Exploited?
#51
Originally Posted by GagaSmith
I totally agree with shequilts. Simplify, simplify, simplify. It's amazing how well you can do without all the gadgets. I only buy what i need (except an occasional quilting book) Didn't used to be that way but when we retired and downsized i realized how much i really had. Why buy fabric at any price if you never use it. DH went on a diet too.
#52
Originally Posted by raedar63
Originally Posted by shequilts
Stop buying into every fad and whimsy item. Women love to shop and will buy anything.
I am selling the stash that resulted from my buying frenzies and now shop only with an item in mind. For instance, I was at a wholesalers sale today and bought only some fabrics I needed for a quilt. Ordinarily, I would have bought BIG just because it was so cheap! Prices have gone up significantly because quilters are pretty much a captive audience. We love to "brag" about our stashes even if we only accumulate. I've resigned from that and will not get caught up in it again. My money is better spent on enjoying life than being tied up on a shelf in a closet.
I am selling the stash that resulted from my buying frenzies and now shop only with an item in mind. For instance, I was at a wholesalers sale today and bought only some fabrics I needed for a quilt. Ordinarily, I would have bought BIG just because it was so cheap! Prices have gone up significantly because quilters are pretty much a captive audience. We love to "brag" about our stashes even if we only accumulate. I've resigned from that and will not get caught up in it again. My money is better spent on enjoying life than being tied up on a shelf in a closet.
Blessings,
MaryAnna
#53
Originally Posted by Daisydoodle
Originally Posted by GagaSmith
I totally agree with shequilts. Simplify, simplify, simplify. It's amazing how well you can do without all the gadgets. I only buy what i need (except an occasional quilting book) Didn't used to be that way but when we retired and downsized i realized how much i really had. Why buy fabric at any price if you never use it. DH went on a diet too.
Blessings,
MaryAnna
#54
I very carefully consider my purchases. I buy fabric on sale as much as possible. Gadgets have to be out in the marketplace for a while before I consider them. Can it be useful for me? If it costs $300 and I won't use it much I dodn't buy. If I've worn out a seam ripper I may try a new design but it gets used until it wears out. etc.
I would love a longarm but it wouldn't be cost effective for me unless I quilted for others which I have no desire to do. Plus it would have to be set up in my living room and I don't want to do that.
I would love a longarm but it wouldn't be cost effective for me unless I quilted for others which I have no desire to do. Plus it would have to be set up in my living room and I don't want to do that.
#55
Super Member
Join Date: Jun 2010
Location: Bay Area near San Francisco
Posts: 1,213
Originally Posted by Barbm
college textbooks are the extreme- not gender specific, but captive audience. DS had an excel class last semester- $250 for the book (included the exam at the end for certification). But holy cow- $500 a semester for books and to sell them back- $20 to $25 each. Can we say RIPOFF! (Oh, then they make a change and you can't use them for the next child coming through next year)
#56
When my hubby starts "wiggling his whiskers" over my latest purchase (waste of money) - I have been known to remind him of all the great bargains he bought from online lists "that just need a little fixing" that ultimately end up going out in the trash, or cost more to fix than he paid for it.
Cones - I have one of the older "metal" or whatever style but I can't remember where (or how many years ago) I bought it. The neck of it even got bent in a move and we just straightened it out again and it still works fine. I get discouraged at the plastic ones but I still have 2 of them and they work for general sewing, but if I am doing heavy sewing, I revert to the metal one for stability.
Marysewfun
Cones - I have one of the older "metal" or whatever style but I can't remember where (or how many years ago) I bought it. The neck of it even got bent in a move and we just straightened it out again and it still works fine. I get discouraged at the plastic ones but I still have 2 of them and they work for general sewing, but if I am doing heavy sewing, I revert to the metal one for stability.
Marysewfun
#57
Super Member
Join Date: Jul 2010
Location: Newberg, OR
Posts: 1,911
I can remember reading an article many years ago about women's clothing being overpriced and poor quality in all price ranges. I had to agree and still do. I buy all my clothes at Goodwill now at tremendous savings. Some are brand new with tags still attached.
#58
Super Member
Join Date: May 2010
Posts: 1,183
I think what is happening isn't exploitation... its in the manufacturing and marketing.
Almost everything you buy anymore is crap. I remember when my mom still was using the toaster they got as a wedding present 40 years later. I can't get a toaster to last more than 2 years!! We are in a disposable world now. I call shoes from payless "disposable" because they only last months.
So many things are made of plastic because it is cheap. I don't mind so much if it is recycled plastic. But mostly this stuff just ends up in our land fills.
I could go on and on and on but I won't! Aren't you glad?
I am guilty of collecting too many things myself. I love tools of any kind and tend to buy too many. But I'm getting better. And I only buy fabric for a specific project. Once in awhile I pick up a fat quarter or two but never more than that. I don't produce as many quilts as all of you but enough to keep me going ;)
Almost everything you buy anymore is crap. I remember when my mom still was using the toaster they got as a wedding present 40 years later. I can't get a toaster to last more than 2 years!! We are in a disposable world now. I call shoes from payless "disposable" because they only last months.
So many things are made of plastic because it is cheap. I don't mind so much if it is recycled plastic. But mostly this stuff just ends up in our land fills.
I could go on and on and on but I won't! Aren't you glad?
I am guilty of collecting too many things myself. I love tools of any kind and tend to buy too many. But I'm getting better. And I only buy fabric for a specific project. Once in awhile I pick up a fat quarter or two but never more than that. I don't produce as many quilts as all of you but enough to keep me going ;)
#59
I do believe there are many gadgets for the quilter to buy that they may not use. We use our common sense in buying to get what we need to do the job well. I see a lot of gadgets for sale that I know I can do without and I do. There are some people who enjoy buying gadgets, I would rather be creative and find things I already have to use rather than buy some of the flimsy gadgets that are for sale. I think there may be a tendency for the business world to want to exploit buyers be they man or woman, it is up to us whether we allow them to exploit us.
#60
Super Member
Join Date: Nov 2010
Location: Jozefow, Poland
Posts: 4,474
Originally Posted by raedar63
I am now to this point ,I wish I had been a much more thrifty shopper, I have more than I will ever use and also find my tastes in color and design vary but now I am stuck. I AM NOT BUYING MORE!!!!!!!!!