[grouch]

On 9/28/2005 I placed an order online at Harbor Freight's website. I got worried by 10/06 when their order status checking thing still showed no record of the order, so I emailed their customer service. 36 hours later I got a reply telling me my order shipped on 9/30, but with one backordered part shipped on 10/05. It also said, "Please allow 10 to 14 business days for delivery from the ship date: (Business days are Monday - Friday; weekends excluded as well as Legal Holidays). " No tracking numbers were included. 3 days later, I got another email with tracking numbers. It also included this little gem, "It shipped via our truck to the ups hub. It takes 7-10 days for it to reach the ups hub." UPS reported they have the billing information but no packages.

I've never heard of any place taking "7-10 days" to deliver packages to UPS to be delivered. Harbor Freight is the slowest responding place I've ever tried to order from online.

For comparison: I placed an order with car-stuff.com early on 9/21, received confirmation 2 hours later and a tracking number 17 hours after that. The package arrived (UPS ground shipping) on 9/22. On 10/09 I placed an order with carjunky.com and received a tracking number just after midnight on 10/11.

Anybody else get caught on the Harbor Slow Freight? Are they waiting for that slow boat from China to dock before dealing with online orders? Is it typical for them to take 7-10 days to get packages to UPS?

[adtkart]

I ordered the Purple paint gun that is praised so highly on thie board from them a couple of months ago. It took 2 weeks to get it to me. I had problems with the gun, and had to ship it back. I got the puckup order from UPS in a couple of days. The gun was picked up and they recieved it the next day at about 10:30 according to UPS tracking. I have not heard or seen anythiing from them for about 2 weeks now. I even sent them an e-mail a couple of days ago checking on it, with no response yet. I'm not impressed with their service.

Aaron

[cboy]

In my limited experience HF is definitely slow...but I've never actually had a delivery failure. The stuff always seems to arrive. Just takes a long time. With such a big and well established operation you'd think they could have the same turn around times as all the other major catalog outfits.

[FrankR]

Originally Posted by adtkart

I ordered the Purple paint gun that is praised so highly on thie board from them a couple of months ago.
Aaron

Do you have a link to these threads? I bought one of these but didn't know people had talked about it on the board. Mine didn't come with any instructions so I don't know how to properly use some of these knobs.

[Fast Orange]

I've got the same problem with HF being sloooow-and basically the exact same story.The order status says shipped 10/3,it's now 10/11,and UPS only has billing info.I placed my order on 9/29.
Maybe they strap the packages on the backs of remote guided snails to get 'em to UPS? A 10 lb package via UPS std. ground only takes 5 days from Ca. to here in Joisey,so I guess I've got another week to wait-if the snail finds his way.

George

I just noticed in Grouch's post that thier truck goes to UPS hub?
Isn't thier hub in Atlanta ?

[adtkart]

I got a response from them on my gun. They also told me that they truck it to the UPS hub, and gave me a tracking number. They said it was shipped on 9/30. I checked the tracking number and it showed that it had been processed for billing, but they had not recieved it yet. I think they use covered wagon. It doesn't take 7 days to go across country! They told me to expect it about 10/20. Good thing I didn't need it in a hurry, as between the original order shipping and this one it will have been a month.

I just checked the tracking number with UPS. The package is scheduled to deliver tomorrow. It shows that it was recieved at UPS in NJ yesterday at 6:45 P.M. That is the "originating destination" for UPS. That makes sense. Ship it all the way across country to a UPS hub..

[grouch]

Originally Posted by cboy

In my limited experience HF is definitely slow...but I've never actually had a delivery failure. The stuff always seems to arrive. Just takes a long time. With such a big and well established operation you'd think they could have the same turn around times as all the other major catalog outfits.

Their estimate of 10-14 business days is not typical, but it's not outrageously slow. The outrageous part is that most of that delay is caused by Harbor Freight hauling packages to UPS to be delivered, if their explanation is true. That's a bit like house-cleaning before the maid you just hired gets there.

Even if HF gets some kind of reduction in shipping price by hauling things to the UPS hub, it's still false economy. It reminds me of a recent thread by 'machine shop tom' where he describes giving someone a price that included known good pistons and the customer instead goes out and buys unknowns from ebay. The final cost of the job was higher as a result of having to replace bad parts. Any savings HF gains by hauling packages to UPS has to be eaten up by the costs of that hauling and the overhead (maintenance and personnel) associated with it. I doubt very seriously that they are in a position to compete with UPS, DHL, FedEx or the USPS in parcel delivery. Any of those will pick up packages. If HF can beat the major delivery services' prices, why does HF use them at all?

BTW, that order with carjunky that I mentioned placing on 10/09 arrived yesterday, 10/11. UPS seems to be pretty efficient at moving packages around. Harbor Freight seems to be pretty clueless about getting packages out the door.

[grouch]

My order from Harbor Freight arrived today, 10/14. That's not an unreasonable shipping time (16 calendar days or 12 'business' days), so my gripes boil down to:

1. HF's "order status" still showed no record of the order over a week after it was placed.

2. HF customer service took 5 days to respond to a question about why there was no record of the order on their status page.

3. When HF customer service finally did respond, they said it shipped two days after I placed the order, but they still didn't provide a tracking number.

4. When HF customer service finally provided a tracking number, 12 days after the order was placed, UPS showed only billing information was received.

5. The incredibly goofy HF policy of shipping packages to a shipper for shipment, if believed, caused almost all of the delay. UPS tracking shows they received the packages on 10/12 in Georgia, so that means 14 days for HF to get their thumbs out of their collective butt and 2 days for UPS to deliver.

[Fast Orange]

My stuff showed up yesterday.The funny thing is that I checked UPS tracking the night before and it still showed only "billing info rec'd 10/3".
When someone figures this deal out,let the rest of us in on the deal.It sure doesn't make much sense to me.

George

[coldknock]

I'm happy that I have a HF store that I can walk in to. Sometimes it's not so good when i buy things that I don't really need.

Larry

[adtkart]

I have a HF store that is somewhat local. The problem is that they can only stock so much stuff. It is hard to go thru there and not buy stuff that you were not planning on. The place is layed out that way, as it is hard to find what you wanted in the first place. Sometimes you have to order things, then deal with their crappy way of shipping.

[S10Fan]

HF is one of many companies that use the "Drop Ship" method of getting goods to customers. These companies figure they save huge amounts by trucking goods across country to a UPS or FedEx facility. Example, shipping an item from California to Virginia would require them to pay "Zone 7 or 8" rates. If they fill a contracted truck with say 2000 to 3000 boxes, truck it across country, drop it at a UPS Hub, they now only pay "Zone 1 or 2" rates. Many of these companies would get huge discounts from UPS or FedEx if they shipped everything without using the "Drop Ship" method. HF probably waits until they have a trailer full of cross country items, calls a contractor and sends it on the way. That probably explains the "10-14 day" allowance for arrival.

Do this, the next time you order from HF note the shipping charges. Once the package arrives write down the weight and "from" address. Then go to UPS.com and get a shipping charges quote by entering the weight, origin zip code and destination zip code. Doing so will show you the published UPS rates for that shipment.

[matt167]

I don't order from HF, my grandfather had problems with HF on ordering things through the mail. I just go to the HF store in Albany, if they don't have an item that is listed on the site, they can get it for you.

[shoddy_f-body]

I learned a lesson about HF. DON'T accept their 'free shipping'. Thats what takes a year and a day. I always specify i want it 3 or 5 day UPS if i cant wait.It costs a couple more dollars but it ends the anxiety of running to the window whenever you think hear a truck for three weeks. On large items that are expensive to ship i order them well in advance and take the free shipping.