Fabric by the Bolt Wholesale Pricing
 

Could anyone give me an idea of how much fabric is by the bolt from Michael Miller, Riley Blake, Robert Kaufman, etc? I need a general idea so I can crunch some numbers for my business. I'm in the process of applying for all my wholesale accounts, but it would be nice to know prices as I'm planning!

Thanks!

Do you have your business license??? The vendors will give you that info once you provide your business license. There are typically 15 yards of fabric on a bolt.

Sandy

Prices vary from company to company and by designer also. Most average about $5.00 - $5.45 now. When I started about 5 years ago, it was $4.00 - $4.50. There are usually about 15 yards on a bolt. Batiks and metallics are higher.

Most quilt-shop quality fabrics now are above $5/yd, many are $6/yd and higher at wholesale.

When you're crunching your numbers, don't forget to figure in inbound shipping costs. Depending on where you get your fabrics from, these can add up to 50 cents a yard or more by the time you get them in your shop. If you're running a home-based business, your shipping costs will be about 20% higher. That's why a lot of shops try to specialize in fabrics that can be sourced nearby, from local distributors rather than getting them from clear across the country.

There are many many cost items that go into a sale that you never think of until you get into the business...

Good luck!

Ae you opening a store??

This poster has apparently just joined QB and we are giving away valuable info to someone who is virtually a stranger. 1 post ?? No other info from this poster??? Just sayin.

Wholesale fabric prices are a wide range depending on vendor, type of fabric, etc.

Btw, each Vendor will likely have minimum purchase requirements too. Either per order or annually.

Sandy

bolts hold between 15 & 25 yards of fabric....some only 10....some 50....each is individual- different suppliers offer different amounts- instead of asking us, you need to ask your supplier-only they can answer this question for you

I don't know the answer but I wish you all the best with your business!

Like! This type of info is best requested from each Vendor. We still dont know ANYTHING about this member and what her business plan is.

I wonder if she is aware of the trade shows..... ? Her screen name suggests to me tht he/she. Is in education
Sandy

Just a note - I inquired about purchasing Moda wholesale and they have a $700 minimum. I am set up as a business but I'm just a small time gal and at this time couldn't place that kind of an order.

Generally wholesale is about 40% off retail price, sometimes more, sometimes less depending on where you buy.

Good luck with your venture! :)

Sandy, it's all information that is available easily on the internet. It's no secret the minimums or cost of wholesale. No worries. ;) Setting up a business is much more than buying a few bolts of fabric.

Pumpkin Patch Quilter,

I am fully aware of that. I have been in retail for years. Wholesale side as well as a retailer. Been on both teams. ;)

Sandy

Maybe this is her dream to open up a shop. Sometimes collecting information and making sound choices is the best way to go.

If she is in education- maybe she is looking for a career that will provide for her family. Some places do not pay their teachers very much.

I wasn't aware we were not allowed to give out information on this board. I love all the camaradie of helping each other.
After all, we are all members because we LOVE fabric & quilting. Right?

Well said Chris! I came across this site yesterday in my search for bolt pricing and saw that there was a wealth of information floating around and likely to be at least a few people willing to help a newbie like me! I appreciate those who did! It was a last minute thing as I walked out my door for a weekend with my sisters. Not that I need to explain myself, but I had a legitimate reason for asking.

I have 2 sisters, we're in our late 20's and early 30's. We all sew, we're all crafty, and come from an extremely artsy/creative family (mostly educators, except for me, I'm the black sheep in medical sales). One of my sisters has 2 children, for which she has a hard time finding cool, modern clothes, blankets, burp cloths, etc. We've always gone to craft shows and said, "we should do this" so....we finally are. Our generation isn't interested in the things at craft shows that were cool in 1992. We want colorful, bright, polka dots, chevron, modern, but still cute. We are doing a few shows to test the waters and may go online, but we're starting at the local level first. We are spending the weekend, piecing together our business plan and making decisions. We are still in the process of getting our tax ID (SO a pain in the butt, btw. If anyone out there can help us with tax ID's, LLC's vs. partnerships, etc., preferably in Pennsylvania, we will love you forever!). With that being said, of course Riley Blake can't discuss pricing with us until we have that done. See the catch-22 there? Being the perfectionist that I am, I wanted to be as accurate as I could as I was laying the numbers out for the sisters. So....there you go. NOW you know me, you know my story, probably more than you ever wanted to know, and hopefully provided you with a legitimate reason for why I was asking. Thank you again to those who helped. I am the quilter of the group and I've seen some interesting posts as I was skimming the site. I look forward to reading more when I have some spare time!

Cheers!
Katie ☺

Thanks for your story as well as the valuable information others have provided. It helps all of us to get a better picture of what goes into our favorite LQS providing us with the fabrics we love so much!

Katie,

Perhaps this is premature but one idea for you is to consider attending a Quilt Market when the time makes sense for you in your planning. You can research when and where the shows are on this site. http://quilts.com/home/index.php

Market is a great way to glean lots of info for your new business adventure.

Fab Shop News is a great magazine for fabric retailers.

Good luck!
Sandy

When you need help with setting up your business, look up the Small Business Administration in your local phone book.
They have free classes in every phase of getting started and continuing.

Welcome aboard from Quebec City, Canada and good luck with your project.

I just noticed you are from Maryland and you mentioned PA in one of your posts. May I ask where you are thinking about having a shop since I too am from MD? There can never be too many quilt shops in an area!

I agree, this is not top secret info. What harm can she do with it. Vendors won't give her wholesale prices unless she has a business ID#.

i would think if you're setting up a business and getting permits/licenses, then you should know how many yards of fabric are on a bolt. anyone that's a quilter knows how much is on a bolt.

Good luck in your new venture. I know the more you buy of anything the better pricing you get. You usually have to prove yourself to the manufacturer/supplier that you can consistantly purchase and pay for the product to get better pricing later on.

well I am happy for you.good luck on getting into quilting/crafting ,etc.There are a lot of younger people getting into homemade trendy items-and they have more modern tastes and there are plenty of modern fabric designers out there.

I have no idea how much is on a bolt and I am a quilter. I typically buy anything from fat quarters to 5 yards at most so I've had no reason to know this.

The first decision you have to make is are you going into business as a partnership or an LLC. Find a good CPA and discuss the various tax implications of both tax entities. After you know what type of business you're going to set up then you can get your federal EIN number. After you have that number then you can get a state tax ID. Generally wholesalers won't even talk to people that aren't actually in business. Once you have your business set up then you can start setting up wholesale accounts.

As to actual fabric pricing, it varies considerably from distributer to distributer. Most of them want a minimum initial order of $500 to $750 and then annual purchases of at least $1200 to keep your account open. If you're opening a quilt store that's not all that hard to do. If you're doing some kind of craft sales it's going to be a lot harder to use that much fabric in a year let alone every year.

When in doubt about yardage on a bolt, go to your local quilt shop and look on the end of the bolt.

Anyone can buy wholesale. It's not a secret society. Check out Marshall's Dry Goods Wholesale site. Quilt shops in the surrounding states buy there all the time. I know they do because I see the vans loaded with bolts of fabric when I shop for bolts of fabric there.

Go online at those companies and get a price list, fabric very s .

That's what I was thinking. I've been quilting for more than 30 years and I don't know how much is standard for a bolt. The muslin I order is 20 yards on a bolt but when I purchased from another source it was a 30-yard bolt so there's definitely some disparity.

ro, I believe that is why the question was asked some people do not know or care. Until now I thought the most fabric that came on a bolt was 8 maybe 10 yards once I was told 15 yards were on a bolt. Now someone posted their maybe even more yardage per bolts. I also do not understand what the big deal that "k8edu" has not posted on this site before and has asked her question, what is the big deal about her question, do you have to have posted on this site a number of times before you can ask a type of question? I DO NOT GET IT!! I love this site and have learned a lot but sometimes peoples reaction are beyond me. Good luck to you and your sisters "k8edu" most of the people on this site are very very helpful and go out of their way to help people. yippie

Not always....vendors may offer different bolt yardage...and it also depends if the bolt was wrapped at the end of the "roll" or tube of fabric..may even be less than ten yards. 15 is "typical but she could ask for "short " bolts from the vendor....which is a gamble on how much yardage you will receive, 5 yards? 6 yards? 16 yards???...esp,if expecting 15 yards..you may be sent 16 or 17 yard bolt and charged accordingly. So many variables.

Sandy

Good luck!

I publicly apologize for my questioning the screen name. I hope eveyone forgives me of my indescretion. Mea culpa
Sandy

SandyGirl,
Well of course you are forgiven for whatever indescretions you think you have committed. I believe you are more scrutinizing regarding fabric business questions because that is your business. After all, you are a fabric sales rep, correct?
We all just need to keep in mind that we were all beginners at one time and was new to this board. This board is here to offer help & inspiration to anyone interested in fabric & quilting. I am so glad I came across this board several years ago. I have learned so much because of the generosity of so many.

Enjoy this beautiful day. Here in west central Ohio it is a balmy 58 degrees after getting 5 inches of snow earlier this week.

Chris

Thanks, Chris, yes, i am a rep. It is on my profile.

I guess I kind of cringe when wholesale pricing, etc is discussed so publicly. Generalities are one thing.....specifics are best discussed with each vendor one on one. But this is from my persective. I do not discuss wholesale prices unless the account can show business credentials. One cannot even attend quilt Market without providing actual invoices of goods purchased at wholesale. So many variables in pricing, pricing tiers, yardage, quality levels, etc. i dont even discuss this with my personal quilty friends.

Sandy

Ro-

I DO, indeed, know how many yards of fabric are on the bolts we intend to purchase from Riley Blake; some are 10, and some 15 yds. I'm not sure how you got the idea that I didn't know, but my original question was about pricing (per yard), not pricing for every bolt. Clearly there is no standard for yardage on a bolt, some 8, 10, 15, etc. as some of the other posters have stated.

I agree, good luck with your endeavor!

Thank you! I don't know what the big deal is either. Honestly, I am surprised at a few of the responses. From what I can gather, this is a place to share your experiences, learn from others, and be part of the quilting/crafting community. I think those who choose to be negative should keep their thoughts to themselves and keep this a positive space.

And yet without that information, or at least a very educated guess, there is no way to write an intelligent business plan and without a business plan the chances of developing a successful business are greatly reduced.

The OP was merely seeking cost information from one source, the QB membership. If you didn't wish to volunteer the information requested, no one was forcing you to. You could easily have just kept silent. There was no reason to question her motives, let alone her character.

I"m with you Nilla. I quilt and didn't know how much fabric was on a bolt until now.