So I was at my local hobby yesterday in search of some basic worsted acrylic for a baby blanket. I tend to use Caron simply soft or I love this yarn…I was standing in front I what I thought was just the CSS…i found some in a color that would be perfect for the pattern I had in mine so I reached to grab it…as I went to put it in my basket I was shocked to see that what I had grabbed was not at all CSS but a hobby lobby line called yarn bee soft secret! I of course put it back as I am not a fan of the yarn bee line. The skein looked identical to CSS and the yarn itself looked identical! It has the same feel and sheen that we have come to expect from CSS. I’m sure they placed it in the same section as the CSS do to the identical similarities….well played hobby lobby…thought you could outsmart me…not this time!
This post is basically to let you all know that if you go to hobby lobby to get some CSS be warned of the soft secret and pay attention to the label!
Also, I was able to find the color I was looking for in I love this yarn! Woo hoo!!!
Well played hobby lobby...well played
I don’t shop at Hobby Lobby, but that sounds like a typical strategy for all stores. It feels sneaky when they do it though and you aren’t expecting it.
If you don’t notice the difference when you put it in your basket, you most definitely will when you get to the register. That crappy yarn is EXPENSIVE and not worth the price you pay for it.
I became really disgusted with HL after they took their fairly extensive yarn selection away. I complained about it via email and got a ridiculously stupid answer back. I’ve supported that store for years, but I hardly buy anything from them anymore. Well played, indeed, Hobby Lobby–you lost this customer!
i understand the marketing behind phasing out name brands. for many hobby lobby is the only option near by for getting yarn - besides ordering online. So i’m sure they are thinking - if we phase out name brands - and have only our own store brand our customers will have no other option but to buy ours. and for many knitters and crocheters they will continue to buy at hobby lobby - especially those that have already made a 20+ minute drive to get there in search of something - i doubt they will leave empty handed! Thus proving that the hobby lobby store brands will sell.
I am by no means bashing their store brands. I am a HUGE fan of the I Love This Yarn and I love this cotton - i feel that these are quality yarns for a decent price. I just personally am not a fan of the yarn bee line. Again it’s all personal preference and i just wanted to share my experience!
I’m not sure we have Hobby Lobby in this area or not, but based on the things I’ve heard about them I wouldn’t shop there anyway. That said, this is just a variation of the classic bait-and-switch and it’s probably not uncommon among the big chain stores, regardless of where you shop.
For that reason (among many others) I usually local. They’re competitive with the larger outlets, generally have a wider selection (though they frequently don’t have as much of any particular item) and, most importantly, [I]they know their yarn[/I]. Which is definitely NOT guaranteed when you go to MegaCraft Superstore and get the part-time high schooler who may or may not not alpaca from a hole in the ground.
I’ll also shop online – but normally only for stuff that I’m already familiar with or that’s been recommended by someone I know. The exception might be a yarn that’s so inexpensive I won’t care if it’s horrid. If nothing else I can use it for practice/experimentation.
If you’re in central NC (the Triangle area) I’ll be happy to recommend some local places if you’re interested. On line I’ve had good experiences with (in no particular order) http://yarn.com/, http://yarnmarket.com/, http://paradisefibers.com/ and http://royalyarns.com/.
I wouldn’t call it ‘bait and switch’, that’s when stores advertise one item and it’s not available so they offer another at a higher (not the same) price. HL has been doing this for years, as they introduce their own versions of other brand’s lines, placing them in the same section or next to the other brand. I don’t see it as sneaky or deceptive. Target and other stores place their house brand equivilants of health care products right next to the national brands so you can compare them and the prices.
Just want to be sure that everyone knows that i am not calling hobby lobby sneaky or deceptive - i found it almost amusing. i wasn’t mad or upset - just shocked!
I rarely shop at Target either :eyebrow:…
“Bait-and-switch” might have been the wrong term to apply. And yes, even supermarket chains have their house brand green beans next to the Jolly Green Giant ones. But it’s usually accompanied by a brightly colored “LOOK! COMPARE!! SAVE!!!”, which doesn’t sound like what happened here.
I’ve got a whole other complaint with HL that probably colors my perception of them. But it has nothing to do with yarn, so it’d be OT to get into it here. So I buy local since I have that option available. Some folks don’t, as the OP pointed out.
Stupid question here but if you’re a new knitter, how do you judge yarn quality?
Somehow, the wording of your subject line (repeating ‘well played’) sounds like you were calling them deceptive.
Can’t speak for anyone else, but I figured it out from talking to people who knew what they were looking at and asking a lot of questions just like yours. I still do 'cause I still don’t know so awfully much.
My theory has always been if you don’t know yarn, know your yarn dealer. Yeah, they have an interest in selling yarn, but they have more of an interest in keeping a customer – if they’re smart. But there’s also a whole supply chain between the beast and the boutique that can be a resource.
But at the end of the day, what makes a yarn “good” is that it does what you wanted it to do and didn’t evoke too much profanity in the process.
That’s quote could be used to describe many things in life. Not just yarn. Thanks for the advice and the anecdote.
Maybe its my generation but i view “well-played” as a term of endearment - almost amusement…
i apologize if i made them sound deceptive or sneaky - that was not my intentions at all.
Oh, don’t know what generation you’re in, but the phrase seemed somewhat snarky/sarcastic to me.
On the Ravelry Caron group, there have been some posts about this, and it seems that SS is not being discontinued by Spinrite, the new owners, and they may well be the manufacturers of HL’s new yarn. Spinrite makes all of Michaels Loops and Threads yarn, which are similar to Bernat’s, and also makes other house brand yarns.
I couldn’t tell the tone from the title, but after reading through the initial post, I thought you were just teasing. I could picture you standing there with one hand on your hip and the other shaking a finger at the yarn warning it to not pretend to be something it’s not. :teehee:
I don’t get to go to Hobby Lobby very often because I’m only on that side of town on Sundays. I think it had been over a year since the last time I was in, and when I snuck in a couple of months ago, I found their multi-aisle yarn selection was down to about an aisle and a half, with some clearance bins, and very few brands that were not in-house. (I was specifically looking for Lion Brand yarn.) It was very disappointing – I’d been looking forward to browsing, even though I was alone with my energetic 3 and 5 year olds.
I’ve used I Love This Yarn once and I thought it was great, but it is too far away to make a special trip just to buy it.
[QUOTE=sakura-panda;1363475]I couldn’t tell the tone from the title, but after reading through the initial post, I thought you were just teasing. I could picture you standing there with one hand on your hip and the other shaking a finger at the yarn warning it to not pretend to be something it’s not. :teehee:
This is pretty much what i did! lol!
Did you know that I Love This Yarn is made by Yarn Bee? I didn’t until today when I was searching to see if there was an outlet close to me!