justflyingin

I agree. And not just with fabaric. Once I bought an mp3 player which the person ended up costing them $.86 for postage (it was a very small one) and I paid $9.00 shipping/handling. :(

MTS

That kind of stuff should be going away soon - that was just eBay fee avoidance.

It wasn't so much that they were charging you more for postage, it was that they were charging less for the actual item so they wouldn't have to pay eBay's Final Value Fee (FVF) on the higher product sale.

eBay, because of all those shenanigans, has now started charging sellers the FVF on the total sale, including the postage.

It's ALWAYS buyer beware on any site, but now there's no financial incentive - even a sleazy one - for the seller to shift the costs to shipping charge.

Except for possibly snagging a buyer who doesn't do his homework when comparison shopping. ;-)

jeaninmaine

Can anyone recommend some honest fabric sellers on eBay. That would be a big help in avoiding the ones that are trying to scam us.

MTS

Let's further clarify this.

Nobody got scammed on ANY of the deals posted on this thread.

The buyers did NOT read the descriptions in the listing.

The same rules apply for whatever widget you're buying on eBay (or any site).

READ the descriptions. Even if they're in 14 fonts in 12 colors :roll: read every SINGLE word. And if you still have questions, ASK the seller.
Check the feedback. And if someone has a feedback of 2000 with one neg, I can pretty much guarantee it was from some newbie who DIDN'T READ the description.

As much as you're looking for "safe" sellers, trust me that sellers are looking for "safe" buyers. It's a two way street.

jeaninmaine

I've always made it a point to read the whole description. So far I've been very lucky. But it would be nice to have a few sellers that you could just go to and see what they have for sale and know that you're bidding on some good quality fabric.

watterstide

and i wish they would not sell, post it that way!

MTS

Fair enough.

I can't really recommend any specific sellers because I don't shop that way. I'm always looking for something, and then I'll mosey around that seller's listings. So I've had good transactions with scores of sellers, but no "personal" relationship so that I can even remember the seller's name without first looking at my feedback. ;-)

I think you're pretty safe when buying new fabrics. Most of those sellers are pretty professional, and are running real businesses. It's not someone just trying to destash. So the quality of their offerings is known. If they're selling Moda's latest boring floral collection, you know what you're getting.

The place where you have to be careful, but can often score fabulous deals, is when individual sellers are de-stashing.

Just like here on the board, in some cases the quality of this fabric is less certain. Another person's LQS might be Joann's. Often when they don't list the manufacturer, that could be a sign.

Also, the smoke and pet hair issue - that is a statement you want to see in EVERY listing. And if they don't have it, ask why not. And while I would never buy from them, I appreciate the sellers that do put in they smoke or have pets. No mysteries.

I still shudder when I remember some yardage I bought, wow, over 10 years ago - I almost passed out when I opened the package. The room immediately smelled like it was a crowded bar at 2AM. It was gross. But since the listing didn't say NO SMOKING, that one was on me.

Live and learn. And always compare prices. The eBay sellers aren't always cheaper than other online shops. Or they might not have all the fabrics in a collection.

And if you're part of the whole AmyBulter/DenyseSchmidt/April & Mary whatever-their-names-are fan base, you might want to head over to [url]http://www.etsy.com/[url]. They have beautiful listings of these fabrics - yardage and packs as well.

Happy shopping!

SherriB

I bought some 1930's fabric yardage after a member here recommended them. I got 10 yards for $41.00, including the shipping cost.

The seller is : franks11

Beautiful fabric and I will probably order again. The only drawback was they didn't take Paypal.

Another seller with awesome prices is: glitzygirlztwinkle
Beautiful fabric from her as well.

mshollysd

I have ebayed alot in the past, and found fabric that was discontinuted which you can't find at a fabric store. I also did some destashing of my regular fabric (wouldn't allow the DH to get rid of my quilting stash) and you really need to put a very good description in it. There is nothing worse than your item not selling and you have to re list it. I had some discontinued tractor fabric that went sky high in bidding, it was discontinued. Be careful, watch the shipping expense and buy only from good feedback people. That will be your best bet.

Frankie

Guess it's like toilet paper, start watching how many squares you get in a roll and then you'll see a lot of the times a sale is not really a sale. They say double rolls and whatnot but are they really twice as much as a single roll? It used to be 200 squares to a roll. Just for fun check out how much is on a roll now. Should be right on the package so you don't need to buy any, just for fun when you are in the grocery store check it out. Like everything else read carefully.