Keep Your LQS in Business
07-07-2011, 04:31 PM
#91
Junior Member
Join Date: Apr 2011
Location: NE Nebraska
Posts: 188
Mark-up on most fabric is 100%. If business is down, wouldn't you think a sale would profit everyone? I know this, because I have an in-home business and purchase fabric from a distributor for my quilts and backings. When possible, I sell fabric to my friends if I can get what they want. Even with a 50% mark-up, I can make money, pay the freight, and make a little for my pocket, too. Sometimes big business is not the way to go, but "financially sound" is a phrase all of us like to hear. The posts have said everything that needs to be said. Let's get on with something else!
07-07-2011, 05:03 PM
#92
Super Member
Join Date: Apr 2010
Location: Illinois
Posts: 1,322
Wow, that honor the Joann's coupon idea is a great idea and one that some of the LQS's should pick up on. Reap the sales but not pay the advertising cost.
I shop all of the local shops or at least most of them but not for notions etc.
I shop all of the local shops or at least most of them but not for notions etc.
07-07-2011, 05:21 PM
#93
Senior Member
Join Date: Nov 2010
Location: North Texas
Posts: 449
Originally Posted by Favorite Fabrics
It's very sad to hear of local shops closing... and when I saw the wholesale prices of fabric rising so steeply beginning late last year, my first thought was that this was going to be a year that weeds out any shops who were "just hanging in there".
I know everyone loves a sale, but - to give you a shop owner's perspective - there really aren't any lines out there that we can buy, that will let us offer them at a retail price of $5 / yard.
So... you will ask, what about thousandsofbolts and 5bucksayard? They are buying closeouts and discontinued prints. Those are already "picked over" by the time the manufacturers make them promo goods. So IMHO they don't quite constitute "a line" at that point.
And even the promo goods cost nearly $3 / yard, and shops still have to pay an additional 20 - 30 cents / yard in freight to get the fabric in the door. How is a LQS going to make a go of it, on a gross profit of less than $2 / yard? I think they can't. That's why it is pretty much only the online shops that can offer the $5 / yard pricing. And even there, I've noticed that they often let you buy only in whole yards (or with a minimum cut of 1 yard). We all know that quilters *love* to buy just a little bit - maybe a quarter-yard - and that takes just as much labor as the one-yard cut that yields four times as much profit.
It's not easy to be a little shop. Especially this year!
Just offering the view from my window...
I know everyone loves a sale, but - to give you a shop owner's perspective - there really aren't any lines out there that we can buy, that will let us offer them at a retail price of $5 / yard.
So... you will ask, what about thousandsofbolts and 5bucksayard? They are buying closeouts and discontinued prints. Those are already "picked over" by the time the manufacturers make them promo goods. So IMHO they don't quite constitute "a line" at that point.
And even the promo goods cost nearly $3 / yard, and shops still have to pay an additional 20 - 30 cents / yard in freight to get the fabric in the door. How is a LQS going to make a go of it, on a gross profit of less than $2 / yard? I think they can't. That's why it is pretty much only the online shops that can offer the $5 / yard pricing. And even there, I've noticed that they often let you buy only in whole yards (or with a minimum cut of 1 yard). We all know that quilters *love* to buy just a little bit - maybe a quarter-yard - and that takes just as much labor as the one-yard cut that yields four times as much profit.
It's not easy to be a little shop. Especially this year!
Just offering the view from my window...
07-08-2011, 07:01 AM
#95
Senior Member
Join Date: Mar 2011
Location: Tipton, Iowa
Posts: 731
[/quote]
Ditto. I know there are some lines that are less expensive and the fabric is lovely. One of them is Blank Fabric, but finding it in a LQS is like looking for frog's hair. froggyintexas[/quote]
The affordability of Blank's lines is what attracted me to carry quite a few of their fabrics in my shop. That and the fact that when they introduce new lines, many will coordinate with lines they have already made....makes what my small shop carries stretch a little more with more coordinates for what I've already got on my shelves.
We're a new shop (not quite 2 months old), and I do understand the customer's dismay at the higher prices for fabrics. We're in a small town, so I know my customers aren't going to pay a lot for a yard of fabric. I used to shop online before we opened the shop (weren't any shops close to me), so I see both sides of this. But just like gas and food prices, I doubt the fabric manufacturers will be dropping prices any time soon. Simply means that shoppers and shop owners will have to be smart consumers.
Ditto. I know there are some lines that are less expensive and the fabric is lovely. One of them is Blank Fabric, but finding it in a LQS is like looking for frog's hair. froggyintexas[/quote]
The affordability of Blank's lines is what attracted me to carry quite a few of their fabrics in my shop. That and the fact that when they introduce new lines, many will coordinate with lines they have already made....makes what my small shop carries stretch a little more with more coordinates for what I've already got on my shelves.
We're a new shop (not quite 2 months old), and I do understand the customer's dismay at the higher prices for fabrics. We're in a small town, so I know my customers aren't going to pay a lot for a yard of fabric. I used to shop online before we opened the shop (weren't any shops close to me), so I see both sides of this. But just like gas and food prices, I doubt the fabric manufacturers will be dropping prices any time soon. Simply means that shoppers and shop owners will have to be smart consumers.
07-08-2011, 10:56 AM
#96
Member
Join Date: Oct 2010
Location: Southern California
Posts: 93
I live in Southern California. We have so many quilt shops. Unfortunately, we also have high gas prices. Many quilt shops are more than just a short drive away. I know of one that closed its doors recently.
Since my income was reduced by my employer by 18 percent, I don't shop anywhere like I used to.
I generally try to buy at Road to California and the Long Beach Quilt Show. I also live by several WalMarts and a JoAnn's although I prefer the fabric at local quilt shops. However, economics are economics.
Since my income was reduced by my employer by 18 percent, I don't shop anywhere like I used to.
I generally try to buy at Road to California and the Long Beach Quilt Show. I also live by several WalMarts and a JoAnn's although I prefer the fabric at local quilt shops. However, economics are economics.
07-09-2011, 05:38 PM
#100
Senior Member
Join Date: Feb 2011
Location: Victorian Sweatshop
Posts: 863
I'm glad to hear a quilt shop is opening in Maryland. The one in Aberdeen closed and I always went when I visited DD.
South Georgia has one on St. Simons Island. Will be back there sometime soon. Just as soon as budget allows and hopefully she hasn't raised her prices too much. Love quilt shops, will shop there before online.
South Georgia has one on St. Simons Island. Will be back there sometime soon. Just as soon as budget allows and hopefully she hasn't raised her prices too much. Love quilt shops, will shop there before online.
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