The recent topic of do you pay over x amount has gotten me to thinking.
09-07-2010, 03:45 AM
#12
Junior Member
Join Date: Jul 2010
Location: Sunny Queensland
Posts: 229
This could be an explanation of why the fabric is so expensive in all places other than the US. I hope it makes sense.
I used to work for a company that exported drinking glasses to Europe and USA from Australia. They had to do huge manufacturing runs to fill the orders from around the world. The more glasses that were made, the less each glass cost, although we in Australia paid less per glass than the exported glasses. Now applying this to fabric, the bigger the yardage of fabric the manufacturer makes, the cheaper it is to make per yard, and the cheaper it is to buy. I would assume that the higher prices in the overseas market (the rest of the world) is subsidising the lower prices of the domestic market (USA), in the same way the glasses we exported did.
Still with me? :D So when the fabric manufacturer makes x amount for the domestic market, and x amount for the overseas market, the overseas markets subsidise the domestic market. Even accounting for freight and import duty, a difference of $10.00+ per metre retail seems over the top.
The import duty on fabric into Australia has dropped by 30% in the last 12 years, but we are not paying 30% less for our fabric.
And while I am on a roll:
My LQS owner was complaining to me that her purchase price on a particular line of fabric was more than what Spotlight was charging retail for the exactly the same line. She had to place her order over 12 months ago. What the importer had left over (orders not honoured?) was offered to Spotlight at a bargain basement price. Any why not, the importer had already made his money from all the LQS's. It sure made the LQS owner look greedy, but she could not match the Spotlight price without losing money.
Someone is making alot of money, but it is not the LQS owners. By the time we buy fabric, it has been through alot of middle men each wanting to take their cut.
I used to work for a company that exported drinking glasses to Europe and USA from Australia. They had to do huge manufacturing runs to fill the orders from around the world. The more glasses that were made, the less each glass cost, although we in Australia paid less per glass than the exported glasses. Now applying this to fabric, the bigger the yardage of fabric the manufacturer makes, the cheaper it is to make per yard, and the cheaper it is to buy. I would assume that the higher prices in the overseas market (the rest of the world) is subsidising the lower prices of the domestic market (USA), in the same way the glasses we exported did.
Still with me? :D So when the fabric manufacturer makes x amount for the domestic market, and x amount for the overseas market, the overseas markets subsidise the domestic market. Even accounting for freight and import duty, a difference of $10.00+ per metre retail seems over the top.
The import duty on fabric into Australia has dropped by 30% in the last 12 years, but we are not paying 30% less for our fabric.
And while I am on a roll:
My LQS owner was complaining to me that her purchase price on a particular line of fabric was more than what Spotlight was charging retail for the exactly the same line. She had to place her order over 12 months ago. What the importer had left over (orders not honoured?) was offered to Spotlight at a bargain basement price. Any why not, the importer had already made his money from all the LQS's. It sure made the LQS owner look greedy, but she could not match the Spotlight price without losing money.
Someone is making alot of money, but it is not the LQS owners. By the time we buy fabric, it has been through alot of middle men each wanting to take their cut.
09-07-2010, 04:31 AM
#13
Super Member
Join Date: Feb 2010
Location: Illinois
Posts: 5,142
One of the ladies on here from France said that their government charges a LUXURY tax on BOOKS!!!! Unbelievable! In my opinion having any kind of books in your home is a necessity not a luxury. If it's a luxury I live in one of the most luxurious homes in America because we have tons of books--art, craft, sewing, quilting, music, antique, novels, the entire collection of Boxcar Children books, Goosebumps, kids books, RC plane books, a huge if a little eclectic collection.
09-07-2010, 04:50 AM
#14
Senior Member
Join Date: Aug 2010
Location: Newfoundland, Canada
Posts: 645
Originally Posted by raptureready
One of the ladies on here from France said that their government charges a LUXURY tax on BOOKS!!!! Unbelievable! In my opinion having any kind of books in your home is a necessity not a luxury. If it's a luxury I live in one of the most luxurious homes in America because we have tons of books--art, craft, sewing, quilting, music, antique, novels, the entire collection of Boxcar Children books, Goosebumps, kids books, RC plane books, a huge if a little eclectic collection.
09-07-2010, 05:15 AM
#15
Super Member
Join Date: Nov 2008
Location: Central PA
Posts: 3,736
My stash closet seems to be full to the extreme when I consider what you pay for fabric. It's sad that there are so many middle-people who get their "cut" of your hobby needs. Fabric and books definitely are two of the necessities of life.
09-07-2010, 05:16 AM
#16
Senior Member
Thread Starter
Join Date: Aug 2010
Posts: 327
Originally Posted by earthwalker
Australia produces very little cotton (too dry), we import a lot of fabric from Asia and America. We do have fabric produced here, but it is quite expensive...around $21 per metre would be the minimum. Most of the quilting fabric we have comes from America...I did score a bargain with some Norman Rockwell fabric - I found it at Textile Traders (where I met Litacats) that was on the $1 metre bargain table. Finding fabric that cheap is one of those once in a while serendipitous things...If we go to a smaller LQS, it gets pretty expensive. The cost of labour in Australia is huge...so most companies go offshore, which is a real shame, because the first thing to go when you do that is quality....and I won't bang on about ethics and buying local!
09-07-2010, 05:18 AM
#17
Super Member
Join Date: Jul 2010
Location: canterbury uk
Posts: 1,036
Originally Posted by deltadawn
I have paid over £13-00 per metre which according to todays exchange rate equals about $20.00. So when I read of you picking up bargains at less than $5.00 - I'm a little green with envy.............can you forgive me?!!!
09-07-2010, 05:20 AM
#18
Super Member
Join Date: Nov 2009
Location: TX
Posts: 1,243
Originally Posted by quilter on the eastern edge
How can anyone possibly justify that they are a luxury?
someone(s) in a political group somewhere, or someone(s) in an answerable-to-no-one government bureau somewhere
made the decision to raise taxes/duties or maintain taxes/duties on items that would bring in revenue in spite of costing too much.
Of course books are not a luxury!
But nevertheless someone somewhere placed the taxes/duties on them, and it's harder than pulling teeth to get a tax/duty removed once it's been instated.
.
09-07-2010, 05:21 AM
#19
Senior Member
Thread Starter
Join Date: Aug 2010
Posts: 327
Originally Posted by LittleMo
This could be an explanation of why the fabric is so expensive in all places other than the US. I hope it makes sense.
I used to work for a company that exported drinking glasses to Europe and USA from Australia. They had to do huge manufacturing runs to fill the orders from around the world. The more glasses that were made, the less each glass cost, although we in Australia paid less per glass than the exported glasses. Now applying this to fabric, the bigger the yardage of fabric the manufacturer makes, the cheaper it is to make per yard, and the cheaper it is to buy. I would assume that the higher prices in the overseas market (the rest of the world) is subsidising the lower prices of the domestic market (USA), in the same way the glasses we exported did.
Still with me? :D So when the fabric manufacturer makes x amount for the domestic market, and x amount for the overseas market, the overseas markets subsidise the domestic market. Even accounting for freight and import duty, a difference of $10.00+ per metre retail seems over the top.
The import duty on fabric into Australia has dropped by 30% in the last 12 years, but we are not paying 30% less for our fabric.
And while I am on a roll:
My LQS owner was complaining to me that her purchase price on a particular line of fabric was more than what Spotlight was charging retail for the exactly the same line. She had to place her order over 12 months ago. What the importer had left over (orders not honoured?) was offered to Spotlight at a bargain basement price. Any why not, the importer had already made his money from all the LQS's. It sure made the LQS owner look greedy, but she could not match the Spotlight price without losing money.
Someone is making alot of money, but it is not the LQS owners. By the time we buy fabric, it has been through alot of middle men each wanting to take their cut.
I used to work for a company that exported drinking glasses to Europe and USA from Australia. They had to do huge manufacturing runs to fill the orders from around the world. The more glasses that were made, the less each glass cost, although we in Australia paid less per glass than the exported glasses. Now applying this to fabric, the bigger the yardage of fabric the manufacturer makes, the cheaper it is to make per yard, and the cheaper it is to buy. I would assume that the higher prices in the overseas market (the rest of the world) is subsidising the lower prices of the domestic market (USA), in the same way the glasses we exported did.
Still with me? :D So when the fabric manufacturer makes x amount for the domestic market, and x amount for the overseas market, the overseas markets subsidise the domestic market. Even accounting for freight and import duty, a difference of $10.00+ per metre retail seems over the top.
The import duty on fabric into Australia has dropped by 30% in the last 12 years, but we are not paying 30% less for our fabric.
And while I am on a roll:
My LQS owner was complaining to me that her purchase price on a particular line of fabric was more than what Spotlight was charging retail for the exactly the same line. She had to place her order over 12 months ago. What the importer had left over (orders not honoured?) was offered to Spotlight at a bargain basement price. Any why not, the importer had already made his money from all the LQS's. It sure made the LQS owner look greedy, but she could not match the Spotlight price without losing money.
Someone is making alot of money, but it is not the LQS owners. By the time we buy fabric, it has been through alot of middle men each wanting to take their cut.
Or something along that lines. Not sure.
09-07-2010, 05:50 AM
#20
Senior Member
Join Date: Apr 2010
Posts: 486
Printed books are zero-rated for VAT here, but the electronic equivalent (for a Kindle, Sony Reader, iPod/iPad) costs 21% more. It's one of my pet peeves as there's so little storage space in my shoebox/house.
Tax is the biggest issue, along with a very high minimum wage and huge overheads for anyone setting up shop outside their home. I'm not sure the wholesale price is the worst part of what we have to pay in the end!
Tax is the biggest issue, along with a very high minimum wage and huge overheads for anyone setting up shop outside their home. I'm not sure the wholesale price is the worst part of what we have to pay in the end!
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