So far I have had good luck. (Keeping my fingers crossed.)

when i purchase fabric on line i make sure i am purchasing from a good reputable shop...i've been buying fabric from fabric.com for over 10 years now and have never been disappointed. when considering buying from someplace new i check to see who the manufacturers are ... and only purchase fabrics i know are good quality. if there is no manufacturer information, or i do not know the fabrics i more than likely skip it..
if i really want to try out a new fabric i do not know about i see if they will send swatches...lots of places do, that way i can get small pieces to check out before investing in something i will be unhappy with.

I haven't had much trouble with getting the right color, but I have been disappointed with the size of the print I had chosen. Even though most companies have a little tape measure beside the print, it doesn't always work with my brain. If I am trying to get a specific color or match a specific piece of fabric, I will try to do that locally rather than buying on internet.

I buy fabric from online quilt shops a lot and (knock on wood) I've never had the need/desire to return any of it, or felt the quality was poor.

I've been happy with my online purchases. I do try to use my LQS first but sometimes sitting at the computer is easier and can find things the store doesn't have. I do buy fabrics from companies that I know have nice fabric.
happy Monday
Kate

I am like you, quilterj. I find it very hard to coordinate fabrics online, because color, print size and what not aren't represented accurately all the time, like when I look at photos of my quilts, sometimes I wonder about they way the colors show.

With that being said, there are a lot of bargains to be had online, and I do buy fabrics just because I like how they look, like the color family, the print or whatever. Many times, I find a piece or two that would work great together in a quilt, but most of the time, I take the fabric/s I want to use to the store and buy more to make the quilt.

Of course you can always buy fabrics from the same collection and these are made to match, but this is not necessarily my style. :lol: I don't like a "designer" to tell me which fabrics go together. I am weird like that I guess. :lol: :XD:

I haven't bought too much fabric online, but when I did I ordered it from fabric.com & it was exactly what I ordered. The colors were perfect & shipping fast.

I don't buy 'specific colors or prints' online if I need to match it with something I have at home.. I prefer to buy locally. However I do buy alot of fabric online from Hancocks of Paducah, Connecting threads, Keepsake quilting, ebay to name a few for stash building purposes only..

there are alot of "OMG- I have to have it!!!" moments in this house when I see something I absolutely love online.. Ok well, doesn't have to be Absolutely but a 'oohh pretty' will work in my mind as well..

In 5 years of online shopping the only problem
I had was on a recent order , regarding
R.Kaufman´s quality .
90% of my stash is ordered online.

I have been satisfied with all but one online fabric, and in that case the ebay seller refunded my money! I do choose fabrics from manufacturers that I recognize, and I usually buy for my stash rather than for a specific project.