How much Snap On and others hate HF?

[t100]

yeah, I'm bored.

in another word, how much business HF took away from SO.

or,

How many tools you bought from HF you would have bought from SO if HF doesn't exist.

for me, at least the $50 impact sockets and roto ratchets, it would cost me $500 for SO. I just don't see the needs of buying medium priced stuff, either it's so cheap I don't care or they are so good it would last me for the life time.

 

[Stephenw]

I would say that HF had almost no impact on Snap-On's business. HF probably had a much larger impact on Craftsman and similar DIYer tool markets.

 

[Mickey O]

I doubt HF has taken away anything from Snap on, maybe Craftsman and others like them.

 

[back2class]

Thats like asking if Kia has taken away from porsche's market. Is this a serious question?

 

[boostedgt]

i cant see the truck brands losing many sales to HF. i havent ever bought tools from HF, its odd that i have no issues with imported cars yet imported tools bother me.

 

[krusty the clown]

toolglutton......is that you?

 

[Thedroid]

I can't stand Harbor Freight. I work with numerous guys who know no better. They whip out those HF tools, and fix it till its broke. I wouldn't be caught dead carrying around a pouch full of HF. If that ever becomes the case, I'll hang up my tool pouch for good.

The only thing I would consider, would be some of the specialty tools, like steering wheel pullers, and pulley pullers and installers. And that would only be to get last minute rush job done.

 

[stricht8]

I can't stand Harbor Freight. I work with numerous guys who know no better. They whip out those HF tools, and fix it till its broke. I wouldn't be caught dead carrying around a pouch full of HF. If that ever becomes the case, I'll hang up my tool pouch for good.

The only thing I would consider, would be some of the specialty tools, like steering wheel pullers, and pulley pullers and installers. And that would only be to get last minute rush job done.

Yes, they do have a lot of specialty tools that are so readily available that I myself wonder if I'd buy them if I needed that tool on the spot. Another scenario would be buying some specialty tools because they are used so infrequently that a one or two time use would not justify paying 10X as much for tool truck quality.

 

[Hiball]

Id say a better question would be "How much business will Snap on lose if they continue down the path of Rebadging Imported tools?"

 

[Lookin4'67Galaxieconv]

toolglutton......is that you?

There's been a lot of toolglutton clones lately.

 

[back2class]

I shpuld add the the question is valid when it comes to some specialty items not found at the Home Depot and see limited use for some like door trim removal tools and bearing seperators and alike. My guess is not much impact on their bottom line though.

But they do sell the same item as the Blue Point service at HF as best I can tell. But I would guess a non issue to snap-on as most of their buyers wouldn't even think to compare and see that horrid truth.

 

[Merkava_4]

You can't compare Snap-on to HF.

That's like comparing Mars to Earth.

 

[Lookin4'67Galaxieconv]

You can't compare Snap-on to HF.

That's like comparing Mars to Earth.

 

[Cryptic1911]

Id say a better question would be "How much business will Snap on lose if they continue down the path of Rebadging Imported tools?"

Yup, this is more like it.. Snap-On is good stuff, but they are starting to slip in imported tools, and still charging the made in USA price. They will start to alienate loyal customers because of this.

 

[Rnz520]

You can't compare Snap-on to HF.

That's like comparing Mars to Earth.

You ever been to Mars Merk?

 

[american lockpicker]

Id say a better question would be "How much business will Snap on lose if they continue down the path of Rebadging Imported tools?"

Excellent question.

As for myself I have never bought anything from Harbor Freight but I once returned something my mother made the mistake of purchasing there. I am planning to buy some Snap-On tools from Chad and a local dealer soon and honestly I feel fine paying high prices for top quality tools that are made in the USA or EU. Really if you can't afford new high quality tools theres lots of good used ones on the market and the prices are extremely low now due to the economy

 

[poprockcrusher]

How much business has snap on lost now that mr boss man is paying the mechanics 20% of the door rate ?

 

[Paullew]

Snap on is 15 X the pice for 30 X the tool........pound for pound dollar for dollar Snap on is a much better value in the long run.

 

[sk farmer]

i think some of you guys are missing his point. i think he has a valid point. you can't say they are apples to apples but i think a lot of guys are picking up some odddball stuff that they would not buy otherwise. you can buy a whole box full of oddball on the chance you may use it once or twice versus buying one name brand and maybe never use it. most hf stuff will not stand up to constant abuse but a lot of it will do you in a pinch til the truck comes by. i don't see to many pros swinging a pittsburgh wrench but if they let you look in the bottom drawers lots of people have some hf specialty tools of some kind.

 

[Diesel-Mech]

You ever been to Mars Merk?

Been there? I'm not convinced hes not from there.

 

[autoace]

I would say Harbor Freight has hurt SO 0%

GearWrench can take sales from Snap-on, and maybe Genius, but not Harbor Freight.

Harbor Freight has its place, but has not impacted Snap-on; however SO and other truck tool companies will suffer offering HF type tools with their name on it.

 

[pmohr]

I've got a fair amount of stuff from HF that I either don't use often enough to consider buying off the truck, or it's quality stuff that I couldn't justify the much higher truck prices for due to it working, and working very well.

For example, Pittsburgh side cutters in several different sizes, cheap and tough, have several pairs for what a BP or SO pair would cost me. Do the same job just as well, for less money. Pittsburgh locking extensions, impact swivels, drive adapters, race/seal driver, etc. Hell, there's a guy at work that's been using Pittsburgh wrenches professionally for years that swears by them.

Then there's the wheel bearing kit, compression tester, tie rod sleeve adjuster set and cooling system pressure tester (all US General, IIRC) that work perfectly, but I would feel compelled to 'upgrade' to something better if I were to use them more often.

 

[Basskiller]

Anything that I would consider buying from Snap On, would not ever be substituted with a HF offering.

 

[econoaddict]

This is funny as I actually stood and talked to one of the local tool truck owners IN a harbor Freight store. He had a cart almost full and most of the items in the cart were multiples, such as 5 or more of each. hmmmm odd that the next time they stopped by those items were on the truck. Now him I always crack jokes when he is in.

Things I seen were, air chucks, tire gauges, thread pitch guages, spark plug rethreaders basically loads of small cheapo type stuff that no one would even ask about when buying and has no packaging.

Sorry but out of respect to other truck owners I won't say which company it was.
Keep your eyes open when you drive by, a truck maybe parked within a block or 2 of the store.

 

[BRTMechanic]

I believe SO is in a far superior league than HF, so in comparison HF could never take anything away from SO as far as sales. BUT, I dont have a problem stocking my box with HF tools, some guys on here say they wont be caught dead with it. Than again some of you dont turn wrenches for a living, when you make money off your tools and you cant afford the truck, than a few HF products here or there will certainly help, cost wise. I purchase my tools from a number of different tool manufacturers, I look for what deals are going to keep more money in my pockets and help get the job done. Not who or what name is stamped on them. Just my honest opinion...

 

[t100]

first, I'm not trying to compare SO and HF.

my 64" box is full and my matco cart is full, majority of them are truck brand tools, some HF, recently GW(stole them cheap off ebay and Sear's sales).

I have very little in the middle, such as Proto, Craftsman, BluePoint. when I look at those, they are half of the cost of truck tools, but I'd rather pay twice the price for SO, Matco, Cornwell. but look at the the few good quality HF which are 1/5 to 1/10 of the truck tools, that stopped me buying them from the tool truck. similar tool for HF is just $7 but for SO is a $70 they didn't get.

 

[Stick Figure]

i don't think 0% is fair. I have seen a few guys in there with snap-on jackets on, so most likely they buy from both places. There are also a few things that HF would get the sale because it is in stock in the store, and would have to be ordered from the truck. I would guess there are things that the truck guys would normally sell that they aren't getting paid on anymore either like gloves, and other consumable type stuff. This may not effect snap-on but i could see it maybe effecting the drivers themselves.

 

[back2class]

first, I'm not trying to compare SO and HF.

my 64" box is full and my matco cart is full, majority of them are truck brand tools, some HF, recently GW(stole them cheap off ebay and Sear's sales).

I have very little in the middle, such as Proto, Craftsman, BluePoint. when I look at those, they are half of the cost of truck tools, but I'd rather pay twice the price for SO, Matco, Cornwell. but look at the the few good quality HF which are 1/5 to 1/10 of the truck tools, that stopped me buying them from the tool truck. similar tool for HF is just $7 but for SO is a $70 they didn't get.

I would in so way consider Proto "middle of the road" That is every bit as high a quality product as Snap-On. Blue Point and Craftsman...yea

 

[Davefr]

There is no doubt that SO has lost sales to HF and if HF is not on SO's radar screen they are being naive.

I'm sure the amount has been small but mechanics are feeling the financial pinch and can no longer justify 10X price premium. SO's main stream offering is probably pretty imune to HF but all the other stuff like storage units and Blue Point must be feeling some pressure.

SO is consistently good but their quality is flat to slightly down. HF was total **** a decade ago but they are making great strides and some of their stuff is almost ready for "prime time".

This forum is full of tool aficionados but there are plenty of other techs thinking twice about the tradeoff between bread on the table and SO prices.

I think SO's biggest competitor is the used tool market, Sears then HF.

I wonder if we'll see a HF truck making the rounds in the not to distant future.

 

[Merkava_4]

You ever been to Mars Merk?

Mars is a real clean planet with no corrupt Governments.

They make a heck of a good candy bar too.

 

[american lockpicker]

Mars is a real clean planet with no corrupt Governments.

They make a heck of a good candy bar too.

Good point.

 

[Art From De Leon]

Why would anyone consider HF when you can get any Snap on, MAC, Matco, or Cornwell tool off of ebay?

While someone might say that he got admirable service out of his HF ball whacker, who can guarantee that the next shipment or the next one out of the box is the same 'high' quality? You might as well play the lotto, as to expect any repitition of quality from HF products.

 

[t100]

from my observation, the HF quality has been getting better over the years considerably and consistently. so I don't worry about getting lesser quality warranty replacement.

you have been on this forum long enough to know how people here think about MAC and Cornwell's QC issues. lots of their hardline stuff are Asian imports any way. SO's quality isn't going higher, either. with the trend like that, some day the inevitable could just happen.

true, almost all my SO stuff were coming off ebay at great prices, but I've been like a tool stalker for years and good deals don't come by too often. will it just pop up when you need it? hope so, not always.

HF customer service has been good over the board. many have posted they have to take **** from their toolman to have their truck tools repaired and replaced.

 

[chevy302dz]

I think some people are missing the original posters point. HF carries a lot of very necessary speciality tools that otherwise would only be available on the trucks, especially before the internet made things so much easier to get. With that being the case I'm willing to bet the existance of HF does have some effect on the trucks business or at least on one of it's pontenial sources of growth.

 

[oldtools]

Since SO quality heading downhill and HF quality heading uphill, they are bound to meet sooner or later.

 

[Joe69]

I'm a pro, and I have some HF tools. I have the big wrenches from 1 3/8" to 2 1/2". I just can't see paying $200 apiece for these wrenches, when I bought the whole set for under $100. I'll never break them, although the chrome does peel.

Same goes for some specialty tools that I almost never use. I have a HF set of tailpipe expanders, but I did have to slightly modify them to make them work better. I bought them for a few dollars each, where the name brand ones are pretty expensive. If not for HF, I would have just done without them, as I seldom use them.

Joe

 

[Danglerb]

I think HF may have actually HELPED Snapon and other truck brand sales.

Plenty of people buy HF and Sears that would NEVER think about buying a truck brand, but after some time using cheap tools start wondering about better tools, and decide to give them a try.

 

[Paladin]

I would in no way consider Proto "middle of the road" That is every bit as high a quality product as Snap-On. Blue Point and Craftsman...yea

Fixed it for you!

back2class- I agree with you 100%!

Proto "middle of the road"? I firmly believe that quality and value-wise, Proto are truely among the BEST tools in the US. For example, I would put a Proto wrench up against any of the truck brands wrenches any day of the week.
JMHO

 

[Moose-LandTran]

You can't compare Snap-on to HF.

That's like comparing Mars to Earth.

They're easily mistaken..

 

[cruiser808]

I would in so way consider Proto "middle of the road" That is every bit as high a quality product as Snap-On. Blue Point and Craftsman...yea

+1 and well said.