

[Skin]

Can't use 20% off on toolboxes right?

Aside from that, has anyone signed up for the credit card or whatever, which was expected to be part of their marketing plan? No interest...

Icon has their own coupons. The current 20% off any Icon storage is good until the end of June I think.

 

[Bigblue&Goldie]

With the 20% off coupon they are inline with the Rollcabs.com boxes made by Extreme. The HF are only 25" deep compared to 30", but come with the outlets and power tool organizer. This is the price point they should've come in at......obviously as they weren't selling any at their initial pipe dream.

https://www.rollcabs.com/crx723019rc-72-19-drawer-tool-box-with-wheels

 

[lardy1]

They aren't trying to sell tool boxes. They're trying to sell an image. The tool boxes are part of the props.

 

[Fedwrench]

Aside from the freebies Harbor Freight passed out to their You Tube influencers, has anyone actually seen an Icon box in use?

 

[seber]

With the 20% off coupon they are inline with the Rollcabs.com boxes made by Extreme. The HF are only 25" deep compared to 30", but come with the outlets and power tool organizer. This is the price point they should've come in at......obviously as they weren't selling any at their initial pipe dream.

https://www.rollcabs.com/crx723019rc-72-19-drawer-tool-box-with-wheels

Look at the material specs. Those things are made out of tissue paper.

 

[pbon]

Aside from the freebies Harbor Freight passed out to their You Tube influencers, has anyone actually seen an Icon box in use?

Until HF gets tool trucks and offers financing, I doubt you will see many pros use them, but their market may be more the DIYer who wants to look like a pro.

 

[Mr_B]

Aside from the freebies Harbor Freight passed out to their You Tube influencers, has anyone actually seen an Icon box in use?

Nope, only seen them in store .
Price point adjustment may help as brings it into range of other import boxes but they never going sell that well as to many options at that price range including truck brand used and icon offer not a lot different than other import brands, should of been 28" depth and had some level of drawer customization to increase appeal and stand out from the rest .
As for Icon image it a complete flop as is the tool range and marketing to date, piss poor effort considering what available from taiwan and US at sensible money .
If they have a design and engineering team they need a broom and some fresh diligent common sense injected into the brand .
Fancy packaging, marketing **** and youtube freebies won't get you far and even more so when your sourcing and sets missing quality, design and completeness that easily achieved if they had anyone employed with half a brain on the tool market and end users, pro, semi pro and serious DIY .

 

[d.mcfarland]

I think the entire ICON line was an upgrade from the Pittsburgh pro obviously, but it can't be selling like they were hoping it would.

 

[zendriver]

I think the entire ICON line was an upgrade from the Pittsburgh pro obviously, but it can't be selling like they were hoping it would.

Maybe it's the 15% unemployment rate that's slowing things down.

 

[M635_Guy]

I kinda wonder if the Icon storage was supposed to be announced in line with a more direct semi-truck model of going after the pro shops. The price point for those puppies is way beyond the typical HF shopper, and while I've got zero issues with 25" depth (more would be crazy-big in my DIY garage - hell, I really like the 22" depth of my USG chest), I have to think they did it for a reason. Cost? Sturdiness? Some kind of research they haven't articulated?

I'm a marketing guy for a living, and it drives me crazy how much "What" (specs, etc.) there is in a lot of product stuff and damn little "Why". I think HF had to have a reason beyond just cost to choose that depth. Otherwise, I'm just adding 20% of their price and comparing it to the deal the truck guy is willing to give me, factoring that against the financing I probably already have with him, etc. (the truck guy doesn't talk to me in real life of course, so I have only a vague idea how all that works).

FWIW, my HF had the Icon stuff on display last year sometime, and I was pretty impressed - beefy, well-integrated power, cool power-tool drawer, etc. But I don't wrench for a living, and even with coupons they're just out of my league. My USG cart (which I like a lot) was under $300 (the 26"x22" single-bank - I also have their 5-drawer car) vs. $1600 for the 36"x25" cart), though the more-direct comparison would really be the $500 USG 44"x22" since its 14K cu.in. capacity capacity compares better to the 16k+ of the Icon. Even adjusting for the extra 15% of space the Icon has, the USG cost-of-space would put it under $600.

So while it's not strictly capacity discussion, their website isn't telling me much of a story...

 

[Handyandy23]

I kinda wonder if the Icon storage was supposed to be announced in line with a more direct semi-truck model of going after the pro shops. ..

I'm in Canada so I don't keep up on all the HF details, but from what I remember they were supposed to be launching a HF credit card with 0% interest on certain things (like Icon boxes). Not sure if that's come to fruition or not yet.

I don't think they ever planned to be a true "truck brand" in that sense, but they saw truck brands financing huge boxes and roping people in for more than they could afford, and probably figured they could get in on it too and use a credit card company to track down monthly payments for them.

 

[highland512]

Aside from the freebies Harbor Freight passed out to their You Tube influencers, has anyone actually seen an Icon box in use?

I saw 36" base in green being loaded into a pickup. Only time I saw one out in the wild.

 

[archirelic]

As of right now, availability to apply for their credit card is limited to a select number of stores in California and one in Arizona. When and IF they will ever finish pushing for their credit to be applied for in all stores and online remains to be seen.

But even at the drop in price for those ICON boxes...they're still too damn high to be competitive when you have a myriad of other manufacturers offering basically the same thing at the same price point and even slightly lower coupled with a lot of these online retailers offering third party financing as well now.

Simply put...even with their supposed credit card, the boxes are priced entirely too high to be competitive with other boxes out there with the same / similar specs.

 

[dsaabm]

As for Icon image it a complete flop as is the tool range and marketing to date, piss poor effort considering what available from taiwan and US at sensible money .
If they have a design and engineering team they need a broom and some fresh diligent common sense injected into the brand .
Fancy packaging, marketing **** and youtube freebies won't get you far and even more so when your sourcing and sets missing quality, design and completeness that easily achieved if they had anyone employed with half a brain on the tool market and end users, pro, semi pro and serious DIY .

I agree, HF missed an opportunity and literally just copying Snap-On designs is ridiculous. Plenty of other tool companies are successful without copying Snap-On. What they did reminds me Harbor Freight are just a knock-off tool importer and retailer, not a tool company.

These boxes were way overpriced and now while better the prices are still high. I would have like to see some cart option like a slide top full drawer or similar

 

[m6z]

Maybe it's the 15% unemployment rate that's slowing things down.

This.

Hell, even the Hot Deals section of this forum has quieted way down. People are not shopping for new tool boxes when they're worried about their jobs.

 

[bdbecker]

I kinda wonder if the Icon storage was supposed to be announced in line with a more direct semi-truck model of going after the pro shops. The price point for those puppies is way beyond the typical HF shopper, and while I've got zero issues with 25" depth (more would be crazy-big in my DIY garage - hell, I really like the 22" depth of my USG chest), I have to think they did it for a reason. Cost? Sturdiness? Some kind of research they haven't articulated?...

Waterloo Industries can be thanked for the deeper tool chest offerings from the import brands. Deeper tool chests are a way around additional import duties because the bigger boxes are considered "industrial" instead of "retail".

https://www.commerce.gov/news/press...rce-issues-affirmative-final-antidumping-duty

https://enforcement.trade.gov/downl...iple-tool-chests-cabinets-ad-final-040418.pdf

 

[m6z]

They are nice boxes, but they are still priced too high IMO.

Icon 56" top and bottom box is still $3,600 with coupon.

US General 56" top and bottom box is $1258 before coupons

Homak RS PRO 54" is $2132 at Summit Racing

 

[zendriver]

I'm in Canada so I don't keep up on all the HF details, but from what I remember they were supposed to be launching a HF credit card with 0% interest on certain things (like Icon boxes). Not sure if that's come to fruition or not yet.

I don't think they ever planned to be a true "truck brand" in that sense, but they saw truck brands financing huge boxes and roping people in for more than they could afford, and probably figured they could get in on it too and use a credit card company to track down monthly payments for them.

https://www.harborfreight.com/icon-tool-storage

At least here, time payments is the only reason people buy anything expensive.

 

[Moose97]

I still don't get pushing the ICON boxes. US General is a quality box at a reasonable price. Why would they try and compete with themselves?

 

[Bige441]

I already have a classic 78 so I’m not in the market right now but it’s getting pretty tough to fit all my stuff in it. My whole thing with the tool boxes is if I was in the market for a big box it wouldn’t be with a brand that just started and the longevity of the line was uncertain. What happens in a year or two after and they discontinued the line up? What about replacement parts and expansion modules? You take one of the most important benefits away. Expansion and guarantee are what sells long term storage solutions. I’ll take a risk on hand tools that are $50-100 all day long but not a $5k+ Storage system. I honestly do want to see the line succeed but they have dropped the ball on tool storage from the get go.

 

[M635_Guy]

I agree, HF missed an opportunity and literally just copying Snap-On designs is ridiculous. Plenty of other tool companies are successful without copying Snap-On. What they did reminds me Harbor Freight are just a knock-off tool importer and retailer, not a tool company.

These boxes were way overpriced and now while better the prices are still high. I would have like to see some cart option like a slide top full drawer or similar

If they were literally just copying Snap On, why not 30"?

I doubt there are many new ideas under the sun in this area, and everybody is copying everybody to some extent. I did get the feeling the power-tool "holster" drawer was relatively unique, but whatever.

For me, it boils down to are they a good value, and it seems like they weren't competing well...

 

[zendriver]

I still don't get pushing the ICON boxes. US General is a quality box at a reasonable price. Why would they try and compete with themselves?

There is more profit in a $2700 tool chest, than a similar one that sells for $800?

They really have nothing to lose.

Loyal customers will buy one or the other. They are not going somewhere else.

 

[Basskiller]

I don't know, but I signed up for the email coupons, several times , for that matter, and never did get any.

Sent from my A502DL using The Garage Journal mobile app

Did you check the JUNK folder

 

[M635_Guy]

There is more profit in a $2700 tool chest, than a similar one that sells for $800?

They really have nothing to lose.

Totally agree

Loyal customers will buy one or the other. They are not going somewhere else.

I think the point was as much a price point/product segment they weren't addressing.

 

[M6erfan]

*snip

They really have nothing to lose.

Loyal customers will buy one or the other. They are not going somewhere else.

I agree, but I think Icon is aimed at bringing in new customers. Higher end, in a sense.

 

[yrly]

This.

Hell, even the Hot Deals section of this forum has quieted way down. People are not shopping for new tool boxes when they're worried about their jobs.

There hasn’t really been a glut of good deals. I’ve been looking and finding little so I wouldn’t say it’s a good metric of why this Icon stuff doesn’t sell well. Jobs or no jobs,.

I’ve said before what’s the target audience for this stuff? For what it is it costs a fortune. You can get comparable stuff for less and are not far away from US made pricing on some of them. A lot of it is almost identical to Taiwanese Duralast tools.

My neighbor wouldn’t know what an Icon is any more than they would a Husky or Craftsman, probably less so.

Many of the sets are incomplete runs of sizes.

There isn’t anything inherently wrong with Icon it just seems like it doesn’t have a good target audience.

 

[Antique Engine]

I was looking at them this morning. Absolutely stupid how they put the electrical plugs where they did. Now every cord is going to be hanging down in the way of drawer access. A mechanic wants to charge his phone, tablet, or laptop and have it sitting safely near the back of his box, not laying on the front edge and getting the cord smashed every time you open and close a drawer.

I have a KRL that meets all my needs so I'm not a potential customer anyway, but you can just tell at first glance that the engineers over at HF didn't think that one through. I also like my drawers 30 inches deep too. It gives me options. Options are good.

 

[jkesselr]

Look at the material specs. Those things are made out of tissue paper.

I'm no harbor freight fanboi, but what are you referring to? They claim 16ga outer walls and 18ga inner. Most of the other import boxes I see at this level (rollcabs.com and strictlytoolboxes.com) are 18/18 or 18/20. I can't find published specs for Snap-On, but I presume it is thicker than the import stuff.

 

[Antique Engine]

I can't find published specs for Snap-On, but I presume it is thicker than the import stuff.

Epiq, Master and Classic Series are 16ga with some 14ga thrown in on the bottom. There is a chart on page 8 of the catalog if you're curious to see the specifics.

https://mydigitalpublication.com/publication/?m=12149&i=467002&p=12

 

[Parrothead]

Waterloo Industries can be thanked for the deeper tool chest offerings from the import brands. Deeper tool chests are a way around additional import duties because the bigger boxes are considered "industrial" instead of "retail".

https://www.commerce.gov/news/press...rce-issues-affirmative-final-antidumping-duty

https://enforcement.trade.gov/downl...iple-tool-chests-cabinets-ad-final-040418.pdf

Yep. Exactly this. Waterloo had a hissy fit when Home Depot started importing their boxes, among other companies. Be careful what you wish for, you just may get it.

 

[zendriver]

The irony of this useful thread, is that HF has had a "huge price drop" of 20% on chests, several times now, since the introduction of the brand.

Also amusing, that buying a Snap On box, for less than list price is a good deal, but if HF put Icon boxes on sale, then the Company surely must be headed for dire-straits.

 

[Steve_P]

The irony of this useful thread, is that HF has had a "huge price drop" of 20% on chests, several times now, since the introduction of the brand.

Also amusing, that buying a Snap On box, for less than list price is a good deal, but if HF put Icon boxes on sale, then the Company surely must be headed for dire-straits.

No one in this thread said they were headed for "dire-straits". HF will survive, we all know it- Americans like cheap sh!t . What most here have said since Icon was introduced is that it is way overpriced. And yes, unemployment is now 15%+, but they were not selling Icon boxes 6++ months ago when the economy was humming- because they're too damn expensive for what they are. Their competition is themselves with US General and the rest of their line; and Icon generally doesn't compete for the $, and especially with tool boxes. if they did, there would be hundreds of posts here showing off new Icon boxes. And maybe there are a few Icon box purchases shown here, but I've seen zero.

 

[BlackLS2]

HF is private, but Snappy has not hit its revenue numbers for 5 strait quarters. With the carnage of the last 60 days, and next 60 yet to be revealed, it's not HF or ICON we should worry about....

We are knocking on the door of 40 million unemployed Americans; big ticket items ain't selling great right now.

Guranteed HF will come out of this better than any other tool brand...

 

[lardy1]

I read this forum almost every day and I've never seen a member owned Icon tool box in here. Never. Considering the love for Harbor Freight in here, I think that says a lot. They aren't even reaching their own loyal base with them.

Which leads me back to my prior contention that the tool boxes are simply a prop. A marketing ploy to sell ratchets, wrenches and sockets that are often reported in here to be pretty middle of the import tool road a very limited line.

I'm not bashing them because I'm not a customer and try not to grade tools I've never used. More an outside observation. Glamorizing low price/often questionable grade tools is straight out of their own playbook. Those flashy, huge, copycat tool chests in the promo ads and in the aisles are a great way to overglamorize an oft reported middle of the road line of tools.

American marketing, much like a lot of other things American, are often nothing more than a façade. We are spoiled rotten and gullible.

 

[M635_Guy]

I read this forum almost every day and I've never seen a member owned Icon tool box in here. Never. Considering the love for Harbor Freight in here, I think that says a lot. They aren't even reaching their own loyal base with them.

Which leads me back to my prior contention that the tool boxes are simply a prop. A marketing ploy to sell ratchets, wrenches and sockets that are often reported in here to be pretty middle of the import tool road a very limited line.

I'm not bashing them because I'm not a customer and try not to grade tools I've never used. More an outside observation. Glamorizing low price/often questionable grade tools is straight out of their own playbook. Those flashy, huge, copycat tool chests in the promo ads and in the aisles are a great way to overglamorize an oft reported middle of the road line of tools.

American marketing, much like a lot of other things American, are often nothing more than a façade. We are spoiled rotten and gullible.

While I agree there is some pretty deceptive marketing out there, I can't imagine the Icon Boxes are a marketing play.

If they were re-badged, maybe, but the costs of developing, tooling, etc. would be prohibitive unless they were really planning to sell some. I know HF isn't building them in their own factories, but if they're built to HF specs as appears to be the case, the factory is going to charge them for those costs in the form of NRE - funds that are usually paid up-front rather than spread across production. Also, the use of floor space in the stores carries a cost with it as well - they can't devote that kind of square footage to a product line they aren't really planning to sell. And those are just the two biggest things - the costs of setting up the point-to-point logistics and other things that come along with the line as a deliverable product have costs, etc. It just doesn't make sense to have all that in place for a phantom product line mainly designed as an image play, especially if they aren't activating it some other way to get professionals to buy some.

That's why I wonder if it is/was part of a more direct targeting of the pro crowd that is not fully-unveiled yet, on-hold or maybe just poorly rolled-out (it's possible the answer is a combination of all three).

 

[EZ_Garage]

IMO there is no way that selling a couple ratchets makes up for the massive retail floor space that the Icon tool box display takes up. I think that HF probably overshot their customer base by launching a complete line of Icon "premium" branded tools. Don't get me wrong I think that they could have a "premium" line of hand tools because spending $100 on a premium set of premium wrenches is a lot different than spending a couple thousand on their premium box.

Heck, I have a lot of HF stuff but the Icon stuff is way out of my budget for a box. I actually don't own anything Icon (yet???). I think the Pitts Pro hand tools provide a good bang for the buck so, I do own screwdrivers, ratchets, etc within that brand. I own US General boxes and think that they also, are probably the best bang for the buck out there for what they are.

I don't fault HF for trying but I think the possibility of slumping sales will cause price reductions in Icon boxes and maybe a discontinuation. On the other hand the US General boxes will probably continue to move up in price. That's all speculation but based on what I see on the forums and when I'm shopping at HF I think it is a real possibility in the future.