Watson

We know fabric here in Canada is very expensive and I've heard that some Canadians purchase in the US and have it shipped.....
What are some suggestions for stores and are there any tips on shipping that I should know?
I must say, not only do I miss the prices shopping in the US I also miss the variety!

Thanks, Watson

Cattitude

My go to is Missouri Star. They have excellent selection and service with average prices. Their shipping terms to Canada are terrific. Flat $10US for any size order. $5US when they have free shipping in the US. Plus (and this is a big plus) they ship Fedex Express. My last shipment arrived 2 days after it left Missouri. I believe one of the original owners is Canadian and they give shout outs for Canada Day and Canadian Thanksgiving (or Thanksgiving as I like to call it) which is a nice touch.

I have yet to order from Fat Quarter Shop. Same as MSQC as far as price and selection....maybe even a bit better on selection. Last time I checked their terms they offer free shipping to Canada on orders over $200.

Another go-to pre pandemic was Hancocks of Paducah because of their awesome clearance section. In the range of 2500 items mainly by the yard but also precuts, kits, patterns. Sale prices in the $5,6,7$/US range with frequent promotions for an extra 10 or 15% off. They shipped by weight so shipping not great and averaged 3-4 to arrive at destination in SW Ontario. I say pre-pandemic because they stopped shipments to Canada for months. When they opened up I was going to place an order for 5m.....but they have jacked their shipping prices....it was going to cost $60US to ship 5m. Hard pass on that one!

I have tried other outfits when searching for a hard to get fabric and most are the same....good selection and similar pricing but shipping costs are high.

Another bonus but a kick in the pants to your local Cdn shop.....80% of the time I do not get charged HST. I was told that the volume of packages coming across the border is so high that they can only randomly assess for HST.

GingerK

I also shop Connecting Threads. They charge HST up front so no duties to pay. Free shipping to Canada over $85US. The worst thing about ordering online for me, is that I am never sure if the colour I see on my monitor is the true colour.

Kwiltr

I recently ordered 10 yards of one fabric, for backing from Fabric.com. They give a discount based on number of yards ordered. After shipping charge of $22.40, my per yard price was still less than buying in Canada, if it had been available, which it wasn’t that I could find. The shipment was handled by UPS so I got a bill in the mail a week or so later, but only for Gst and pst, but the fabric came in less than a week from Georgia to My door in BC!!!. Crazy fast in my experience.

Iceblossom

While not Canadian, my first stop is usually eQuilter, and they are set-up for international shipping. Here's their basic info on Canadian Shipping. Don't know how their basic yardage price compares to local shops much less the currency exchange rate -- but postage is clear!
https://www.equilter.com/help/shipping
Also note that there is a discount for shipping on orders over $100.

Sassylass

I have shopped equilter........excellent service, fast shipping and quality fabric. I also like that a % of sales goes to charity.