More Hercules to come

[kctyphoon]

Check out the picture on HF’s website..
looks like they are getting a spot light of their own, some vacs, and other stuff. I dont see a big impact wrench in there yet.. not sure what they are waiting for. Looks like the bigger vac might be dual voltage? Cant tell for sure if thats a cord coming out of the top, but the handle design sure looks like it meant to have a cord wrapped around it.

 

[DFB]

Legendary Performance for the Professional?

Hey I got a bridge to sell

 

[Parrothead]

I like Harbor Freight, but I just can’t get excited about the Hercules line. Too close in price to DeWalt/Makita/Milwaukee when on sale.

 

[kctyphoon]

I like Harbor Freight, but I just can’t get excited about the Hercules line. Too close in price to DeWalt/Makita/Milwaukee when on sale.

I understand it doesnt make “sense” to invest in their line for a lot of people, but you cant market a tool line as an equivalent alternative and then price it substantially lower that it gets lumped into a Porter Cable or Ryobi territory.

The issue is the lack of ‘kits’ (which are rumored to be coming) Thats the only thing limiting the initial price of admission. To be fair - when talking prices, everyone lumps the prices with adding a SEPARATE charger and 1 or 2 SEPARATE batteries. Yes right now you HAVE to do that at first. But once you get past that - the bare tool prices ARE lower. The battery prices ARE lower. Nobody wants to mention that, cause it defeats their argument.

Same thing with the warranty. Given the CHOICE at the register to give up an extended warranty to save a few $$, LOTS of people would do it. I said it before in another post - if Dewalt came up with a sale where you could save $10 off every $100 spent at the register to give up the 3yr warranty for a 90 day - people would JUMP on that, and PRAISE Dewalt for saving them money.

Competition is a good thing. I say go Hercules.

 

[DFB]

Pricing isn't right and ol Eric Schimd best start running sales and tossing in batteries to rival Milwaukee if that want to win at this game.

Simple fact their recip saw which they compare to the Milwaukee 2621 (which I own) is $89.99 bare tool. And of course the "beat" is only base on dollar value not any performance specs and for certain not longevity of use hasn't been proven no matter what the ad copy says, never mind the lack of even a 1 year warranty. (Now having a 5 year warranty to me really tells you something about a manufacturers trust in the tool quality)

So the list on the Milwaukee brushed recip is $129 but is often on sale at $99 and the deal I got also included a 5.0 battery for the $99

You ain't beating that by a country mile Harbor Frieght

Maybe they'll sucker in the Dewalt guys for direct competition I dunno but I doubt it.

I have to say I was originally excited about the Herc table saw when it first came out but by taking my time and looking at what you get...or more specifically what you don't get like a rack and pinion adjustable fence compared to the Dewalt unit they try to stack it up against but still it doesn't make a whole of sense to purchase it over the other proven one for the few dollars in price difference.

I have question for Hercules fan boys both the 10" table saw and the 12"? sliding compound miter saw had been offered in past with one year of use full refund if not satisfied instead of the 90 days is that offer even still valid?

Though that's not to be confused with real tool repair replacement warranty

 

[theoldwizard1]

It is interesting that HF finally realized that they could move the quality bar up a couple of notices, invent a brand name and charge the same as other truly professional grade, known name brand tools !

I'll bet the profit margins are HUGE on those items !

 

[DFB]

You know the funny thing about the short Harbor Freight power tool warranties though is it seems to be more a GJ problem than with those people that are actually buying them.

I read a lot of the reviews people often say stuff like..."I like it so much if it dies I'll just buy another"

IF the price of that Hercules table saw went under $200 I would take one for a beater job saw to put in the back of my vehicle for sure. Cordless or not! Cuz there's really no way the Milwaukee cordless ONLY one is any where worth 5 big bills.


So the Herc table saw is $249 right now in the January catalog (claim reg. list is $299) and the Dewalt DWE7480 that they compare it too 4800 rpm 24" rip is $299 @ BOTH Home Depot and Lowes

(The DW745 is $279 @CPO with 2020 promo today is only $258.80 20" rip)

Ya so...knock it down under $200 Eric

 

[rsanter]

marketing to the uninformed.
tell them it equal at a lower price and they believe it.

I am in the same boat that I am not willing to accept an unknown for only a small discount. while I am happy that HF has been stepping things up and I have never had an issue with their customer service or replacement of items. I can also say I have never had an issue with the replacement or warranty of any of my dewalt stuff. in fact I have only ever had one dewalt item need a replacement part and that was a sanding pad. (not counting batteries, which lasted longer than expected.

HF needs to continue to build their reputation before I will buy into their higher market stuff, and I think they will succeed at it.
I trust them more than sears now, their toolboxes have proven themselves....etc

 

[B_Bimmer]

I truly pity anyone who is genuinely excited about this.

 

[Parrothead]

I understand it doesnt make “sense” to invest in their line for a lot of people, but you cant market a tool line as an equivalent alternative and then price it substantially lower that it gets lumped into a Porter Cable or Ryobi territory.

Competition is a good thing. I say go Hercules.

I’d argue it’s already lumped in with the Porter Cable/Ryobi/Craftsman market at least by perception. You can’t build an empire building cheap sometimes junky tools and then expect people to pay the same amount, or in some cases more than their more established competitors. Certainly not one with less warranty. Harbor Freight was built on home gamers and good enough. Occasionally you’d find gems like the Earthquake, the DA polisher, or the US Generals, but you’d also plenty of utter garbage. Those fake HF ads were out there for a reason.

I like Genesis cars, but I’m not paying the same or more for it vs a Lexus.

 

[Ohmthis]

Vacuum is battery powered. You can see a battery plugged into the front facing the left.

 

[sberry]

They don't and wont need to get all the sales. As for other brands, I just bought a Porter Cable drill at Walmart. 50$ and is more powerful than the Makita I paid 150 for in 92. Only downside in comparison is todays premium tools have a gage on the battery.
I tried it on a big bit, dam near rip it right out of my hands.

 

[sberry]

some of the margins on cheaper stuff is huge. TSC had a Farmhand welder the bean counters loved due to the margins, they made about the same juice on a 169$ welder as they did on a 500$ Hobart. The problem was it was 5% of the sales and 95% of the problems and no one bought any accys or any more supplies for it.
They should have let Walmart sell it and said,,,, you cant buy a junk welder here.

 

[DFB]

They don't and wont need to get all the sales. As for other brands, I just bought a Porter Cable drill at Walmart. 50$ and is more powerful than the Makita I paid 150 for in 92. Only downside in comparison is todays premium tools have a gage on the battery.
I tried it on a big bit, dam near rip it right out of my hands.

Dude a 92 cordless drill...really?

That is a big step up

Motorcycles even still had carburetors then

 

[ChrisLS8]

I like Genesis cars, but I’m not paying the same or more for it vs a Lexus.

Even if though similarly priced it looked better, had a better warranty, drove nicer, had more features etc?

This type of comparison doesn't work well imo cause it shows the bias of consumers for brand names and not looking at the performance or substance of a new player. For example I've never found anything special about Lexus, their ES is LITERALLY a fancy Camry and has been for decades but no one bats an eye

 

[kctyphoon]

Vacuum is battery powered. You can see a battery plugged into the front facing the left.

Look again.

__________________________________________________________________________

The way I see it, The sale prices for the big names are irrelevant. You can't just walk into the store any day of the week and pick them up at those prices. Hf also offers brand specific coupons if you wanna look or wait around for them too. Let's be honest - it's a pretty unfair claim to find the lowest possible sale or promo you can find that you had to hunt down and wait for, likely order online during limited sales and promos on a bigger more popular brand - and then use that to compare the everyday price on a herc tool you can walk into the store everyday and buy.

Like I said before - the lack of.kits is what hurts the initial purchase, and they are rumored to be coming. Once you pay the price of admission the story changes.

________________________________________________

Everybody knocked HF for selling cheap.tools and said they should have better quality. They did that. You can't then expect to be paying the same prices or complain about 'margins'.. what do you think the margins are on every big named brand?

 

[DFB]

Prices on Herc (along with most everything at HF are steadily going up)

I'll be quite surprised if they KIT up a saw package recip or circ /5.0 battery/charger/case there be any advantage bet it will be close to $200

Will be waiting on those prices

 

[Robby321]

Get a grip here will ya? All this stuff is like car battery's! Simple made by one or couple more then sold with "slapping there label on". China is China....and owns us. At least its getting better.

 

[Yarpo]

Same thing with the warranty. Given the CHOICE at the register to give up an extended warranty to save a few $$, LOTS of people would do it. I said it before in another post - if Dewalt came up with a sale where you could save $10 off every $100 spent at the register to give up the 3yr warranty for a 90 day - people would JUMP on that, and PRAISE Dewalt for saving them money.

Competition is a good thing. I say go Hercules.

I dont think so, on a 150 dollar tool nobody cares about 10 dollars....do they? Given how many of the tool folk online react to warranties I'd say you're way off. People would probably offer to pay MORE for an equal tool with warranty. Hell, there's people buying LESSER tools simply because of the warranties.

Competition is a good thing I suppose, yeah. Sad to see people buy **** with a terrible warranty that's inferior simply because its marketed well tho.

It is interesting that HF finally realized that they could move the quality bar up a couple of notices, invent a brand name and charge the same as other truly professional grade, known name brand tools !

I'll bet the profit margins are HUGE on those items !

Indeed, kind of sad to be honest.

 

[JRC3]

You know the funny thing about the short Harbor Freight power tool warranties though is it seems to be more a GJ problem than with those people that are actually buying them.

I read a lot of the reviews people often say stuff like..."I like it so much if it dies I'll just buy another"

It's crazy, aint it?

The warranty projects confidence in the tool. It's also a nice contingency for the odd chance the tool fails. Nobody wants to think of having to pay money for the possibility of only getting 90 days of use from a tool. It's pathetic and I can't understand why anyone would consider it remotely acceptable.

It's like Chevrolet giving a 60,000-Mile/5-year Powertrain Warranty. Would you pay 20% less for a Kia to get a 5,000/5-month warranty. The math works out the same as comparing 3 year/90 day warranties. Would you have any faith in a car manufacture who offered that sort of warranty? No, no one would.

Instead though, Kia offers a 10/100,000 mile warranty to give you confidence and to reassure that their product is as good as the other better known guys.

 

[Parrothead]

Even if though similarly priced it looked better, had a better warranty, drove nicer, had more features etc?

This type of comparison doesn't work well imo cause it shows the bias of consumers for brand names and not looking at the performance or substance of a new player. For example I've never found anything special about Lexus, their ES is LITERALLY a fancy Camry and has been for decades but no one bats an eye

Yes, I’d buy the Lexus vs the Genesis if it’s close. Lexus has a phenomenal track record of quality cars and you can knowingly put 300k on if you do basic maintenance. When I buy cars, I buy the machine first, then features, looks, etc.

I’ll take the track record of DeWalt/Makita/Milwaukee vs Harbor Freight any day. They’re a new player in the quality power tools market. In my opinion they need to do something compelling to sway customers from a known quantity. To go even further, they had a notorious reputation for less than stellar power tools in the past.

*The Lexus ES is indeed based off the Camry, but it’s got better materials, features, sound deadening and most importantly a V6. Yes you can get one in a Camry, but then you get close to Lexus prices.

 

[ChrisLS8]

I dont think so, on a 150 dollar tool nobody cares about 10 dollars....do they? Given how many of the tool folk online react to warranties I'd say you're way off. People would probably offer to pay MORE for an equal tool with warranty. Hell, there's people buying LESSER tools simply because of the warranties.

Competition is a good thing I suppose, yeah. Sad to see people buy **** with a terrible warranty that's inferior simply because its marketed well tho.



Indeed, kind of sad to be honest.

you shouldn't forget that a lot of people on here this particular for him will spend weeks or days or months just to save a couple bucks on a tool.

 

[JRC3]

In my opinion they need to do something compelling to sway customers from a known quantity. To go even further, they had a notorious reputation for less than stellar power tools in the past.

Exactly. Giving at least the industry (3 years) standard would be a good start. 90 days has never been any standard, except for HF and all cheap ****. Heck, 1 year should be the absolute rock bottom if they want to be taken seriously. I think 1 year is also acceptable.

 

[dogdog]

well i just came back from HF, left empty handed... it is because nothing I needed, so to say I was windows shopping... but their price point is right though. Will get the Hercules or Milwaukee once my Craftsman cordless dies off... hopefully by then, the product line will have some decent "real" reviews and not some knuckle head gorilla faking them... and bunch of zombie followers chanting on that fake reviews.

 

[ChrisLS8]

Yes, I’d buy the Lexus vs the Genesis if it’s close. Lexus has a phenomenal track record of quality cars and you can knowingly put 300k on if you do basic maintenance. When I buy cars, I buy the machine first, then features, looks, etc.

I’ll take the track record of DeWalt/Makita/Milwaukee vs Harbor Freight any day. They’re a new player in the quality power tools market. In my opinion they need to do something compelling to sway customers from a known quantity. To go even further, they had a notorious reputation for less than stellar power tools in the past.

*The Lexus ES is indeed based off the Camry, but it’s got better materials, features, sound deadening and most importantly a V6. Yes you can get one in a Camry, but then you get close to Lexus prices.

I remember reading about how everyone scoffed at Lexus when they emerged into the luxury lineup much like you are at Genesis. Ironic considering Motortrend did a flagship luxury car comparison with the LS500, Continental, 740 and G90 and guess who came in first by a fair margin?

 

[m6z]

Do the 20% off coupons work on their battery powered tools?

Edit:. Looks like that's a no.

Still, $69 seems like a good price for this impact driver.

https://www.harborfreight.com/20V-Hypermax-Lithium-14-in-Hex-Compact-Impact-Driver-Kit-63528.html



Sent from my Pixel 4 XL using The Garage Journal mobile app

 

[DFB]

I’ll take the track record of DeWalt/Makita/Milwaukee vs Harbor Freight any day. They’re a new player in the quality power tools market. In my opinion they need to do something compelling to sway customers from a known quantity. To go even further, they had a notorious reputation for less than stellar power tools in the past.

That's it in a nutshell and only time will tell give 5-10 years or so down the road whether Hercules line survives, stays supported etc.

Not hard for them to get something halfway decent looking at a good price from suppliers today. AND the similarities between certain tools across some manufacturer's lines is really unbelievable lately.

Everybody seems to be jumping in the game with their own brand name besides the 2 new lines at HF, Hart/Walmart, Craftsman back with updated tools and of course now Skil and there's even stuff like found on Amazon, (The 12volt Milwaukee ratchet clone is a big one)

Of course experiences in manufacturing say even though several products may look the same...the quality of internal components and production assembly standards is all in what you pay for.

You know what all this reminds me of is the compact tractor market in the 90's different tractor companies were everywhere besides the general big 3 NH, Deere and Kubota, the Kiotis, Yanmar came back, Mahindra, Challenger, LS Montana, Branson, Century, Agco, Case, MF, Bobcat, and certain offerings were just pretty much rebadges (same horse different color is all) Might have been some other too I'm forgetting that come and gone

Like time will tell just like the tractors see what survives the best

 

[kctyphoon]

Do the 20% off coupons work on their battery powered tools?

Edit:. Looks like that's a no.

Still, $69 seems like a good price for this impact driver.

https://www.harborfreight.com/20V-Hypermax-Lithium-14-in-Hex-Compact-Impact-Driver-Kit-63528.html



Sent from my Pixel 4 XL using The Garage Journal mobile app

I’m not gonna look again to post other ones, (those are both old) but they come out with coupons for many of the tool brands restricted on the 20% coupons.. they just aren’t plastered everywhere like the 20% everyone knows about. If people are “willing” to wait for sales to justify buying other brands - then that logic should hold true for HF also.

 

[kctyphoon]

I dont think so, on a 150 dollar tool nobody cares about 10 dollars....do they? Given how many of the tool folk online react to warranties I'd say you're way off. People would probably offer to pay MORE for an equal tool with warranty. Hell, there's people buying LESSER tools simply because of the warranties.

Competition is a good thing I suppose, yeah. Sad to see people buy **** with a terrible warranty that's inferior simply because its marketed well tho.

Indeed, kind of sad to be honest.

EVERY tool that leaves Home Depot, when you get to the register you are given the option to BUY two more years of warranty coverage, on top of the manufacturer warranty, at a minimal cost to you.

How many have YOU bought??

 

[ouimetnick]

I think that Hercules products should come with a 1 year warranty standard with the option to get an extended plan. Someone else where made a compelling argument with that Hercules saw that has a 1 year warranty vs DeWalt. You have to pay to send the DeWalt back or transport it to a service center vs the Hercules you bring to Harbor Fright and get it swapped out no hassle.

 

[dogdog]

That's it in a nutshell and only time will tell give 5-10 years or so down the road whether Hercules line survives, stays supported etc.
...............

LMFAO.. this guy have answered your question...

 

[DFB]

The Bears a total HF schill more than KC is right now


The only real reason they held on to NiCad for so long was the tools were so cheap after LI ON tech took over.

Now older LI ON tech is cheaper IMO that's where their at now

Bottom line market is going to be flooded with cheap options

Personally don't really give two shits about the styling platform change

FYI I have nothing against HF

 

[DFB]

After watching that video all the way through I have say Eric Smidt he's not going to lose out, there are enough people in world to support his sales program.

And the same with Walmart both financially stable enough to keep supporting their lines even if sales aren't meeting certain expectations especially thru initial stages to build a solid customer support base even if the profit isn't quite there/

The business I work for is no different there is another major greenhouse nearby huge fan base, quality products, good reputation but you pay dearly for it its super expensive. Can't rightly say we are the HF of the industry but more likely a RYOBI aimed at the masses with a decent product, good value, solid customer base etc.

And were not going anywhere anytime soon. We get a lot of customers

 

[DFB]

I’m not gonna look again to post other ones, (those are both old) but they come out with coupons for many of the tool brands restricted on the 20% coupons.. they just aren’t plastered everywhere like the 20% everyone knows about. If people are “willing” to wait for sales to justify buying other brands - then that logic should hold true for HF also.

That top one is funny there ARE NO KITS available

To your benefit there is a coupon in the new catalog for $5.00 off the Herc bare tool impact driver makes it $44.99 instead of $49.99

We give coupons at work too, usually after someone spends a $100 or more they might recieve a $10 coupon off their NEXT purchase of $100

 

[JRC3]

Can't rightly say we are the HF of the industry but more likely a RYOBI aimed at the masses with a decent product, good value, solid customer base etc.

So I'm guessing you probably have good customer support like ryobi. You say "greenhouse," do you sell plants, flowers, shrubs or trees or something? Do you have a guarantee on your products? If so, what is it? How does it compare to others in your industry?

 

[theoldwizard1]

Regarding the original HF power tools.

Doug over at SV Seeker (building a 70+' steel sail boat in his back yard) went through a dozen or more HF 4.5" Drill Master/Chicago Electric angle grinders. He purchased the "extended warranty" but I don't think he ever had one live longer than about 1 month !

He switched to corded DeWalt.

He also burned up several power pipe threaders. Crappy dies did not help. The man is hard on tools, but the quality ones survive !

 

[Yarpo]

EVERY tool that leaves Home Depot, when you get to the register you are given the option to BUY two more years of warranty coverage, on top of the manufacturer warranty, at a minimal cost to you.

How many have YOU bought??

None, but I dont worry about tool warranties like the tool warranty fetishts do, and my cordless tools have a 5 year warranty already anyways

 

[Parrothead]

I remember reading about how everyone scoffed at Lexus when they emerged into the luxury lineup much like you are at Genesis. Ironic considering Motortrend did a flagship luxury car comparison with the LS500, Continental, 740 and G90 and guess who came in first by a fair margin?

That’s absolutely true, there was skepticism towards Lexus, and Acura before that. However both Honda and Toyota had already proved their ability to make very good cars, unlike Harbor Freight power tools.

I like Hyundai in general but we’re just now getting to the point where I trust them. The Delta and Lambda engines have been decent if unspectacular. I’m sure the Genesis is a very good vehicle and it will continue to offer a very good warranty to go with it. Both Hyundai and Genesis decided to turn the page on their junk vehicles of the past and in the process offered a better value in both price and warranty to build brand loyalty and repore. How many others offer a 10 year 100k warranty? They were also the cheapest option with the most features when they transitioned.

Harbor Freight has a track record of making money, I won’t bet against them, however it doesn’t mean they’re beyond reproach or that there could be a better way.

 

[DFB]

So I'm guessing you probably have good customer support like ryobi. You say "greenhouse," do you sell plants, flowers, shrubs or trees or something? Do you have a guarantee on your products? If so, what is it? How does it compare to others in your industry?

Oh ya we've do all the above mostly all summer annual, garden plants, veg and herb and an extensive line of perennial we don't ball and burlap nothing really woody no trees just up like 5 gal potted


So to try to relate on topic most of our plants don't really have an actual warranty as most are just seasonal products but we do treat customers well.

Of course good advice is always free, and at my market that I'm fully in charge of going on 10 years now, my sales growth is phenomenal. I do personally treat my customers right if there's a problem and they get compensated in some form a replacement plant or credit.

In general problems are few and far between because the product is normally strong and healthy and most people do feel they get there's money worth so they are happy. Really all I can say but they do know we are there for them.

Hard to relate plants except possibly for perennial stock to other types of tangible hard goods like tools but IMO tools like some other stuff in general theoretically will have a limited life span no matter what but one thing we don't do is misrepresent the product to consumers.

Many times I have people put their selection back because I explained to them it wasn't what they thought they were getting. Like you don't know how many times people think many of the items we carry are perennial rather than an annual. I rather have it that way... lose the immediate sale than to have a dissatisfied customer (and especially one who maybe thought they got cheated) and build their trust instead. They usually will buy something.

I forget the exact numbers they sometimes relate to having a dissatisfied customer but one complains to 10, 10 share that to 10 more each, it grows exponentially!


But again as the old lady that owns business also says...

"There's a fool for every stool"

Bet Eric agree with that

 

[DFB]

EVERY tool that leaves Home Depot, when you get to the register you are given the option to BUY two more years of warranty coverage, on top of the manufacturer warranty, at a minimal cost to you.

Not directly related home depot in particular but those extended warranties aren't always what their cracked up to be...got to read the fine print


I had something like that with computer policy once

"ON TOP OF" didn't get me two extra years beyond the manufacture 1 year it was basically only one more year as the first ran simultaneously with the sale