Originally Posted by LittleMo

This could be an explanation of why the fabric is so expensive in all places other than the US. I hope it makes sense.

I used to work for a company that exported drinking glasses to Europe and USA from Australia. They had to do huge manufacturing runs to fill the orders from around the world. The more glasses that were made, the less each glass cost, although we in Australia paid less per glass than the exported glasses. Now applying this to fabric, the bigger the yardage of fabric the manufacturer makes, the cheaper it is to make per yard, and the cheaper it is to buy. I would assume that the higher prices in the overseas market (the rest of the world) is subsidising the lower prices of the domestic market (USA), in the same way the glasses we exported did.

Still with me? :D So when the fabric manufacturer makes x amount for the domestic market, and x amount for the overseas market, the overseas markets subsidise the domestic market. Even accounting for freight and import duty, a difference of $10.00+ per metre retail seems over the top.

The import duty on fabric into Australia has dropped by 30% in the last 12 years, but we are not paying 30% less for our fabric.

And while I am on a roll:

My LQS owner was complaining to me that her purchase price on a particular line of fabric was more than what Spotlight was charging retail for the exactly the same line. She had to place her order over 12 months ago. What the importer had left over (orders not honoured?) was offered to Spotlight at a bargain basement price. Any why not, the importer had already made his money from all the LQS's. It sure made the LQS owner look greedy, but she could not match the Spotlight price without losing money.

Someone is making alot of money, but it is not the LQS owners. By the time we buy fabric, it has been through alot of middle men each wanting to take their cut.