Mary Stire

Went into my local Walmart (Covington-Mandeville, Louisiana), I was told that the fabric department would be closed by April 1 of this year.

Barb V

I also went into my Walmart this AM (Marinette, WI) and the girl told me that NOT ALL walmarts are discontuining the fabric dept. :lol: The store manager already knows which ones are closing at their store. Like in Green Bay, Wi. One of the two will stop with the fabric. I am sure happy here. The only place in town, except for the 2 Quilt shops to buy material is Walmart. Then we have to drive 50 miles to for others. I hope some of you ladies find out the same good news as I just did

june6995

At a new Super store in Cincinnati, I was told they would definitely close....soon. At another older store, I was told that the store manager says it will be good for at least another year. The dept mgr is asking people to phone Wal-Mart offices because there are few economical places to buy fabrics. I told her about the on-line petition. She had not heard about it.
I just checked and the signature total is over 22,000.

Elsewhere I have read that the petition is useless. We would like to think the power of the pen is worth the effort.

Mary Stire

I was told to call 1-800-Wal-Mart and talk to a real person and let them know just how we feel !!!!!!

vicki reno

I do not understand why they are doing this! A lot of the ones that are closing have very litle if any competition! You would think that those would definitely be the ones to stay open!

patricej

If a fabric department isn't generating enough revenue it won't survive.

If it makes only a small to reasonable profit, they'll either keep it as is or pick one of a few different ways to reduce the service. The only departments that might survive as full service are those making big money for WalMart. I'll bet there aren't many of those because sewers and quilters aren't a big enough segment of the market population.

We don't count at all in most WalMarkets, and not much in others. Simple as that.

:x

vicki reno

They arne't big on customer svc around here at all, the customer is treated as a nuisance or an inconvenience. They have to stop chatting with coworkers to check you out or help you. The ones in the western part of NC are great--very nice, friendly and helpful, but not in Raleigh :?

Judy Lee

Wal-Mart will obey the bottom line, for sure, whether there is competition or not, or 20 million signatures.

I hate to say "I read somewhere," and not be able to give chapter and verse, but I remember reading recently that Wal-Mart wants to generate $400 income per square foot of store. No time was mentioned--$400 per year? week? month? Whatever the time frame, it's a lot of moolah, and as long as I've been buying from Wal-Mart, I haven't paid yet for a square foot.

I see fewer quilts in my future if I must buy on-line, at JoAnn's, or a LQS if one happens to pop up within driving range.

How is a buyers' club organized and funded? Buying by the bolt and parceling it out to members--would it work? Are there any in existence now?

Well, we are a creative bunch, so we'll find a way, just as our forebears did.

patricej

We quilters tend to wander along the Drunkard's Path, I think. We've been skewering the Evil Empire (aka WalMart) throughout 2 or 3 different topic threads.

Same with the general topics of printing on fabric, ideas for fabric co-ops and fabric/block/pattern swaps - and lots of other topics, I'm sure.

Poor ol' Admin has been "listening" for response to her idea about looking for online sellers who might give newsletter members a discount. Lots of requests and "like the idea" comments in other threads, but the main thread for it goes generally unanswered.

Anyhooooo ... that's me on the soapbox for too long.

Somebody shared this link under another topic:

http://www.thousandsofbolts.com/

I'm pretty cheap, but thought their prices compared very well to any other places I've looked at. More than at the EE, but 25 - 75% lower than the others for what looks like good stuff. And a huge selection. I found things there I've been hunting for in vain for ages now. (gotta check the budget before I cut loose, though. My dogs and cat are such pains. They insist I feed them once in a while. LOL)

If you haunt Joann's online sale pages you'll stumble across some decent prices once in a while, too. They had several nice looking fabrics for under $2 p/yard the other day.

If we keep hunting and sharing links to good prices; get a scrap/fabric/block/pattern swap going, I think we can save each other lots of money without having to actually send any to each other for group purchases.

I can't speak for anybody else, but if we each have something to spare the other can use, I'm not going to worry whether or not I paid more p-yard for what I send than the other person did for what I get. I'm sure the Big Quilter in the Sky will see that it all evens out in the end. :D

I'm 5 minutes from one EE fabric department (horribly downsized but still there) and about 45 from another. Between their bargain tables and the occassional miracle at hancock's or Joann's, I'm still grasping at straws of hope. LOL

Ok. I'm sorry. That was me back up on the box again. :oops:

Norah

Patrice, I think you are the co-ordinator for this project. You have a better idea of how to go about it than anyone else seems to. I'll throw in the "count me in" with an "I'll go along with whatever you all decide", and raise you a fat quarter!!

How about we all that are interested start on this quilt designed by one of our very own members, and order our fabrics however you think is best from the 'thousands of bolts' site http://www.thousandsofbolts.com/ or use what we have? Take pictures and whoever wins on the pic forum with a vote of members gets a fat quarter from each participant! Or something like that. :roll:

http://www.sewaquilt.com/index.html