July 23, 2023
Dear Friends,
The other evening, Donna and I were discussing the advantages people have when they shop local and shop small businesses. Such shopping is not always an advantage, and it depends on what you are shopping for. If it’s a no brainer, like where do you shop for gas or a loaf of bread, it hardly warrants a discussion. If you’re shopping for frog legs, you may not have the option of shopping local (However, on the off-chance you’re interested, the Commerce Brookshires carries them). If no local or small businesses carry a left-handed pelican wrench, you might have to go to one of the big box stores (you never know when you might have to pry a pelican off of a fish you just caught.). Supporting the local economy, even though it’s important, probably doesn’t figure largely into purchasing decisions, but is still a worthwhile issue. And only one of several issues in determining where to shop.
For more major investments, such as when quality is involved, price is involved, when after-purchase support is involved, a person really needs to do the homework prior to signing the bottom line. So in view of that, and in view of the fact we’re actually talking about quilt-store shopping, and more narrowly, talking about shopping at Fox Country Quilts . . . . how do all these factors fit it?
Quality: Your probably are already aware of the huge step up in quality between the bog-box stores (e.g., JoAnn’s, Walmart), and almost any quilt shop. This applies to fabric, thread, sewing/quilting tools, and sewing machines.
For larger purchases, definitely eschew (avoid, abstain from) impulse buying. Let’s focus on the example of buying a longarm quilting machine. You know ahead of time it will enable you to finish your quilts 100 times faster than with hand quilting or quilting on a regular sewing machine. Faster and easier, you’ll be more productive than ever before, and you’ll enjoy it more.
Here is where it’s important to find a local, or regionally local retailer.
You will be able to really look at the retailer. Visit several times. See if you get the feeling of being welcome there, and whether you have come to a happy place.
Observe if they are actually and frequently using their longarms during your visits. The longarms longarms aren’t just sitting and gathering dust (other than a few dust bunnies on the floor).
You can get into conversations with store staff and other customers to see how the store treats it customers, and what kind of support they give after purchases.
You can look at their list of longarm classes. Their calendars should demonstrate plenty of education opportunities for learning how to use the longarms at beginner, intermediate, and advance levels.
Warnings about not shopping local or regionally local:
Don’t buy a machine from California under the fiction of “No Tax.” It’s no tax because the tax is written within the price. And with that distance, you can’t get much personal attention, support, or help with your longarm.
Don’t buy from Florida, believing they have a quick and efficient service center, and exceptional customer education and support.
Don’t succumb to the “hype” when a regional retailer offers a supposed “training” session full of excitement and potential where, despite promises, no more training or support occurs after the purchase. The result is a lot of money into a machine that never gets used.
In the end, you will be better off to purchase a longarm from a shop you want to support. Buy your machine from them with the confidence that, in turn, they will totally support you in teaching you to use your machine, in helping to solve technique problems you run into, and with offering long-term service on your machine. In short, based on all the above criteria, Fox Country Quilts is the shop you should choose.
Chip
