More Walmart Info

[mclendon1]

Our brand new super-duper Walmart (Locust NC-2more also opened w/i a 35 mile radius this week) opened Wednesday. I was in no hurry to go. My daughter called & asked if I would go w/ her @ lunch to pick up some yarn for a baby blanket.

 

When we found the "craft dept", I went straight to the back wall (now that' I'm thinking about it, we didn't pass any fabric), the yarn bins were 1/2 of the other older local Walmart. Had maybe 15-20 RHSS colors, less than 10Homespun & 5 or 6 Caron SS, no cotton, & the only baby yarn was Bernat.

 

We have no other local yarn places. Hobby Lobby is 30+ miles away.

 

On goes the economy, & big business. Oh well.

[Goldiepel]

This was discussed in another post. It's business. Other stores have closed down their craft/yarn sections too. I remember my mom bought yarn from kmart. I bought yarn from ShopKo. Both do not sell it anymore. And there were other stores too.

 

I suppose anyone with an estay shop or other crochet shop would understand. Or any business. You can't put out money for space for items that you're not selling. You change it to items that will make you a profit. Business.

 

I know it stinks (well not for me, mine has it still and hopefully a long time--but others near me don't have much). I would hate it too. I wouldn't mind ShopKo still selling it, they're closer to me, easy on the way home to pick some up, but nope...

Debbi

 

Thats just the thing though. They ARE selling the stuff. How many times have you gone into a walmart and found only 1 or 2 skiens yarn. If I have a choice between scrapebooking and making jewlery or keeping my family warm and covered, which am I going to choose? My family. Walmart needs to take a step back and relook at some things. When Walmart ceases to become my one stop shopping center I cease to shop there. Case in point I needed some yarn to day. I was forced to go to hobby lobby because our stores have pretty much done away with the yarn. (and we have 6 walmarts in the area) Across the street from hobby lobby is Aldis. Where I use to go into Walmart once a week for groceries and misc, I haven't been there in over a month. Also Kmart has cut back on so many stores, and so has shopko. Me thinks us yarn addicts could have kept them in business. lol.

[LI Roe]

Last week I stopped at a Wal-mart that I never, never, ever go to (and will not go back ever due to more than one reason) and they had RedHeart SuperSaver for $2 so I picked up the couple of new colors that isn't available on Craftsetc yet. Wish they had them. Anyway, may stop at my usual Wal-mart later after I go to see my mom but my expectations for that one aren't high. They are remodeling the store and moved everything around and the almost defunct craft dept is now somewhere else with very little merchandise. Unfortunately, Wal-mart has the best prices for a lot of what I need to buy (especially for my mom) so I will continue to shop there. Plus this particular one is in a local mall so I check out the other stores while I am there. Personally, if they have other items (at Wal-mart) that I use frequently, I am not gonna go somewhere else and pay more because they eliminated their yarn. Yes, it is annoying since AC Moore and Michaels are way higher in price but I do have other alternatives when I need to. I wish they didn't take it away. Who knows, maybe it will come back. We can only dream.

 

LI Roe

[Dextersmom]

I can't figure Wal-Mart out. It isn't just the yarn. It's a lot of things that they carry for a long time and then just stop. The moisturizer I bought for years from them - one day I go in, can't find it, ask them, and they don't carry it anymore. This has happened repeatedly with cereal bars, cookies, etc. They were all items that seemed to sell well. It makes me a little uncomfortable as though Wal-Mart is dictating what I can and cannot have. I go to my local grocery store for some of the items now. Less trips to Wal-Mart.

[CraftyShannon]

A couple of weeks ago, I was in Wal-Mart and overheard one of the cutting ladies telling a customer she was lucky to get her fabric when she did because they were getting rid of it all. I knew it was coming, but I was surprised how quickly it was all gone. Within a few days, I had to run back to Wal-Mart. Almost all of the fabric was gone, and the junk left was marked half off. I went back today and ALL the thread was gone and the only fabric remaining was some precut fleece and fat quarters.

 

They already reduced the bead section, got rid of the embroider stuff last year, and they only Simply Soft they carry is the Eco kind, which I don't feel comfortable using. Their Red Heart has gone way up in price. I used to buy that at Wal-mart because it was cheaper without a coupon. Not anymore.

 

Today, I picked up a couple of skeins of yarn I really did need as well as some glue sticks. I'm picking a bag of glue sticks up every time I go, since the ones at Wal-mart are the only ones I've found that work well for me.

 

Looks like our store is turning the craft section into their clearance section. No party stuff yet, but it's quickly filling up with "clearance" junk from all over the store. Only they slap a red tag on it and maybe mark it down a dollar. Hardly clearance. No wonder most of that stuff has been there since Christmas and won't sell.

 

Rather scary where I'll buy yarn now. I do have a Hobby Lobby and a Michael's very close, but HL has pretty much phased out everything but their own brand, and Michael's is pretty much only stocking their brand, with some more expensive yarns. I find they turn their merchandise around so much I can't predict if they will have something I need the next time.

 

Our JoAnn's has been a joke since the company "remodeled" a few years ago. That store constantly looks like it's going out of business. The only store worth shopping at anymore is AC Moore, and sadly that is REALLY out of the way, and I only go maybe twice a year.

 

At least maybe the lack of choices will make me finally use up what's in my stash!

[KER828]

I'm so very surprised more people do not order the yarn they need online. I have always had very good luck doing that and when I find it on sale or free shipping it is even better. I love that it comes to the door and I don't have to go to the store to get it!!

[mclendon1]

Went to the new super duper Wal Mart in Charlotte last nite; it didn't have a craft section - of course there are Hobby Lobby & Michaels in Charlotte. Guess I should be thankful the new one here in Locust at least has a few skiens of yarn, for now.

[LI Roe]

I'm so very surprised more people do not order the yarn they need online. I have always had very good luck doing that and when I find it on sale or free shipping it is even better. I love that it comes to the door and I don't have to go to the store to get it!!

 

 

I buy a lot of my yarn online, always on sale and with free shipping and since most of the companies do not charge NYS tax, that is even better for me. I buy quite a few crochet books the same way (except Amazon now charges NYS tax, but they are fighting it so I stay away from them right now).If I find it on sale in the stores, then I stock up but wait till online sales. This way I get more for my money.

 

LI Roe

[HomekeepingGran]

I am frustrated with WM for a number of reasons but losing the Fabric-Craft department is certainly high on the list. Now I have to drive an hour (an hour one way!) to pick up embroidery thread, zippers, good-quality needles, thimbles, buttons — not to mention fabrics or yarns. Grrrrrrrrrrrr... A while back I needed to replace the buttons on one of my husband's shirts, so I hunted, and hunted and hunted. Shirt buttons? — No more! I thought WM got into the small towns to make it a one-stop shop for country folks. Apparently I was wrong. Now you have to run all over the country because there just is nothing else. And they're driving out all the competition, just as they have done from the beginning. Read Two Wal-Marts Two Miles Apart.

[Trinket]

*sigh*

 

Walmart doesn't carry items it isn't selling enough of. It's hard to see what they're actually selling if you don't work there. Going there even once a week isn't a good indicator of the volume of their sales.

 

At the store I work for in particular, I can see that yarn and fabric are all selling well because I work in the photo lab next door. In our store, the lady who works in the evening (when I work) refuses to acknowledge customers when they ring the bell or need assistance. I've addressed that with our management, but so far nothing has been done. I can't stand to see a customer go without what they came for, however, so I go over there and help. I tend to make trips to that department many, many times a day. So I do see the volume of their sales and I can see why they continue to keep the department in my store. But if the sales dropped for some reason or another, I know our store manager would move to have the department removed.

 

Fact is, a lot of the newer stores, like the one I work for, are not "paid for" yet and are, in truth, not really making a profit for the company yet in the scheme of business. If something isn't selling well enough, then it's removed and something else is put in its place because they still need to pay for the building.

 

The thing is, it gets frustrating to watch people bash Walmart. The company didn't get where it is now all by itself. It had to have customers in order to reach its status at the top.

 

In other words, Walmart hasn't destroyed Main Street America or put local businesses out of business. CUSTOMERS have done this by going to shop at Walmart instead of local businesses. People have a choice as to whether they'll buy something for $15 from a local shop or $13 at Walmart. The difference is really only a couple dollars. If the customer really cares whether or not the local business stays open, they'll go ahead and buy it from the local shop rather than Walmart.

 

Just saying...

[curlysue]

For now, my nearest Wal Mart still has yarn, fabric and some crafts. I hate to see them eliminate those items. Soon, there won't be any place for some one who doesn't live in a city to even buy sewing notions.

[funnymom8]

Our walmart still has fabrics and yarn, but the clerk just told me last week, they're going to get rid of the dept in about a year or so. Maybe thats why I don't feel guilty for buying yarn and not using it (I know deep down that I'll need it in the future). We have a joanns, but I rarely go there for lots of reasons. That's it, there isn't anyplace to shop.

[curlysue]

I stopped in the recently remodeled WM in the next town over tonight. They still have yarn. I occupies all of one side and 1/2 of the other side of one aisle. It was small but well stocked with what they are carrying. I live in a large city and my nearest WM has already been remodeled and still has fabric and a fair amount of yarn. There is a nearby Hobby Lobby and we also have Michael's.

 

I recently looked in our one and only Joann's at yarn. Joann's has always been dumpy in my city and their yarn selection was terrible. I probably won't go back there for yarn.

 

I'm pretty much an impulse buyer of yarn and thread, so it would be hard for me to shop online. I will do it if I have to though!

[CLLinda]

Our newer walmarts in our area have some yarn, but not a whole lot of it. Mostly RH and some Simply Soft. No fabric at all.

 

I know in our area, we do have a Hobby Lobby, and a Hancock Fabrics, along with a LYS, so we are fortunate to be able to get our yarns locally.

 

But for those Walmarts that are in rural areas and they are the main store in the community, it hurts the crafters who have relied on WM for their supplies for years. Now, they either have to travel to other stores, or do mail orders. Some people don't like having to do mail orders, esspecially with the high cost of mailing charges. It just doesn't seem right for WM to take away their supplies.

 

Maybe it wasn't as profitable as electronics or other departments, but it meant a lot to the crafters, who are now without a nice department to shop in. It's a shame.

 

[redsfan]

I live in a small town where the only place to shop is K-Mart (no yarn there!). Walmart is 10 miles away and has no fabric and very few sewing suplies. It's a good thing I like Red Heart, cause that's about all they have except in baby yarn. Hobby Lobby and Joann's is 35 miles away, and I've never seen an AC Moore or Hancock Fabric store.

 

I've heard there is civilization out there somewhere...

[BeautifulNightmare]

The Walmart store that I go to all the time still has fabric and sewing notions, and they even have a good selection of yarn as well. The new super Walmarts don't have any of those things, which considering they have everything else makes no sense lol.

 

For my yarn, I usually go to either Walmart, Michaels or Zellers. I've found that the Zeller stores here has a pretty good selection of yarn.

[papersmiles]

The Wal-mart store in my small town did away with all the fabric just last month and is completely remodeling the store. It still has some notions and yarn but requires a "search and locate" expedition each time I go there just to FIND the right aisles. It's frustrating to say the least and at the moment I am boycotting them...LOL...until they QUIT moving stuff around.

[CLLinda]

The Wal-mart store in my small town did away with all the fabric just last month and is completely remodeling the store. It still has some notions and yarn but requires a "search and locate" expedition each time I go there just to FIND the right aisles. It's frustrating to say the least and at the moment I am boycotting them...LOL...until they QUIT moving stuff around.

 

They remodeled my Target store and it's so frustrating. So I did stay out for about 2 months while they were moving things around. It gets aggravating when you can't find things. But Target doesn't sell yarn, so I don't have to go there too often.

 

[KellieD]

I am about 5 miles from Walmart and 45 from JoAnn's. Seems like I'm always frustrated any time I try to find anything at WalMart and the JoAnn's has a mile long line waiting at checkout. The yarn selection at both has greatly diminished. JoAnn's still has a lot of aisles but the yarn I used last year to make a hat and need this year to fix it is no longer stocked.

I mentioned to another crafter how frustrated I was and she mentioned that the variety store in a neighboring tiny town had a decent yarn selection. I went there expecting about what WalMart carries and was blown away by the yarn selection. They stock even more than JoAnn's, have a huge fabric department, aisles and aisles of beading and scrapbooking supplies and are only 18 miles from home. No way would I have ever looked there for yarn or fabric on my own.

This is a locally owned business, unlike WalMart and JoAnn's. I believe in supporting local merchants. In talking with the owner I found out that over 50 percent of his business comes from out of town customers. This is now my "go-to" store when working on a project. I also like that I'm remembered from time to time.

 

Don't overlook the local sources. You never know what treasures you might find!

[yarn_monkey]

Oh heck... Went to Walmart tonight with DH and I took a "short cut" thru the yarn department. We just moved here, but DH is from the area and says the Walmart was remodeled a few years ago. When it was, they took the fabric away and the yarn section is only 1/3 of an aisle (the rest is sewing machines, ribbon, etc.). So tonight I noticed that about 1/5 of the yarn is now red tag- Caron SS and RHSS down to about $2/ea. Some hooks/needles are redtag, too.

 

Is this what happened when your all's were getting rid of that department?? I do NOT want that to be the case!!!

[CraftyShannon]

Yarn Market, my advice is if you see something you want at Wal-mart when you are there, grab it because you have no idea if you will find it again.

 

I couldn't tell you much about my Wal-mart as they have wasted so much time remodeling this store. The craft section was huge, then it went to like four aisles, then they made it bigger just with no fabric and about half the craft supplies they once had. Every time you go, they move everything around.

 

Frankly, last time I was there, I was looking to buy a lamp. It came without a harp. I was at that store 3 days before and they had the harps. Then they moved the lamps to another section. The harps were not there. Asking customer service for help is a joke. They did look, then sent me on a wild goose chase all over the store, before they finally admitted they had no idea where they were. Maybe they packed them all up since they aren't selling them anymore. They just didn't know.

 

That was my cue that I'll be avoiding Wal-mart for a long time. I know how this particular location is, and my guess is, they will still be rearranging this store this time next year as slow as they are going. It's not as convenient, but I just make a point to make a list and pick up what I think I'll need soon when I drive by Hobby Lobby or Michael's, even though their color choices are getting kind of shabby as well.

[Minderella83]

My mom works at walmart and she heard a rumor that one of the walton wives bought joann fabrics, has anyone heard this?

[yarn_monkey]

Yarn Market, my advice is if you see something you want at Wal-mart when you are there, grab it because you have no idea if you will find it again.

 

I couldn't tell you much about my Wal-mart as they have wasted so much time remodeling this store. The craft section was huge, then it went to like four aisles, then they made it bigger just with no fabric and about half the craft supplies they once had. Every time you go, they move everything around.

 

Frankly, last time I was there, I was looking to buy a lamp. It came without a harp. I was at that store 3 days before and they had the harps. Then they moved the lamps to another section. The harps were not there. Asking customer service for help is a joke. They did look, then sent me on a wild goose chase all over the store, before they finally admitted they had no idea where they were. Maybe they packed them all up since they aren't selling them anymore. They just didn't know.

 

That was my cue that I'll be avoiding Wal-mart for a long time. I know how this particular location is, and my guess is, they will still be rearranging this store this time next year as slow as they are going. It's not as convenient, but I just make a point to make a list and pick up what I think I'll need soon when I drive by Hobby Lobby or Michael's, even though their color choices are getting kind of shabby as well.

 

Yeah, the next time we go I've got a whole bunch of change to put in the CoinStar machine (my craft budget lol) so I'm going to snag everything they've got on sale! I have a feeling it's going to disappear, because it's gotten smaller just since I was in there the first time about 2 years ago. It's mainly only upsetting because the only other place for me to go is Michaels, about 30 minutes away, and I have no idea how to get there! I know it's on some big 6 or 8 lane road in Newport News, on the left.

 

And I know what you mean about Walmart customer service... it's worse than McDonalds!!

[nana5boys]

if wal-mart doesn't carry fabric, why would a walton wive buy a fabric store?

plus didn't know that joann fabrics was up for sale. maybe there'll bring back

fabrics(probably not).

 

jaye

[papersmiles]

Our Walmart's Fabric Department was as busy as the one LI Rose describes and yet they eliminated it. I don't think it has a lot to do with whether or not the fabric and notions were selling or not. It had more to do with eliminating personnel and utilizing the space for more lucrative sales items. When the fabric department went so did four jobs. Now it is filled with by an expanded auto department and 2 additional aisles of cheap party stuff. I am so disgusted with that store......grump, grump, grump!!!!!