I generally buy stuff I like when it is on sale - especially when it is 50% off. (Which means we are sometimes still paying $10 - $16 per metre). One of my local quilt shops generally has a reasonable price, compared to others, on his fabric. He also allows me to buy on lay-by. If you don't have that in the 'States, it is a method of time- payment where the shopkeeper holds the goods whilst you pay it off in instalments. You generally have about 8 weeks to pay, and then you pick up the goods. He is a good businessman, as he gives me unsolicited discounts from time to time because I shop often in his place and it is incentive for me to come back.
To answer your question more accurately - I would not pay more than the $26 per metre. Some fabrics are $75 per metre, but not in the shop I was speaking of.