Picture credit RR Global Trading
Hello, my fellow knitters 🙂
I have a question… do you belong to a yarn buying co-op or any other yarn group? I have been chatting with local knitters (in British Columbia, Canada) and a lot of them are interested in participating in a yarn group-buy program. So the idea is to contact local and artisan yarn makers and negotiate competitive prices on yarn if a certain amount is reached. For example, get 40% off the regular price if 10kg of yarn is bought… or something like that… this is just a rough example of course. I just thought of it off the top of my head.
I know there are local knitters interested but I wanted to ask everyone if you’d participate if there was something available worldwide. Shipping would be additional but you will get the highest quality yarn for a fraction of the regular price in store. AND we will get to help yarn artisans and passionate yarn-istas (I just made this word up but it sounded right 😀 ).
Any thoughts? If you have experience with something like that, please share. 🙂
Funky Air Bear 
sounds like a great idea…shame I don’t live in your neck of the woods
Thank you. Actually I was thinking of shipping anywhere depending on cost of course. I haven’t looked into it in detail yet but it might work 🙂
Thanks for your input. Stay tuned 🙂
I love the colours and weave.
Ah yes, I loved this picture 🙂
I might be up for something like this, but I’d want to sample the yarn first. And I’d need to plan some projects carefully around the yarn – I’m doing my best to knit my stash down, but I do buy yarn for specific projects.
Very good point! I like the idea of sampling the yarn. Thanks for your input.
I’m in BC and would be very interested.
Perfect! Thank you. I am thinking of setting up an option where you get to order a sampling kit before deciding how much you want to buy for a project. Do you think it’s a good idea?
Yes. If I’m going to buy larger quantities, I’d love to ‘try before I buy’ as such.
Forgot to say, I would be particularly interested in sourcing Canadian yarn as well as hand dyed yarns, there must be some independent farmers producing some amazing yarns. I’m new to BC so looking forward to discovering local yarns.
I couldn’t agree more! That’s the type of artisans I’d want to buy from too. There are so many talented people across Canada (across BC) producing amazing yarns. It would be great to support them in their craft.
I am quite happy to add extra money to have something shipped to me here in Australia
Thank you! That’s great to know.
I’d be interested too, all sorts of other industries do something similar so I am sure we could too!
Thank you. I agree with you 100%
Here in the UK very small law firms have done it, I can’t remember what it is called, possibly a cartel? Or a franchise? But by us smaller people joining together it creates a bit of a beast and we get more buying power, go for it!!!
That’s what I thought. Especially with high quality yarn… It’s so difficult to find good deals. At the same time I want to yarn producers to make money too because they put in all the work. I think with a group buy, everyone wins. 🙂
That’s such a great idea! I’ll definitely keep an eye out for something like that in Australia
Perfect! Thank you. I’ll keep you posted
Interesting concept
Sounds like a very interesting concept, and I’d love to be able to get some goodies, but living in the UK means I’d have to pay Custom charges, plus the ludicrous “handling fees” 😦
Here’s hoping you manage to get a nice group going!
These are great points and I’ll definitely consider them when planning. Thanks. I’ll keep you posted 🙂
No, never been part of a group like this. Could be dangerous for me! LOL!
Haha I know what you mean 🙂
You may want to look at Superior threads for an idea of how to organize something like this. They have a “Thread Club” they send you 5-6 spools per month based on your club options for $40.00.
I did it for a year to stock up and loved it. I bet the same idea could work for yarn. https://www.superiorthreads.com/
What a great idea. I’ll check them out for sure. Thank you so much!
one for quilting…https://www.quiltybox.com/
Thank you. These are great resources
Interested. I’m in WA. Like others, would want to try first. Maybe a mini sampler skein sort of idea could be mailed out before we commit to buying something as large as a sweater quantity?
Absolutely. That’s a great idea! I’ll keep you posted.
It depends on the cost, but most definitely. If it would give me a chance to get my yarn fix! My only concern would really be the cost, since I have a limited budget for spending money every month.
Absolutely! I think that’s true for most of us haha But yes, the point is that if it’s a group buy, then we can buy a bigger quantity for a lesser price than in the store. It’s a win-win situation because the yarn producers will get to sell more, and we get to buy good quality yarn at a more affordable price. So I hear you. Price is a big concern for me too.
Also, since I have it on my mind, I nominated you for a Black Cat Blue Sea Award on my blog!
https://edennomore.wordpress.com/2016/09/24/black-cat-blue-sea-award/
Aw thank you so much 🙂
Dropping in from your like of my post today … just wanted to say I have added you to my blogroll on Bloglovin’.
This idea you’ve raised is very intriguing and I’d love to be kept in the loop on progress.
Cheers Jo
Thank you, Jo. I appreciate your support and interest in this venture. I am in the process of contacting yarn producers and distributers and see who’s interested and what deals we can come up with. Check back on my blog for updates and further information. 🙂 Thanks for visiting.
Interesting! It’s a great idea, although as I’m in Ireland I might get hit with customs charges, like your UK-based reader up there ☝ Then again, I believe these charges only apply on items over a certain value, and commercial merchandise, so it might be possible for a smaller co-op venture to duck around them…
It sounds like a great idea, and I’d definitely be interested in this.
Perfect. That’s great to know. Thank you. I’m working on finalizing the details before I reach out to yarn producers and see what they think. Stay tuned… 🙂
sounds like a great idea. Shipping can be killer, but if the yarn is discounted due to volume, that would be a big plus!
That’s what I think. And yes, I know what you mean about shipping. I’ll have to find a solution for that. Thanks for your input.