Not a rant just curious

[Tampa Doll]

I went into Michaels this morning to buy a hook for a Sock Monkey Kit I am putting together. I thought I would look at the yarn also, so I walked right back to the yarn area.

OMG I could of picked up and carried in my arms the amount of yarn that was on the shelves and there was 1 maybe 2 hooks. What the heck is going on?

I asked one of the knowledgable (spelling?) workers there if they were getting rid of the yarn dept. Oh, you are going to love this answer.

She said, "We just got a shipment in and they have to stock the shelves." Now for 3 weeks Michaels, has had NO SALES papers in the newspaper or the mail. What happened to the yarn. I looked over at the discount section, just in case. Nope.

It is only 2 rows of yarn to begin with, so again, just curious, does anyone know what the heck is going on?

[auntbubbels]

I am thinking that because we buy so much from the internet that the stores just aren't doing as good as they used to? or the workers are lazy and not stocking up as fast as they should?

 

I haven't been to my Michaels in a while and thats because it's a trip for me to get there.

 

I also wonder why Michaels doesn't allow you to order online -

[SmoothFox]

I like going to Hobby Lobby. I think that's the name of it.

 

Lots more of a selection. I do the Walmart also but not much of a selection.

 

Donna

[Tampa Doll]

Our choice of stores are limited. Wal-Mart, Michaels, and Joann's. I only go to Michaels when I go to the grocery store, cause it is next door. If I wasn't in a hurry for the hook, I would order over the internet.

[Katie G]

Both the Michaels stores in my area have a very limited supply of yarn. They rarely have anything new and a lot of the yarn looks dusty. The yarn area is also in the back of the store, and the lighting is so bad back there that I get a headache. The area is usually a mess with ladders and boxes everywhere.

The rest of the store (both of them) is not this disorganized so I can only assume that they do not care too much about their yarn customers.

Too bad because I really prefer to buy yarn locally, rather than online, so HL gets most of my business, but I would prefer to have two stores to shop from.

All the Wally Worlds in my area have cut back so much on their yarn that it is hardly worth the walk back there.

[Craw]

I got a coupon from Michaels this week for 20% off my total regular purchase thru email. There was an online flyer for Michaels this week but I didn't see a flyer in Sunday's paper. Joanns had no flyer either or coupons this week in the paper but the flyer was online. I think maybe my paperperson is swiping them beforehand. I was at my Michaels yesterday and the yarn selection was pretty good. They got a few new kinds in and they had Sugar 'n Cream for $1.00 so I got a few.

[birdlady1]

I sometimes think it's seasonal. They don't sell as much yarn in the summer and new yarns/colors are being introduced. So summer is kind of an in-between time to buy yarn. We had the same discussion on C'ville last year I think.

[crochetluvknot]

it seems our Michaels down the street never has any yarn either or what they do have is the fancy fun fur type stuff that I don't use so I don't bother to go in there half the time any more.

[Priszm]

I went into Michaels this morning to buy a hook for a Sock Monkey Kit I am putting together. I thought I would look at the yarn also, so I walked right back to the yarn area.

 

OMG I could of picked up and carried in my arms the amount of yarn that was on the shelves and there was 1 maybe 2 hooks. What the heck is going on?

 

I asked one of the knowledgable (spelling?) workers there if they were getting rid of the yarn dept. Oh, you are going to love this answer.

 

She said, "We just got a shipment in and they have to stock the shelves." Now for 3 weeks Michaels, has had NO SALES papers in the newspaper or the mail. What happened to the yarn. I looked over at the discount section, just in case. Nope.

 

It is only 2 rows of yarn to begin with, so again, just curious, does anyone know what the heck is going on?

 

 

I think that they're doing an overhaul of the yarn departments, one store at a time. Mine here in Brandon was like that several months ago. They didn't have basic colors of the Caron Pounds that I expected to see. So I figured I'd just hang at Joann's instead (they're about equal distance from me and both are less than 2 miles away).

 

About a month or so ago Michael's had an ad for Lily Sugar N Cream for $1 each. I thought I'd go look and if I didn't find anything, Joann's would probably price match. Imagine my complete . The last time I'd been in there, the yarn filled one aisle and maybe half of another (one side of a second aisle). Now, it's back to more aisles, they have more Lily than Joann's does! And they're bringing back coupons and ads. So hopefully that'll be happening to yours soon.

[Sylviaf]

Our Michael's stores are OK and I have noticed some new yarns, too.

[eebrs]

I talked to a Michaels employee and was told that they don't keep any yarn in the back. If they have it, then it's on the shelves.

 

I have 3 Michaels within a reasonable driving distance (15-20 miles) and the older one hardly has anything. The two newer ones are bigger and are usually well stocked with plenty of variety. Maybe it just depends on the individual store.

[angieInCA]

Our Michaels is pretty busy and the yarn dept stays stocked to the gills with the over stock way up high in open sided boxes so you can see what they have. They have 2 full time employees just for the yarn dept so there is always help avaliable to get the over stock down if need be.

 

TampaDoll, how close are you to Brandon? My sister lives in Brandon and their JoAnns has the best yarn dept. I think I posted about it before. It's hugh!!!!!!! and very nicely stocked. Everytime I visit we make a trip to JoAnns to pet the and shop

[Priszm]

Our Michaels is pretty busy and the yarn dept stays stocked to the gills with the over stock way up high in open sided boxes so you can see what they have. They have 2 full time employees just for the yarn dept so there is always help avaliable to get the over stock down if need be.

 

TampaDoll, how close are you to Brandon? My sister lives in Brandon and their JoAnns has the best yarn dept. I think I posted about it before. It's hugh!!!!!!! and very nicely stocked. Everytime I visit we make a trip to JoAnns to pet the and shop

 

Michael's in Brandon is now looking the same way.

[Tampa Doll]

I am not that far and I have been to that store. I just need a hook, so with the price of gas and all, I try to do all my running withing distance of each other.

 

I was just wondering if this was happening anywhere else. I guess I was hoping, that they were going to make it better. The thing that amazed me, was that there were only 2 crochet hooks, but they were loaded with knitting needles.

I also have a very large Michaels in Clearwater on US 19 that is good. This one is just 2 minutes away.

[LI Roe]

I have noticed one of the new colors of RedHeart Super Saver has been at the Michaels by me (it was Honeydew) and also by my mothers who lives in a neighboring county. She gets the free weekly flyers but I don't where I live. Anyway, there was a one page ad with two coupons, one for 40% off till August 9, the other was a 25% off entire regular priced purchase also good till August 9th. Now I live on Long Island, NY (Nassau Cty, my mom lives in Suffolky Cty) so it may have been a local flyer.

 

LI Roe

[losingmymind2]

Our brand new Michaels is the same, and the few yarns they do carry are higher in price than Walmart. Last time I even took some back to Michaels because I found it so much less at Walmart. I don't even go in Michaels without a good coupon, like todays 20% off whole reg. price order. It's sad, because they are the only craft store for miles except one very expensive LYS in the next county.

[mellybelly]

I have a Michael's close to where I work, and the yarn selection isn't all that hot. Their yarn is crammed into the back corner of the store, along one wall and maybe half an aisle and a couple of end-cap displays. Then again, the building seems too small for all that they have in there...the whole store is crowded even when there's not a alot of people! JoAnn's is much better...MUCH more selection and its not nearly as crammed.

[Craw]

There was no flyer for Michaels in my paper yesterday. I checked online and they don't have one this week (for my area). BTW, my Michaels has a very small selection of hooks as well. Mostly Boye steel hooks and those Lion Brand plastic things. They never even restock those so I go to Joanns for hooks or order online if I can wait.

[JCB]

The Michael's near me is fairly well stocked with yarn. I have a Joann's that is even closer, but there choice of colors in different brands is much more limited than Michael's. I also discovered that while both Joann's and Michael's sell Caron Simply Soft, Joann's is 6 oz and Michael's is 7 oz. ... for the same price! So guess where I go more often.

 

Michael's seems to be cutting back on putting flyers in the paper, but they do accept both Joann's and A.C. Moore's coupons. Unfortunately, there is no Hobby Lobby anywhere near me.

 

Joan

[Navymomx2]

We have 2 Michael's, one is much closer and older than the other. The older store has more but it's still a pitiful selection on yarn. The much newer and larger store has even a smaller selection, I was so disappointed when I went there thnking larger store, more selection. All that's left for me is Joann's and Wal Mart. Joann's get's most of my business.

[texasredhead]

The Michaels by my house has a small yarn department, but it is well stocked. They constantly discount and clearance yarns that don't sell. So, I go there to the clearance isle a lot and get some great deals!! With the computerized ordering systems that Michaels and JoAnn's have, they only replace what has sold, so underselling stores won't get in new stuff as often. JoAnn's is still big into yarn, so that is where I go, and I also work there! And teach painting classes there too. We did have an ad this week, and everyweek, so somebody has a paper person who is not putting the ad in the paper for you!!

[EEE_mom]

my michaels is the same way - it's like they're slowly shrinking the yarn dept.

I had a conversation with my aunt about this last week - she said her Michael's (in Savannah)also has a very weak yarn dept.

[appy_lover]

Our Michaels expanded the yarn dept. When I was there on Friday it appeared to have been explanded. They moved things around a lot and there was some new stuff, the thread, books, hooks and needles had all been moved. I have yet to have time to really explore, but it looks like the section got a little bigger, like maybe a half an isle. Yeah!

[Gardener]

The Michaels I frequent has a large yarn department and there are usually a few people browsing there when I check it out.

[lhasaapsolady]

I went to our Michaels last week to get some sugar and cream, and to look for some other yarn. The selection is going down, down, down, and this store has only been open a little over a year. They had some Lion Brand and Patons wool on clearance and I was told they were going to stop carrying that, what a disappointment. I am glad I'm not the only one who thought Michaels was going downhill.