For those of you who shop on line do you always like the fabric you have ordered. It is hard to sometimes tell what the fabric really looks like. Can you get samples sent to you to look at them before you buy yardage? I ordered fat quarters from Connecting Threads and though I did like them, there was no names on them and I couldnt order any yardage

I was only disappointed once. The fabric was deep red instead of brown. The quality of the picture on line was poor. Most of the time, I have been happy.

I only had 1 "bad" experience. I thought the fabric had little circles & instead they were eggs. Other than that, I've liked everything.

I know fabric.com has a good return policy and you can order swatches from them.

I only had one 'bad' experience. The fabric was a little courser than usual. Every other time, everything has been fine!

When I first started ordering on line , many sites only had small swatched, now you can enlarge ( on most sites) so no surprises on what the print really contains. On occasion I still have a bit of a surprise ... A few things I learned along the way
1. Always always enlarge the print if you can
2. If its in a grouping .. and yournot sure of the shade look at the others in the grouping it may be the best indicator , since other prints will coordinate and have larger portions of the color.
3. Some batiks can be tough .. since not all of the colors can be seen sometimes on the swatch. The water color types are the easiest.
4. Inspect your shopping cart carefully before completing the purchase.
5. If how fast an order ships is a priority for you check here first . Some ship so fast .. ( there is one that it takes only two days for me to get and order .... others take as long as two weeks to recieve.
6.Use sites recommended by others.
7. As for quality ALWAYS look at the manufacture of the fabric. Not all sites will list the manufacture ... avoid those.
8. Take the time and read the description ... most common mistake I have seen made is getting flannel.. Most post in a obvious place but it can be easy to miss.
9. Believe what you see.. if the print looks not quite as crisp as you want ... believe it ... do not hope its just a bad photo.

I have gotten some of the most spectacular fabrics on -line, as no shop cold possibly carry everthing.

Connecting Threads has really good customer service. I would call them and describe the fabric. They may be able tell you which one it is. They also send out swatches, I think.

I asked for and received a swatch from one ebay store. Often they will offer to send one, you just have to ask. I have often been disappointed that the fabric was not exactly what I thought it would be, but I buy for my stash, so almost any fabric will be used eventually (if I live long enough). I buy only brands that I recognize and like, so that takes care of the fabric quality issue. Only once did I receive yardage that was not first quality (it looked like it had not gone through all the dye process) and the seller promptly refunded my money and told me to keep the fabric. So overall I am very pleased to order online, and I save quite a bit by doing so.

I buy on line from two places. I think sometimes its the computer screen that distorts the colours rather than the photos themselves. Sometimes I've had a bit of surprise, but not to the extent that I'd want to return the fabric. The thing I miss about buying on line is being able to feel the fabric!!

I was always wondering too. I always like to see and feel the fabric.

I've bought lots of fabric online and have never been disappointed because I ask questions just like on eBay. It can be a bit difficult at times because of the different names to what we might call them here in Australia. But as I said I've never been disappointed. Same as any I've purchased from board members.

Yes, I have been dissapointed before. It is hard to order just off a picture but usually the disspointment had to do with the way the fabric was cut. Sometimes I have been dissapointed with the quality of the fabric.

The fabric I ordered from Connecting Threads had a computer label stuck to each piece. I think that is their identifing number. Also I was disappointed in the colors from them. They seemed to be different in than what was showing on the computer. Maybe just my choices.

so far so good. I have 2 places where I purchase from the most, both have very,very good customer service, shipping is fair and order comes quickly..
1 is Fabric.com
2 is AAA quilters supply.com (fabric backs are quite resonably priced too)
I have also ordered from Olde America Antiques (great place they have all sorts of things from the past.. the woman there is a quilter and they can reproduce whatever you wish, in various sizes. Wonderful, wonderful
I have also shopped a few ebay places

I have ordered from Fabric.com and E Quilters. Have never been disapointed.

I've ordered from Whittle's, Hancock of Pad., Eleanor Burns, Thousands of Bolts, Cotton Loft, Fabric Shack, Desperate Quilters, and Erica's. All have been first quality name brand fabrics, reasonable shipping, good prices. One problem:E. Burns sent wrong fabric, emailed them, sent correct fabric and told me to keep the other.

not disappointed in any of the fabrics purchased from Connecting Threads - their pics matched what I wanted