You're not too wordy, LynnVT. Lots of good comments have been posted by you and the others who have chimed in.
I like posting open-ended questions here, because generally a lot of varied ideas get posted and that's a good thing.
The reason I asked the question now is that we're over a year out from the major price increases that took the wholesale prices of cotton fabrics up by $1 over a single year. We knew that was due to a shortage of cotton on the market at the time. And we also now know that the prices never went back down, and I'm seeing that the wholesale prices are starting to creep up again. And it's discouraging!
Nobody likes paying shipping fees, but when I think that a half-hour trip across town burns a gallon of gas each way (which costs about $7 in my area), that is approximately the shipping cost for a lot of purchases. And some things you either can't find locally, or it's not worth the time you would spend trying to track them down. Like 29x32 dress pants for my still-skinny son.
I guess it's because I am "of a certain age" that I have to keep reminding myself how much it costs to get where I want to go. When gas was 30 cents / gallon the cost was small. Oh, SHOOT, now it's over ten times that much, WHY did I have to do this calculation? Groan. Guess I really have gotten old!
No, an online shop can't help you match fabrics to the quilt top that you've just completed. But the smaller online stores do have staff that's actually seen and handled the fabrics, as opposed to the fabrics being in a warehouse separate from where the customer service phone staff is. We often get calls or e-mails from people who ask us about several fabrics, and whether they go well together. If they don't, we'll suggest some alternative choices. That seems to work out pretty well, and it's nice to get an e-mail from the customer who is pleased when they open their package and see the fabrics that we've helped them choose.
I really wish we could see the finished products, though! That's one thing that we miss out on.