Looking for input

[crochetsal]

After a few years of thinking and picturing, I'm finally going to try to start my own yarn/craft store in town.

While I'm working on my business plan before hitting the bank up for a loan, I thought I'd ask a few questions, and would greatly appreciate answers.

 

1. On an average yarn purchase, how much money do you spend?

 

2. Approximately how many times/month do you purchase yarn?

 

3. Would you purchase yarn online from a small Canadian shop that accepted internet orders if prices were comparable to other online shops and they had what you want?

 

Those were three I could think of, there may be more as I work this out!

I'm also stumped as to a name...I'd thought of A Frayed Knot, but there are at least a couple of craft shops already online with that name.

[IrishMist]

Here's two websites you might find of interest.

 

http://www.mysmallbiz.com/pg/pub/idea_details.php?id=355

 

http://www.yarnworld.com/yarn-stores.html

 

One of the sites mentions targeting a niche market....I live in a very big city and all the yarn shops here are upscale carrying the more expensive yarns and they do quite well. (I'm not a big customer!). They all offer lessons (knitting is far more popular here) and some even sell coffee and treats to enjoy while you are shopping/learning...but then I imagine you have to deal with the Board of Health!

 

Good luck to you...sounds divine.

[Pyroteca]

Congratulations on your endeavor! I wish you best of luck.

 

To answer your questions, I buy yarn about every other month and I do tend to shop more at the LYS or online. I would say on average, when I go to the yarn store, I spend at least $50 and could easily spend $100. I don't think this is too bad since this is my principle form of entertainment.

 

I would buy yarn from a Canadian shop online so long as the interface was easy to use for completing the orders. Sometimes you have to go where the yarn is.

 

Again, good luck, and I hope my info is helpful.

[SmoothFox]

I purchase yarn locally and won't buy it online because of the cost of shipping.

 

I purchase yarn several times a month. Always looking for new colors.

 

Donna

[lizdini]

Well, I buy yarn mostly from Micheals or yard sales. I buy about every couple months or when ever I'm looking for a certain color/style of yarn. I would use a canadian website if they had what I wanted and it wasn't too confusing figuring out the exchange rate. As far as names go, I always thought it would be neat to name one after Madam Duforge, but I don't know if you'd have problems since she's a charecter in a famous book. (she used her knitting to record the misdeeds of people during the French Revolution in "A Tale of Two Cities", in case you didn't read that one).

 

Good luck!

[CrochetAmore]

Congratulations on your new endeavor!

 

To answer your questions:

1. It truly depends on what I have in my stash, what projects I'm buying for, and the price of the yarn as to how much I spend. I've spent as little as $25 and as much as $100 (both in US dollars). The better the sale prices, the more I'll buy...

 

2. In my local stores I almost always end up purchasing at least one skein even if I promised myself I wouldn't. LOL But online, I probably purchase on average of once a month, or once every other month. Again, it mainly depends on my stash, upcoming projects, and cost.

 

3. The number 1 hesitation I would have to purchasing from a Canadian online store would be the shipping costs. I know from experience that Canadian postage is usually higher than US postage for similar weight packages. The online store I usually buy from offers free shipping on orders of $25 or more, but if you offered something that they didn't, I'd be willing to pay a reasonable shipping cost. The only other issue would be whether or not you accept US funds. I wouldn't have the first clue as to converting, etc...

 

Hope this helps

 

After a few years of thinking and picturing, I'm finally going to try to start my own yarn/craft store in town.

While I'm working on my business plan before hitting the bank up for a loan, I thought I'd ask a few questions, and would greatly appreciate answers.

 

1. On an average yarn purchase, how much money do you spend?

 

2. Approximately how many times/month do you purchase yarn?

 

3. Would you purchase yarn online from a small Canadian shop that accepted internet orders if prices were comparable to other online shops and they had what you want?

 

Those were three I could think of, there may be more as I work this out!

I'm also stumped as to a name...I'd thought of A Frayed Knot, but there are at least a couple of craft shops already online with that name.

[Real Deal]

I usually spend $20 to $40 once, sometimes a couple times a month. Some months nothing if there's no good sales, or I don't see anything that draws me.

 

I don't have a problem with buying from Canada, but I don't give out my bank numbers on the Net ever, so I send checks or Postal Money Orders. If Paypal is required, I have to go through a friend or my sister because they use credit cards and Paypal on the Net.

 

How about using the name Why Knot ... or Y Knot? I'm thinking Y Knot meaning Yarn Knot.

[Craw]

Oooo, I like the name Why Knot! Very catchy!

 

I purchase yarn online about 3-5 times a year. I'll spend $40-$50 in an online purchase - including shipping costs. In stores I'll spend between $10-$20 at a time but I'm usually looking at clearance racks. Hmmmm ... I must say that no, I would not order online from Canada. Even over the fact that postage would be higher, it takes packages much longer to arrive from Canada. There are too many online stores shipping from America that you'd be competing with. Even if you had a yarn that no American store carried, I'd just do without. Sorry, that's probably not what you wanted to hear, lol.

[Shelleden]

Congratulations!! How exciting for you! To answer your questions - I must be a bad girl, cause I buy yarn every week! I probably spend at least $200/month, probably more, and I mainly buy yarn at Michael's, Hobby Lobby, and Jo Ann's. I do buy yarn online (just ordered some yesterday!) when I need something that's hard to find or if it's a really neat yarn not available in stores. I would buy more online if they offered free shipping! I have bought yarn at a LYS in a nearby city, but I don't buy much there because it's too expensive.

Name suggestions:

"Sticks 'n Strings"

"Unwind"

"Naked Sheep"

"Wooly Lamb"

"Fiber Paradise"

"Fiberholics"

"Yarnaholics"

"Knit 'n Purl"

"The Purl Palace"

"Fiber Frenzy"

 

ok, that's enough for now....

[SHERYL]

I would love to have a great place in Canada to buy yarn and accessories.

I can't say what type of yarn, I usually use Red Heart, but I find it hard to get great size 10 thread in different colors.

I wish you luck in your endeavor and hope it works out for you.

[mamarose22]

How about the name "Yarnies" or "Yarn Goodies" or even "Yarn Goodness" for a yarn shop. Also, it might behoove you to include all kinds of specialty yarns and threads.