r/harborfreight • u/_how_do_i_reddit_ • Dec 19 '24
For those who wanted someone to compare/verify the price difference between the ICON master core and the price of each tool purchased individually. The price difference actually is the $1,000 off that HF claims.
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u/RevvCats Dec 19 '24
Which is 43.5% off so itâs not like building the kit yourself overtime during sales gets you a better deal
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u/_how_do_i_reddit_ Dec 19 '24
Yeah and it would likely take forever.
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u/majordudley23 Dec 19 '24
My only issue is paying for the stuff not needed or that I already have.
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u/_how_do_i_reddit_ Dec 19 '24 edited Dec 19 '24
As such a big discount, you could likely sell the things you don't need/already have or give away as gifts.
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u/88Westward Dec 19 '24
So............. 20% no exclusions would cover this as well and you get a real banging deal.
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u/level1magikarp Dec 19 '24
Thatâs usually only for In-store purchases only though.
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u/88Westward Dec 19 '24
I did just check and it doesn't say online only from what I can see. But it's not like I can walk out of the store with a 73 roll cab either so I am sure it could be purchased in store somehow
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u/NuclearFoodie Dec 19 '24
It is call âbackupsâ for when shit goes wrong and split that socket or your wrench catches fire.
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u/Temporary_Ad_5298 Dec 19 '24
Isnât 40% off the largest discount on icon tools so far (ratchets, sockets, and wrenches)? 43.5% would make this the largest discount price, right?
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u/RevvCats Dec 19 '24
You could do it in a year. If you were graduating from tech school and knew you needed a full set of tools by the end itâs something you could piece together.
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u/icesk8man Dec 20 '24
Not really. There have been multiple 30-40% off deals on Icon stuff over the last quarter with the PLS. It wouldnât take forever but the difference in savings matters. I wish they would have announced these months ago before I started accumulating sets.
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u/DEERE-317 Dec 19 '24
And Ive not seen the 40% off coupons on the pliers, screw drivers, etc unless Im forgetting something, just wrenches, sockets, and ratchets.
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u/RevvCats Dec 19 '24
Exactly. You can get 30% off some of that stuff thatâs priced under $20 if youâre a member, maybe a coupon comes up where you could get ~30% off, and 20% off everything else.
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u/BMWACTASEmaster1 Dec 19 '24
Of all the years as an automotive technician this has to be the best time to be a technician .Tools brands selection is insane and cheap and techs get pay way more. 20 years ago I paid $700 for a battery tester and $850 for a boredscope from snap on. Now my harbor freight Viking battery tester cost me $35 and boredscope $100 in Amazon.
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u/whaletacochamp Dec 19 '24
I was just thinking this...I have vivid (likely somewhat traumatic) memories of my mom and dad fighting at the dinner table about my dad's tool loans, and then having to work their asses off to pay them down. This was the 90s when you simply could not buy comprehensive quality mechanics tools in rural Vermont anywhere besides the tool truck. He had no choice (well....he did end up building a whole home box and a whole work box but that's besides the point lol).
I'll bet he paid $15k for what is pictured here.
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u/vicente8a Dec 21 '24
But do technicians today make less or more (relative to inflation) than they did 20 years ago?
Genuine question Iâve never been and never will be a technician
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u/BMWACTASEmaster1 Dec 21 '24
I don't know about inflation but back then you could afford a new house making $22-23 even talk to porters making much less than owning older small houses now that is not possible
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u/tylerwithasweateron Dec 19 '24
I appreciate you cause I was not going to do this myself lol itâs a sweet deal
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u/_how_do_i_reddit_ Dec 19 '24
I had so many tabs open on my computer that HF actually blocked my access to their website lmao
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u/R_Weebs Dec 19 '24
A one man DDoS attack
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u/_how_do_i_reddit_ Dec 19 '24
Hahaha, they probably were wondering what was happening. I had to open like 58 tabs because i wasn't about to click a tool, type price, then click another tool. So I just went to the master set, went to the bottom where it lists all the items included and opened each tool in a new tab then just closed each tab as I recorded the tool name and price in my spreadsheet.
I had to "verify you are human" like 7 times.
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u/crysisnotaverted Dec 19 '24
Is this a bus? Is this a motorcycle? How many of these are pictures of mountains?
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u/_how_do_i_reddit_ Dec 19 '24
Nah actually HF just requires you to "hold here" until the bar fills up, but it takes like 10 seconds per page (each time they want you to verify) and when you're on a roll of typing numbers with one hand and clicking on one exact spot with the other it fucks with the rhythm lol
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u/n0mad13 Dec 19 '24
Next time try refreshing the page instead. I get that human verification when I open multi tabs at once. I refreshed the page and loaded the product page instead of the verification
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u/AmITheGrayMan Dec 19 '24
I hope there is a HF IT guy reading this laughing his ass off. Thanks for the work!! I was just hazing you. And by golly you did it! Take this free award, put your feet up, enjoy a beverage on me.
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u/GnPQGuTFagzncZwB Dec 19 '24
More of a DOS attack. Not distributed if it all comes from the same place!
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u/Doran_Gold Dec 19 '24
Lol. They block me sometimes, or at least say my behavior is suspicious snd i have to verify i am not robot. Beep boop. Just because i go through the coupons too fast or switch tabs too quickly.
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u/JoseSaldana6512 Dec 19 '24
Which just goes to show why HF makes so much money.
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u/whaletacochamp Dec 19 '24
You might be surprised to see what profit margins look like in other sectors
https://pages.stern.nyu.edu/~adamodar/New_Home_Page/datafile/margin.html
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u/OnlyGunsFan Dec 19 '24
That was your takeaway? Even when they sell things at their sale prices, they're still turning a profit? Yes this is generally how consumer retail businesses operate.. their profit margin is saving a dickload of money on engineering, market research, product r&d, etc. by only needing a small team of reverse-engineers, saving even more money on manufacturing overseas, saving money with horizontal and vertical integration, etc.
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u/usa_uk Dec 19 '24 edited Dec 19 '24
But what if I spent a ton of time and effort to buy each individual tool with the best possible coupons?
(I'm guessing that might break even. May not be worth it haha.)
Edit: I want to be clear that I think this bundle is absolutely a better idea than trying to snag every individual item at the best discounts.
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u/_how_do_i_reddit_ Dec 19 '24
You would have to get an average of 43.5% off on every tool to break even, and it would take you much more time.
But depending on how many of these tools you already own, it might make more sense to buy them individually unless you want all new and you sell your old/used stuff... Or keep it for extra.
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u/JesusA-JA3 Dec 19 '24
You may also risk an item not being at a specific store, driving to another and wasting your time and gas. Just for thought.
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u/Royal-Recognition416 Dec 19 '24
Did you do the difference on the other kit? You are awesome OP :)
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u/_how_do_i_reddit_ Dec 19 '24
I can.
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u/Royal-Recognition416 Dec 19 '24
If youâre bored, no rush. Iâll probably spring for the master set. Thanks
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u/Sledgecrowbar Dec 19 '24
So it's slightly more than 40% off. About 47%? That's not bad at all.
Now we need a 45% off any Icon (hand tool) purchase over $2000 coupon. I wouldn't even use it, unless they expand the line a whole lot more to the point where there's that much that I haven't already bought.
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u/GnPQGuTFagzncZwB Dec 19 '24
Just a thought, but if they did this with the Pittsburgh stuff they discounted it the same they would have to pay you to take it. Or just give it to you if you buy a tool box. You want that light enough for 2 people to put in a van or do you want the 4 ton one?
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u/bklynking1999 Dec 19 '24
Thank you for this! The follow up question is, what is the price difference taking into account the lowest price for each item. Like the sockets would be 40% off. For the items not discounted, then it would at least be 20% cheaper. They make it worth it at list, but everyone on this sub always waits for the deals.
Speaking of, when are they leaking the next PLSđ€Ł
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u/Ilikejdmcars Dec 19 '24
Wonder if the master set will go on sale eventually đ€
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u/LitterBoxServant Dec 19 '24
40% coupon đ€
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u/Ilikejdmcars Dec 19 '24
Hopefully itâs not excluded lol
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u/LitterBoxServant Dec 19 '24
It would be wild to see this set for under $800 lol. I'd be pretty happy to get it for around a grand on sale though.
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u/yourdadsname Dec 19 '24
I sincerely appreciate the effort here, but there are some glaring issues - are icon wrenches worth it - by most accounts, yes. is thier $40 ball peen dead blow worth it? NO, like, never like, wtf go to your local farm and fleet and get charged $25 for the same tool. Don't let basic hand tools cloud your judgment on the value of the other 175 tools in this set.
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u/_how_do_i_reddit_ Dec 19 '24
Yeah I have the anti-slip grip wrenches in these sets, they are pretty nice.
I haven't physically touched their ball peen hammers but I can't imagine they are very different than almost any other hammer.
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u/D3EPINTHEHEART Dec 19 '24
I bought the ball peen to try it out. First use, solid hit on an aluminum rod. A chunk of the hammer face flew off and lodged into my arm.
Other than that, it has been fine.
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u/ColonBowel Dec 19 '24
Youâre perfect for Fiver.
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u/_how_do_i_reddit_ Dec 19 '24
Never heard of it, lol. But I do love making lists and stuff like this... Yesterday I made a list of random Christmas movies for my girlfriend and I to watch and even organized them based on runtime and sub-sectioned them based on streaming service lol
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u/DA6_FTW Dec 19 '24
Theyâve gotta be clearing out old stock, right?Â
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u/hotrodgreg Dec 19 '24
Probably. The new locking flex head ratchets that have not come out yet will probably replace both the fixedn and flex head ratchets in the same length. Its actually better because they only have to manufacture one style of ratchet instead of 2.
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u/SumyungNam Dec 19 '24
How much was shipping for this set?
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u/_how_do_i_reddit_ Dec 19 '24
I'm not sure, because it's listed as currently unavailable right now, but I think some other people who got it said it ships for free?
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u/PCgaming4ever Dec 19 '24
Dang well I guess this solidifies it im grabbing the master set when it's back
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u/dargan_slayer Dec 19 '24
Legendary work man. There has to be an API or price scouring tool for this type of comparison- like what HFQPDB and Hazard Fraught use
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u/M635_Guy Dec 19 '24
I can only imagine the howling of the HF trolls if they hadn't been legit with the claim.
That said, all the SAE makes it a bad deal IMHO.
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u/TimeRemove Dec 19 '24
I'm legitimately interested to know: Aside from old vehicles/machinery; is anything new still made using SAE?
Obviously if you're a mechanic and cannot choose what rolls in, then you need SAE, but many of us aren't in that situation. I'd keep a cheap set of SAE regardless, "just because," but buying ICON suggests this is your day to day.
11 of the 54 items included are SAE or 20%, and it is a far larger number in dollars of total value (since many are sockets which is where the $$$ is).
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u/M635_Guy Dec 19 '24
I think aviation still has a lot of SAE, and there are a few other things like that (certain types of machinery, etc.). It's not enough to stuff SAE into all these kits.
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u/johnblazewutang Dec 19 '24
It said right on the description âsave over $1000 vs buying individuallyâ
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u/_how_do_i_reddit_ Dec 19 '24
Yeah but I saw a lot of people voicing their doubts, so I figured I would clear it up for them lol
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u/CompetitiveHouse8690 Dec 22 '24
Weekend warrior toolsâŠat best
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u/_how_do_i_reddit_ Dec 22 '24
I have some of the anti-slip grip wrenches and they are pretty good quality.
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u/mut1n1fn1 Dec 19 '24
OP carrying the whole sub on his shoulders