Please Boycott Hobby Lobby

[stargatedalek]

Sorry if this is not an appropriate section, I figured since it was related to purchasing dinosaur figures this was the place for it.

I understand political topics are frowned upon here, but this is different, this is something that we can actually do something about. If you're here to find a safespace away from politics or what not than I understand that, and I do regret bothering people who are here to escape from such discussions, but I ask that you read anyway, genuinely, please.


I've never once heard anything positive about Hobby Lobby on this forum, and abysmal quality control, broken products, and bad stocking aside Hobby Lobby is an incredibly scummy business and I plead with everyone not to give them your hard earned money.

Not only are their products a risk to buy for you relative to other companies with higher quality control, but in supporting Hobby Lobby you support misogyny and homophobia. Hobby Lobby has denied pregnancy and contraceptive medical care for their female employees despite it being covered in Medicare, and have been confirmed to deny employment and even service to homosexual or transgender patrons purely on the grounds of their orientation or identity. All of this was recently allowed as "religious freedom" in the American courts despite violating other aspects of the constitution and ignoring basic human rights and dignity.

Hobby Lobby used a law designed to protect charities from potentially bankrupting medical fees and twisted it into a "religious concern" to save themselves money.

And Senator Charles Schumer, who created the original law that was twisted to allow this to happen said "[this law (RFRA)] was not intended to extend the same protection to for-profit corporations, whose very purpose is to profit from the open market."

Former White House spokesman Josh Earnest commented on this "Congress needs to take action to solve this problem that's been created and the administration stands ready to work with them to do so. President Obama believes that women should make personal health care decisions for themselves, rather than their bosses deciding for them. Today's decision jeopardizes the health of women that are employed by these companies.".

Hobby Lobby owners and upper management are using their religious beliefs to justify the obstruction of human rights and to shed corporate liability by saving themselves money not covering female employees for the full scope of medical conditions they should be eligible for.

Even if only a few people chose to buy their Papo figures from another retailer, that's at least a few tens of dollars not going towards this unethical behavior.

[suspsy]

There are no Hobby Lobby stores up here in Canada, at least not to my knowledge. All I've seen and read about their organization leads me to the conclusion that they're not good for Western society.

[Bowhead Whale]

It reminds me of how Walt Disney Corporation treated their female employees in India. It was in 2006. Indian female Disney employees were fired after they went on strike for bad treatments. Those women claimed that Disney employed only women in the purpose of having more submissive workers. Not only those women worked sixteen hours a day, but the bosses litterally flogged them when they were slowing down from tiredness. Things were even worse in the Fall season, because Disney wanted to produce more stuff to sell during the Christmas season. So, after reading this, I decided to boycott Disney products completely.

[stargatedalek]

There are no Hobby Lobby stores up here in Canada, at least not to my knowledge. All I've seen and read about their organization leads me to the conclusion that they're not good for Western society.

They don't seem to exist outside of the continental United States. I've seen a few on holiday and whatever one may say about the choice of stock Michaels (as near as I can tell the Canadian equivalent for hobby supplies) brings in at least they keep their stores and products in good repair! I had no idea Hobby Lobby was doing so much bad behind the scenes at the time but just the quality on (and for that matter of) the shelves was almost saddening to see.

It reminds me of how Walt Disney Corporation treated their female employees in India. It was in 2006. Indian female Disney employees were fired after they went on strike for bad treatments. Those women claimed that Disney employed only women in the purpose of having more submissive workers. Not only those women worked sixteen hours a day, but the bosses litterally flogged them when they were slowing down from tiredness. Things were even worse in the Fall season, because Disney wanted to produce more stuff to sell during the Christmas season. So, after reading this, I decided to boycott Disney products completely.

That is truly terrifying, I'll have to read up on that as it sounds like something worth learning more about.

[postsaurischian]

I have no hopes for anything getting better in the U.S. throughout the next three years and one month .

[ItsTwentyBelow]

I've never visited a Hobby Lobby, but have seen one from a distance.

Their meddling in the sale of Iraqi antiquities is enough to make sure I'll never set foot inside one of their stores: http://www.npr.org/2017/07/06/535823149/hobby-lobby-agrees-to-renounce-smuggled-iraqi-artifacts

[Albertosaurus]

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[ZoPteryx]

Agree on all accounts.  Plus, they're pretty darn overpriced.

[BlueKrono]

I've been boycotting Hobby Lobby and Chik-a-Fil for years. I didn't know Hobby Lobby stocked Papos... We have to be careful about treading into political ground with this one. Perhaps a more general question would be how much of an effort do you make to avoid companies that you disagree with on an ethical basis? Boycotting all Disney products because of the actions of their Indian branch seems pretty big, especially considering all the franchises Disney owns. Laudable though.

Since the market for almost everything we buy is so large there's usually somewhere else you can turn to. But what would you do if some person or company you didn't agree with was the only one selling a figure you really wanted? There's one cantankerous seller on eBay that I've had multiple negative communications with in the past, and though he often offers some rare pieces I've never seen anywhere else, I refuse to give him my money.

[Faelrin]

One just opened near my brother's house. Had it not been the fact I think their figures for sale are overpriced, aside from their limited selection to begin with, I could have been possibly blindly supporting them in the future. Yikes. Glad you brought this to light, so I can spend my money elsewhere (like online or at the Micheal's I just got a bunch of Safari stuff from recently, which is funnily enough, across from the Hobby Lobby).

[John]

But what would you do if some person or company you didn't agree with was the only one selling a figure you really wanted?

In that case,I would just flush my principles straight down the toilet and completely sell out!!!

[Neosodon]

What if a company like safari or collecta had unethical business practices? Since the models are manufactured over seas its hard to really know what goes on behind the scenes.

[SBell]

What if a company like safari or collecta had unethical business practices? Since the models are manufactured over seas its hard to really know what goes on behind the scenes.

Interesting that 'Schleich' didn't get thrown in that list...not sure about unethical worker treatment, but those guys are damn near cutthroat pirates when it comes to getting product on shelves (and pushing others out). And they treat their own fans really poorly to boot (there was a whole thing last year on teh STS forum--they wouldn't let animal toy collectors share photos. That had been release. Because...reasons?)

Not that my purachse of usually one figure of theirs per year, maybe, has much impact.

[alexeratops]

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Well said.

I have only bought one thing from that store, many years ago (Papo Spino). I will make sure not to again.

[Georassic]

I agree 100% with Stargatedalek's assessment of Hobby Lobby. A horrible, discriminatory company whose owner-family tries to legislate their religious views on the rest of us.

That said, I do occasionally buy figures from a Hobby Lobby minutes from my home. One figure at a time, ONLY. Here's my logic:

Hobby Lobby offers a "40% off one item" coupon on their website. If you buy multiple items, they apply it to the least expensive item. This is called a "loss/leader" in marketing terminology. They know they lose money on one item, maybe even the specific item you came for, but they'll make money off your other purchases. So the coupon gets you in the store.

Here's another marketing term to remember: keystone markup. The keystone markup is a retail industry standard or practice, where you charge 50% more for a given product than you paid for it. Example: your company pays $10 wholesale for an item. So you sell it for 50% more: $15. If it cost you $20, you sell it for $30. This keystone markup covers your business expenses (overhead, labor, advertising) plus your profit.

When you apply a 40% discount to a Papo or Safari figure, it becomes significantly less expensive than figures I can find anywhere else online or in a store. And, assuming they use the keystone markup and have standard business costs, then if I buy just one item using that 40% coupon, they lose money on the deal. So in a small way, even if it's a few cents, I'm screwing them. Win for the good guys.

[Neosodon]

What if a company like safari or collecta had unethical business practices? Since the models are manufactured over seas its hard to really know what goes on behind the scenes.

Interesting that 'Schleich' didn't get thrown in that list...not sure about unethical worker treatment, but those guys are damn near cutthroat pirates when it comes to getting product on shelves (and pushing others out). And they treat their own fans really poorly to boot (there was a whole thing last year on teh STS forum--they wouldn't let animal toy collectors share photos. That had been release. Because...reasons?)

Not that my purachse of usually one figure of theirs per year, maybe, has much impact.

Everyone already knows shleich is like that. I mentioned safari and collecta because they are popular companies everyone likes. If we found out they had unethical business practices I wonder if we would boycott them. Just a hypothetical question.

[Bowhead Whale]

What if a company like safari or collecta had unethical business practices? Since the models are manufactured over seas its hard to really know what goes on behind the scenes.

Interesting that 'Schleich' didn't get thrown in that list...not sure about unethical worker treatment, but those guys are damn near cutthroat pirates when it comes to getting product on shelves (and pushing others out). And they treat their own fans really poorly to boot (there was a whole thing last year on teh STS forum--they wouldn't let animal toy collectors share photos. That had been release. Because...reasons?)

Not that my purachse of usually one figure of theirs per year, maybe, has much impact.

It's been a long time since I bought my last Schleich figure! I don't like them very much anymore either. They take wayyyy too much place everywhere and all they do is copying the ideas of others! They never try to make a completely new, unknown species. They always let someone else do the job. For example, in 2008, Safari ltd made a Carnotaqurus. When Schleich saw the success Safari was having with it, they decided to make one as well. Then, Safari ltd made a Dunkleosteus. And had success with it. So, Schleich decided to make a Dunkleosteus as well. See what I mean? They let the others clear the way with a new species and Schleich copies ideas...

[Faelrin]

Their Dunkleosteus came out years after Safari's, let alone does not resemble it. I don't agree with Schleich's business practices, but come on now that's quite a stretch. I mean by that logic, that's like saying one company can't ever make a figure just because another one did. CollectA just released the prehistoric marine tube this year which has a Dunkleosteus. Does this mean they are copying Schleich now? I doubt it.

On topic though, does anyone have a source where I can read up on this? I probably should have thought to ask this prior, but better late then never.

[stargatedalek]

Their Dunkleosteus came out years after Safari's, let alone does not resemble it. I don't agree with Schleich's business practices, but come on now that's quite a stretch. I mean by that logic, that's like saying one company can't ever make a figure just because another one did. CollectA just released the prehistoric marine tube this year which has a Dunkleosteus. Does this mean they are copying Schleich now? I doubt it.

On topic though, does anyone have a source where I can read up on this? I probably should have thought to ask this prior, but better late then never.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Burwell_v._Hobby_Lobby_Stores,_Inc.

This doesn't cover everything, but it gives the general story.

[Faelrin]

Their Dunkleosteus came out years after Safari's, let alone does not resemble it. I don't agree with Schleich's business practices, but come on now that's quite a stretch. I mean by that logic, that's like saying one company can't ever make a figure just because another one did. CollectA just released the prehistoric marine tube this year which has a Dunkleosteus. Does this mean they are copying Schleich now? I doubt it.

On topic though, does anyone have a source where I can read up on this? I probably should have thought to ask this prior, but better late then never.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Burwell_v._Hobby_Lobby_Stores,_Inc.

This doesn't cover everything, but it gives the general story.

Thanks. That was very helpful for someone just learning about this for the first time.