Originally Posted by
Quilt Girl
I quilt at a small quilt shop located in a farming community. The cost per yard of fabric 2 years ago was $8-$9 a yard which I was happy to pay. Now, the new fabric came in today and the shop owner was marking it as $15 per yard. I'm so afraid she is pricing herself out of the market and this small community will not support this price increase. I'm not sure if I should say something to her or just wait and see what happens. The shop has only been open for 2 years and I've been their customer from the beginning and I consider her a friend.
I hate to say this, but this has been an on going problem from the begging of time. What you are seeing is the difference between SMALL local stores and LARGE MEGA corp owned stores. Your LQS buys 1 bolt of this 1 bolt of that, some times 2 bolts of some things. But the Corp stores buy truck loads of the same things. When you buy in mass you get the best price. The price of fabric goes up and you LQS still has the same bills (rent, elect., etc...), so she still has to mark up by the same amt in order to pay her bills. So at the LQS it looks like her prices are out of line, but she hasn't changed any thing other than what has changed on her. It's SAD, because the little guy is being priced out of the market. Most quilters can not pay $15 a yard for fabric and give it away, so we have to look at other ways to save and we end up at the Corp. Mega stores. Around and around we go.