debbiemarie

I am excited for you...sounds like you have a plan! I am not educated on retail start up businesses. But I can tell you how I shop and maybe that can provide you with some ideas to draw people to your business. 1. Once I find a fabric I want to buy, I google it and try to find the best price on it. 2. If shipping costs are too high I wipe that online store off my list. 3. I must be able to see the fabrics together (I usually buy coordinating fabrics), so I love to be able to add the fabrics I am considering to a design wall.

It does seem to me that selling on Etsy or Ebay would be a good idea for you to work towards your goal. I don't know how popular the fabrics are that you plan to specialize in. I am not interested in those fabrics. Good Luck to you, hope all your dreams come true.

quiltedsunshine

Why not get an Etsy shop to start with? There's no up-front money to pay, and it's easy to do. I have my own website, and sell on Etsy, Craftsy and YouCanMakeThis. I make a lot more on the other websites than I do on my own website. Everybody knows about Etsy, Craftsy and YouCanMakeThis, but not too many people know about my little business. They do the advertising for you, as well. On Etsy, you can set an additional advertising budget, and they will promote your shop more, if you select that option.

And you may want to get on Ebay to sell your fabric. That's the first place I go when I can't get the fabric I want locally. And I know a lot of people who do the same thing.

Civil War reproductions have always been a great seller at the shop where I work. And we sell a lot of Civil War quilt kits, too. If you could use the fabrics that you have, and put kits together for them, I think that would be a great seller for you. 30's reproductions haven't sold well for us in the past few years.

klswift

the advantage to selling online and not having an 'outside' store is the cost and the fact you can start small. BUT, think like a big business. Keep careful records of everything. Think past the selling - how will you ship and track. Assume if you are using the mail and not adding extra fees that a certain percentage will be lost or a person will say they did not receive. Unfortunately this happens, but you weigh the cost of mailing a couple yards of fabric (say $3.04) to UPS grounding it which has the tracking and safety but will cost $10. If you have a local high school or community college in the area, you may be able to hire a tech student to help you maintain a website. Check out SCORE - these are retired businesspersons who volunteer their time to help folks in small businesses. I've had a small retail/service business for 26 years (working both brick and mortar and online) and I can not emphasize enough the importance of keeping records and thinking all the way through an order, payment, fulfillment and shipping. Look into setting up a paypal account for the safety of both the seller and the buyer. Paypal has a great tutorial as does Square.com for credit card payments. Good luck!

klswift

Also, the advertising from Etsy will be great for any finished products you make. But, you can only sell fabric there is you make it - hand dyed, embroidered etc. But great business tutorials for free.

Bree123

I know I have seen multiple listers on etsy that listed fabric they did not design (unless they all design for Joann & got permission to compete with Joann by listing on etsy. no? lol. didn't think so). I can't speak to what the actual rules are, but I definitely see it done on a regular basis.

I just checked & in the "craft supplies" and "vintage" categories, the items do not need to be handmade.

SandraV

There are places like this. In fact, just this past weekend I bought some yardarge from such a brick and mortar in a town about an hour away from me that specialized in resale "second-hand" fabric.

Bree123

We have fabric swaps at my church from time to time & I just love it!!! So many beautiful fabrics. Way too exciting. Can't wait for the next one. hehehe We just pay a small fee to cover the space & the coffee, but honestly, I wouldn't mind paying a bit more -- especially if more people were involved, producing a larger selection.

2manyhobbies

I have a friend who sells through Facebook and she really likes that site better then Etsy. But like others have said, you really have to have a sharp website. But hey, nothing ventured nothing gained. Don't let anyone steal your enthusiasm, do your research, and go for it. (I have been told there are really savvy teenagers out there who can actually develop some really nice web pages).

twinkie

My suggestion is to also sell on EBay and learn the cost of shipping as well as the product you are selling. Having been in a very successful business myself in the past (not quilting or fabric related), there are many "hidden" costs in running your own business that most new owner operators do not think about. The statistics show that most new businesses fail in the first year. Not having any cushion to fall back on could be a little problem. Don't mean to be negative but I am sure you do not want to be in the 90% that don't make it. I would certainly do a lot of research before I would do this but you have to make up your own mind. Good luck when you decide

Bubbie

Hi Mary,
Your sound like you have given a lot of thought to this. So PLEASE don't think I'm a wet blanket (I too have and still am working for my self). You want to lay out a business plan (even if your paying for everything on your own), this gives you the outline for your business and how your going to grow with your business (business go under each day, but it's for a LOT of reasons - one that most people don't think of and somethings don't understand is growth - uncontrolled growth. Uncontrolled growth (doesn't sound bad), hurts and kills more small business than lack of money. When you grow faster than you can keep up, your unable to fill orders, wait time is long, things get lost, etc... Something you should think about (because you have time), looking into some small business classes. A lot of SBA have workshops to help, even if you are not getting a loan from them. The SBA always looks for small business that work, to help show others it can be done. You might even think about looking into taking a class or two on web building or at least learn how to update your own web page, this way you and your husband can take ALL of your own pictures and download them as well as keeping your customers updated with news letters (on line). But you must also have a plan in play on shipping. Make sure you know if you will be going to the post office and at what time, or are you planning to have your postal person pick up on his normal run. If your postal person is picking up, as your business grows will you be able to add a later pick up to his normal time. Also look around your area for a women's business group, some of them have people who will help other new (women owned), business owners. Sometimes it's with money, but most of the time it's with mentoring. But this is VERY valuable information they have. I'm sorry if I sound like a wet blanket, what I've said is only meant to help. I'm sure you will receive a lot of help from all of the member of the QB. Good Luck