I went to one very organized fabric sale. All the fabric was neatly folded in boxes so that you could see the fold, and get an idea for size and color. Empty boxes were nearby to put fabric that a shopper pulled out and decided not to buy. The sellers could then replace the fabric neatly in a box. Smaller pieces were folded similar to fat quarters, and displayed in smaller boxes. Sorry, I can't remember how small scraps were handled. Everything was sold by weight.