I agree with you. I find I hardly go to WM much anymore. They don't have anything much I need anymore!

I recently shopped at a QS, only because I had to take my machine in for service & my friend works there. From there, I went to Hobby Lobby for the first time, I was not too impressed & they were a little more expensive than Joann's. I am usually a Joann's shopper but the point I'm trying to make is that I saw some of the SAME material in all 3 places as well as WalMart which I had been to a few days ago! Of the 4 stores, Joann's was the best price. When I do go to the QS that my friend is at, I only buy on sale or remnants on sale. I have gotten some great 'buys'! But I see no reason to pay $8.99/yd for the same thing I can get at Joann's for $3-4.99/yd! On my last visit to Walmart, I was disappointed in their fabrics & the saleswoman said she thought they were going to get rid of the dept. Our Hancock's went out of business years ago & I really miss them. I don't like buying online because the colors aren't true. I also got 'burned' from one company when I bought a large amount of fabric based on 45" as they told me. After removing selvedges, it was 41" & I was short about 3" for a special quilt for my DH & had to 'patch' it on the back! So, they're not leaving us quilters & sewers much of a choice. Is it a conspiracy? :?: Also our LQS has a bad rep for being rude & discourteous which I found to be true. :cry:

I refuse to shop walmart for anything. The fact that the local family owned fabric stores were put out of business then walmart stops selling fabric locally has driven myself and lots of other people in this small place elsewhere. I have the same idea all the locals do here I have to travel so far for fabric I might as well do my shopping where there is more of a selection and better prices and not at walmart.

True True Patrice. However, some of us are not lucky enough to have a LQS close by. I wish we did. The closest one to me is 85 miles away. When Wal Mart ( had ) their fabric this town had no other choice. I did buy some nice fabric over the years from Wally, and we tried everything short of chaining ourselves to the store to get them to keep the fabric dept. We are already missing it so much and it's only been three or four months now. What they have to offer in place of that dept. really stinks. I know most places judge what they put in on floor space, well the way they arranged the store after the remodel there is so much empty floor space. Too bad someone can't open a LQS here in town, but I know the cost of doing so with this size town is prohibitive. We just have to suffer the loss.

Thats the same E-Mail they sent me in reply to my letter to them. :cry:

Right.

I am sure no one of importance is reading our emails to WalMart - I believe they have a slave wage worker scanning the emails, and if "Fabric" comes up they hit a button and send out this stock reply letter.

I also do not think it's a problem of them getting someone who can do the math or cut correctly. I have no doubt it's because they do not want to pay anyone to cut.

Yes, at one time I cut my own fabric , took it to customer service told them what I did , they figured the price and I bought it. Said, thank you paid for it and walked out of the store. My husband about passed out for what I did. I got what I wanted.

We don;t have fabric in our Walmart and now I seldom go there. Not as much because no fabric but because they screwed the stores around, I can't find anything. I also have no LQS because she decided not to return after Ike. W also have no fabric store. In another city north of here, people complained so much that Walmart did put fabric back in one store. I always wonder who's brilliant mind at Walmart made this decision. Hw should be fired.

Just read about Connecting Threads on another forum. They are all American made fabrics and are having sales going on. Look at that forum.

Just read about Connecting Threads on another forum. They are all American made fabrics and are having sales going on. Look at that forum.

I c

[quote=quiltin mimi]I completely agree.

I use to go to walmart all the time - mainly to talk to the girls that worked in fab, having a bad day buy some fab. then i would always pick up a few things in the store. well ---that was then NOW i shop closer to home. i don't go the extra mile.Walmart took a lot away from us when changing that dept. the store in Georgetown DE , doesn't even carry a spool of white thread.

Marye, don't be afraid of Connecting Threads. I deal with them and they have great product. I live in a very out-of-the-way area and I usually get my order in about three days. Their sales are great, check out their clearance section.

If WM owns Joann's, I'm going to boycott them, also. I understand that there was an article about Hobby Lobby coming to town and then there is still Hancocks and several LQS.

Tthe only reason I started frequenting WM, when they first built, was because it was one stop shopping and extremely convenient especially in the Winter when the weather is so outrageous. I always frequent the fabric department and 99% of the time purchase fabric & notions.
We own a small retail store in No. VA and were almost put out of business when the big guys came to town. That was 30+ yrs ago and we are still in business there due to customer service and to customer loyalty. WM needs to listen to their customers from every cubicle in their big box.

Welcome sewmagic! Poor WalMart. What will they do without me?

:lol: Since I can't find fabrics, thread, batting, etc. there, I go elsewhere for my grocery and pharmacy needs. In fact, what I save in gasoline, I use to support our small town grocer and pharmacy.

Actually, when we complained to a store manager about them taking fabric out, we got the best explaination. Everything is based on profit per square foot. Since most Walmarts are open 24/7 and the fabric dept. has to have an employee in it to cut fabric, etc., the fabric dept. couldn't make as much per square foot as they could with other products in it. They eliminated the need for an employee in that department by putting in shelves of "stuff" that people could just help themselves to. Sad, especially for those communities that don't have other stores carrying fabric.

This is why I dislike Walmart. They open a store in a small town, run all the competition out of business, and then sometimes decide that store isn't profitable and close it. In the town where my mom lived, after they closed the WM there, Mom couldn't even buy a sewing needle or spool of thread without driving 30 miles or more.

Now that they have run LQS's out of business in some towns/area, they are discontinuing the handling of bolt fabrics.

Oh well The 2 walmarts closest to me have been without fabric for so long I have almost forgotten that they even had it.

I agree. And you can buy celebration (party) stuff any place and there usually much of a price difference.

Thanks

Our new Sew and Vac listened to customers and put in a limited supply of fabrics, a year or so before they intended to when the WM closed out their fabrics 10 miles away...intellengent move. Now we shop the local grocery, the Sew and Vac (and notion + materisl) on main street. And maybe our local economy in Brush, Colorado will begin to see the light that WM put out several years ago...GO QUILTERS !!!

Right on - MillieH. I have seen this same thing happen in my childhood small rural town, the medium-sized town I attended junior college in and now, within the metro stores nearby. WM has gotten too big and has forgotten what Sam Walton stood for. Those people who need a low cost fabric because they cannot afford the local fine quilting fabric shops are being discounted. Shame on WalMart.

Sam Walton is rolling over in his grave!! So are the founders of JoAnn, to see what "retailers" have done to their stores.

Am I understanding that Wal-Mart owns Jo-Ann's???

[it bugs me that they seem to be blowing smoke up people's you-know-what about how great the "CELEBRATION" department is.]

Hear hear. What do they think, Now that they are carrying "Celebrations" we will all stop making quilts and go over into, what? parties and showers and scrapbooks and whatnot, just because oh boy that's what WM is now carrying???

They have no clue as to who the buying public is.
I think they think we are all teenyboppers and deerhunters and new moms.

Walmarts PR tell you they have the lowest prices and that isn't always true. I bought a Hoover Vac from Target because it was cheaper and also some office supplies were higher at Walmart. I went to Walmart today, only because it was on my way home, to pick up a few items for our trip. I can truly say, I couldn't wait to get out. I noticed they have a lot of unfilled space and they have less of a selection on some things. Ours is a busy store in the summer because of the beaches. Don't plan to go back any time soon.

Got that right... LOL
I can name a few:
Dollar General
Family Dollar
Dollar Tree

Okay.. birthdays come once a year, hopefully a wedding once or twice in your lifetime. BUT come on, family get togethers..paper plate. Only at BBQ's for us!

Wal-Mart's reasonings, they have no good standing reasons. Sorry got my dander up on this one!!! I sent them so many emails where I live that they actually 'blocked' my emails. LOL

Did hear of a new Super Wal-mart being built near me...yeah... hope they get the fabrics in ... referring to an older post about WM having fabrics.
That is why 1 of 2 KMart stores closed....because they took out the fabric & most of the yarn, crafts.

They even do a "price" match from other places, KMart, Meijers, all surrounding grocery stores. Sounds like they are in a bit of trouble too!

So SORRY... I just had to vent!

I rarely go to Walmart anymore, and only if I just have to. Unfortunetly, I have to get my medication there as they are the cheapest game around. When they started removing the fabric dept's a couple years ago, I sent a very descriptive email to them and said I was no longer going to give them my business. And for the most part I have done just that.

Maybe what we should do is bombard them with email about how we will NO LONGER give them our hard earned money and mention they need a new firm to do their survey's as those people are not surveying the people who actually BUY fabric. I've alway thought you could get more flies with honey than vinegar, but there are times that being nice just doesn't work with these corporate Einstiens... We need to protest them with our $$ spent elsewhere.

One person boycotting won't accomplish anything but if many of us did, they might get the hint when their profits start dropping. JMO

Must be a lot of people having parties. I don't see how in this economy of today.

You can bet your last dollar that Mr. Sam is rolling in his grave. This new Wal-Mart is not at all what he intended his stores to be.

AMEN to that...I for one am not a Walmart fan. They are trying to rule the retail world.

Long Island, NY just lost another place to buy fabric. Walmarts have all gotten rid of their fabric depts. In fact, I was in Penna and they said there, the fabric depts will be reduced all over the country. This was last year.

Walmart made a corp decision to get rid of their fabric dept..I sure the ones made the decision to close their fabric dept never sat in front of a sewing machine or don't share the wonderful memories some of us share with our moms sewing for us. I worked for Corp America for 15yrs. The stress was horrible causing me to have constant migraines headaches. I would stop by Walmart on my way home and had to buy a piece of fabric. The ladies in the fabric dept and I became very good friends. They would tell me when new fabric was coming. If my husband was with me I would whisper "I can't buy it right now" so they would cut it and hide it under they table until so I could come back later to buy it. When I was stressed sometimes I would go the fabric dept a night to just talk to some of the ladies. They were so nice to me. They watched my children grow up. I miss that now when I go there. They closed our fabric dept about 4yrs ago. Now I find myself going to Kroger and Target more now.

I think they did not want to pay for a person to just cut fabric.
Pre cuts are now at my Walmart and so far none of them are what I prefer. I did buy some fats.
I dont understand the interest in scrapbooking. I have way to many albums that are cramed with pictures. Why would I waste space on the pages to add decorations? My whole bookcase would have nothing but albums of pictures that you only look at occasionaly.

Didn't I see another thread about how WM was going to be putting fabric in all the new from the ground up stores? Why do we even discuss this anymore, folks have been moaning about the WM losing fabric for years, mine took out fabrics recently, I moved on and got over with it. I realize that not everyone has the options for fabric shopping that I do in my area, but I do feel that we have beat this one to death.

Well...this is a piece of bull...Our store with the new remodel has about 15 spools of thread, 2 sizes of safety pins, no zippers, only cheap scissors and the craft junk that consists of beads...and about two dozen skeins of yarn..the end....so we can drive 10 miles one way to Hobby Lobby and get simplicy or mccall patterns or we can drive 30 miles to Jo Ann's and get a little more or 50 miles to Hancock Fabrics and buy a selection of sewing notions and fabric. Thanks alot Walmart for serving your customers.

Yes, we have talked about this subject many times in the past and recently. But, new people are always joining the board and some of our members are just now experiencing the loss of their fabric dept in their Wal-Mart stores. Lets not be so criticle regarding this subject. I am sure those who have already gone through this much earlier have as one member says "gotten over it" but this is an on going thing with our Wal-Mart stores and new info is being put out there to all of us constantly so I say go ahead and continue reporting your news regarding this subject for us all when you hear something. Those of us who feel it is time to "get over it" please just scroll on down or better yet when you see this subject ..just don't open this subject page. Sorry for all of you who are experiencing this problem with Wal_Mart as I know some of us have only had that store as a means to an end for fabric or it is all some of the board can afford to buy from. Stay safe quilting friends and please keep on asking any and all questions you might have regardless of the subject. That is part of the reason for our wonderful board and its wonderful members.

My Walmarts close to me closed the fabric dept a couple years ago and sorry...but I HAVEN'T gotten over it. It has cut into my fabric purchases big time, and I resent the he!! out of it. I'm sure alot of us feel that way and still need to vent.

It's not just availability of fabric (plenty of LQS in my area) but AFFORDABILITY for alot of us.