Anybody in the harbor freight inside track club?

Anybody in Harbor Freight's Inside Track Club? I'm finding Harbor Freight's regular and sale pricing not that impressive anymore. Can often buy the same things at Lowes or Home Depot for the same dollars or less. However it is a long drive anywhere from where I live now and if the first big box doesn't have what I am looking for it gets a lot longer in a hurry. What I am finding appealing is their flat rate shipping on some fairly large stuff. I bought the lightweight engine stand yesterday just as the base for a project. $6.99 shipping made the deal a lot sweeter.

I did a net search on the Inside Track Club and found some unhappy posts but all from 2012-2013. No positive posts though and the club is still active looks like. I have balked at buying the membership before but if it offers much at all it looks like it should pay for itself in two years. $45 for two years and a free gift card is a ten dollar rebate.

Thoughts either way?

Hu
 
Never could spend enough to make it make sense. Dropped it. YMMV, do the math.

P.s. Online, Lowes and Home Depot both allow you to see that the item is in stock and in which store before you head to the car ;'-)
 
I just renewed for two years. My son in law wanted a hose reel for Christmas and my Inside Track Club had expired months ago. The cashier pointed out the reel was on sale in the ITC flyer and the savings was just about the cost of the ITC renewal and associated bennies. I buy enough stuff from HF that it usually pays for itself. YMMV
 
Several years ago I spent two or three years in the inside club. At that time I was purchasing enough to make it pay. The last year I used it, it might have paid. I looked at what I had and what I was apt to be purchasing and I dropped out.

Also, at that time, I retired for the 5th time and would not be going past the store regularly. The sales do not normally get me because my average time to go the 12 miles to the store is 20 minutes and there is nothing else in that area that attracts me. I also like to come back home so that is another 20 minutes of my precious time.

So, if you purchase enough to warrant it, join the Inside Track group. If not, don't. They do put out a larger advertisement for Insiders. More things show up at lower prices. But I don't buy very often because something is on sale. I make a purchase when I want / need something.

Hu, I hope I have not confused you more. Pencil it out. If it is even close to looking like a good deal, try it once. I had to pay $29 per year when I belonged.

Enjoy,
JimB
 
Can often buy the same things at Lowes or Home Depot for the same dollars or less.

I sure can't find those kind of deals at Lowe's and HD.:eek: Recently I was in need of some various side cutters, pliers, etc. Price at Lowe's was $11.99 each. Virtually identical items I found at HF were $2.99. Not worth the trip from my home but we get up to the Springfield area fairly frequently so a stop at HF is often on the agenda.
 
I have quite a few HF tools and have been happy with them. I have also passed up quite a few HF tools and have been glad that I did not purchase them. In other words, there are some real bargains and there are some really crappy items. Look at the item and think. It is a great place for a bargain and a great place to purchase junk. Buyer beware.

I am glad that there are HF near me.

Enjoy,
JimB
 
I sure can't find those kind of deals at Lowe's and HD.:eek: Recently I was in need of some various side cutters, pliers, etc. Price at Lowe's was $11.99 each. Virtually identical items I found at HF were $2.99. Not worth the trip from my home but we get up to the Springfield area fairly frequently so a stop at HF is often on the agenda.


Frank,

There are bargains to be had at Harbor Freight but often as not when I need something at the time, not just something I want to get sometime, the price at Harbor Freight isn't any better, I have even bought the same ten to fifteen dollar item several dollars cheaper at the big box at standard price than Harbor Freight's standard price. It isn't the place I can automatically run to in order to buy something cheapest anymore. Harbor Freight is opening a new store every four days now. The cost of that empire building is starting to be reflected in their prices.

Things like the engine stand that I am repurposing, I don't know where to hunt a lightweight cheaply made one like that somewhere else. If I needed an automotive engine stand I would buy a quality one, to hang a chainsaw off of that may weigh twenty pounds wet, the lightweight and a bit flimsy Harbor Freight one on sale for $45 should fill the bill. Some of their stuff is too high at any price, some a bargain. They are moving more into some quality stuff and the prices reflect that sometimes. I hate the Forrest Gump references but the box of chocolates thing pretty well describes Harbor Freight items. If you haven't used that particular item or line from them before you don't know if it is good or junk. I have bought a dozen of the four and four and a half inch side grinders from them and had excellent luck with all of them. Bought four or five hand drills, one survives. One that died recently was only a couple years old and lightly used. That was one of their more expensive line 3/8" drills, I think it just outlived warranty. The first I bought died, they warrantied it, this is the replacement dead now.

Harbor Freight has it's place but it's place is shifting as the business itself shifts. Their tools were junk and junk priced. The tools are getting better, supposedly, and the prices aren't junk prices anymore either. Harbor Freight has moved mostly out of their original niche and will soon be out of it. That leaves an open door for somebody that wants to import bottom line junk from china.

Hu

PS: There may be times you too can take advantage of their standard $6.99 UPS flat rate ground shipping. I was surprised that something as big as even a very lightweight engine stand qualified.
 
Hu, I agree, one must know what you are buying. Some of their stuff is pretty El Junko. Much is very reasonably priced and same item as with a popular brand label. I occasionally buy things that may only be used once or about once a year. Pricing is often a matter of marketing, regardless of the kind of product. A couple of my happiest purchases have been my 3 hp., 220 V motor for my table saw and a link belt for same. Way-way under what others charge for (apparently) identical items and they perform beautifully.
 
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