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Member since 12/17/06
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Posted on: 11/25/09 11:57 PM ET
Hi all,

I have been watching the FabricMart selection with a great deal of envy, especially in the last year or so. Now I can't stand it any longer. Could they please ship outside the US? It can't be that hard, lots of places do it, and we 'outsiders' would not mind paying for the service.

So, if you are in the same boat as me, can you speak up here? Maybe if enough people tell them they would be interested in ordering from overseas, they might change their mind.
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Be you. The world will adjust.

Central Coast of NSW, Australia
theinsouciantstitcher.wordpress.com
  
Member since 4/28/02
Posts: 215
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Posted on: 11/26/09 1:07 AM ET
Me too, they used to ship internationally but stopped because they said too many people cancelled the orders when they found out how much the shipping was, but I wish they would change their mind
  
Member since 6/3/08
Posts: 1190
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Posted on: 11/26/09 3:34 AM ET
In reply to rivergum
I'm with you.

I have ordered a couple of times from Fabric.com, and have found them to be lovely, and wish Fabric Mart would consider doing the same.

Fabric.com has provided excellent service, and all it means, for me, is that I have to save up, to buy in relative bulk, to offset cost of shipping. They usually go to the trouble of looking up and comparing USPS versus UPS shipping for me, and both times, the difference between USPS and UPS has been staggering (i.e over US 100 for USPS versus US 50 for UPS international saver to ship about 10 kg). And when I have done the maths, it has still been worth it, compared to full price products at SL.

So I'm with you!!!
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Imaan in Sydney, NSW.

The only people who achieve much are those who want knowledge so badly that they seek it while the conditions are still unfavourable. Favourable conditions never come.
  
Member since 3/23/06
Posts: 414
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Posted on: 11/26/09 8:22 AM ET
I agree. To order for the UK you have to go through an intermediary company and that costs money, and takes time, adding to the hassle factor. I would love for them to ship direct internationally. I did ask them a couple of times and all I got was that people cancelled when they heard how much the shipping would be. I think most people know that the shipping is going to add quite a bit to the cost, and have factored that in. Also, although I haven't ordered from them for about three years, I seem to recall their overseas shipping costs were quite high. I always assumed that this was something to do with using the intermediary company. The items went from them to someplace else by air (Miami I think it was), before going onward, and I am not sure if it didn't have a stop off in mainland Europe for a day or two as well, though I could have recalled that incorrectly, it was a while ago now.

Jenni
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http://sewyld.blogspot.com/

Chocolate is the answer... what was the question again?
  
Member since 6/3/08
Posts: 1190
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Posted on: 12/4/09 11:20 PM ET
FYI, this is the response I got from Fabric mart:
Hello - We Only Ship Internationally If Customer Commits To Paying Shipping Costs thru US Postal Service --- Which We Do Not Know WEIGHT Until We Cut Order
**********************************************************You would need to email me to order*********
**NEW EMAIL ADDRESS**MAKE NOTE
[email protected]
Phone: 1-800-242-3695
Hours: 9 - 5 Monday-Friday

So, Chris WILL take O/S orders, provided we commit to ordering and then living with the price of postage via USPS (as opposed to UPS, which has been significantly cheaper for me via Fabric.com twice now)

HTH someone
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Imaan in Sydney, NSW.

The only people who achieve much are those who want knowledge so badly that they seek it while the conditions are still unfavourable. Favourable conditions never come.
  
Member since 7/11/06
Posts: 926
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Posted on: 12/5/09 5:31 AM ET
Can't see why they won't give the same service as other vendors. (Fabrics or other goods). The vendors usually give you an estimated price for shipping when you order. They errr on the high side and then you might get pleasantly surprised by the actual price. Usually you get to choose between slow and fast shipping.

If you live in a high-cost country like me(Norway), your money is usually worth a lot more abroad than at home. So getting that particular garment fabric for you collection or wardrobe might very well be worth it. Especially also as the selection at home might be quite limited.

I have ordered and recieved fabrics from Fabric.com, EOS, Sawyer Brook, Casual Elegance and the late lamented Textile Studios fabric shop. The fabrics have been of high quality and compared to the price of high quality fabrics that might be available here, the value for money (shipping included) has been good - sometimes also very good. (It would be even better if I'd actually sewn it into its intended garments but that's another discussion)

  
Member since 4/8/02
Posts: 2683
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Posted on: 12/9/09 12:13 PM ET
The solution to me seems to be simple. To order from Fabric Mart you must personnally call or email your order that way, having figured an estimated weight (2 yards to a pound?) then gone to the USPS site and figure the maximum it possibly cost to the furthest destination and then pay that amount plus the fabric cost, use Paypal so if they have money left over after the fabric is shipped it's put back into the Paypal. Or ask how many yards (approx) of the special fabrics you want they estimate will fit in each of the flat fee international boxes and use that for your guideline.

They say if you want something done in the fastest and most efficient manner ask a lazy woman. Nuff said. LOL
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JanieV
  
Member since 7/27/05
Posts: 3782
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Posted on: 12/9/09 5:38 PM ET
FWIW - I just placed an order on fabric.com for some quilting fabric. I also succumbed to their "3 pounds of quilting cotton remnants" for about $17. On the description of that product, it said there you would get approximately 9 yards of fabric. Mind you, this is quilting cotton not a heavy velvet. Still, it might give you a jumping off point in estimating pounds of fabric.
JEF
-- Edited on 12/9/09 5:39 PM --
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"The trouble with quotes on the Internet is that you can never know if they are genuine." --Abraham Lincoln
  
Member since 8/24/02
Posts: 5885
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Posted on: 12/9/09 6:53 PM ET
Alot of companies only use one method of shipping. The warehouse I worked in, only used UPS which is extremely expensive to ship to Alaska and Hawaii. The FedEX software was even worse, it showed Alaska was a foreign country and required customs forms. Also the software is very cumbersome to ship out of the US because you have to know the codes for various textiles.
USPS has the flat rate boxes which make things easier, but you still have to get the boxes and know what customs form to use. I've worked in 2 different places and was the only one who knew howto ship internationally. No one else could be bothered or wanted to learn how.
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My grandmother taught me to sew when I was 10, and I've been sewing ever since.
  
Member since 6/3/08
Posts: 1190
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Posted on: 12/9/09 9:36 PM ET
In reply to diane s
It's interesting you say that Diane, ...go figure.

It is a real shame, because I am sure people outside of the USA would be very keen if the price of shipping was right!

Like I said, I appreciate Fabric.com for this very reason. The first time I ordered from them, I emailed to ask for a shipping estimate before committing, and they actually cut out my order, packed it and then got a shipping estimate vis UPS and USPS, emailed me to tell me what it was, and then asked me if I was still wanting to go ahead.

That is what I call service. For all the trouble, even if the shipping had been prohibitive, I would have gone ahead simply beacause of the customer service.

Another time, there was a delay in their getting my order out via UPS International Saver (which twice now, has been 1/2 the quoted price of USPS), and they threw in some fabric that I had initially ordered, but which they ran out of by 1/2 yd ( I was 2 yds, they had 1.5), and which I had cancelled. Accompanied by a USD5 coupon. Not much, but every bit counts, especially when, in Australia, you are often faced by staff that are unfriendly, and make you feel as if *they* are doing *you* a favour.

Now that I have 3 young kids too, it is so much easier to get what I need online...bad I know...
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Imaan in Sydney, NSW.

The only people who achieve much are those who want knowledge so badly that they seek it while the conditions are still unfavourable. Favourable conditions never come.
  
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