We have two super walmarts in town, the one closest to me doesn't carry fabric. It's considered a "beach" store. (We're 15 miles from the beach here at my house) but the other walmart now has a fat quarter section. They do have fabrics still but you sure don't want a lot of them.

My problem with it is we only have one other fabric store. Yesterday I went to buy ribbon for some special ordered 'brag' ribbons I make for military moms. The 7/8th grograin was 31 cents a yard at wally world. They only had the white so I had to go to Hancock's to buy the gold I needed. At Hancocks the 5/8ths ribbon was 99 cents a yard. They were also raising prices as I went through the shop.

As I still do garment sewing for special events it just aggravates me to have to pay hancock prices. If I'm going to pay high prices I'd rather give it to my LQS but they only carry the cotton. Wedding dresses and prom dresses don't look as good out of cotton. :wink:

The disparity in pricing and the rising prices will only hurt these places. Don't they realise that we consumers do comparison shopping for price and quality more in depression times? Do they not think they would make more by catering to us more often? :evil:

I'm going to be going online more but the wait time is hard when these gals all want their stuff made the day they come to you...

ok, off my soap box

One of the things I was told as to why Walmart was closing the fabric departments was that it was too expensive to manage compared to other departments. They had to have trained (or semi trained!) people on duty just for that department to cut fabric. The new craft departments that was to take its place would have pre-cut yardage. Will buying the jelly rolls and fat quarters (pre-cut fabric!!) make it seem to upper management that that is the way to go???

[b]We still have our fabric dept at the WalMarts here but it is also scaled back and of course you have to ring the bell and wait forever for someone to come and wait on you. I used to go in there and look at their fabric but anymore I just buzz right by that dept. When they did the remodel a few years ago they of course moved it to a different location and not shopper friendly at all.
I get so upset with their people that work there especially some of the cashiers, when it says was you clerk friendly today I have hit more NO's
than yes as some are very unfriendly. Do not care for the store.
I know Joanns is raising their prices also ours is quite small and crowded but the clerks are very nice and helpful.

Hope for better days.

ef

The Walmart in Traverse City, Mi is phasing out its fabric department as well. I guess I'll will have to order over the internet. There are plenty of fabric and quilting stores represented.

Our Walmart is packed with fabrics... :D

I think thats one of the reasons our Wally closed the material. They have to have someone actually there to cut material. Did I read somewhere that they were pre-packaging quilt kits and selling them for $25.00. Someone mentioned it. I know somewhere in the US they sell packaged material 1 yard cuts in packages. That would be one way to go.

I'm reposting this from the other Wal-Mart thread. You should read the entire thread if you think your old friend wally-world is going to do you any favors......


I took time out from my quilting today to check the forum, and give my back a break!

When I saw this thread, it really perked my interest, because I have a problem with what Wal-mart is doing to this country. I decided to post, it is a subject that is near to my heart.

If you really want to know how W/M is hurting us, here are some very good books on the subject. When you get past all the advertising they do as being "family-friendly," you will be amazed at the damage they and their methods have done.

The first book I can recommend is this one, "Big Box Swindle: The True Cost of Mega Retailers and the Fight for American's Independent Businesses" by Stacy Mitchell.

Here's a quote from the book.

"Between 1983, when Wal-Mart opened its first store in Iowa, and 1993, when the company had expanded to 45 superstores, Stone found that the state lost 555 grocery stores, 591 hardware and building-supply dealers, 161 variety stores, 88 department stores, 291 apparel stores, 153 shoe stores, 116 drugstores, 111 jewelry stores, and 94 lawn and garden stores."
-Mitchell, The Big Box Swindle




The second book I can recommend is "The Bully of Bentonville, How the High Cost of Wal-Mart's Everyday Low Prices is Hurting America" by Anthony Bianco.

If you think Wal-Mart has "sold out," the answer is no, they haven't. The children of Sam Walton have just put profit before principles. According to this second book, each one of the Walton children, individually, makes $22,000 PER HOUR. Every hour, every day, every minute. One of the Walton children, Alice, lives near to where I live, on a big ranch.

In 1989, Alice struck and killed a pedestrian with her car, and she was convicted of drunk driving in 1998 after crashing her Toyota into a gas meter.

One of the sons, John Walton, was a hero, a former Green Beret who won the Silver Star in Vietnam, and he was the philanthropist. But he died in 2005 in a crash of an experimental aircraft, so his influence is no longer felt.

One more place to go to learn more about W/M is watching this video, for those of you who don't like to read, found here....

http://www.walmartmovie.com/

Or this website, where you can read tons of info....

http://walmartwatch.com/

I personally have not stepped foot in a W/M in over 2 years, and I will NEVER darken the door their again. And that includes Sam's Club. In your reading you will find that the Wal-Mart EMPLOYEES donate MILLIONS more in community money than THE ENTIRE CORPORATION. And these are the folks who work there who are paid a pittance.

My DH's nephew is the manager of one of the biggest W/M supercenters, and recently his store won some sort of prize for highest grocery sales. Who got the prize? Certainly not the workers there who made it all happen, but the nephew, who got a trip to DisneyWorld for a week for himself and his family.

I heartily believe that if we as a country do not take a stand against this bully, we are going to be reduced to minimum-wage jobs and no economy. And I think this is certainly what is happening to our economy now. According to this article.... http://www.thetrumpet.com/index.php?...rticle&id=1955 we are losing manufacturing jobs by the thousands every month, and have been since, oh, about the time W/M starting to really grow.

Now I am going to get off of my soapbox and shut up. Sorry to take up your time, but it is important.

I'm gonna go quilt now.....My blood pressure needs to go down.

Try www.thousandsofbolts.com for your fabrics. You will be amazed at their prices and shipping costs.

i found you

peel