EVERYTHING costs too much!! My husband says it's because industry doesn't want to see people revert to the "old ways" and doing for ourselves instead of buying pre-made. I think that alot of it is greed. When quilting made a big resurgence in popularity recently, I think prices really started to climb. Our local quilt shoppes want us to shop with them, and not on-line, but the average price per yard at my nearest Quilt Shop is $12.00 a yard!! I can shop on-line and get the same thing for $8.00. Yes, you have real people in a local store that can help you make your choices, but we have an awesome group of quilters that meet once a week for a Sit-n-Sew and we all help each other there. I won't shop at Wal-Mart for fabric because the quality isn't the same, but the "big box" stores are starting to carry some better quality names/designers at a more reasonable price. And yes, there are always those 40%, 50% and bonus discounts to help us out!! If Quilt Shops aren't more considerate to our pockets, they are going to price themselves right out of business!