Just last week, a shopper went viral after saying that Hobby Lobby carries identical items at different prices.
In a recent TikTok, Brandy (@brandy.english) goes to Hobby Lobby herself to confirm if this is true. By Friday, she has reached over 894,000 views and 103,000 likes on her video.
At the start of her video, she says she recently saw a TikTok saying, “Hobby Lobby’s prices are not consistent and that one item may cost different prices.”
“And I am just here to confirm that that is true,” she adds.
Brandy explains that she is looking at the dollhouse materials in the store. As she records a wooden door accessory, she finds it is priced at $10.99. She pans the camera to the right and says, “This door is the same and is $9.99.”
Then Brandy pans to a pack of wooden steps priced at $14.99. The same package of steps behind it is priced at $8.49.
“Like what even?” she asks.
She also finds a pack of doorknobs for $2.49 and another identical one for $4.49.
Brandy captioned her video, “@Hobby Lobby, you have some explaining to do.”
@brandy.english @Hobby Lobby, you have some explaning to do. 🧐 #hobbylobby #moneytok #foryou #craftstore #crafting #hobbylobbychallenge #hobbylobbypriceincrease #fyp #sneaky ♬ Sneaky Friends – Eitan Epstein Music
In the comments section, former Hobby Lobby workers explain why this may be happening.
One says, “if they change the prices of an item, we don’t take the old ones off the shelves. We have no online inventory, we type all the prices, so whatever is on the item is what we charge regardless of what the newer price is.”
Another agrees, “they just don’t have a computer system that adjusts for inflation, so stuff comes in from the warehouse with the new price and sometimes the older stuff hasn’t sold yet.”
“There’s no barcodes,” another former employee explains. “The only way to raise the prices on products is for the new ones to be priced higher.”
Brandy liked a comment that said, “That’s the fun part, find a price you like!”
The Hobby Lobby website states, “We do not guarantee that a price, product, or promotion offered through the Site will be available or honored at a Hobby Lobby Store or vice versa.”
The Daily Dot reached out to Hobby Lobby via media contact form and Brandy via TikTok direct message.