gbdolfans Posted March 1 Share Posted March 1 Hi, a couple of days ago, I went to my local store. They had only about 8 kits and no Spray cans. My wife and I went to another store and they only had 1 kit and again, no spray paint. are they discontinued? As a side note, walmart had all their spray paint (Krylon) locked up behind glass. A lady said they had to do that in different parts of store Lego,bb guns,pet flea stuff, etc... 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Can-Con Posted March 1 Share Posted March 1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vamach1 Posted March 2 Share Posted March 2 1 hour ago, gbdolfans said: Hi, a couple of days ago, I went to my local store. They had only about 8 kits and no Spray cans. My wife and I went to another store and they only had 1 kit and again, no spray paint. are they discontinued? As a side note, walmart had all their spray paint (Krylon) locked up behind glass. A lady said they had to do that in different parts of store Lego,bb guns,pet flea stuff, etc... My guess is since Hobby Lobby carry’s models and paints and tools etc and some Walmart sell kits around Christmas that Michael’s has given up on carrying them. I used to check the local Michals once in a while but the model section is very small and I’m guessing not because they were not selling many. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blizzy63 Posted March 2 Share Posted March 2 I’ve seen this before at Michaels. They have a select set of models for a while. Then it peters out and then they’re all gone. I ask an associate in the store if they’re going to get in any more models. They don’t know. I conclude that Michaels is not going to carry model kits any more. One day, out of the blue, they have a section with new models. The ritual repeats. I’ve witnessed two of these cycles and I am currently watching for the third… 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CA Whitecloud Posted March 2 Share Posted March 2 All the Michael's near me are now closed. My nearest real hobby store is a Hobby Lobby (30 min. drive) and the store is a hole in a strip mall in dire need of repair. Although the store was small it was still sparsely stocked. Some paint, some tools, a FEW kits (mostly military and Sci-Fi) and the rest was all RC racing. The person working saw my disappointment and kindly reminded me the selection was much better in the online store. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bobss396 Posted March 2 Share Posted March 2 IMO, Michael's is in a decline. The kit area of the one by me, a scant number of kits and less paint and supplies. Also vast open areas in the store floor, the shelves in general are sparse. The self-checkout is not a good sign either. We have been in the store at times, really no other shoppers. The help has been thinned out too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Junkman Posted March 3 Share Posted March 3 My local Michaels hasn't had a kit in 3-4 years. One about an hour away sometimes has them. I stopped looking there quite some time ago and my local Walmart hasn't had any in closer to 10-12 years. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
xbazzarex Posted March 3 Share Posted March 3 My local michaels still had some but the prices are to high. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tom Geiger Posted March 3 Share Posted March 3 On 3/1/2024 at 6:17 PM, gbdolfans said: As a side note, walmart had all their spray paint (Krylon) locked up behind glass. A lady said they had to do that in different parts of store Lego,bb guns,pet flea stuff, etc... My local Walmart now has a guy at the door putting a yellow highlighter mark on your receipt as you leave the building. No doubt having a lot of theft with people coming back in the store with their bag and duplicating their purchases! On 3/2/2024 at 7:09 AM, bobss396 said: IMO, Michael's is in a decline. Michaels is going down! I heard they are so broke that they cannot replace batteries on the forklifts in the distribution centers so guys are humping loads manually. All brick and mortar stores are in a decline. I just found out my local Staples store is closing. Its a larger one, and they are consolidating in the smaller store one town away, as they try to get everyone to order online instead. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
slusher Posted March 3 Share Posted March 3 I went to Michael’s years ago and they had. Only a few old model and the store was small.. never been back too one. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RSchnell Posted March 3 Share Posted March 3 The Michael's in my area only has 4 kits and minimal paint selection. I wouldn't even bother with stopping in but it's next to the Aldi that I frequent. The Ollie's across the street has a better kit selection- even on the times when they have no kits! LOL Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Robberbaron Posted March 4 Share Posted March 4 I was going to be near one of my local Michaels yesterday, so I checked their website and was surprised to see a 50% coupon. That clinched a drop in! All they had was one Revell X-KE Jaguar and a handful of the Monogram "Classic Cruiser" '55 Ford F100's. Hard pass. They had moved the models from their previous spot, and this now nearly empty section was about a quarter the size of the previous area. They've never had a great selection at this store, but this was a new low. My other local Michaels has never carried model kits that I've seen. On the flipside, I stopped at one of my local Joann stores and they now have a very limited selection of Atlantis kits. Unfortunately, nothing that interested me. About the best thing they had was the old Revell "opening everything" '57 Chevy, but I'm not that crazy. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bobss396 Posted March 4 Share Posted March 4 14 hours ago, Tom Geiger said: My local Walmart now has a guy at the door putting a yellow highlighter mark on your receipt as you leave the building. No doubt having a lot of theft with people coming back in the store with their bag and duplicating their purchases! Michaels is going down! I heard they are so broke that they cannot replace batteries on the forklifts in the distribution centers so guys are humping loads manually. All brick and mortar stores are in a decline. I just found out my local Staples store is closing. Its a larger one, and they are consolidating in the smaller store one town away, as they try to get everyone to order online instead. Michael's is looking bleak. I tell the help (when I can find anyone...) to start looking for another job.. soon. Bed Bath and Beyond used to be a hopping place, long check out lines even. Then they rolled in the self checkouts. The kiss of death in these cases. The Staples by me closed in November, they said that the rent had doubled. The same strip mall, Modells is long gone, Radio Shack too. Little Caesars in West Babylon... gone. Burger King by our model meetings... gone. The entire Sunrise Mall in Massapequa is on the way out too. For the general hobby, there are really 4 shops on the Island. One close to me that was just done over, no aftermarket stuff. 2 others that are 25 miles each way and Nassau Hobby (close to our Freeport show venue), I have to venture out that way soon. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ewetwo Posted March 4 Share Posted March 4 The Micheals near me closed a few years ago due to theft. A friend works in another store as a manager in the same mall and is quitting after 15 years because of theft and harassment by the thieves. That whole mall will be closed in a few years. Our local Price Chopper food store had to put special boxes on all their shopping carts that registers the cart went through the checkout before leaving. If not it sets off an alarm and camera because of theft. And you wonder why stores are locking everything up. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CapSat 6 Posted March 4 Share Posted March 4 It seems that the Michael’s Secret Markdown is real. I went to one this morning. There were no tags on the kits or the shelves, but sure enough, many kits scanned at $3.00 or so. A few kits didn’t scan as reduced. I was hoping for a Hemi Dart, but that was still $29.99. I would buy every one I found if they were $3.00! The AMT Super Stones Ford Pickup was still regular price, as well as the Batmobile kit. I did see the AMT ‘70 Chevelle, ‘69 Tornio Cobra, ‘67 Drag Fairlane, Revell ‘69 Super Bee, Revell early Bronco, ‘83 Hurst Olds, Revell GMC Pickup with plow, and ‘66 Impala were marked down to about $3.00. The Foose ‘65 Impala was marked down to $10, still a great deal if you are looking for one. I tested this out by buying a few , it’s legit. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CabDriver Posted March 5 Share Posted March 5 Slim pickin’s at my local store tonight… Had a 40% off coupon tho, so a Deuce kit followed me home even tho I don’t really need it… 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
carrucha Posted March 6 Share Posted March 6 I stopped by my local Michaels and the shelves were pretty bare in the model kit section. About four months ago they had a decent selection of kits. Hopefully they will stock up soon. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shoeman Posted March 7 Share Posted March 7 Pretty much the same here. Infrequent restocks, dismal Testors paint selection. But a huge selection of craft acrylics for spraying, oil paints for weathering, and brushes. Frequent coupons and rewards that my wife is set up for so you can save a few bucks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DaveB Posted March 11 Share Posted March 11 I stopped by our local Michaels over the weekend as I'm getting back into building, they had a rather limited supply, but I found a clearance section which had 3 of Dom's Charger and 3 of the GMC plow truck for $2.98 each, all 6 went home with me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pierre_tec Posted March 12 Share Posted March 12 I read in a FB page that supposedly, they are cleaning his shelve, cause I’ll get a bigger models aisle ,like Hobby lobby But anyone can post something, and telling they known a big manager and stil be fake, I just want to believe his story Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bobthehobbyguy Posted March 12 Share Posted March 12 On 3/3/2024 at 1:31 PM, Tom Geiger said: My local Walmart now has a guy at the door putting a yellow highlighter mark on your receipt as you leave the building. No doubt having a lot of theft with people coming back in the store with their bag and duplicating their purchases! On 3/2/2024 at 4:09 AM, bobss396 said: Costco has had someone check your purchases for years when you leave the store. On 3/3/2024 at 1:31 PM, Tom Geiger said: All brick and mortar stores are in a decline. I just found out my local Staples store is closing. Its a larger one, and they are consolidating in the smaller store one town away, as they try to get everyone to order online instead. And in a lot of cases they are pushing the customers in that direction. Limited in store stock. Lock everything up and not have enough employees with keys. There are lots of advantages to fewer or limited size stores. No rents, they need less employees. More centralized inventory. The attempt to reduce the number of clerks with self checkout has not been the win the stores had hoped. Higher shrinkage do to unintended customer mistakes and intentional shrinkage by the outright thieves. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bobss396 Posted March 13 Share Posted March 13 Lots of brick and mortar stores are fighting for existence. My local Staples just folded up, there are other stores around. I talked to someone the last time I was there, she said that the strip mall owner DOUBLED the rent and they were not going to pay that. The same mall, the Modells went adios a while back, Radio Shack has been gone for over a decade. So there are a few vacant stores here and all around from what I see. Yesterday, I'm in a supermarket that has 8 checkout lines. Only 2 were open plus the self checkouts. Then onto Hobby Lobby, just 2 cashiers there out of about 10 stations. The pet food place, normally one on the register and a couple of others stocking and or helping customers. I was in the back of the store, lots of open floor space all of a sudden. They were out of my favorite (the cat's favorite...) Fancy Feast and had no idea when more was coming in. Michael's is starting to look very sparse too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
carrucha Posted March 31 Share Posted March 31 A few days ago I stopped by the Michaels by my home and was surprised to see the model kit section empty except for some Testors paints. This store has always had model kits. I hope they didn't drop model kits. I have been buying model kits from Michaels for the past 30 years. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.