Michael's no longer selling model rockets?!?!?!?

I went to my nearby Michaels (in Hunt Valley, MD) and they no longer have model rockets or engines. When I asked an employee, they said they "discontinued" selling them.

I don't remember last year (as last year was my first BAR year) if this is a common seasonal discontinuation. Or if it could be something specific to this store. I'm hoping the former.

Please let me know if your local Michaels is still selling rockets.

Thanks,

Karl

They've only had RTF/ARF and those overpriced packs of motors with wadding, for some time now (since 2011 I think). Not surprised they discontinued them entirely. Last time I looked at my local (Indianapolis area) store, they had just a few things... sad really... but the same motors can be had at the same prices at Walmart and Target stores these days. They started carrying them again a year or two ago.

The one near me still has rockets, although yes they are the RTF/ARF type.
I did see that they no longer have shelf space for the blast pack. Of course, I only would buy a blast pack when I had a 40% or 50% off coupon....

I haven't bought rockets there, but it was my go to brick and mortar store for engines..only with a 40% or 50% off coupon of course because as you said the normal pricing is way over priced.

The one near me discontinued that stuff better than a year ago, the one that's on the way home from work has recently cut their stock way back. They still have a spot for the blast off pack, but nothing's been in it since Christmas. And they've stopped restocking the smaller engine packs, which are dwindling away...

The Michael's nearest to me, has never had them (best I know). This would cover about a 6-8 year span. HL still has em, but I don't rely on them for kits. Just the balsa. Most everything I get is ordered online anymore. OH...I do use that 40% coupon for motors at HL, and Michael's still accepts those for my balsa needs.

looks like they still have the Tandem X launch set, with a 40% coupon off a pretty good deal.
But no engines show up on the web search:
https://www.michaels.com/search?q=estes

Of the 3 Michael's by me, only 1 sold rockets stuff and it was the rtf/starter stuff (of which the Tandem X set got me started in all this since my family had a coupon and nothing to buy...my wife really regrets that one! :cyclops as well as a few motors. My HobbyLobby has quite a nice wall of rockets though...best in my area and they also have quite a lot of motors going up to the Estes BP F motors including boost motors. The odd ones are Target and Toys R Us...they have a small selection which seems to disappear once in a while for a few months and then come back at times. Of the 3 Walmarts by me only 1 sells rockets...seems they just started too with a small selection like the Michael's.

Yup, I'm a rocket geek.

My local Hobby Lobby has a better rocket wall than my local hobby shop (though to be fair they're called Remote Control Hobbies and not Lots Of Rockets). I like internet shopping but try to support local shops as well. It's fun to actually see and touch the kits when you're looking for a new project, though I have to admit that through plenty of bargain hunting online, I have my own rocket wall in my garage that's pretty fun to look at.

There's a Hobby Lobby about 20 minutes from me, but its in a part of town I rarely go (though I passed it on my bike last weekend). I haven't been in there since well before I got back into rocketry, so I have no idea what they carry. I'll have to make a trip up there.

Michael's is an arts and crafts store, so I am surprised they ever sold rockets to begin with. I wouldn't freak out over this.

Michael's was the best at one time with 50% off coupons and a decent selection, C6-5 bulk packs. Then they went to ARF and tiny 18mm motors at full retail. Have not shopped there in years. Hobby Lobby blows them away. No big loss for the serious BAR, but anything that reduces exposure to the general public is bad.

Michaels stock varies from location to location. Some carry model Rockets and some do not. And some that do later drop them and some that don't later start selling them.

it varies over time.

For those that DO stock and sell them, they are discontinuing carrying some items. I was in one yesterday that had dropped A10-3T motors and Blast Off Flight Packs and C6-3 motors. All were discounted, some HEAVILY. If I have time, I will visit some other locations. Of course, working 12 to 14 hour days plus commute time does not leave a lot of time. It does leave a lot of $$$$$$.

Down here (Charlotte, NC), Michael's doesn't carry them and neither does Target or Wal-Mart, at least as far as I know/have seen. Wal-Mart used to.

Our Michaels dropped Estes rockets maybe 5 years ago. They used to have a reasonable supply, including motor bulk packs. The Hobby Lobby here is a bit weird. RTFs and ARFs mostly, plus several PSII. Not much in between. And motor selection is spotty.

It's a cycle. Remember, they're beginning to get rid of "summer" stuff at all the big box stores and starting to stock shelves with fall stuff. Will it return later? Who knows, unless it makes money for them, it won't.

Michael's here in Apple Valley Ca. does not carry anything rocket related. I used to go in for balsa, but now I just go to HL for all my rocket needs. A new Michaels store is soon to have a grand opening near HL and I wonder if they will try to compete with them and offer rocketry with the new bigger store. If not, than it is just a waste of real estate for me that could have been a nice restaurant instead.

Michaels' stores apparently have the option of stocking rockets or not. Some don't carry them at all; with some, it is completely seasonal. On their website they have a category titled "Modeling and Rocketry" under "Crafts and Hobbies". This is also the title of the aisle end cap sign in their stores around here, which all have rockets, but only have launch sets and standard 3-pack motors.

The Michael's near me usually has rockets and motors but it's just the RTF stuff. I notice they seem to have less in the last year or so and no longer have the A10-3T motors like they used to. Their motor prices are high but with a 40% or 50% off coupon it's pretty good.

Glenn

I was just in Michael's last night - I had a 25% off entire order coupon, so I bought a couple packets of A8-3s and of C6-5s, as well as some wood. Those were the only motors that they had on the shelf. The funny thing was that they had put a clearance tag on the shelf spot for the Blast-off Flight Pack, which brought it down to $49.99, which would've made it $37.50 with my coupon, but they haven't actually had any stock in that spot for months...

BOFP at Michael's are hidden in the managers office (too much theft from the boxes). They sometimes have an empty display box on the shelf but the qty of empty display boxes does not always equal the qty of full BOFP boxes hidden in the office.

You cannot use the 25% off (or any other coupon) on Clearance items.

I hit a couple of locations yesterday when I was out shopping. Prices are varying depending on how long they have items on Clearance. Some stores are getting rid of all their rockets.....I'll check more stores throughout this week as I drive home from work using various routes.

shreadvector said:

BOFP at Michael's are hidden in the managers office (too much theft from the boxes). They sometimes have an empty display box on the shelf but the qty of empty display boxes does not always equal the qty of full BOFP boxes hidden in the office.

You cannot use the 25% off (or any other coupon) on Clearance items.

I hit a couple of locations yesterday when I was out shopping. Prices are varying depending on how long they have items on Clearance. Some stores are getting rid of all their rockets.....I'll check more stores throughout this week as I drive home from work using various routes.

Click to expand...

good to know. BTW, the coupon I had specifically said "entire order, including sale items"...

The Michael's where I used to shop (Bloomington, IN) had a TON of ARF and RTF models last summer, so I picked up some cheap rockets. The motors were always overpriced.

Over the winter and all this summer, their selection was a lot smaller, and not as cheap, so I didn't bother getting anything. I figured they probably didn't sell much these days, as we had a local hobby store downtown and a Hobby Lobby full of rockets.

Keep reading....excludes clearance items.

Sale is not clearance.

In the 'good old days" the varying checkout systems allowed the untrained cashiers to go ahead and over-ride and apply the coupon to clearance items. now it should be extremely difficult and require a manager to over-ride.

EXPjawa said:

good to know. BTW, the coupon I had specifically said "entire order, including sale items"...

Click to expand...

Well, there was nothing in the fine print of the emailing that specifically disallowed clearance items from the "25% ENTIRE Purchase" coupon, the only such note - I looked - pertained to a buy-one-get-one coupon for artist's canvases (denoted with an asterisk). Maybe there was something on the coupon itself when printed from their site, but since it was scanned off of my phone, I didn't have a printed copy. And it no longer is available on the website. Either way, its a moot point, since the merchandise wasn't available, or at least appeared unavailable in the 10 minutes prior to close of business I was in there. If it was available and the coupon applied, $37.50 would've been a good deal. If not, well, then the clearance price of $49 was ok, but not a better price than $42 at Belleville Hobbies, so I don't feel too bad about not asking if they had them stashed somewhere...

It's a good thing I did not mention all of the $34.95 clearance BOFPs I saw.

*poof*

Gotta go look for some more of those on my way home....and during lunch tomorrow....

My local store had probably 15-20 sets/kits (maybe 2-3 of them were builder kits) until about a year ago, then they cleared out most everything save a couple of launch sets and motors. They put their mini-motors on clearance a few weeks ago (I bought a couple of packs, saved a trip to HL) and I wouldn't be surprised if the other motors are on clearance by now.

I stopped at one in Ft. Wayne, IN and they had rockets. Very small selection, mind you. Mostly launch kits and 18mm motors. Picked up the Tandem set for my nephews birthday and some always needed C6-5's for my low powered stuff. Not a bad deal with 40% off

Zero rocket anything at my local Michaels...

While walking through the local Wal-Mart to find some glossy black paint to do my nose-cone for the Goblin that I'm building, I decided to stop and look at the Estes Rocket display in the toy department. I walked through each of the aisles three times, and never found it. Apparently it's now a thing of the past.
Then I went to the former Crafts 2000 which is now Pat Catan's and found about five RTF or ETX rockets and exactly five packs of motors... A8-3 and 1/2A somethings. There were NO larger motors nor anything resembling a "kit" left. I was very bummed until I realized this might mean that all those more challenging rockets and higher motors were sold to willing rocketeers. (...yeah, right...)