Educate a foriegner on Harbor Freight Stores

[BMW Rider]

Basically, I'd like to know if all Harbor Freight stores are created equal, or are there good ones, bad ones, ugly ones.

The background on this question: I'm heading down to California in mid April. I'll be driving down in my truck, hauling my motorccyle down for a week of riding in Mojave and Death Valley. On the way home, I'd like to browse around and possibly pick up a couple of items from Harbor Freight, namely the sorts of things that don't appear up here in our comparable Canadian stores. Seems the sensible thing to do, since I'll have room to haul some larger items, and I'll save shipping and duty costs too - at least as long as I stay under my travel exemption spending limit.

My route plan is to pretty much stick to I-15 from the border all the way until just outside of LA. That puts me near several stores along the route in several locations in a few states; ID, UT, NV. My preference would be to make the stop later in the return trip so I don't have extral stuff to haul and secure at stopovers, but I don't want to end up not finding what I want becuase I ended up at a poorly stocked store.

So whats the deal, is the selection pretty good at all stores, or should I plan my visit(s) early (and often) to find what I'm looking for?

 

[firebox40dash5]

All the ones I've seen have been equally stocked with the same cheap ****.

Bigger items... maybe want to call ahead and make sure they've got what you want. And of course, raid your magazine collection for coupons.

 

[p_mori7]

No sales tax in NV I think.

 

[Lightfoot]

To answer your question specifically, of the 4 or 5 stores i have been in, they have all been stocked at about the same level it seems. I don't know if the stores i have been in, are representative of the entire chain, but each one was similar, arranged in somewhat the same way, and stock levels seemed to be comparable.

(don't buy the sandpaper)

 

[creativecars]

Basically, I'd like to know if all Harbor Freight stores are created equal, or are there good ones, bad ones, ugly ones.

The background on this question: I'm heading down to California in mid April. I'll be driving down in my truck, hauling my motorccyle down for a week of riding in Mojave and Death Valley. On the way home, I'd like to browse around and possibly pick up a couple of items from Harbor Freight, namely the sorts of things that don't appear up here in our comparable Canadian stores. Seems the sensible thing to do, since I'll have room to haul some larger items, and I'll save shipping and duty costs too - at least as long as I stay under my travel exemption spending limit.

My route plan is to pretty much stick to I-15 from the border all the way until just outside of LA. That puts me near several stores along the route in several locations in a few states; ID, UT, NV. My preference would be to make the stop later in the return trip so I don't have extral stuff to haul and secure at stopovers, but I don't want to end up not finding what I want becuase I ended up at a poorly stocked store.

So whats the deal, is the selection pretty good at all stores, or should I plan my visit(s) early (and often) to find what I'm looking for?

Like someone said, you might call to make sure on big items. You can get the phone numbers from their web site. What are you looking for? You might check with your friends and pick up for them and make a little $ for your time.

 

[RedFordTruck]

Take a stack of freebie coupons and 25% off coupons

 

[SKAutomotive]

I think for the sake of the OP, let's leave the HF hatred out of this. If you don't like HF, cool, but no need to repeat the same old things over and over again.

 

[firebox40dash5]

I think for the sake of the OP, let's leave the HF hatred out of this. If you don't like HF, cool, but no need to repeat the same old things over and over again.

So why did you feel the need to bring it up?

 

[BMW Rider]

I'm familiar with the pass/fail thread here and on other forums, and we have the similar Princess Auto up here, so I'm familiar with many of the products and what not buy. Most of the small stuff is the same as we get up here and similar in cost, so its only a few of the larger items that I have my eye on that have recieved passing grades and are not carried up here. I am aware of the coupons and will be packing those. The main thing was the stores themselves and the level of stocking.

The list of stores (cities) I'll be passing by are: Lancaster, CA; Las Vegas, NV (multiple stores); Provo, UT; Salt Lake City, UT; Ogden, UT; Pocatello, ID; and Idaho Falls, ID. I did investigate the sales tax issue too and Utah and Idaho seem to be the lowest rates (though as far as I can tell it varies in UT with municiple add on taxes).

 

[greasemonkey44]

i know there are crappy ones and better ones
the two stores closest but not in memphis has 3x the stock, are clean, organized and the people are nice
the one in memphis is a **** hole

 

[billp603]

No sales tax in NV I think.

The three I have been in are all the same, this is the more important issue. Avoid buying ANYTHING in California, due to the taxes.

 

[SCTony]

Side note on calling ahead- I called to make sure they had a certain floor jack in stock and was told they had three. Get down there and none on the floor and the floor salesman says "sorry". Turns out they were "in the back" and the floor salesman was a little clueless.

 

[woody 73]

Getting older sometimes has advantages....

For one thing my sense of smell is going so the store does not smell so bad of all that plastic from overseas.
My hearing just ***** but the nice smiling cashier from India makes up for it all.

Be sure and pick up a few of the orange dead blow hammers and don't forget the impact sockets.

Have fun and enjoy your trip.

 

[jmm]

To a point, they're all stocked alike BUT for larger items like toolboxes and large equipment, that sort of thing is the first to be omitted in the stores with smaller square footage. It's not exactly something to brag about, but I've been in HF stores across the US.

In my observation, the stores with a taller faux-front, which often share strip mall space with a large retailer (for example Staples) often have the largest square footage. Equally large and well-stocked are free-standing Harbor Freights. With exceptions, the ones that start to cut down on large items are in low-slung strip malls, that share the space with businesses like barbers, accountants, etc.

I can't believe I knew all that.

 

[ImportTuner]

No sales tax in NV I think.

Nevada does charge sales tax; I drive to NV yearly for my wife's bowling tournament and always visit the Summit store (get hit with sales tax). When buying online from Summit, no sales tax but I have to pay shipping.

 

[Ign]

Yep, some stores are noticeably larger and will have a some of the more "exotic" items others won't. I dont' have specific examples, except in Denver the larger stores are more likely to carry big things like shop equipment, such as the gantry crane, etc.

And yeah, some stores are clean and well-organized while others are dirty, dark and a mess. It depends not only on the area/demographics but on management.

 

[wedge40]

Unless you're NOT your typical male, plan your time accordingly. If you think you're only going to spend an hour in the store plan on two. If you plan being a hunter and go in and get your things and leave, I dont know why you couldn't call ahead and have them get the items together ahead of time. What big ticket item are you looking at?

Wedge

 

[ZRX61]

Nearest one to Mojave will be Lancaster or Barstow (if they have one?)

 

[RCStocker]

First of all the I 15 does not go all the way to the border. You will be on the I 5 There is a I 15 when you get done here to Southern California. There is a good HF in Modesto that is close to the freeway. It is on the east side. It is not frar from I 5. Is a little east over near the 90 freeway. Sheck Stocton and other places to see where there is a store. My advice .... Keep on driving by. I had a 25% off coupon this week and there was not one thing in the store I wanted.

 

[tatra]

one thing to look into is the possibility of paying extra on goods not produced in the states and subject to extra levies/taxes....... i mean were are talking the equivalnt of princess auto her and the majority of things are off shore produced.......

 

[Exceller8]

I think the overall quality of the stores are night and day. For example, the Moreno Valley, CA HF is beautiful and the Hemet, CA is a joke at best. The both stock pretty much the same items but I really hate shopping at the junky Hemet store.

 

[firebox40dash5]

First of all the I 15 does not go all the way to the border. You will be on the I 5 There is a I 15 when you get done here to Southern California. There is a good HF in Modesto that is close to the freeway. It is on the east side. It is not frar from I 5. Is a little east over near the 90 freeway. Sheck Stocton and other places to see where there is a store. My advice .... Keep on driving by. I had a 25% off coupon this week and there was not one thing in the store I wanted.

You know there's interstates outside of California, right? I-15 Goes from SoCal clear up to Canada by way of the middle of freakin' nowhere. It turns into a Canadian road that runs quite close to Calgary, where the OP says he is. Instead of driving 600 miles out of his way to get to I-5 up by Bellingham.

Though if you really wanna go out of your way, Oregon has no sales tax.

 

[Boost Creep]

if you plan on buying a toolbox i'd suggest unboxing it at the store. make sure its not dented before you leave. hate to see you get home to find out then

 

[BMW Rider]

First of all the I 15 does not go all the way to the border. You will be on the I 5 There is a I 15 when you get done here to Southern California. There is a good HF in Modesto that is close to the freeway. It is on the east side. It is not frar from I 5. Is a little east over near the 90 freeway. Sheck Stocton and other places to see where there is a store. My advice .... Keep on driving by. I had a 25% off coupon this week and there was not one thing in the store I wanted.

I 15 comes up through Montana and becomes Highway #4 Once it crosses into Canada at Sweetgrass/Couts south of Lethbridge. It's the best route for me since I'm in Calgary which is on the dry side of the Rockies in Alberta. I 5 is way over near the wet coast.

Thanks for the local insight on some of the stores on my route. If anyone can add to that knowledge it would be most helpful.

Though if you really wanna go out of your way, Oregon has no sales tax.

If I were riding the bike down, Oregon and the coast would be ideal, but then that would negate this thread since I'd have no way to haul home all the loot from HF.

 

[bighouse01]

Whatever store you chose, do not stay in there too long. I'm good for 10 minutes before I get a headache- and I'm in the autobody field.

 

[wedge40]

Whatever store you chose, do not stay in there too long. I'm good for 10 minutes before I get a headache- and I'm in the autobody field.

I've never been in HF less the 30 minutes and that's walking in knowing what I want. I usually go in, find what I went for, then make a complete run of the store. If I've decided I "need" something more I will get a cart and start loading up. Hence I only go to HF once to twice a year.

Wedge

 

[BK13]

You know there's interstates outside of California, right? I-15 Goes from SoCal clear up to Canada by way of the middle of freakin' nowhere. It turns into a Canadian road that runs quite close to Calgary, where the OP says he is. Instead of driving 600 miles out of his way to get to I-5 up by Bellingham.

Though if you really wanna go out of your way, Oregon has no sales tax.

I think the point he was trying to make is that I 15 ends properly at I 8 and Cal15 (or whatever it is they call it) ends about 10-15 miles sort of Mexico.

 

[BMW Rider]

I think the point he was trying to make is that I 15 ends properly at I 8 and Cal15 (or whatever it is they call it) ends about 10-15 miles sort of Mexico.

Ok just the wrong border. I know there are a lot fewer of us sneaking into California from this direction, so I can understand why one might think I was coming up from Mexico

 

[fflintstone]

This won’t help the OP but here in Michigan of the 6 I have been to the Pontiac store is by far the best.
In general the larger the store the better the stock.

 

[DirtRoad]

I have two near me.

One is so small they have to pack everything in there, the place is a nightmare. Whats weird is they are always PACKED with customers, lines a mile long.

The other one is HUGE, that store carry's EVERYTHING.

 

[WWIIjeep]

No sales tax in NV I think.

No income tax in Nevada. Doesn't help the OP unless he's planning to move there.

Nevada has a sales tax of around 7%. Kali sales tax ranges from 7.5% to as high as 10% in parts of Southern Kali.

 

[Steevo]

The Idaho Falls, ID store is a newer one (almost 2 yrs old?) and is large and well stocked. It is maybe 5 miles off I-15.
In Calif, I live about equal distant to three HF stores, and almost never go to them just becuse their locations are either in bad areas or are hard to get to from my home/work.
When I am at my Idaho Falls home, I stop in to HF all the time.

Hope your trip is fun and that you get in some good riding. As a former BMWMOA member and BMW rider, I put well over 100k miles on a 94-R1100RT, and many thousands on an 84-R80GS, both on and off road, some of it in the Death Valley area, and some on your side of the border, too.

In Death Valley, try to stay at Furnace Creek if you can, for at least a night. Tonopah has some wild bars at night, too.

Out in Mojave, the El Mirage dry lake and surrounding areas are interesting, too.
I crashed a bike on EL Mirage at right about 100mph back in around 1972. Heat waves off the dry lake bed can hide a lot of things, including other crazy riders at high speed.

 

[BMW Rider]

Thanks Steevo, the Idaho Falls store sounds like it should be a good choice.

I'm a current MOA member and the bike I'm taking is my 09 F800GS. I'm actually riding with Rawhyde Adventures down there to hopefully improve my off road skills. We will be staying at Furnace creek, it should be lots of fun.

 

[Danglerb]

Buy on the way down without sales tax, test stuff out and return/exchange on the way back.

Google street view might help on some stores.

 

[nit2wn]

Not sure if you get magazines but I say you need to stock up on them for the coupons for some of the items. Some of those you can get from the website or the coupon thread around here. I'd figure out which states have the least or no sales tax, actually map out which ones were the best to shop in, and then go from there. We only have one near me so I can't say on one store from another. If your buying a toolbox, I'd check it for dents/damage before loading and to make sure the colors match in case your getting top and bottoms and for some stupid reason that store might have old stock [not very likely]. Since your traveling so far, you should be able to fins all your stuff. I'd just plan to stop at a few stores in case it goes bad.

 

[Steinmetz]

No sales tax in NV I think.

No sales tax in Oregon, Nevada has a sales tax.

 

[Steevo]

Thanks Steevo, the Idaho Falls store sounds like it should be a good choice.

I'm a current MOA member and the bike I'm taking is my 09 F800GS. I'm actually riding with Rawhyde Adventures down there to hopefully improve my off road skills. We will be staying at Furnace creek, it should be lots of fun.

Sounds like an awesome trip, and a great time of year to visit the SouthWest desert. People who only see it in the summer are missing a lot of the beauty.

 

[Zelatore]

FWIW I usually go to either the Sacramento or Stockton, CA stores. Neither is exactly in the best part of town. The Stockton store is actually in the worse section, but the store itself is bigger/better. (Stockton is on the verge of becoming the largest city in the US to declare bankruptcy) Neither is a free-standing store; both are part of strip-malls. Mind, I'm not really complaining as I've never had anything that even resembled an issue with the areas, but I can see how some people might be put off.

I stopped in the Concord, CA store on my way home from work to pick up my 44" cart a couple weeks ago and the store was in a much nicer area. But the actual interior of the store and it's stock wasn't any better than Stockton.

And yes, you'll save a few percent on sales tax if you buy outside California. Tax varies depending on county/city, but figure 8-9% on average.

That Rawhide school should be fun. I'd love to try it out as I have a feeling my next bike might be a Tiger 800XC. I think it would make a good companion for the Speed Triple.

 

[Hafen_Kafer]

Don't go to Stockton period.

 

[WWIIjeep]

Sounds like an awesome trip, and a great time of year to visit the SouthWest desert. People who only see it in the summer are missing a lot of the beauty.

Fixed it for you:

People only sweat it in the summer.