How to sell fabric?

[Former_Member]

Hey guys,

I love to sell vintage fabric in my shop, but I would like to know what some of the best ways to sell it is. For example, should I list and price each piece whole like I am now, or should I cut the pieces into smaller portions and sell it that way? If cutting it is best, what sizes should I cut them into?
Also, if you have any info or resources on prices fabric, please let me know. It's hard to know what each type of fabric is worth.

Please excuse my ignorance! Selling fabric is rather new to me.

Thanks,

Dani

[Former_Member]

I looked at some of your fabrics. If it were me, I'd leave them the larger size, and put in your description that if someone would like less of that fabric to convo you and you could possibly make arrangements to do that. I say 'possibly,' because sometimes someone writes me and asks for a very small amount, and I have an 1/8 yard minimum, or they may ask me for an amount that will leave such a small amount of the fabric left that I will have a hard time selling the rest of it.

As for pricing of vintage fabric, I have no idea. Maybe you can find others on Etsy that will help you price it.

Lesley

[GeminaeCo]

Definitely do not cut until an order is made! I am ALWAYS looking for vintage fabric and it's usually for projects that require a certain amount of yardage. I tend to get frustrated as a buyer when all I can find of a print is FQs. I'm no quilter and it seems like a lot of the fabric sellers on etsy cater only to quilters. :(

[Botene]

Hi ItichforKitschm

You have some really beautiful vintage fabrics in your store.

I don’t sell fabrics but I do buy a lot of them including from Etsy as well.

My suggestions are –

- Instead of listing the whole fabric, you can list your fabric on sale for ½ yard or 1 yard in your title and price them accordingly. You don’t need to literary cut the fabric.
- You can mention in your description that you have more yardages available upon request.
- Use more pictures, it will help buyer understand the fabric, colors, drape, and print.
- Its always nice to be more elaborate in your description. You can be more detailed about the weight of the fabric, colors, style, width.

I hope this helps. Good luck!!

Bijal

[Former_Member]

Thanks for all of the advice! I really appreciate the feedback.

I think I will leave them uncut, but I will revise my titles, descriptions, pics, etc later today.
I'm also going to read up more on fabric types, grain, weights, etc so that I can better describe the fabrics.

-Dani

[kidsstore]

I have another store called patternspatterns where I sell some of my unused stash. Any piece 3 yards or less I list as one piece. Anything over that I list the total yardage, but sometimes mention that I will cut it, depending on the fabric.

Also, I finally bought a digital kitchen scale for about $30, because I was having trouble guessing the weight. The weight can vary due to the weave, finish, etc. I have had a few international fabric customers, and was often way low on what I listed for postage. Another thing about international sales, there are some coutries that do not allow certain materials, including fabrics, into their country so you might want to check that before you ship to another country. You can go on the USPS website to see what a particular country might reject. Good luck.

[Former_Member]

Wow, I did not realize some fabrics cannot be shipped to certain countries. Thanks for the heads up! I will have to review the policies on that...