Dilemma
05-26-2010, 04:05 AM
#31
Super Member
Join Date: Apr 2010
Location: New York City UWS
Posts: 4,222
When you buy online you don't pay for the overhead of running a store. So many fabric stores have gone out of business for this reason. With a product like Bali Pops you know what you are getting. For other fabric you may want to see and feel it. I have been surprised/disappointed by some online purchases. Would you believe I buy my groceries online? Straight from the computer to my kitchen!
05-26-2010, 04:40 AM
#32
Super Member
Join Date: Feb 2010
Location: was Upstate NY, now NC & TN
Posts: 2,328
Dotcom raises a critical point. LQS don't have the economies of scale that a Wal-Mart has so they can't price as cheaply and they don't have the clout with manufacturers that WM has to get the same pattern put on a less high quality fabric so they can sell it more cheaply (and WM is all about lower prices at any cost - I used to work for one of their vendors and I know).
And LQS have to have a storefront with staff and inventory for a certain number of hours every week whether anyone comes in to shop. They have higher costs than an internet vendor and so have to charge higher prices.
I am not advocating for shopping or not shopping at any certain place. I can only give you my policy. I don't shop at WM for fabric because I don't like the feel and I am lucky enough to be able to pay the prices at a LQS. I do shop online sometimes, especially when I want something that I can't find locally. And I do shop at LQS all over the place because I want to be able to continue to go into a store, feel the fabric and put different combinations together until I get it just right.
Each of us has to make the decision for his or her self. If you think the quilt shop prices are too high and you choose to shop on line, then you should be willing to forego shopping at the LQS when there is a sale or asking for help from the staff when you aren't financially supporting the store. I don't think it's fair to shop elsewhere day to day but then want the LQS to be there to meet your other needs that are less costly and more immediate. Or they will be gone.
End of my sermon...
And LQS have to have a storefront with staff and inventory for a certain number of hours every week whether anyone comes in to shop. They have higher costs than an internet vendor and so have to charge higher prices.
I am not advocating for shopping or not shopping at any certain place. I can only give you my policy. I don't shop at WM for fabric because I don't like the feel and I am lucky enough to be able to pay the prices at a LQS. I do shop online sometimes, especially when I want something that I can't find locally. And I do shop at LQS all over the place because I want to be able to continue to go into a store, feel the fabric and put different combinations together until I get it just right.
Each of us has to make the decision for his or her self. If you think the quilt shop prices are too high and you choose to shop on line, then you should be willing to forego shopping at the LQS when there is a sale or asking for help from the staff when you aren't financially supporting the store. I don't think it's fair to shop elsewhere day to day but then want the LQS to be there to meet your other needs that are less costly and more immediate. Or they will be gone.
End of my sermon...
05-26-2010, 06:04 AM
#33
Super Member
Join Date: Jan 2010
Location: Outer Space
Posts: 9,319
Linda, I must admit there are 2 Beverly's within an hour drive from me and I've never been! I need to go, it seems. Though, I'd still probably avoid Bali Pops. But, I've heard they carry some quilt store quality lines...and have good sales.
05-26-2010, 06:46 AM
#34
Junior Member
Join Date: Apr 2010
Location: Cedarville, Ohio
Posts: 230
I agree with renee765. I dearly love to quilt but can't afford the higher fabric prices. I still quilt and I buy the best fabric I can afford. The recipients of these quilts love them regardless of the cheaper fabric used in them. My quilts are used and that's what's important to me. I wouldn't want to spend the time and money on one that wasn't. I shop wal mart, Joanne's and Hancocks. I buy what I want and where the price is right.
05-26-2010, 08:49 AM
#35
Super Member
Join Date: Dec 2008
Location: Tulsa, Oklahoma
Posts: 4,413
I would dearly love to support my LQS but my meager budget will just not allow it. I used to shop at WM until they took out the fabric dept, then it was the sale table at Hancocks and coupons at Joann's and Hancocks. Now, even these 2 local stores have raised their prices so now I hunt on line for sales. There is no way I can pay more than $5 a yard for fabric, and even then it is a rarity. I frequent quiltinaday for their clearance fabrics. I don't care if my fabric is this years or a couple years ago. I just pick what I like and can afford. I would love to be able to get Batiks, as they are so pretty. Just can't do. LOL, maybe that is why I like scrappy quilts, anything goes!
05-26-2010, 09:11 AM
#36
Super Member
Join Date: Oct 2009
Location: Maryland
Posts: 4,449
*smiling* I think discussing Fabric stores/quilt stores, is like talking politics! It's something each has the option to decide. Economics play a part in what side each may choose. Not for reasons of dislikes or likes as much as what is affordable. I love going into the two quilt shoppes that I have found near me, but I don't always feel the need to buy from either. An option I choose for my needs. It is true that the quilt shoppes may charge more than a large chain, sales are fewer etc. but they are there if you wish to chat or are looking for a specific something you cannot find at the other. Heck even at a yard sale or seconds shop, bargins can be found! I love when that happens.. be it material, notions or shirts/dresses/sheets etc that can be used to make into something cherished! It is all good! :)
05-26-2010, 01:15 PM
#37
Senior Member
Join Date: Jul 2009
Location: Lawton, Oklahoma by way of Germany
Posts: 846
Originally Posted by renee765
Whenever this discussion of Walmart vs LQS fabrics gets going, someone always has to say the following, and it looks like it might be my turn this time:
It would be a wonderful world if we could all afford the best of what we want, but life doesn't work out that way. Some of us only have limited funds to spend on fabric and other quilting items. For us, it feels like we are being told that we are 'not as good' as other quilters because we cannot or choose not to spend high prices on LQS fabrics. I have bought crummy fabric at an LQS and great fabric at Walmart. It CAN happen. You just have to be very careful about what you spend your money on.
While I'm on a roll - I have quit going to quilting classes for a very similar reason. I got tired of being told that I had to buy an expensive machine like a Janome or Bernina. As I sat at my table with my cheap Brother that works like a charm and always puts out just as nice quilts as the people with the expensive machines, I got really discouraged at driving home after the class feeling like the poor kid from the wrong side of the tracks.
We all have preferences, we all have limits as to what we can afford. Let's rejoice in the projects others make, and not focus on how much anything costs. Quality is in the heart, not the price tag.
I will now step down and go stand in the corner.
It would be a wonderful world if we could all afford the best of what we want, but life doesn't work out that way. Some of us only have limited funds to spend on fabric and other quilting items. For us, it feels like we are being told that we are 'not as good' as other quilters because we cannot or choose not to spend high prices on LQS fabrics. I have bought crummy fabric at an LQS and great fabric at Walmart. It CAN happen. You just have to be very careful about what you spend your money on.
While I'm on a roll - I have quit going to quilting classes for a very similar reason. I got tired of being told that I had to buy an expensive machine like a Janome or Bernina. As I sat at my table with my cheap Brother that works like a charm and always puts out just as nice quilts as the people with the expensive machines, I got really discouraged at driving home after the class feeling like the poor kid from the wrong side of the tracks.
We all have preferences, we all have limits as to what we can afford. Let's rejoice in the projects others make, and not focus on how much anything costs. Quality is in the heart, not the price tag.
I will now step down and go stand in the corner.
05-26-2010, 01:30 PM
#38
Senior Member
Thread Starter
Join Date: May 2010
Location: East Tennessee
Posts: 671
Not all the online places are strictly online. Many are store fronts. A few of my favorites are Tennessee Quilts in Jonesborough, TN (online and store), Somewhere Sewing in Johnson City, TN (online and store), Stitch-n-Frame in Vicksburg, MS (online and store AND their prices are ALWAYS 10-15% off regular prices and they have great Thursday Specials), Fabric Shack in Ohio (online and store) just to name a few. If you get on their emailing lists, you cand find some really good bargains and you are still supporting a LQS - it just may not be in your own town!
05-26-2010, 03:08 PM
#40
Super Member
Join Date: Oct 2009
Location: Maryland
Posts: 4,449
Originally Posted by dotcomdtcm
And remember that this lovely art started with scraps and rags, when looms were prohibited in the colonies and all cloth came from the Crown!
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