Our customers treat us so well. The vast majority of our feedback is very positive. Our customer service approach is to be as 1 on 1 as possible, be as responsive as possible, and creative as possible to get you the fabrics you need where you need them. We do not put customers into automated support pipelines and instead always answer your questions as directly as possible. This is why we felt it was important to write this blog post to highlight some changes to our store which are outside of our control.
What happened?
Last year, COVID-19 affected the fabric industry in some unforeseen ways. Not unlike other industries, the fabric industry was negatively impacted by the consequences of COVID-19 (note: it goes without saying that the human-costs are the saddest and most important consequences and we sympathize with everyone who suffered because of the disease). For us here in the United States and Los Angeles, we can pinpoint a few notable disruptions to our industry and business:
Over the past year there have been more than 4 instances where raw material pricing/costs increased.
Freight and shipping costs have tripled since the beginning of 2021!
Port and shipping delays and related impacts have made transportation more expensive.
Our overall cost of fabric has risen 10%-20% since January of 2021
We have tried hard to mitigate these impacts via streamlined logistics in our processes, however, we have been left with no choice but to increase our pricing on our fabrics moving forward.
What does this mean for you?
As we run out of inventory it has become much more expensive and difficult to replenish stock. This means that our most popular fabrics are most likely increasing in price as we work to get them back into the warehouse. This also means that new fabrics and additions to our fabric lines will be more expensive.
These trends are industry wide and we have had to follow suit of many vendors and competitors that have already made these changes. We were able to hold off on increasing our fabric pricing until now and have been happy to offer you the same fabric and the same pricing up to this point.
You’re important to us. And you have made our job so enjoyable over the years so we felt that putting this announcement out publicly to you was the best exercise of appreciation. You deserve to know why you are paying more.
We have ALWAYS had the lowest priced and the best quality fabric. This will not change.
Our fabric prices have always been some of the best in the world. Over the last year we offered even more ways to get fabric for less including wholesale tier pricing and some other programs for bulk business buyers. This means that even with increased pricing we believe that our fabric will still be the best priced fabric online!
As the issues listed above work themselves out and supply chains are improved we expect pricing to return to pre-2021 leves. If this occurs we will always keep you posted and aware of these changes and extend the savings back to you.
Thank you for your understanding and business. We hope we have been able to provide you clarity on how our business operates and why we have raised prices on some fabrics. If you have any questions please let us know. For bulk buyers please contact us to discuss your needs and pricing options.
