I've been reading all the posts regarding where everyone likes to shop (and why), where people have found bargains, and about the times when you buy a "treasure" even if it isn't on sale.
And I'm hoping that you'll be willing to chime in with your thoughts and suggestions on this new question.
As a fabric store manager, I basically have two options when deciding what to buy. I can get the new (and usually too-tempting) lines that the manufacturers are just coming out with, or I can get fabrics that are being discontinued (older lines that are being dropped).
The new fabrics we have to pay full-price for, while the discontinued ones cost us about $2 less (and so we could sell them in the $5 - $6 range, rather than about $8 ). :-)
The "bargain" fabrics are just as good a quality - they're not seconds - but the selection is spotty, in that you'll never find a complete collection to draw from, as the best ones have already been picked over and what's left is, well, the leftovers that just weren't so popular.
For me personally, the fun in buying is finding a group of fabrics that just "pop" when you put them together. And that's easy to do, when you choose from the new fabrics. But with the "bargains", there might be nothing much that goes with them; it's really hit-or-miss. And so I really haven't gone after the "bargains".
But times are different these days, and money's tight. We all love "new" but not everyone can afford the price for the latest fabrics. Have I been making a mistake by not having a group of fabrics for the cost-conscious quilter? And of course, everyone who's sewing for charity or fund-raising is definitely working within a budget.
There have been so many thoughtful - and thought-provoking - responses to other questions on the forum. I'm looking forward to hearing some collective wisdom!