Price Discrepancy

[Ninn]

Has anyone else noticed this, or is it just me? Last week, I went to Walmart for RH yarn. Got myself a cone of Sugar n Cream cotton for market bags. 1 pound, $6.49. Needed more in another color later in the week and stopped at AC Moore. 12 oz skein, $7.99. Both ombres, so that wasn't it. Both the same gauge of yarn, too. Guess who's getting my yarn money this week?

[smokeyp81]

Now days, I think that price differences between stores is very common. I have found at different Walmarts different prices on the exact same item! Not just on yarn either.

 

I always say, it pays to shop around for the best prices!

[jura2908]

we have the price difference with the walmart stores here also. i noticed it about 7 years ago when my daughter was a baby on formula. there was a difference of $3 a can. i also see it in the craft stores. walmart and michaels have different prices for products.

[chichiwawa]

I too have noticed the difference between Walmart and AC Moore. I wait until AC Moore is having a good sale and then I stock up on what I "need" otherwise I just run into Wally world and get my fix there. I hate that RHSS is going up in price but down in quantity and sometimes quality.

[stronak]

In Connecticut we have AC Moore, Michaels, Joann's and of course Walmart. They all happen to be in a big circle, so when I need yarn, I know the store that has the lowest price on a certain brand of yarn. Like everyone else has seen, the prices can range from $1 to $2 more a skein depending on where you go.

[crazycrochet]

Every store has different prices on everything, not just yarn. Walmart had pasta for $0.98 a box, Meijers had the same brand for $1.18 and a local store had the same brand for $1.48. It has always been that way.

[Lady_of_Roses]

I've found the Walmart usually has cheaper regular yarn prices than Michaels or Joanns. Tho when Michaels and Joanns have sales, sometimes they have really awesome prices.

[Granny Square]

Like the song says, 'ya gotta shop around'

[shelly_bean]

its natural/normal how do you think walmart won the market on lots of things?? lowest prices.

I go to different stores for different things. Walmart for some of the more popular yarns, and Hobby lobby for more variety in colors of the yarns at walmart as well as their brand of yarn. and they often times have yarn that walmart doesn't carry, like TLC Plush.

 

there is even a price difference between walmart stores. when I bought my son's bike it was 40 bucks cheaper at a store 20 min away ( but they didn't have the bike) i had to get a price adjustment.

[PBLKNP]

It's a drag, I know. In this area, I just assume that Wal-Mart is going to have the lowest price. I like shopping in the other stores, though, because our local Wal-Marts don't have the same selection and yarn variety.

[Elle]

Has anyone else noticed this, or is it just me? Last week, I went to Walmart for RH yarn. Got myself a cone of Sugar n Cream cotton for market bags. 1 pound, $6.49. Needed more in another color later in the week and stopped at AC Moore. 12 oz skein, $7.99. Both ombres, so that wasn't it. Both the same gauge of yarn, too. Guess who's getting my yarn money this week?

 

 

This is exactly why I have been buying all of my yarn online lately. Knitting Warehouse has a $5.95 shipping rate no matter what you buy, so I figure at $4 a gallon for gas, a trip to ANYWHERE in Texas is going to cost more than the shipping from Knitting Warehouse, and they have every type of yarn you could think of. When it comes to cotton, I get everything online directly from the Elmore Pisgah site. And once again, while the shipping is not as cheap as Knitting Warehouse, it's still cheaper than a car ride 50 miles in each direction to get to whatever LYS is around down here, not to mention the large cones of yarn that sell for $14 and up in the stores are only $6.95 each if you get them from the Elmore Pisgah site. So if you buy three cones of cotton, what you pay in shipping makes up for the difference of the yarn in the store and the gas it took you to go get it, and you have the choice of every product and color they make and not just what the store chooses to stock.

 

My new online shopping love is Smiley's yarns. This week they have Lion Brand Chenille on sale for 77 CENTS A SKEIN! They also have all kinds of wonderful yarns for their regular prices of anywhere from $1.00 a skein to $2.99 a skein. They have two or three types of yarn that are more expensive than $2.99 a skein, but nothing that I use. Their shipping is a flat rate of $12.95 no matter how much you buy. The only problem, if you can call it a problem, is that Smiley's has a minimum order requirement of $40, but I can buy $40 worth of yarn standing on my head. I LOVE shopping online!

[SaxDragon]

Wal-mart will nearly always have the lowest price on craft items due to their 1-larger customer base vs overhead costs 2-greater number of stores in any given area and 3-sheer purchasing power. They can literally set their own price on quite a few items (even to the point where suppliers complain that they are loosing money while undrer contract to sell to walmart). A craft store's customer base is considerably smaller, their overhead expenses per sq foot of retail space is higher, but their selection is wider. A yarn shop has it even harder and often compensates by knowing that their clientel expects higher end items and personal attention. A place like Smiley's has the advantage of a larger store space and buying power (they are the "wal-mart" of yarn shops) local shops don't have .

 

As for walmart's between store differences - super walmarts will often be a little higher than regular stores (more overhead, wider base), store location matters (either demographics of the neighborhood or distance to the next nearest store - their's or a competitor's), and individual departments which may be accounted separately (some may be even be owned by someone other than walmart) or "test market" higher prices in some locations (clothes may sell well in one location and thoe prices go up, for example).

[EEE_mom]

I've noticed that the area the store is in plays a role in what i'm paying for my yarns - The more major the road, higher rents, higher prices

 

The AC Moore by me has sugar and cream for 1.69, while the Michael's (only a few blocks away, but on a major road) sells the same skein for 1.99

 

 

On another note, Elle, I live around the corner from Smiley's Yarn Barn - when they are fully stocked, the yarn is floor to ceiling - every color, weight, texture, price - only thing that irritates me is their notions selection isn't that great in store, but then again - they're not called Smiley's Notions Barn - haha

Yeah, I could go broke in there.....

[Elle]

On another note, Elle, I live around the corner from Smiley's Yarn Barn - when they are fully stocked, the yarn is floor to ceiling - every color, weight, texture, price - only thing that irritates me is their notions selection isn't that great in store, but then again - they're not called Smiley's Notions Barn - haha

Yeah, I could go broke in there.....

 

 

OK, I am officially SO JEALOUS right now that you live so close to a yarn goldmine!! :::swoons:::

 

I would be in a permanent state of poverty if I lived where you do. I'd be using Smiley's like my own personal stash!

[celiawinters]

Another thought just go online to Pisgah Yarn Company and order it directly. This is the company in Marion, NC that supplies Peaches n Cream yarns to WalMart. They supply them with seven colors but there are more colors that that. Yes, they have an outlet store and I buy seconds by the pound there for $4.50. The people there are very nice and helpful. Another stop on my way to Asheville, NC. This is worth it very much so.

[mamarose22]

Peaches & Cream is sold in Walmart for $1,29 in my neck of the woods, while Sugar & Cream (I think) is $1.59 in ACMoore and $1.69 in Michaels. Or is it the other way around? However, ACMoore and Michaels usually have 40% off coupons. So a ball will cost less than at Walmart, that is if that's all you need. Did you know you can print up up Michaels coupons on the net?