Totally disgusted today at Hobby Lobby

[Horse with no Name]

Hobby Lobby was advertising a 90% sale...select merchandise. So I go down there assuming that there will be off season stuff, stuff that hasn't sold, etc.

I was appalled at what they were trying to turn a buck on.

I've thrown away better garbage.

In my early days, I worked a LOT of retail and this was stuff that was ALWAYS thrown away in the past.

Mirrors with broken glass.

Porcelain statues with chunks broken out of them.

Wooden picture frames with big pieces missing.

Things that I wouldn't drag home.

I felt insulted and felt yet another commentary by corporate America. Now, they want us to pay for their trash and have the NERVE to call it a sale.:wtf:

[Armstead]

1. They are a right-wing Fundamentalist Christian business

One opened here, and I went with a friend. She said she felt "uneasy" about the place because there were so many religious tschokskis there.

Later she looked them up on the web and sent me a link to their website. They support a lot of hard core right wing fundamentalist stuff.

[Horse with no Name]

7. I know they are closed on Sundays

I never really looked at the actual page.

[gkhouston]

32. I'm pretty sure the muzak is all Jesus, all the time. At least all of the tunes I've

recognized are hymns, which is not your usual shopping mood music.

[in_cog_ni_to]

11. Well, that explains it then!

I was in our local Hobby Lobby picking up some stuff and needed a birthday card. The ONLY thing they sold were Christian religious cards for EVERYTHING...birthday, anniversary, new baby, graduation.....now I know why. I will NEVER shop there again. Thanks for the info.

[Horse with no Name]

12. Your bug drives me nuts!

:rofl:

[texastoast]

24. It's been driving me nuts forever

I just love it.

[yodermon]

52. My cat attacks it occasionally

:)

[RKP5637]

23. I'm so fed up with all of the god stuff in this country, and often anymore it's

associated with some pretty vile stuff. It's become a code word for beware. I'm not a religious person, but I do recall from my earlier days being told the devil comes in many disguises.

[YellowRubberDuckie]

37. We found a really awesome framed Bill of Rights there last weekend.

We only buy when it's on sale, and I agree, it's really insulting, but their target audience is uneducated, fundamentalist Christian wackjobs. I fully support ripping these people off whenever you get the chance.
We love to go for the sacrilege alone. We love it when we find it. For example, Hastings had action figures of Jesus and Moses for the longest time. We also have a Pope on a rope. LOL The best kind of sacrilege is unintentional sacrilege. I found a golden statue of Jesus once there at Hobby Lobby. Almost bought it but figured it defeated the enjoyment. :evilgrin:
Duckie

[RKP5637]

40. I enjoyed your post! Sounds delightful!!!

:evilgrin:

[YellowRubberDuckie]

45. LOL

OK. :hi:

[frylock]

48. that is so rad!

just ell-ohh-elling on your post! thx for the larf!

[YellowRubberDuckie]

53. Why do I feel I'm being mocked?

LOL

[frylock]

63. not at all!

i honestly enjoyed your post!

[Viking12]

66. It is the one store where I allow my kids to mess w/ merchandise...

Not damaging it or anything, posing Jesus and Mary statues together so they're kissing kind of messing with stuff.

[ScreamingMeemie]

68. Our "swear jar" is a sparkly Jesus bank.

:rofl:

[YellowRubberDuckie]

70. Right on!

:rofl:

[yawnmaster]

2. one man's garbage another man's treasure. Perhaps they can't afford to throw this...

out and need to make every buck they can, to survive.
Don't know hobby lobby's financials but I'd do it if I were working on tight margins in a tough economy.

[Horse with no Name]

4. I'm pretty good at making stuff work

this stuff was NOT fixable. It was trash.

[Curmudgeoness]

9. Then you would be a fool. People see your sale as only trash,

real trash, and they will not come back again.

[ChairmanAgnostic]

3. Rep-Cycling.

[Dawson Leery]

5. Hobby Lobby is run by the typical "christian" fundamentalist.

Do not seemed surprised that a "christian" fundamentalist runs his company like a hustler.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hobby_Lobby

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/David_Green_%28entrepreneur%29

[joshcryer]

10. There's a Hobby Lobby here right next to the Mardel store...

...going there is like entering a twilight zone of fundamentalism.

At least the cashiers are really nice. It's just creepy.

[fishwax]

14. yep -- Mardel was started by the Hobby Lobby guy's son

I think they're often located close to each other.

[Horse with no Name]

16. I have never been to Mardel--but saw one today for the first time

I was wondering what it was. Thanks for the heads up. Now I won't ever have to be subjected to it.

[joshcryer]

20. It's a Christian Book Store and other items. Ironically they have some of the BEST science kits...

...available ANYWHERE (in a store).

Target, Wal-Mart, even Hobby Lobby doesn't have kits as good as I saw when I was in there.

Likely for homeschoolers, mind you.

[juajen]

35. I believe chickfillet (sp.) is an exception.

There store is so well run, their employees so nice and helpful, and their food really good. I love the fresh flowers on every table, and the safe playground for my toddler grandson also. I really love this Christian establishment, though I avoid most others.

[Erose999]

61. Chik-fil-a does donate to some RW anti-gay rights and anti-chioce orgnaizations though. And they

try to make their employees do a group prayer before every shift.

[ScreamingMeemie]

69. They also send employees with good records of employ and good

grades (B- average) to state college.

[joshcryer]

6. Hobby Lobby = Made in China garbage.

I can't believe it whenever one of my family members comes back with $20 trinkets from there that Hobby Lobby got from a wholesaler for $1 or so.

[grilled onions]

8. They Seem To Pull A Lot Of STuff

Their clearance section can go on for a year. They put one price tag over another(like a buck less each time). It's fine for items that can handle sitting around but glues,paints etc don't fare quite as well. The one we have is always moving items around. Rubber stamps moved no less then six times in the past couple of years. Papers,kids crafts drift here and there without any rhyme or reason. Because of this constant move complete aisles are blocked with carts full of stuff not yet put out AGAIN.
Their staff has time to do little else but move stuff around and jump the gun on seasonal items often six months in advance.
They can't seem to make up their minds if they are a craft store,a decorator store or just a place for the owner of HL to sell his books and that religious music that is piped in all the time.

[Shandris]

13. Isn't there a tax write-off for things so damaged as to be considered 'loss'?

If so, the only thing I can imagine (and this would, in no way, surprise me, given who owns HL) that the profit margin on a NINETY PERCENT OFF 'sale' is STILL higher than its' actual cost.

Either way, it's a trashy, tacky way to do business, by a trashy, tacky group of 'owners'.

[Horse with no Name]

15. One of the broken mirrors

and I mean VERY badly broken was still $19.99.

[louslobbs]

34. For a right wing extremist Republicon, that mirror would be great at twice the price, they will look

the same in a cracked religious mirror as they would in any other mirror. Mirror, mirror cracked not cheap, tell me who's the prettiest right wing freep? Why it is you oh Christian one, for you have god and those who do not, shall not inherit eternal life in his Kingdom in the sky. You are one of the chosen few, who shall be separated from the goats my little sheep lol.........I'm sorry lol and be free from the bondage and heavy chains of those who were blind and could not see.
Lou

[RKP5637]

39. Your post is kinda poetic, it almost sounds like the lyrics to a cool song, seriously,

I ready it several times and there's a rhythm there ready to be set to music!
:) :yourock:

[louslobbs]

41. lol, do you write music? lol thanks for the comment I was laughing while I was writing it.

[RKP5637]

49. I don't do much anymore, years ago I was pretty active in music. It just had a rhythm to it

that caught my ear.

[joshcryer]

22. They buy their shit wholesale from China.

Whatever the 90% off price is they're still making bank, I can guarantee it.

[Drale]

17. You don't think a store would set things at 90% off without a catch do you?

[Horse with no Name]

25. I don't expect a catch. I don't expect for a store to try to sell me their trash.

Several of the stores that I shop OFTEN sell stuff marked down to almost nothing at the end of seasons.

At Belk (a clothing store in my area)...I can buy new linen dress slacks for $2.50 at the end of the season. I can buy new button down shirts for $3.00 at the end of the season. I stocked up on 3/4 length t-shirts in February for $1.50 each. I also bough a stainless steel turkey roaster for $7.00 (originally $50--and a name brand). All of the clothes were brand new, never worn, not seconds...just off-season merchandise.

At a children's boutique that I like, I can buy new designer clothing--with price tags of over $100 for $10. Again, all brand new. Just off-season and didn't sell as expected.

At Hallmark, I can go at the end of the season and stock up on cards, ornaments, candles for little to nothing.

At Bath and Bodyworks, at the end of the season, I can purchase candles, soap, and other items for pennies on the dollar.

I DO expect a retail store to maintain their standards even when they have a clearance sale.
I DON'T expect them to try to sell me their trash. That is what they garbage can is for OR, they can donate it to service organizations who can make the repairs and take the tax deduction.

It was highly offensive.

[joshcryer]

27. A Circuit City went bankrupt here and they were doing a 50% off wholesale sale.

Now, I had been in there about three weeks before they went bankrupt, looking for a TV. There was one in particular that was massive (60+ inches), and I really wanted it. When I went in there before the bankruptcy? It was $5k. When I went in there after the bankruptcy? It was $8k + 20% off. $1400 markup.

Apparently they can get away with that shit because Circuit City resold the stuff to the "wholesaler." It wasn't really Circuit City's stuff anymore.

[earthside]

18. Never seen anything like that ...

... at the Hobby Lobby near where I live.

I really wish I didn't have to shop there, but it is the best place for miles that sells artist's supplies ie., canvases, brushes, paint, etc.

It is a very 'Christian' store ... sometimes hymns are playing as the store background music.

I also know from talking to employees over the years that most of them are quite uncomfortable working there and I've noticed that the employee turnover rate is pretty high at Hobby Lobby.

[Ineeda]

19. No HL near me, but I wouldn't shop there if there were.

They sound horrible!

[proud2BlibKansan]

30. It's an icky store but the only choice I have at times

They carry a lot of hard to find craft items.

[YellowRubberDuckie]

38. Don't feel bad.

It is icky to shop there, but they do have some things you can't find anywhere else. I do enjoy their art, though. And you can get it cheap.

[texastoast]

21. I don't go there

After Bush got into office, the one by my house started playing Christian music only, which they are free to do, but it is just not my cup of tea. Michael's nearby has better deals, but all their stuff comes from China too. We have some local craft shows where you can get some great homemade stuff, and I try to buy from them when I can.

[shanti]

26. there are plenty of suckers out there

you can tell by all of the hoarder shows. there are some that bring all kinds of trash into their homes (and never let it leave). they think they're "getting a deal" or "may use it someday". it's a mental illness.

[texastoast]

33. OMG I watched the first one this week

I've known people who had "path houses," mostly older folks, but one guy this week wasn't nearly old enough to have one. It is a mental illness.

Is it compulsive? I watched a show a few years ago about a woman who couldn't stop cleaning her house, but once she got on the right meds, she was able to stop cleaning and start living. This was after her husband finally left her.

I wonder about these hoarders. My parents grew up in the Depression and while they didn't so much hoard, they "packratted," saving stuff they might use rather than throw it out. My grandmother saved stuff like lint and string of any kind. Early in 20th century cotton was used like we use cotton balls now, especially for medicinal purposes, and she taught all of her children not to waste--anything. When her house got too full of gifts of stuff, she just gave it all away. Some of the old ways are really smarter. My grandmother would never have dreamed to use a cotton ball for something like dabbing alcohol on a mosquito bite. She would have considered it a great waste of material and effort, but then she picked cotton to make a living.

[SharonAnn]

65. And "cotton balls" are rayon!

[proud2BlibKansan]

28. Not just any corporation - it's a Christian corporation

So it's all okay.

:hi:

[Horse with no Name]

29. I hear ya!

:hi:

Seriously, I wasted gas to go check out this sale. What a scam.

[Kceres]

31. We never go to HL. It creeps us out too much.

Fundies work there. Fundies shop there. Closed on Sunday. My family boycotts the place. It was harder to boycott Chick Filet at first (same reasons as above) but it is dead to us now.

[RKP5637]

36. Here they have several of them and they're always empty, at least when I've been there. I don't

see how they support themselves with the huge buildings and all of the inventory.

[EC]

42. I wouldn't step foot into a Hobby Lobby

if it's fundie owned, they're ripping you off someway. Their businesses are all just scams of one sort or another. Like Amway...

[tammywammy]

43. I like Hobby Lobby

They have a good framing area, do excellent work and at a good price. I would say the vast majority of stuff in stock there is not religiously related at all.

[mrmartinbong]

50. Hobby Lobby coupons

I do shop for a few specific items at Hobby Lobby, mostly quartz clock mechanisms that I use to make clocks. I checked around at a lot of stores and online but I get a 40% off coupon for 1 item online or in the local paper. They sell a 4 pack of clock mechs for $15 and at 40% off is right around $9, cost $2.25 each, they are made in USA, I won't buy if they are not. I order online and have to buy around 100 clock mechs to get that price. So for me, an unemployed architectural designer trying to make a living selling clocks and other artwork this really improves my bottom line. The regular price for 1 clock mech is $6, so use the coupons and they do have a lot of things made in the USA but you have to look. I drive relatives crazy trying to find things made in the USA, ever try to find an angle grinder made here? Good luck.

[likesmountains 52]

44. My BIL manages inventory at one...he says they don't keep track of anything..They get the crap so

cheap they don't even track employee theft. They don't have scanners at the registers so they don't track what's sold at all. He says it's just crap in...huge mark-up....and crap out.

[earthside]

46. I believe that. n/t

[GoCubsGo]

47. Even their unbroken stuff is crap.

I hate going in there. I look at all of the natural resources wasted to make all that shit, and I want to cry. Most of it winds up in the landfill or in some thrift store. I hate that my only real choices for sewing and crafts supplies are them, Walmart, or driving 30 miles to the nearest Michaels. Bleh.

[mrmartinbong]

51. Michaels

I hate going into Michael's that store gives me the creeps and the cashier telling me about being fair. Have you looked on etsy for craft supplies, they also shop local feature?

[GoCubsGo]

55. Etsy's function does not apply to supplies.

It is for selling already-made items, at least in my town. Usually, when I need something, it's only one item, and I can't always wait a week or more for it to be shipped to me. Not to mention that I can't afford the extra money it will cost for the shipping.

My town used to have a Michael's. I never had any problem them. I was sad to see them go.

[Obamanaut]

54. I've read threads in the past re stores tossing stuff that 'might' be used

by some hobbyists or groups in some of their activities.

If this is true, maybe the stuff being sold in this store was in that category, and the store merely wanted to try one more time for a sale.

If something does not appeal to you, or you have no use for it, 'just say no' to the purchase of it.

[Horse with no Name]

58. I'm not going to give them a pass. They advertised a SALE

It is a retail store. They advertised a sale of 90% off of select merchandise. It wasn't prefaced by "scratch and dent" , or "shit in need of major repair", or "we don't want to take out our garbage so you can pay us to do it"...or anything to indicate that you were going to this store to purchase broken and damaged items.

I wasted MY gas to drive there and participate in their "sale" and found a pile of garbage that I wouldn't have dragged home if they paid ME. Not ONE usable, undamaged, unbroken item was on that aisle.

So, telling me to just say no is really very condescending. The use of the word "sale" was very deceptive. It indicated you were going to purchase new merchandise, not their broken up shit.

[Obamanaut]

64. Actually, advertising a 'sale' of 90% off of select merchandise does not

indicate new OR damaged stuff, just stuff. It was 'select' merchandise, and was advertised as such. For 90% off, the stuff has likely been on the shelf for awhile, and has been handled by many shoppers.

I've seen 'damaged sale' type advertising, and one knows before getting there that there will be scratched/dented/perhaps returned to store stuff/etc., and if one doesn't want to paw through such stuff, one doesn't go.

For an advertised 90% off sale, do you *really* expect pristine products on the shelf, waiting for the shrewd bargain hunter to come down the aisle with a shopping cart and a couple of dollars?

Really?

[madokie]

56. Yesterday on the way home from the VA we stopped at toy-r-us

to get a swing set for our soon to be 4 year old grand daughter and I just figured it wouldn't be made in America, hardly anything is anymore. Anyways I about fell over when I seen on the box Made In the USA proudly stamped on it. I'm so happy, my grand daughter will be swinging and sliding on a domestic made toy. :hi:

[Horse with no Name]

57. Great find! I know she will enjoy it!

:hi:

[Shagbark Hickory]

59. So what would you suggest they do with it? Throw it all in the dumpster?

[cbdo2007]

60. I would much rather they sell this stuff than just throw it out.

Sorry if all of the stuff YOU wanted wasn't on 90% off sale, but a lot of that stuff can be used/fixed by people saving them a lot of money.

[Horse with no Name]

62. It wasn't fixable. n/t

[backscatter712]

67. Boycott Hobby-Lobby. They're run by dominionists.

Just like Chick-Fil-A.