Originally Posted by Rose L
Originally Posted by Zhillslady
Our LQS has only raised the prices on the fabrics that are new coming in but the next city over I notied last week her new fabrics are $12 so she's raised the older still in stock up to the same price. I will not buy from her again. I understand the prices went up on cotton so they have to raise but that bolt you bought 6 months ago did not go up in costs.
My LQS has done the same thing and she hasn't even gotten in any "new" fabrics. I didn't buy from her when they were $8 a yard and I sure am not going to buy from her now. Wholesale fabric does not cost near what is being charged and I find price gouging to be very distasteful. I won't shop there anymore.
I can understand being upset when prices go up but I doubt LQS's are raising prices "because they can" or just because they want to rip people off. That's the quickest way for a small business to go bankrupt. They already have to compete with online stores that can charge less because they have less overhead and more volume.
And business costs go up with no regard to how much a shop owner charged for a bolt of fabric one, three, or six months ago. If your utility costs go up sharply or there is some other rise in your business related costs, you don't have many options. You have to find some way of bringing in the revenue to cover those costs, and most of the time that means raising prices across the board.
The price charged for a bolt of fabric isn't based solely off how much that bolt of fabric cost them originally.