This is why it is sometimes difficult to support local quilt shops. I called one nearby today about Bali Pops. They want $39 per set + 9.25% sales tax. On line I found them for as low as $23 + shipping and several places were just under $30. When you want 6 sets, the difference REALLY adds up.

I would tell them where I found them and how much and see if they will match or come close to the lower price. :-D

I know what you mean, and with the economy being like it is, you have to go with what you can afford.

I fully agree, the local LQS here has nothing under $12 a yard, and all FQs are $2.99
We are working on buying our home, and as much as i love quilting, i would have to quit if i had to pay that much. To me, our home is more important :D

I agree that's why I shop WM even tho I can't stand it and I get a headache everytime I go in there. Got to save as much as I can. Now they are carrying some Batik's for $3.95 a yard that beats $10.00 a yard any day.

I know, sigh....I've been looking at rummage sales, but its so hard to find fabric at rummage sales!

Yes isnt it amazing how much Bali pops vary. On top of that, there are several in the pack that are just plain UGLY. I needed six packs for my Bali wedding quilt. I bought them but I am cutting them differently so I dont have to use the ugly ones.

I have seen those batiks in walmart and they are most definitely not the same quality as what I pay $10 per yard for at my LQS.

However batiks I have bought on line at Fabric Depot, Thousands of bolts for around $5 per yard are.

I agree - since they are independently owned, they should work with you to try to keep your business. If they don't, then you know not to rely on them for much.

I do not own, nor never will most likely, a quilt shop - but I do know that they have to keep the doors open - the online stores maybe are in a home or a less expensively rented warehouse... LQS's DO make money and can go down in prices sometimes, but we can't expect them to not make money - it is a business. I know we all know this - the price of fabric is higher because of all the 'middle men' it has to go through to get to the LQS's. My husband and I do own another kind of store and do sometimes offer discounts, but we can't put food on our table if we do it too often.

I think the shop has a too high profit margin.

Here in Canada my LQS wants 54.95 per bali pop. I can order them online and get two including shipping for that price. And I figure if I can get them that cheap, so can they. I like to support them but I just can't when they're charging that much. I seldom buy anything there unless they're having a sale.

WalMart does not sell batiks at all, but tie dye fabric to look like batiks. The best quality fabric Walmart sells is the Quilt of the Month fabric. I have one yard of David Textile's print sold there, folded and machined quilted that I have put in every load of clothes I have washed for over a month. Some bleach loads. I'm doing my own experiement. So far the fabric may be a little faded next to the new but not weaken at all. No shredding at the seams. I'm perfectly pleased with it for all make and use quilts. For my heirloom pass down and never use keep hands off quilt I will buy the $12 a yard fabric.

Be careful buying Bali pops period. There have been lots of threads if you do a search...many are cut so wonky they're not useable:<

According to the definition of Batik...
WalMart does sell Batiks.
Due to modern advances in the textile industry, the term has been extended to include fabrics that incorporate traditional batik patterns even if they are not produced using the wax-resist dyeing techniques.

regardless of what they are called... they are pretty :D
and for those of us that cant spend $12 a yard, they work quite well :D
My oldest daughter still has the quilt i made her before she was born, with WalMart fabric... and it has been overly well loved and washed hundreds of time.
I understand that many dont like it, but for some WalMart is the difference between being able to do what you love and laying in bed staring at the ceiling tiles :D

i buy what i can i only get a month to month pay and only could afford 2.00 and 3.00 dollar yards i only do for my family that why i stay with store that i can afford like WAL_ MART

I look at it like this. If it is going to be an heirloom or put in a show (which I would never do), then only top quality is what I would do. If some 9 year old is going to sleep under it with a dog on top of it (which I always hope my quilts are used) then I would go for the best of the cheapest.

Personally, I buy LQS batiks but I would not say they are the only thing there is. I just like the colors.

My Walmart does not have fabric. I use Joann's and Hancock's fabrics for charity quilts or craft projects. I am under no illusion, that 100 (or even 10) years from now, that quilt I made will be a priced family possession. My Mom is the only one that has ever kept one that I gave her long term and it certainly wasnt because the work was museum quality.

PS you can hit some really good sales at LQS, especially if you get on their email lists. This weekend it's 2-5 dollars a yard for clearance.

Back to the original Bali pops thing, selling them for full retail is just silly because you can get them cheaper in a thousand places.

Sorry I mentioned WM selling anything. I don't know why ppl have to argue over this topic. Frankly it is getting on my nerves.

sometimes it is just snob attitude. I've never been in a LQS, but I do know that I would not be able to pay $12 or more a yard for quilt fabric. After all, said quilt may or may not turn out the way I'd like. I plan to buy at the store that has fabrics I like, rather it is WM, Hancocks or JOanns. If it lasts for years and years, wonderful, but if it doesn't, at least the person I give it too will have it for awhile.

It really is a dilemma.

Despite the big markup, I can pretty well promise you that the LQS is not going to make its owners rich. Having been in retail, having our own [not quilt-related] shop, was painfully enlightening. There are *many expenses that are invisible to the customer.

That said, I can't afford non-sale LQS prices either.

--Heidi

http://www.flickr.com/photos/32113973@N05/

However, they are of poor quality. "You get what you pay for" my mother always told me. I have had luck finding good quality batiks online, for $5-$6/yd

Local quilt shops can't buy large volume like chain stores can. They can't stock their shelves at the same prices W-M does, therefore, they also can't price their stock as low as W-M and other chain stores.

I buy from my LQS, but I also buy from W-M. It depends on what I'm looking for.

Whenever this discussion of Walmart vs LQS fabrics gets going, someone always has to say the following, and it looks like it might be my turn this time:

It would be a wonderful world if we could all afford the best of what we want, but life doesn't work out that way. Some of us only have limited funds to spend on fabric and other quilting items. For us, it feels like we are being told that we are 'not as good' as other quilters because we cannot or choose not to spend high prices on LQS fabrics. I have bought crummy fabric at an LQS and great fabric at Walmart. It CAN happen. You just have to be very careful about what you spend your money on.

While I'm on a roll - I have quit going to quilting classes for a very similar reason. I got tired of being told that I had to buy an expensive machine like a Janome or Bernina. As I sat at my table with my cheap Brother that works like a charm and always puts out just as nice quilts as the people with the expensive machines, I got really discouraged at driving home after the class feeling like the poor kid from the wrong side of the tracks.

We all have preferences, we all have limits as to what we can afford. Let's rejoice in the projects others make, and not focus on how much anything costs. Quality is in the heart, not the price tag.

I will now step down and go stand in the corner.

Ummm, the original topic is about Bali Pops at her LQS. I see no reason why Walmart has even entered the topic of this conversation.

LOL Well said Renee76.. no corner for you!

It comes to me that whatever and wherever one can find the materials needed to make something they find joy in is what matters most. This is a craft that reaches all levels of income and enjoyed by all. Let's not make the price of material become more then the Fabric that we hold dear.. That is friendship. Bless everyone and keep quilting in the name of friendship.

Sharon

Just for the record as far as this discussion goes and the direction it has taken, the $23 bali pops were also at a quilting store, Beverlys in California. And they were on sale, but their original selling price was $30, still considerably less than my local. I also found them for $26 at a real store in Fort Worth. My post was more a complaint about the biggest LQS in my area being, in my opinion, excessively expensive, making it difficult to support my local store. I wasn't trying to start another discussion about the merits pro and/or con of shopping at Walmart.

In defense of my LQS I realize that the price of the fabric reflects the cost of renting a space plus all that goes with it. Like salaries for salesclerks and keeping the store neat and clean. Then there is the help when I am stuck and help in choosing appropriate fabrics for certain patterns. Yes they cost more and they do more than an online store. I can see what I am buying and don't need to add shipping, which usually costs more than sales tax. And the prices are under $12 a yard. And since I don't drive and have been there for open sew days they have even offered to give me a ride home. As you can see I love my LQS and the women who work there.

I am not against online shopping, or WM shopping or any other place people find what they are looking for. As a matter of fact I love shopping on line.

Well said,Renee765

When you buy online you don't pay for the overhead of running a store. So many fabric stores have gone out of business for this reason. With a product like Bali Pops you know what you are getting. For other fabric you may want to see and feel it. I have been surprised/disappointed by some online purchases. Would you believe I buy my groceries online? Straight from the computer to my kitchen!

Dotcom raises a critical point. LQS don't have the economies of scale that a Wal-Mart has so they can't price as cheaply and they don't have the clout with manufacturers that WM has to get the same pattern put on a less high quality fabric so they can sell it more cheaply (and WM is all about lower prices at any cost - I used to work for one of their vendors and I know).

And LQS have to have a storefront with staff and inventory for a certain number of hours every week whether anyone comes in to shop. They have higher costs than an internet vendor and so have to charge higher prices.

I am not advocating for shopping or not shopping at any certain place. I can only give you my policy. I don't shop at WM for fabric because I don't like the feel and I am lucky enough to be able to pay the prices at a LQS. I do shop online sometimes, especially when I want something that I can't find locally. And I do shop at LQS all over the place because I want to be able to continue to go into a store, feel the fabric and put different combinations together until I get it just right.

Each of us has to make the decision for his or her self. If you think the quilt shop prices are too high and you choose to shop on line, then you should be willing to forego shopping at the LQS when there is a sale or asking for help from the staff when you aren't financially supporting the store. I don't think it's fair to shop elsewhere day to day but then want the LQS to be there to meet your other needs that are less costly and more immediate. Or they will be gone.

End of my sermon...

Linda, I must admit there are 2 Beverly's within an hour drive from me and I've never been! I need to go, it seems. Though, I'd still probably avoid Bali Pops. But, I've heard they carry some quilt store quality lines...and have good sales.

I agree with renee765. I dearly love to quilt but can't afford the higher fabric prices. I still quilt and I buy the best fabric I can afford. The recipients of these quilts love them regardless of the cheaper fabric used in them. My quilts are used and that's what's important to me. I wouldn't want to spend the time and money on one that wasn't. I shop wal mart, Joanne's and Hancocks. I buy what I want and where the price is right.

I would dearly love to support my LQS but my meager budget will just not allow it. I used to shop at WM until they took out the fabric dept, then it was the sale table at Hancocks and coupons at Joann's and Hancocks. Now, even these 2 local stores have raised their prices so now I hunt on line for sales. There is no way I can pay more than $5 a yard for fabric, and even then it is a rarity. I frequent quiltinaday for their clearance fabrics. I don't care if my fabric is this years or a couple years ago. I just pick what I like and can afford. I would love to be able to get Batiks, as they are so pretty. Just can't do. LOL, maybe that is why I like scrappy quilts, anything goes!

*smiling* I think discussing Fabric stores/quilt stores, is like talking politics! It's something each has the option to decide. Economics play a part in what side each may choose. Not for reasons of dislikes or likes as much as what is affordable. I love going into the two quilt shoppes that I have found near me, but I don't always feel the need to buy from either. An option I choose for my needs. It is true that the quilt shoppes may charge more than a large chain, sales are fewer etc. but they are there if you wish to chat or are looking for a specific something you cannot find at the other. Heck even at a yard sale or seconds shop, bargins can be found! I love when that happens.. be it material, notions or shirts/dresses/sheets etc that can be used to make into something cherished! It is all good! :)

I totally agree with you. :thumbup: :thumbup:

Not all the online places are strictly online. Many are store fronts. A few of my favorites are Tennessee Quilts in Jonesborough, TN (online and store), Somewhere Sewing in Johnson City, TN (online and store), Stitch-n-Frame in Vicksburg, MS (online and store AND their prices are ALWAYS 10-15% off regular prices and they have great Thursday Specials), Fabric Shack in Ohio (online and store) just to name a few. If you get on their emailing lists, you cand find some really good bargains and you are still supporting a LQS - it just may not be in your own town!

And remember that this lovely art started with scraps and rags, when looms were prohibited in the colonies and all cloth came from the Crown!

Oh yes, how awful that was to restrict the use of the looms too! Happy that some were saved and put in use again. Even if smuggled out and hidden :)