Originally Posted by dottientx
It's a very competive world and I'm trying to make my dollars go as far as I can make them go. If I can't make my purchases at Neiman Marcus anymore then I'll have to go to Orbachs. Same with independently owned stores or the big chains. Or do I have to stop buying fabrics to continue with my most enjoyable hobby that's right up there with knitting?
I'm glad to know that someone understands the nature of economic competition, which is generally the controlling characteristic of capitalism. Big grocery chains like Tom Thumb, Albertsons, etc., certainly put a dent in mom and pop grocery stores.
MacDonald's, Sonic, etc., put a dent in mom and pop hamburger restaurants. It is sad to see the demise of those businesses, but you can't have a capitalist economy without expecting the laws of supply and demand to be in operation.
Consumers have a right, perhaps a duty, to look after their economic self-interest as much as business has a right to look after its self-interest.
There are many things about WalMart that I object to, but there are many others that I thoroughly approve of. In general, at least at this time, the positives outweigh the negatives.
The same is true of Neiman-Marcus, but I can't usually afford to shop there.
At our WalMart fabric counter, the clerks were knowledgeable, courteous and helpful, interested in the projects that I and other quilters were involved in as well as making suggestions about sewing apparel. They helped me find really awful and cheap fabric to use to cover school bulletin boards as well as helping me find absolutely lovely fabric with as good a hand as I have ever found in LQS. I hope those women will be ones manning the restored fabric department.
It is time to stop writing off fabric just because it isn't bought at a LQS or to praise it just because it is. Quality is quality wherever we find it.
froggyintexas