Last month, Joann Fabrics & Crafts announced it would be closing all 800 of its stores, including those at 2A Bureau Dr in Gaithersburg and 11160 Veirs Mill Rd Unit 180 in Wheaton.
The chain is offering up to 50% off all merchandise and has warned customers about online scams falsely claiming to be associated with the retailer. A recent message on their social media stated, “Due to the demand, we are NOT accepting orders online. BEWARE OF FRAUDULENT WEBSITES. Joann.com is our only official website. SHOP IN STORE ONLY!”
According to the Better Business Bureau, “You see an online ad on social media for a JOANN “going-out-of-business” sale. You click on the ad, which takes you to a website that looks quite identical to the real JOANN website with the company’s real logo and images. There, you see that their merchandise is extremely discounted to 80-90% off. The products being sold are products that you are familiar with purchasing at JOANN, so the sale seems legitimate. As you start to add items to your cart, you may also be offered an additional promotional discount that brings prices down even more. If you look more closely, you will notice that the website’s URL is not for the real JOANN website. Instead, you’re on a fake website created by a scammer who is trying to steal your personal or financial information.
BBB has received numerous reports on BBB Scam Tracker about these fake closeout sales. One person shared their experience, “We saw an ad for Joann Fabrics “bankruptcy” going-out-of-business sale, which led to a website (joann-us.com) advertising 80-90% off of various things. We selected a dozen items in a shopping cart and then noticed an additional “promotional discount” added. At that point, we noticed the website name was not Joann’s real website, compared the two online, and shut down the fake website without providing any information.”
Though no specific closing date has been set, the chain is expected to close all locations by the end of May.
According to Joann, “Since 1943, we’ve grown from a favorite fabric destination to your one-stop shop for sewing, knitting, crocheting, crafting & decorating your home for every season! JOANN operates approximately 850 stores in 49 states.”
