8 Secrets Hobby Lobby Doesn’t Want You to Know

1 | There's a "secret" sale schedule for the whole year.

Hobby Lobby used to offer 40-percent-off coupons that made shopping for craft items incredibly inexpensive, but the chain did away with those back in 2021. Instead, the coupons were replaced with weekly sales that follow a "secret" schedule.

"Table decor is 50% off @hobbylobby this week...and if you didn’t already know, it goes on sale every other week," shared TikTok user @happyhomeclearance, who updates followers weekly on sales.

But if you want to plan for shopping the sales, you don't have to rely on social media accounts. Coupon generator Groupon compiled Hobby Lobby's 2024 sales schedule. For example, they note that crafts and jewelry-making supplies are reduced up to 50 percent every three weeks; fall decor is up to 80 percent off during the last two weeks of November; and every single week, certain fabrics are on sale.

Anyone who's a fan of florals should also pay attention to the sales schedule. According to Scott Lieberman, the CEO and founder of Touchdown Money, floral arrangements, wreaths, and garlands are always marked down at the same time.

"If you miss the sale this time around, don't worry because the same item will be on sale during the next 40 percent off week," he shared with Best Life.

RELATED: 8 Warnings to Shoppers From Ex-Hobby Lobby Employees.

2 | Hobby Lobby offers rain checks for sale items.

"If you see a sale that you’d like to stock up on, but there isn’t enough of the color or finish you need, you can still score that discounted price the next time you shop," shares Samantha Landau, consumer expert at TopCashback.com. All you have to do is ask for a rain check at customer service.

"Once the item is back in stock, you can bring in the ticket to pick it up and get it for that sale price, almost like a coupon," she explains.

3 | Saturday night is the best time to shop for deals.

Want a wild Saturday night? Consider stopping by your local Hobby Lobby for the best deals. The store is closed on Sundays for religious reasons, so Saturday is the last day to shop before the changeover.

"Saturday evenings are sometimes when you can shop from the sales for the upcoming week just by being in the store when those prices are posted," says Matt Granite (The Deal Guy) in a video on YouTube.

Plus, he calls this time a "double whammy," as shoppers can "lock in all the discounts from the week to which that day is attached and the possibility of shopping the deals from the next week."

4 | You can get even more savings on damaged items.

Landau shares that it's possible to receive additional savings on items with dings, dents, or imperfections: "If an item has noticeable damage that doesn’t bother you, you can ask the cashier for a discount."

She notes that these discounts are likely to be in the 10- to 15-percent-off range and can also be applied to clearance items.

RELATED: Fact Check: Does Hobby Lobby Charge Different Prices for the Same Products?

5 | Consider buying furniture elsewhere.

While Hobby Lobby is great for fabric, seasonal decor, or paint, it's not always the best for furniture. "Even though Hobby Lobby’s furniture is ‘always’ on sale, that doesn’t mean it’s worth the price," notes Landau.

She's referring to the fact that furniture at the store is always "on-sale" for 30 percent off. However, she explains that the store marks furniture up so that when they add the sale, it matches competitors' prices. And since you can't use additional coupons, you're not actually getting a deal.

Instead, Landau suggests going to HomeGoods, Target, Walmart, or your local thrift store where "you can often find similar pieces for cheaper."

6 | You can price-match anything you buy.

Hobby Lobby will price match any of its major competitors, including Michaels.

In another part of his video on YouTube, The Deal Guy describes the "price match hack" and says it works "as long as you print the competitor's ad and bring it in with you."

This works only in-store, and you can't use a major coupon with a price match.

RELATED: Why You Should Never Pay Full Price at Hobby Lobby, Ex-Employee Says.

7 | Clearance items may be hidden.

Sometimes, sale items can be hidden from shoppers, so don’t be afraid to ask for what you need. For example, during a sale on markers, Redditors posted about where they found the art supplies in their stores and it varied greatly.

“I had to ask at my Hobby Lobby, they were in the back room… Placement really seems to vary by store,” one commenter wrote. Another found the same art supplies in a separate clearance section.

TikTok user @pagedanielle visited the store during a 75-percent-off sale and said, "I had enough sense to head over to the middle of the store. There was so much 75 percent off clearance stuff throughout the center of the store that I would have not known about... The more I walked, the more orange stickers I kept seeing. So many things available on clearance!"

8 | Holiday decor is much cheaper off-season.

Once Halloween or Christmas season rolls around, it's tempting to buy all of the seasonal decor you need. But you’ll have much better luck if you start stocking up during the off-season.

"The cheapest holiday items are marked down exactly one week before the actual holiday," TikTok user @mer__ber advises.

And the other thing to keep in mind about seasonal merchandise is that the discount keeps increasing.

"Seasonal sales never end they only increase until supplies are gone. So it goes 50%, 60%, 66%, and so on till it’s gone," explained former Hobby Lobby employee @iris_3791 on TikTok.