It's tricky. If you know the pro's and con's of different brands you can get deals on line if you watch for sles on the items you want. Our Joann's doesn't carry a lot of the cakes, charms, jelly rolls, etc that you can find on line and in your LQS. I watch what I buy at Joann's as some of their fabric is pricey but not good quality. Love fabric.com and connecting threads especially when they have a sale!!