You can not sell your quilts and recoup costs if you buy retail - period. The only way some of us make money at all is that we NEVER buy retail, for fabric, batting, etc. And, almost always, it needs to be a throw or lap size quilt in a fairly simple pattern so the time involved is lower. If you buy retail, make big and do a complex pattern, just ask whatever and think of it as gifting the rest. (As an example, I buy batting wholesale and only when they have a deal happening and pay less than $4 per yard for fabric and I quilt it myself. This is the only way to make a profit and then it is not a big profit.)