The first time that I ever went to Harbor Freight tools was about three years ago. Back then, I was working for a heating and cooling company that was not very honest. I went to the Harbor Freight tool Co. to buy all my own equipment. The way the company worked was that we had to buy our own gear, come in for training unpaid on the weekends, and start trying to sell heating and cooling equipment almost immediately.
Back then, I really appreciated the Harbor Freight tool store. I was pretty broke, so I couldn't take advantage of the Harbor Freight and tool prices for anything but the essentials, but they were pretty out of this world. As an electronic hobbyists, it was a real joy to see multimeters on sale for only a few bucks. The stuff that I did buy cost me less than it would have if I had gone to Home Depot or some other big supply chain. Although Harbor Freight and Tool wasn't as big as many other stores, it was excellent for what it was made for buying hand tools.
I actually went back to Harbor Freight Tools just the other day. I was looking for some supplies that I needed for current projects. I had pretty mixed success there. I got excellent drill bits, and a little helping hands tool for only about three dollars. I also got a cute little radio control car to use for fun. That cost me all of three bucks quite a deal. I was a little bit disappointed because I couldn't find everything that I needed there. You can't buy electric components at Harbor Freight Tools. They don't stock resistors, diodes, transistors, and stuff like that. They are for larger scale projects. For that stuff, you need to order through a catalog or go to RadioShack.
Still, it was surprising that I could find everything I did in one store that wasn't any bigger than your typical mom-and-pop hardware shop. I know that it is a chain, but Harbor Freight Tools still had a pretty friendly atmosphere. The girl at the register joked around with me when she saw that it was buying radio controlled cars, and everyone was friendly there when I asked for advice about what to buy. Sometimes, at hardware stores they don't take you seriously if you don't know what you are looking for. That really wasn't the case in this store. Everyone seemed pretty eager to help.
9:48 AM