As we are slowly approaching the sales period, I thought it might be interesting to guide you in making purchases on the internet.
I am an experienced virtual buyer after going through a learning period. So, to save you from falling into the traps of online shopping beginners, I have prepared a series of tips and warnings to shop calmly. Let's go!
First advantage of the internet: it is an endless showcase.
Let me explain...
1. The choice is immense.
You will therefore find everything: colors, textures, drape, materials, elasticity...
This will therefore save you from browsing or calling all the haberdasheries in your region looking for the fabric you saw on the cool blog or this jungle print fabric to make a sweatshirt...
But too much choice kills choice. If you tend to be rather indecisive, the internet showcase will not make things easier for you and you risk wasting your time alone in front of your screen.
On the other hand, before you start your research and your purchases, keep in mind the project you want to carry out and the necessary yardage. This will help guide your research and define filters on merchant sites.
3. The time of purchase versus the time of making
Big advantage of the internet is that it is open 7 days a week and 24 hours a day.
You can therefore shop anytime and anywhere. My specialty is buying my fabrics on the tram on the way to work; it saves me time compared to the trips I would have had to make to go to a haberdashery.
If the purchase is immediate, you will still have to wait for delivery... depending on where you ordered from this can take quite some time: it can range from 48 hours to 6 weeks.
Why this difference?
If you order fabrics from well-referenced and serious shops the delivery time will be short.
If you buy from an Ebay shop, a less known site, on Wish... the fabric may come from much further away like Vietnam, China, ...
For my part, I have already ordered fabrics from English Ebay shops, delivery takes about 15 days; for Japanese shops count more like 3 to 4 weeks and often 6 weeks for China by boat.
This also helps to put into perspective the immediacy of online ordering; especially if you have a deadline to sew your project.
4. Advice on the internet
When buying fabric in a (good) haberdashery, you can benefit from the expert advice of the sales staff and choose your fabric with full knowledge of the facts.
Unfortunately, there are still too many online haberdasheries that poorly list their fabric. The information is sometimes very incomplete or at least partial.
Also, if you are a beginner and do not want to waste your savings on fabrics that you will never actually use (I speak from experience), get informed well. The right questions to ask before buying fabric are:
- what type of fabric is necessary for my project? (its weight, its elasticity...)
- what is the visual result I want (color, pattern, drape and therefore type of fabric...)
- what length is necessary?
5. Reflection time
Take the time to place your order online. Always check if:
- I order the right fabric for the right project.
- I order the right length for the chosen project.
Nothing worse than, taken by a buying impulse, ordering 1m of fabric and the blouse you dreamed of requires 1.3m.
In haberdashery, if you want this time for reflection, you will have to come back the next day or order (if it exists) via their online store.
6. Photos and colors
Be careful on the internet with fabric colors which are sometimes quite different upon receipt. It happens that a fabric that seems bright in the photo is duller upon receipt than what you imagined.
Nevertheless, in general, it is not a problem, especially if you sew a complete piece, the only risk is to be a little disappointed. So be attentive to the product specifications and the colors announced by the retailer.
Some websites offer you quite well-made fabric combinations or collections that have already been thought out in advance by designers to be associated.
Choice of thread color
Matching tones
6. Experience
The emotional shopping experience will be completely different whether you buy your fabric in a haberdashery or on the internet.
Everyone has already experienced this feeling of well-being when leaving a store with their "favorite" purchase. It is the one you will experience when leaving the haberdashery.
On the internet, this experience is different and often delayed at the moment of receiving the package... What a joy to unwrap the coupon of fabric you ordered especially when it is carefully wrapped.
It is important to take this dimension into account and to know which emotion you want to experience when you buy your fabric.
For my part, I love buying fabrics in haberdashery during my travels. It is partly a souvenir but it is also a search for experience in another country and a search for different emotions.
7. Price and shipping costs
Finally, the point you were all waiting for: the price deliberately placed at the end of the article because the previous points will give you clues about what I think.
The average prices practiced on the internet are a bit lower than in haberdashery.
Nevertheless, for all the reasons mentioned above, sometimes you will pay more on the internet than in haberdashery. Why?
1. Sometimes you don't make savings by buying cheap fabric that pills on the first wash because the washing instructions were not clear or simply because the fabric price is "too good to be true" and the quality is not up to par.
2. delivery
It is good to take shipping costs into account in the calculation. Depending on the origin of your package, you may have customs fees. On the other hand, depending on the weight of the package, shipping costs can be significant, keep that in mind in your calculation.
A trap is also "free delivery" from a significant amount beyond what you would spend by going to the haberdashery.
Indeed, some sites will offer free delivery as long as you purchase a certain amount, often between 60 and 100 euros. This claim can push you to buy more than you really need and again, you are not saving at all. That is why we have chosen an amount of 20 euros to offer free delivery, as this amount more or less corresponds to the basket amount made in haberdashery.
3. sites that only offer cuts in 50cm increments or even by the meter. This encourages consumption and storing scraps that you may not know what to do with. That is why in our shop, we have chosen to allow cutting in 10cm increments.
In conclusion, I think you can very well vary the pleasures by buying in haberdashery or on the web as long as you take the time for a little reflection.
For those who take sewing courses, don't forget that your teacher is a goldmine of information and can guide you in making your purchases.
For the experienced and fabric connoisseurs, the magic of the internet gives us a global showcase that allows for a lot of creativity!
My last advice, especially during sales: set yourself a budget.
Still need to find your "right" range.
