The Reason You Can't Buy Milwaukee Tools At Harbor Freight

There are a lot of places to start building a tool collection, and one such place is Harbor Freight. The big retail chain is often one of the first places a new homeowner goes, as there are usually a lot of changes to be made after moving into a home. Harbor Freight often has great prices when compared to other stores, and that's part of the reason people like shopping there. However, you'll quickly discover some known brands are missing from Harbor Freight. If Milwaukee is a brand you were going to gravitate toward, then you'll be disappointed to see it not being offered at Harbor Freight.

The reason Harbor Freight doesn't carry Milwaukee tools is a simple one — it's because Milwaukee has partnerships that keep the brand elsewhere. It's not abundantly clear why this is the case, but it means you'll have to go elsewhere to pick up a tool from the manufacturer. Milwaukee's parent company, Techtronic Industries, also owns Ryobi, another brand you won't be seeing at Harbor Freight. Luckily, Harbor Freight still carries a variety of dependable and affordable brands you can purchase instead. Bauer, for example, is very competitive when compared to other budget brands.

Partnerships like this have been going on for quite a while now, and they involve more than just Milwaukee. While it can be difficult to keep track of what's sold where as a consumer — and annoying if you only want a certain brand — Milwaukee is still an easy brand to get your hands on.

If you want to pick up Milwaukee tools, you can opt to shop online. Amazon remains a solid option for online buyers, but you'll notice nothing comes directly from Milwaukee itself if that's important to you. You'll still have the product shipped by Amazon, but the seller won't actually be Milwaukee. This doesn't mean you'll be scammed. It just means you're supporting an individual seller or third-party store when you make a purchase.

For those of you who don't want to go down that path, Home Depot and Ace Hardware remain as both physical and online options. You also have the ability to go after brands other than Milwaukee, and there's no shortage of them out there. While you might not hit the same level of affordability and dependability Milwaukee offers, you're bound to find something from Bauer, U.S. General, or Hercules — just a few of the brands sold at Harbor Freight.