solstice3

I like to touch what I buy and browse

Sewnoma

Interesting - I've been shopping on Amazon for years and have never gotten one of these! And I'm definitely a frequent buyer, at minimum I spend at least $30/month on books and have stuff like cat food and protein bars on monthly auto-delivery. Maybe they do different things for different states. I know Amazon definitely collects tax up front now but it didn't use to.

Sales tax is a pain to deal with, esp. for small businesses. When I had my own little online company, I had to file my sales taxes every 6 months, and I had this big ol' form to fill in because I had to list each state separately. It was a big pain to make sure I collected proper tax for each state, and then reported and paid it all correctly. Ugh.

carolstickelmaier

my thoughts also. When I worked, by time I got home the quilt stores were closed. Also how about a few quilt classes during morning hours? For those that work 2nd shift. I am retired now and I do purchase at the quilt stores. I like the one on one you get when shopping local. Where else can I ask questions and advice and get an answer while waiting. I do belong to a quilting group that meets every 6 wks. I have learned much from others and have learned which store carries the items I may be looking for. Don't really trust ordering on line. About the only thing I buy on line is batting when it is half price and free shipping from Joanns.

samantha802

I would be very sad. I don't buy a lot of fabric on-line. I have grabbed a few deals that I have seen on e-bay or fabric.com but I mostly shop at the LQS in my town. The owner is a sweet lady and I actually worked there in my teens. We are in a super touristy area so I doubt they would close. They are always busy and have a great sale attic. They also have an on-line shop.

margecam52

I have purchased online...and was not impressed with the fabrics. It's a 70 mile round trip to the nearest fabric store (Walmart & Joann's, Walmart is closer). When hubby has doctor appointment...I get to be let off at Joann's or Walmart.

I wish we had a small quilt shop nearer to us, but we don't. I do try to buy quilting/sewing supplies online (wholesale) to have for local customers who are in the same boat I am...no shop close by. I have very few fabrics...but carry some tools, needles, embroidery stabilizers, threads, and other notions. The things you seem to always run out of at the worst moments. There are a couple quilt/sewing shops in the city...but they mostly want to sell machines...and I have more machines than I care to count...lol...older, but they work. I do quilting for others mostly, so batting is purchased online, in bulk. Customers supply top and backing & specialty batting (silk, wool, etc.) themselves. I was gifted three fabric stashes from others, mostly from ladies who didn't outlive the stash. These I sell (if over one yard), or give to those wanting to learn to quilt. I KNOW I won't outlive my gifted stash...and would rather share it than have it thrown away some day.

melindad

I only shop at quilt shops when I travel. I purchase the quilt shop's kits that they have put together and if they have a pattern or tool that they have invented I buy that too. I love to sit down with a purchased kit and remember the shop and reason why I stopped! I have even called them a year or two after buying a kit when I am stumped and they are so helpful! There are even a couple of shops that I hit on my travels where the ladies ( or gents ) even remember me from previous visits. Granted, I do drop a bundle in their shops but the service and selection is the main reason I go back! For threads, long arm tools and all the other stuff I need I buy on-line only when they are having a sale and shipping is free so I stock up. I have no local shops close by, our little WalMart is pitiful and I hate driving 35 miles to take a chance on Hobby Lobby or JoAnn's having what I need. I have fallen in love with my UPS driver and my husband is ok with that but he is threatening to down size my vehicle to reduce the cargo space.

ghostrider

In this part of the country, "local" is considered by many to be anyplace you can get to and back during daylight hours. There are an abundant number of local quilt shops ranging in size from Keepsake Quilting to the tiny one in my hometown of just 1,000 households. Many of them have created an online presence in order to tap into that market along with their very well treated foot traffic.

If, by some horrific circumstance, they ALL ceased to exist in brick and mortar form, I'd simply stop quilting once my stash ran out...which should be several years after I die.

Shops here have adapted very well. They are open Saturdays all day, most are open Sundays as well, and they close on Mondays. KQ, of course, is open all day, every day except three, year 'round. Several are open late one night a week, usually Thursday, and have both weekday and weekend classes, some in the late afternoon or early evening. They know what their customers want and they deliver it if at all possible.

They do everything imagineable to get and keep customers and they truly love what they do, every single one of them in every single LQS I've ever been in. I do not shop at fabric chains nor at big-box stores selling fabrics. I shop online when I can't find something locally, but it's rare given my local choices. I know exactly how lucky I am in that respect, and I reward the local shops by returning again and again. It's a win-win made in heaven.

pokeygirl

I would love it if there was a LQS close to me. I don't get out and drive hours and hours for fabric so I'm kinda forced to shop online. So far I haven't had any problems. I even bought my machine online.

Lafpeaches

I cannot afford to buy as much now that I am retired. I have been going to demo classes and bom and try to buy something as do most people attending. My husband wants everything paid credit card so he can keep track of our budget and pays it off every month. However I will stop at the bank to get cash before going to the LQS. The cost of accepting credit and debit cards are very high (my DH is a bookkeeper for an organization that has a thrift store). A small quilt store in a small town in the upper peninsula had to quit taking bank cards because of the her cost. She said she would have had to raise her prices but her local clientel said they would rather pay with cash.