What's your opinion on Harbor Freight.
Quality, Customer service, Selection?

My experience is that most of the stuff is cheap Chinese, so stick with the name brands. A lot of times they don't have the stuff, and they don't backorder. They also take longer to arrive than just about any other company I have done business with. If there is something you really want at a good price, take a chance. But I've also found that the name brand stuff is usually not that great a price. Just my opinion.
Not a bad company, just not a great one.

The only thing I have ever bought from them is a motorcycle/atv lift.  The price was definitely right, as well as the quality, but I don't remember where it was made.  I think it will be a hit or miss ordeal.  Do your research on the specific items you are interested it, and then see what others have to say about those items.  You can find almost any kind of forum for whatever your current interests are.  Ask like minded individuals about the specific goods.    

Usually cheap imported stuff on the tools.  Watch the catalog closely.  Look out for the "factory refurbished" line.  Not that that is all that bad at times, but usually the price is not much less that new.  Also watch for items listed more than one time with different item numbers.  The items will be the same, but if you order by one number the price will be higher than if you would have ordered by the other number.  This same thing applies to items from one catalog to the next.  The item numbers change from catalog to catalog along with the price.  Other than that, not too bad to deal with.  Depending what you are looking for, you may also want to look at:
[url]http://www.northerntool.com/[/url]
You can get a free catalog from them too.

CHZ

I bought a few cheap garden tools and hammers and such.  They seem to always be out of stock on many things.  Now I try not to buy stuff made in China, so that leaves out most of what they carry.

I've worked for a construction company for the past 5 years and the majority of the tools we buy come from Grainger.  They're a great company to deal with, and they've got just about anything you want.  They've got a great website that you can check out and see what ya think.

www.grainger.com/Grainger/start.jsp


ques

you get what you pay for

Hey Pipefitter,
I saw your handle,I'm a fitter myself,(I'm at home recouping from a auto accident back in Dec.) Good to see there is more than one Fitter on this board!

I've found the big, ugly stuff to be OK.  If it's a precision tool or has to hold an edge, shop elsewhwere.

Norm

I am a home builder/contractor. Harbor tools is a running joke in the industry, I dont know how they stay in business. The quality of tools leaves the rest of your question null and void.
I got stung once and have heard horror stories as well as seeing their junk they peddle break on  the job.

Ken, I pretty much agree with all these guys that you get what you pay for.  I have found one exception to the rule though.  I use a lot of air tools and have found that Harbor's Central Professional series holds up quite well to heavy use.  They are a lot less than Chicago Pneumatic, Ingersoll Rand or Jet and can be replaced several times for the cost of the name brands.

If you want some toss around tools like
a large tap wrench or hammer Harbor Freight is ok.
For low cost tools I like to use Enco (they
are great now that MSC owns them). MSC Industrial is also a very good company
to deal with. They ship very fast and are
one of the largest (if not the largest) industrial supplier in the US.

I wouldnt buy a screwdriver from them.
I paid 40 bucks for a Snap On phillips screw driver. That was ten years ago. It`s tip is still like new and I have abused it at work. I`ve owned countless stanley`s, Kleins, etc... they all pale in comparison. I dont mind buying something that will last a long time. I hate to buy something again.