HF policy change?

[ajchien]

What item were they trying to buy?

I thought that there were certain items that HF sold that they considered "high rate of use once and return" items, like obd scanners. They charged a restocking fee on them if it can back, and supposedly wouldn't refund it if it looked worn.

As for items being returned etc. it annoys me too. last time I ordered from amazon was to get an O2 sensor. The plastic package was opened, the anti seize that supposedly came with it was missing, there was a scrape on the sensor, but it otherwise looked new. Bah, too much effort to return by mail, I just installed the sensor and it's been fine - but it was annoying. did somebody really just want the antiseize packet and return the rest? Geeez.

 

[kmk7110]

As for items being returned etc. it annoys me too. last time I ordered from amazon was to get an O2 sensor. The plastic package was opened, the anti seize that supposedly came with it was missing, there was a scrape on the sensor, but it otherwise looked new. Bah, too much effort to return by mail, I just installed the sensor and it's been fine - but it was annoying. did somebody really just want the antiseize packet and return the rest? Geeez.

That or the person that returned it is bad at troubleshooting.

 

[maxspeed96ct]

Harbor freight tools are for one time use purposes . If you get more out of them then kudos !

 

[Zeke]

Harbor freight tools are for one time use purposes . If you get more out of them then kudos !

That's not even close to accurate or funny. I have 4" angle grinders that have seen at least 2 cars worth of panel replacement plus other uses. Same goes for a 3/8 reversible drill motor which has had spot weld bits in it for hours and cup wire brushes until it was uncomfortable to hold in bare hands (many times).

I have a HF trim router mounted in my table saw to round off cuts. It has seen a mile of wood going on 10 years now running upside down. I've have a couple duds though. The spot welder fried itself (I put a larger copper wire in it) and the slide hammer was a POS as mentioned above. I had a high speed air body saw that wouldn't start all the time. Had to beat on it. I just threw it in the recycle bin with no remorse.

I've never broken a HF hand tool or non power tool like a tubing roller. I've bought most of that kind of tool used. I've gotten my money's worth many times over.

 

[hchinaski]

If it's a tool that I don't know that I'm going to use all the time, I'll buy the cheap HF version. If I use it enough to break it, then I'll buy a higher quality one. Cases in point: Rotary hammer drill. $55 on sale at HF, I've used it once in the last year. At that rate, it will last forever, and was a good value. On the other hand, my Harbor Freight retaining ring pliers didn't hold up well and the tips weren't sized correctly. But I've used them much more often than I thought I would, so this past weekend I picked up a pair of Craftsman Professionals. Am I taking the HF ones back for a refund? Of course not, I gave them to someone else. I got my money's worth out of them.

I did bring back a Harbor Freight 1/2" impact drill because I could stop it from turning with my bare hand at it's highest torque settings; it was junk. And I've exchanged a few things that didn't work right out of the box, like the jack part of my shop press.

 

[Zeke]

I got a mailer from HF yesterday. Looks like the 20% coupon is now 15% and the freebe flashlight, screwdrivers, multi-meter are no longer. At least on this one.

 

[roblouvasz]

I used to work at a Tractor Supply a couple of years ago. I was told that Ohio's law was that any item that is purchaed can be returned for a full refund within 30 days. So if HF has this new policy, they're in violation of state law. I'll have to go there and find out.

 

[JimVonBaden]

I got a mailer from HF yesterday. Looks like the 20% coupon is now 15% and the freebe flashlight, screwdrivers, multi-meter are no longer. At least on this one.

They change the 20% to 15% and back all the time.

Jim

 

[fflintstone]

I have bought items at various stores and opened them up to find used items in its place. Some are items in glue sealed packages.

It ***** to have to take them back because they look at you like you did it. It’s sad to see boxes back on the shelf that are obvious used returns. Like the workers just don’t care.