Insider info on a HF toolbox for those in the market
08-04-2009, 02:28 PM
#1
Insider info on a HF toolbox for those in the market For starters, I'm a manager for Harbor Freight Tools. I've been meaning to tell everyone here about a tool box that HF sells, but never got around to asking the mods if it would be cool, until a few days ago. So here goes:
HF sells some cool/interesting stuff, but nothing there has jumped out to me as being a serious bargain and worthy of me telling people while im away from work as much as the 90320 tool box. Legend has it that a Snapon employee came to work for HF, and then HF was able to purchase the plans to a discontinued tool box of theirs. They then sent the plans to China and said "make it." I think you'll be hard pressed to find a tool box of this quality for less than HF sells them for... especially on sale.
I had one of these tool boxes as a store use piece, and we had probably 1500 lbs of tools in it. The drawers opened and closed like a dream, even with that kind of weight in it. Customers that owned snapon tool boxes commented on its similarity to the one that they spent $4000 on.
So, if any of you are in the market for a big tool box, want to get outstanding quality, but don't want to have any money in it, then I'd seriously look into this one. I'm not one to go home and start selling stuff for HF on my own time, but this is a genuine sweet deal that hardly anyone knows about and I just thought that yall could maybe benefit from my insider info.
Here's a link to what I'm talking about:
http://www.harborfreightusa.com/usa/...o?itemid=90320
I'm all about some craftsman tools, have lots of their stuff, and would like a bigger craftsman box. But when it all boils down to it you could purchase a set of ported heads with the savings between a name brand box and the us general. And thats what its all about
I encourage customers to lean really hard on the drawers. They're ball bearing and serious quality. They come in a crate, fully assembled, and offer room to grow with optional hang-on side cabinets and a top cabinet. The one I had was just the bottom and one side cabinet. It was almost like having a work bench. It comes in black too, but only special order.
If anyone has a questions, PM me.
HF sells some cool/interesting stuff, but nothing there has jumped out to me as being a serious bargain and worthy of me telling people while im away from work as much as the 90320 tool box. Legend has it that a Snapon employee came to work for HF, and then HF was able to purchase the plans to a discontinued tool box of theirs. They then sent the plans to China and said "make it." I think you'll be hard pressed to find a tool box of this quality for less than HF sells them for... especially on sale.
I had one of these tool boxes as a store use piece, and we had probably 1500 lbs of tools in it. The drawers opened and closed like a dream, even with that kind of weight in it. Customers that owned snapon tool boxes commented on its similarity to the one that they spent $4000 on.
So, if any of you are in the market for a big tool box, want to get outstanding quality, but don't want to have any money in it, then I'd seriously look into this one. I'm not one to go home and start selling stuff for HF on my own time, but this is a genuine sweet deal that hardly anyone knows about and I just thought that yall could maybe benefit from my insider info.
Here's a link to what I'm talking about:
http://www.harborfreightusa.com/usa/...o?itemid=90320
I'm all about some craftsman tools, have lots of their stuff, and would like a bigger craftsman box. But when it all boils down to it you could purchase a set of ported heads with the savings between a name brand box and the us general. And thats what its all about
I encourage customers to lean really hard on the drawers. They're ball bearing and serious quality. They come in a crate, fully assembled, and offer room to grow with optional hang-on side cabinets and a top cabinet. The one I had was just the bottom and one side cabinet. It was almost like having a work bench. It comes in black too, but only special order.
If anyone has a questions, PM me.
Last edited by KurtRardin; 08-05-2009 at 09:32 AM.
08-05-2009, 08:51 PM
#5
Guys, its a beast tool box. If the 
name gets to you, then just pry it off. I'm not trying to sell tool boxes for HF either, lol. Its pretty much the only bad *** thing that I've discovered within the company that can save some of my buds some serious cash. If I had to spend $4000 on a tool box, then it better have a freakin 100mm turbo, viper output shaft, dry sump oil system, and a 9" rear end on it.
Yes, the price is incredible. I wasnt going to drop that bomb, mainly because I didn't want to apear like I was undercutting a sponsor or trying to advertise for free. But, like I said, I just wanted to let everyone know about a bad *** tool box that's only a few hundred bucks... and literally unchanged from the days of Snapon.
Remember this about things made in China:
China makes things for the U.S. as well as the U.S. retailer tells them to make it. If you are talking smack about something because it was made in China, its because someone in the U.S. told them to make it as cheap as they could. The final product is uaually a piece of crap with slag, seams, simplified plastic design, and pot metal. This tool box is proof that they can make a true quality product.
The black tool box looks bad ***. These things are a crinkle coat, or not glossy. Looks good IMO. I've been looking at craftsman boxes lately in the catalog, and decent size boxes with the worthless "quiet glide" drawer is still hundreds more than this box... and not even close to its size. You really cant go wrong with it... as long as you don't let brand loyalty get in the way.
I will say this too: If you want to go to HF to get a quality tool box, then the one I'm talking about is the only one I'd look at, unless you're interested in the really big one that has the picture of the dude standing beside it on the web page. The others are...
a $199 tool box... but no worse than a regular non ball bearing craftsman 
PM me for questions.
name gets to you, then just pry it off. I'm not trying to sell tool boxes for HF either, lol. Its pretty much the only bad *** thing that I've discovered within the company that can save some of my buds some serious cash. If I had to spend $4000 on a tool box, then it better have a freakin 100mm turbo, viper output shaft, dry sump oil system, and a 9" rear end on it. Yes, the price is incredible. I wasnt going to drop that bomb, mainly because I didn't want to apear like I was undercutting a sponsor or trying to advertise for free. But, like I said, I just wanted to let everyone know about a bad *** tool box that's only a few hundred bucks... and literally unchanged from the days of Snapon.
Remember this about things made in China:
China makes things for the U.S. as well as the U.S. retailer tells them to make it. If you are talking smack about something because it was made in China, its because someone in the U.S. told them to make it as cheap as they could. The final product is uaually a piece of crap with slag, seams, simplified plastic design, and pot metal. This tool box is proof that they can make a true quality product.
The black tool box looks bad ***. These things are a crinkle coat, or not glossy. Looks good IMO. I've been looking at craftsman boxes lately in the catalog, and decent size boxes with the worthless "quiet glide" drawer is still hundreds more than this box... and not even close to its size. You really cant go wrong with it... as long as you don't let brand loyalty get in the way.
I will say this too: If you want to go to HF to get a quality tool box, then the one I'm talking about is the only one I'd look at, unless you're interested in the really big one that has the picture of the dude standing beside it on the web page. The others are...
a $199 tool box... but no worse than a regular non ball bearing craftsman PM me for questions.
08-05-2009, 10:32 PM
#6
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So they do carry it on black? what about stainless? any price difference? Can someone scan and post the coupon or email it to me artls1@comcast.net
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08-06-2009, 07:55 PM
#9
that still is a great deal... I have eyeballed it, I woudl defintely pick that up if I was to upgrade.
Even double so because its offered in black, I kind of didnt' like the faded red/orange look. But in person Its good quality, easily as good as my pricier but not top of the line ballbearing stuff from craftsman.
Even double so because its offered in black, I kind of didnt' like the faded red/orange look. But in person Its good quality, easily as good as my pricier but not top of the line ballbearing stuff from craftsman.
08-06-2009, 10:06 PM
#10
Right. If an entire tool box set went for $399 new then it would be a piece of crap, a big piece of crap. If just the bottom was $699 then I would still call it miles ahead of the non ballbearing craftsman boxes. If this box had a glossy paint job, then I think people would class it better than any store bought craftsman box. And for the record, I love my craftsman tool boxes and tools. The 90320 is simply a better deal. Of course, I have a hard time justifying $4000 for a cabinet.
08-07-2009, 09:31 AM
#12
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Z06PSI,
Scan and send me a copy of that 20% coupon so I can go tonight and pick up that tool box!!!
Art
artls1@concast.net
Scan and send me a copy of that 20% coupon so I can go tonight and pick up that tool box!!!
Art
artls1@concast.net
08-07-2009, 01:52 PM
#15
20% off
http://www.harborfreightusa.com/usa/...9&keycode=0000
I did check out the box today and it looks like a good deal. You can tell it sure isn`t a snap on box, but for the money it feels pretty nice. Definitely felt a lot sturdier than the storehouse box next to it....that thing felt like a cheap toy.
http://www.harborfreightusa.com/usa/...9&keycode=0000
I did check out the box today and it looks like a good deal. You can tell it sure isn`t a snap on box, but for the money it feels pretty nice. Definitely felt a lot sturdier than the storehouse box next to it....that thing felt like a cheap toy.
08-07-2009, 02:18 PM
#16
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i may go to our store this weekend to see if they have it damn 20 percent off of 399 is like 80 dollars so i could pick this up for 320 plus tax not bad if this is a nice box. i may have to sale my ball-bearing craftsman box to get this monster.
08-07-2009, 03:40 PM
#17
I'm sure snapon went the extra mile and used superior metals. But, the design is Snapon... from when? I'm not sure. HF has been selling this cabinet for a long time, and when they got the plans they were probably pretty old (seeing as how they were discontinued). I'm not sure in what decade snapon was manufacturing this cabinet, probably a long time ago.
Either way, if you were to have the two side by side, what would the differences be worth? $3000? mmm... not since all I do with tool cabinets is keep tools in them. I supose if the real deal were to clean, polish, lubricate, and sharpen the tools it contained, then there would be a substantial difference in features worthy of that extra. But, I'm no pro, so I would rather have my money in extra car parts Don't get me wrong, it will never be as good as the real snapon. I just don't have a need for a $4000 box. The HF box doesnt accumulate the amount of 
that the snapon does, that's for sure!
When I get a garage of my own I'm almost positive that a US General cabinet (most likely just the bottom and a side) will be housing my tools!
Thanks for posting the coupon!
Either way, if you were to have the two side by side, what would the differences be worth? $3000? mmm... not since all I do with tool cabinets is keep tools in them. I supose if the real deal were to clean, polish, lubricate, and sharpen the tools it contained, then there would be a substantial difference in features worthy of that extra. But, I'm no pro, so I would rather have my money in extra car parts
Don't get me wrong, it will never be as good as the real snapon. I just don't have a need for a $4000 box. The HF box doesnt accumulate the amount of that the snapon does, that's for sure!When I get a garage of my own I'm almost positive that a US General cabinet (most likely just the bottom and a side) will be housing my tools!
Thanks for posting the coupon!
08-08-2009, 09:23 AM
#18
No problem, I always like the 20% off coupons
.
I`m not saying its a bad box, I may even buy one (The garage is a bit crowded though and I`m not sure where I would fit it.) It was a little better quality than I expected, but still not as thick/strong as a snap on. Then again I could not see spending the $$$ for a snap on box either. But I do have to say, nothing is built like a snap on. My dad inherited one, and I have actually stood on the open drawers (the new garage has a 12' ceiling so to get to the shelf over the toolbox I open a drawer and walk up it and onto the top of the box). The snap on doesn`t even flex, but I probably wouldn`t want to walk up the drawer of the us general box. That snap on is stupid heavy though, two people struggled to load it into the truck when we were moving, and that was after we had taken all the drawers out.
. I`m not saying its a bad box, I may even buy one (The garage is a bit crowded though and I`m not sure where I would fit it.) It was a little better quality than I expected, but still not as thick/strong as a snap on. Then again I could not see spending the $$$ for a snap on box either. But I do have to say, nothing is built like a snap on. My dad inherited one, and I have actually stood on the open drawers (the new garage has a 12' ceiling so to get to the shelf over the toolbox I open a drawer and walk up it and onto the top of the box). The snap on doesn`t even flex, but I probably wouldn`t want to walk up the drawer of the us general box. That snap on is stupid heavy though, two people struggled to load it into the truck when we were moving, and that was after we had taken all the drawers out.
