? about Hobby Lobby stores
 

We are getting one soon here in Spokane (yeah!!). I'm wondering if those familiar with HL could give me some input as to how they are, both as a place to shop and as a place to work? They are close enough to me that they will be within my limited driving range, lol, plus there's those CRAFT items that are so attractive. Any input?

i am in hickory NC....my first hobby lobby.

some things i like in our store:
friendly staff
being recognized when i go there (altho DH may say that is a bad thing)
copics that are frequently marked down 30%
40% off printable coupons most weeks
they carry fabric
they carry nestabilities ( never the newest tho)

things i dont like:
closed on sunday
not much in the way of unique stamps or different inks or lots of punches
lots of paper
they do not honor anyone else's coupons

we also have a AC Moore and Michaels....but all have a bit of differnt product....nice to have all three. just wish we had a decent stamping store....they always have tons of stuff to oooh and ahhh over.

i think you"ll like having one close by....working in a store i would guess depends on the manager...altho corporate culture does have an effect. can't speak to that

We have had a HL in pensacola FL for a number of years.

What I like:
40% off coupons
good sales 50% off on home decor
seasonal products

things I don't like:
nothing left that is unique
often sold out of new craft products and slow to restock
don't honor anyone else's coupons
nothing new in months and months

It will be fun for awhile for those of you that have a new store opening, after a few years it is just ho hum!
Enjoy while you can!!

it's interesting reading these- I LOVE HL and one of the reasons I like them is for the same reason I like Chick Fil A- they are closed on Sundays. I figure (where I live anyway) if I need something on Sunday then I can go to ACM, J's or M's (they are all close). I love that they value the faith and family side of things!

Thanks for your thoughts, ladies! Not long until I can see for myself, now...Aug. 16th is their Grand Opening. I imagine there will be a "soft" opening a few days before that, too, so it's more like only 2 weeks to wait. I can wait. I can.

They owners are Baptist and they believe that Sundays are a day of rest so they are closed. Remember when EVERYTHING was closed on Sunday????

I always feel good when I'm in the store. Their displays are nice and they have good sales. They play relaxing background music.

I think it's great that they are closed on Sundays, and if you worked there you could always count on that day off, which would be great working retail.

I LOVE their ribbon, I can't seem to leave their store without a least one spool.

Like someone said, they carry Nesties, and I by them with their 40% off. Stamps and ribbon go on sale a lot. They have a lot in the clearance section too. If I go with my family I print an online coupon for everyone and we all get 40% off. Love that.

They have nice picture frames and model kits and things I buy for my kids Christmas stockings.

You'll love it.

We have Michaels, Joanns and ACMoores along with HL. I use HL's cardstock alot, they have smooth and textured variety in a wide range of color. Their stamp collection isn't huge, but they do have House Mouse and they run stamps and ink on sale either 40 or 50% off fairly frequently. They have Cricut and the Slice. They also have Quickkutz and Nesties.

I like their art supply section also, they carry chipboard. I keep my pencils and Copics in portfolios I bought there.

They also have a ton of Home Decor stuff I love to look at.

Their being closed on Sundays is inconvenient for me, it isn't easy for me to get by there during the week. I usually end up shopping ACMoore first, then JoAnns, then Michaels depending on what I'm looking for.

I have a small Michael's ; small Joanns and Hobby Lobby near me.
My favorite is Hobby Lobby!
Their employees are always cheerful and helpful.
They have a 40% off coupon every two weeks to use on anything except sale items . You can use the 40% off coupon "once every day" for the week" so you can go back to buy multiple items using a coupon.

When they have advertised specials they will give you a rain check if they run out of the product. They don't play games with advertised specials and only have a couple of an item just to get you into the store.
They have a fantastic fine arts department and fabric.
They have Nesties and you can use a 40% off coupon on them

I have no problem with them being closed on Sundays
On Black Friday when stores all over open before dawn, HL only opens one hour early. They said they don't want their employees needing to get up in the middle of the night to go to work.
They pay much higher wages than most retail stores

Many companies give "lip service" to family values and ethical practices. HL actually practices these values. IN all the years I have purchased things from HL I have never once felt deceived or been treated badly.
PS I don't personally know anyone who works there

I'm in Hickory too!! Pleased to meet ya and I've probably bumped into you a time or two at HL. I'm there at least 3 times a week.

To the OP: HL is great for lots of reasons. Copics, lots of home decor, cute papers and they tend to pick up where AC More and M's are lacking. (and vice versa)

I've pretty much spoiled myself because now I go and wander around with a coupon just for the sake of buying something.

It seems that if something's not on sale one week, it will be on sale the next. I saw an article stating that their lowest pay rate is $10 an hour. I'm not sure what's the going rate for cashier, but when I worked as one in high school, it wasn't nearly that much.

If you use a cricut, I wouldn't say they're not the best place for cartridges. Small selection and sales never really impress me on those.

You'll be like a kid in a candy store when they first open. Have fun and watch out for their sales! Ribbon seems to be half price 3 weeks out of the month there and they have lots of ribbon!

Wow, that is the first time I've ever heard of someone not shopping someplace because they're closed on Sunday. I always think it's nice of Chick-fil-a to put "closed Sunday" on their highway exit signs.

Anyway, back to the Hob Lobster: Agree with every said above, their stock doesn't change very much. They used to sell single sheet paper by different manufacturers (e.g. American Crafts), but now they only sell their own Paper Studio line, which is not the best quality. They do sell packaged paper by SEI, Basic Grey, and I think K&Co.

Because their checkout isn't computerized (at least my store isn't), make sure you pay attention to what is being discounted. Usually they're pretty good, but sometimes they miss an item.

I love Hobby Lobby...we have not had one in Nevada until....Our grand opening is August 21! My sisters and stamping friends are making a big deal out of it...signed up for their coupons already and are having lunch and shopping at our NEW HL. It was always the highlight of my visit to my son in Pensacola to go to HL because although they are a big box store they do carry different products than our local Michaels or Joanns...I simply cant wait to have one here. blessings.

PS...I am Baptist and happy to see a store honor the Sabbath...
blessings.

geez, lol...I'm hyperventilating here!

I love Hobby Lobby! And one of the reasons I do like shopping there is because they are closed on Sundays. I guess I'm just old fashioned at heart. I think it's great that they give their employees the day off and I love the music they play in the store. Yeah, they are a big box store in a way - but like others have said - they do carry things that Michael's doesn't and their prices are good. As far as JoAnn's - well, I don't shop there anymore (it's a long story). Anyway - enjoy your time exploring Hobby Lobby! I'm lucky cause Hobby Lobby is just a few doors down from Archiver's and across the street from Michael's. Ah, it's a craft store meca! LOL!!

Be prepared, though, tthey open whether or not they are fully stocked. When they opened their first store here they we missing some areas of the store. Kind of surprising. When they opened their second store, they had no scrapbook paper in the single sheet aisle! It took them about 2 weeks to get fully stocked after their opening!

I do like their selection as they do carry alot of thinngs not seen at Michaels or ACMoore.

I just saw that the Hobby Lobby is going to be opened Aug 16. I'm so excited I can hardly stand it. I've never been to one but have heard so many good things about them. I think its fine that they are not open Sundays. Good for them for standing up for what they believe. I worked for years in retail and would have loved to have Sundays off.
I think those of us who live locally should wear name badges with SCS on it so we will know if we bump into each other.

18 more days!!!

Just a FYI don't ever move to Bergen County, NJ. They still have blue laws in effect there.

Does anyone know someone that works at HL? Just wonder if they get a discount on their purchases - if so, do you know how much? I getting to ready to retire and thought I'd like to work there a day or two a week if they offer an employee discount.

I don't really know him personally, but one of the employees there did mention to me once that he got a discount. I believe it was 50%.

HL is my LSS, and I love it. They always have something on sale. You can print out a coupon. They have great party supplies, decorations, etc. I buy my envelopes there, some paper, some inks, punches, Cuttlebug folders, Spellbinders, etc.

If I worked there, I would spend every dime right back in the store!

Guess the Hobby Lobby's vary quite a bit based on the stores and the managers. My local Hobby Lobby is one of the better stores compares to its Michael's, JoAnns and such competitors as far as stock, updating it's selection and such. It doesn't take the other's coupons but it also has a coupon on line which is often a 40% off any item, so I can print out pretty much as many as I want. It also is bigger and sells products that the other two don't carry locally (as far as beads, fabrics, copic markers, home decor, scrapbook paper, it's just so much larger).

So, I guess it will just depend on what your local Hobby Lobby will be. I do wish that ours was open on Sunday, but then again I am respectful of any business that wants to stay closed on sunday. As a kid I worked at Chick-fil-a at a time when just about every other business was starting to stay open on sundays, so it was right when the malls and other such things were starting to always be open (late 80s), before that, here in TX, everything was closed on sundays except some grocery stores, pharmacy, and restaraunts.

Cheers all!

Holley
a new project everyday! Holley's Blog