Michaels

I went there today to check out some tracing paper. Many of the isles were quite messy, with garbage on the floor and dust swept into piles but not picked up. There was a sale sign on the exact location for the paper I wanted, with the same brand and type, but the cashier would not honor the sale price. He called for a price check, and one salesclerk went down the isle and came back and said it was the green paper. I went, brought back the sale tag that clearly said the yellow paper. There was one cashier for over 7 customers in line. When a second cashier was called, both cashiers had to do price checks and the service was extremely slow. I have gone here for three years, mainly to use the coupons that come in the flyers at 40 or 50% off one regular item, but I now find I can get that coupon price for virtually everything I need at other stores such as Marshalls, dollar store, home sense and others. I won’t be returning.

Went to a Michaels to make a purchase, discovered many items had a US price and a Canadian price, which was about 30% higher. This is outrageous and even laughable because the Canadian dollar is over 1.5% stronger than the US$. Walked out without buying, will NEVER shop there until prices are at parity.

so. it’s a big-​box craft store, with locations all over the freakin place. this one seems to be lacking a little in some areas. I think I was spoilt in BC, where my favourite sections were always 2 – 3 aisles jammed full.
This one was sparse and barely stocked in many areas (although that seems to be the theme in most big retail stores in the Edmonton area) I’m a knitter, and a cake decorator who also dabbles in scrap-​booking (OK, ok. I’m a craft addict and like to make a butt load of my own gifts and household décor, so I was hoping this place had everything in one store)
This location seems to favour what I would call «silver haired» folks crafting or school crafting gear, very basic selections on most items and doesn’t seem to carry the full line available to their chain. I’ll have to visit some of the other locations to verify this theory though. In the mean time, I’ll continue to shop the sales with coupons from the app :)
BTW. if you have a smart phone, check out the Michaels app. I don’t seem to get the weekly flyer’s at my new place, so the app has come in handy — you can get scannable coupons right on your phone — no paper print outs needed!

Had to get a picture frame. I went in the back myself to find it.

We’re kinda stuck with Michaels as we don’t have a lot of «crafty» options here in Canada. I do appreciate being able to locate speciality items but I really do not like their over inflated prices.
The fact that there is a weekly coupon for 50% off a single item and frequently coupons for 25−30% off your entire order in addition to their framing department which always seems to have a 50% off sale going on… it makes me not trust them and their ethics behind their pricing.
Also, I understand the concepts of duty, import fees, taxes, etc. But really… our dollar is strong, there is no reason for a $ 3.99 American price to be $ 6.99 just because it’s in Canada. And to actually read the two prices on the label — now that’s a slap in the face.