How to Save SO MUCH Money On Craft Supplies at JOANN!

by Isabella


Posted on October 18, 2019


Let me start off by saying, this post is in no way sponsored. I’m just that fanatical! You know those extreme couponers who pay 0.42 cents for $300 worth of groceries? That’s pretty much me at my local JOANN store. Like, I’m fairly certain the employees probably talk (groan?) about me at staff meetings. I’m usually there on a weekly basis and I always have nearly as many coupons as I do products in my cart. BUT I love saving money, whether shopping for my business or my personal crafty habits, and I’ve gotten pretttty good at it! Let me share my “secrets” with you!

Although I have basically all the major craft stores within a 15 minute drive from me (!!), JOANN is definitely my favorite because they accept multiple coupons and competitor coupons as well. I love the yarn selection at Hobby Lobby as well, and often pop into Michael’s and A.C.Moore’s but their coupon policies are much more limited. JOANN has so many ways to save- let me break it down for you!

1.Get the The JOANN app!

The app is fairly new and it’s pretty great! You can not only view and save coupons either to your online cart or a virtual wallet you can scan in store, but you can also view all the current adds, shop the entire JOANN inventory online, and find all sorts of inspo from other makers! The app is available in both the iOS App store and the Google Play store! I love that I don’t have to carry around all my various coupons and discount cards (more on that shortly!)- the app keeps so many of them organized and in one place!

2.Sign up for all the things. The texts. The mail. The email. ALL OF IT.

As long as the coupon has a different barcode number you can use it. So even if you get the same “offer” (ex: 40% off one regular priced item until ___date___), as long as the barcode numbers aren’t identical, you can use them all! That means the one that comes in the mail, the ones that comes to your email, the ones that come by text, and the ones that come in the app are all generally usable in the same shopping trip! And a lil tip: you can just screenshot the ones you can’t save to the app, rather than print and cut them all out every time! You can easily sign up for all the text/email/mail coupons here on this form!

 3. Competitors Coupons (and price matching!)

Like I mentioned, JOANN accepts all competitor’s coupons!!!!! They will also match competitors prices if they carry identical items. There are some “fine print-y” bits, like you can only use ONE of each competitor per transaction per day (so I go in armed with my best Hobby Lobby, by best A.C. Moore’s and my best Michael’s coupon- but you can’t use like 2 Michael’s in one trip!), but for the most part you can use this to get SO MUCH ADDITIONAL SAVINGS! For all the full details on their coupon policy, see this page.

And I haven’t tested it out since I do have all the stores locally, but rumor has it you can use any competitor, even if you don’t actually have a, say, Hobby Lobby, locally to you, because online makes everything “local” and JOANN wants your business!

4.Join the JOANN Smiles Reward Program

In addition to the app and all the coupon sign ups, make sure you are part of their rewards program! It’s called “Smiles” and it gets you even MORE savings, like bonus coupons for spending certain amounts, birthday surprises and other fun occasional discount perks. You can sign up on the site (or in the app!), but once you are in, you can find your Smiles barcode in the top of the coupon section of the app! Scan it every purchase to earn those rewards!

5. Discount Programs

But wait, there’s more! In addition to everything else JOANN offers some great discount programs to certain groups! Once joined you can also the discounts that apply to you into the app as well for easy scanning so you don’t have to keep track of any extra cards or anything! (*see links for details and exclusions)

*Teacher Discount: are you a teacher? 15% off everything, everyday! Keep those kiddos crafting and make that classroom look incredible. Another protip? If you have documentation that you are a homeschooling mama, you can use this discount as well!

*4-H Discount: 15% off and a minimum 2.5% back to 4-H programs

*Girl Scout Discount: 15% off every purchase and a minimum 2.5 % will go back to the Girl Scouts organization!

*Military Discount: This one is near and dear to me. My husband is an Air Force vet and while the 15% off discount only applies to active duty/dependents or retired military, I really appreciate that JOANN offers this discount year round! It used to just be on special days like July 4th, but they extended it to be a constant thing and it makes my military-loving heart happy!

*JOANN+: Save an additional 5% off purchases of $500 or more when you purchase in bulk. Also you get other perks like bulk pricing discounts, great customer service, and direct shipping. Learn more here.

*Tax-Exempt Status: I have to admit, I am so mad at myself for not taking advantage of this yet, I just keep forgetting(…for 2 years…even though I’m there weekly…) to bring in a copy of my Tax ID number! BUT, if you’re better at remembering than I am, JOANN honors those who fall into eligible groups for tax-exempt purchasing, like those buying for resale (ie: those of us buying a heck of a lot of yarn to make stuff to sell!), non-profits, government employees, and religious organizations.

6. Shop the Clearance Section

{Fun fact: I am notorious for mispronouncing (though I *know* how it’s said) the word “clearance” as the “Clarence” (like the name) and declaring “I LOVE CLARENCE!!!” It does not give my husband joy.}

Due to my love of “clarence” I am always on the lookout for the clearance items JOANN hides around the store. Usually there is a section of a few rows dedicated just to that, but if you snoop around you can usually find even more hiding, like bins in the back of the yarn section! I always find some great stuff as they are changing over their seasonal items. They usually make the season items 60-70% off before they swap them out! Stock up on those Christmas items in January! Get that summery stuff in late August! There is also always a clearance section on the website!

7. Ibotta

Ibotta is a rebate app that I absolutely love, not only for JOANN but for all the grocery stores, pharmacies and other places I frequent like Target and Walmart, as well as so many online shopping (Etsy!!) sites. You buy stuff. You add your receipt. You get money back for buying stuff. Real money. It’s not a scam, I swear. Since joining in October of 2017 I’ve earned close to $400. FOUR HUNDRED DOLLARS, PEOPLE! You trade your earnings in for gift cards and…it’s amazing.

One of the sites/stores that you can earn from is JOANN! You can go through and add specific items (right now there is a lot of faux fur to make these pom poms!) they are offering rebates on, or often they offer 5-15% rebate on your total purchase (and honestly that’s where probably 80+% of my $400 came from). I’ve even traded in my earnings for JOANN gift cards (but some of my other favorites are Whole Foods, DSW & paypal- but there are lots to chose from!) I highly recommend it! If anyone knows of any other rebate apps you can use in store at JOANN that I’m missing, let me know!

*Truth be told up front, if you sign up HERE or with code “EOKWPNL” I will get a bonus (and so will you!) but even if you don’t use my referral, sign up anyway! Ibotta is SO worth it!

So, those are my 7 favorite ways to save on all my crafty needs and wants by shopping at JOANN stores! Don’t forget to pin the post, so you can easily find it on your next JOANN shopping trip! Did I miss anything? What are your favorite ways to save on crafty items, be it at JOANN or elsewhere? Drop me a comment and give me all the tips and tricks for my crazy coupon lady ways!

**I do just want to say, if you’re going to use all or any of these tips to be a crazy coupon craft lady like me, especially holiday time when all the retail locations of the land are wild and the employees of said locations are worn thin, have your coupons ready when you get to the register. If you’re using your phone/app, have the page open and brightness turned up. And just be courteous and kind! Especially if there is some fine print you missed and maybe a certain coupon doesn’t apply where you had hoped! Get those savings where you can, but never make a scene or be a jerk. Don’t be out there giving us makers a bad name! And thank you, JOANN and employees for being so spectacular!

business helps , craft business , Crafty Business Helps , crochet business , ibotta , joann , knit business , my crochet business , save money , selling handmade , tips and tricks

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