(Hi all, new to this site)
When I came back to sewing after many years hiatus, I was shocked at the prices!
I started buying online because the local shops didn't carry many of these new great designer prints I fell in love with. I buy from mostly Etsy but there are several other favorite online shops with reasonable prices, like Flying Bulldogs and Brooklyn Fabric Company. Hawthorne Threads has great sales and regular fabric prices too and they have free shipping so that really saves. Cheaper than even driving to the fabric store that sells for $12 a yard.
I have a local shop in our small town that takes in fabric & yarn donations from quilters, sewists and estate sales, they sell by the pound and I find a lot of new and vintage pieces. My stash has gotten so large I started selling on Instagram and Etsy for pretty cheap, I just have way too much to keep it all even though I would love to! All their sales go to the local senior center so that's nice.