Sometimes I feel like I have online shopping disorder or some kind of evil disease. I am curious where I rank among you, my peers, gurus and friends!
Alot of times I will “shop” but I do try to control the impulse buying - and I do try to control the shop every sale out there buying…so I will look and think about what I want, and what I might possibly use it for in the future but wait to execute the order (for example, right now with Smiley’s)
nah i don’t need to shop online for much…my stores keep me pretty happy.
now for other stuff…i go in streaks on other stuff but when i am in the mood to shop prolly best to just get outta the way! 
I’ve never ordered yarn online :shock: I think if I start, though, I’d be a prime candidate for OSD (online shopping disorder) like what kitkat’s talking about. It could get ugly. :rofling:
Online is cheaper for the most part than buying at the LYS. Even cheaper than Michaels and Joanns sometimes! Depends on shipping and whether there is tax though…
I have ordered online before, but for the most part I buy my yarn at my LYS. I know I pay more for it most times, but there is something about looking at the yarn in person- I have a hard time without being able to TOUCH it and see the colors in front of me! I also usually only buy yarn if I already know what I am going to use it for. I see plenty that I’d like to buy, but I am afraid of not having enough to make a project once I’ve decided on it, or of not using it at all and then having spent the money on something I’m not using.
yeah…i would probably spend less if i mostly bought online too…having to click that submit button always gives me time for second thoughts…but i can’t help but feel that the internet is driving business away from those little shops that are pouring their heart and soul into their work making it hard for them to stay in business. especially craft type shops…you know that most of those people own those shops purely because they love the craft. i mean, how many of us would open yarn stores if we could because we love it so much? sigh
thank goodness i have the option though…i probably wouldn’t have gotten nearly as addicted to the craft if it weren’t for the fact that i have stores so close to me…lol
When I voted, I clicked the button that says I only order for specific projects, and that is true. However, that doesn’t mean that I will actually make all those projects. :rollseyes: I have enough yarn, needles and patterns to keep me busily knitting for many, many, many years. :XX: I definitely have OSD (online shopping disorder). :lol:
I shop at both my LYS and online. I try to patronize my local shops (3 that I go to regularly) and do get most of my needles/notions there as well as yarn for smaller projects. The first time I got yarn online was because my LYS didn’t have the kind I wanted for a sweater in a good color. And since I got such a good deal on it I have continued purchasing yarn for large projects online. At this point in my life (graduate student) I am on a fairly tight budget so every penny counts. I do miss being able to feel the yarn, though, and am very hesitant to purchase wool yarns online because I have sensitive skin and can’t tolerate some of them. 
Up until this past year I’ve always tried to support my LYS with my custom, and didn’t know about the variety of yarn bargains online. This year, after several frustrating incidents with my favorite local stores either not stocking the yarn I needed or flat out refusing to special order, I started looking elsewhere.
My favorite LYS’ in Maine have online capability, but thanks to talking with folks here my eyes have been opened to a wider range of bargain yarns (those dastardly banner ads are working, Amy!) & I now count them among my favorite places to shop.
My reason for only purchasing per-project right now, is that I have a lot of stash yarn, some of it “handmedown” - someone else was clearing out and thought I’d like it. I have limited space where I live for my stash, so I’m trying to now evaluate what do I have, what do I want to hang on to and use, and what do I need to rehome in order to make better use of my yarn cabinet. Right now I have yarn in excess of the cabinet’s capacity taking over a portion of our enclosed front porch, which we have been using as a storage area. I’d actually like to be able to sit out there of a summer and knit in the evenings at a little cafe table - but as now, there’s no room. I need to have a yard sale and I need to hold an adoption ceremony for some of these yarns that I’ve been unable to find a purpose for.
Darn my frugal Yankee pack-rat mentality!
My problem with online shopping is that I am a very tactile person. I rarely purchase something online unless I know about it’s quality and have pawed, uh I mean touched, it in real life first. It took me quite some time (and a lot of positive reviews from the folks on here) for me to actually place a knitpicks order. I like to touch, feel, finger, and even smell (yes; I smell yarn) yarn before I buy it. If it is a brand I know or have at least investigated at a store I will buy it online.
ooh that reminds me…i was in one LYS this weekend and they had a still damp felted bag hanging there. i know it is weird but i luuuuuuuuuuuv that smell! couldn’t help but take a big ol’ wiff of it as i walked by!
Gimmie a good sale and I’ll buy it anywhere 
I like the instant gratification-ness of buying at the LYS.
I only buy online if I know what the yarn looks and feels like. my last few online orders has been for WOTA for specific projects. oh yeah, and one for KPPPM since I know my LYSs don’t have much/any stock of it right now.
If I have something specific in mind and either A) my LYS doesn’t have the color/fibre I’m looking for or B) I need so much that I would need to take out a second mortgage to buy the yarn at an LYS, I will order online. Otherwise, I will drive the half hour to either of my yarn stores and shop there. And if I’m traveling, I will most definitely look up every yarn store in the vicinity and try to get and shop there. Generally I run into the problem with my LYS’ that they don’t have enough of a dye lot for me to complete a larger project, and it takes so long to special order. But my rovings and spinning needs? Strictly my yarn store.
[color=blueviolet]I buy all of my yarn online because I live in KS. There are only approx. 8-11 yarn stores in the whole state and I don’t live near any of them. I try always buy color cards for all of the yarn I think I might want to buy. But I only buy for specific projects and no more.[/color]
Yeah, that. Only for me, it’s North Dakota. And there isn’t a single yarn store in this town. My options locally are Wal-Mart or Joann’s and that’s it. There is exactly one type/brand of wool (Fisherman’s) available to purchase at either of those stores, and nothing any more exotic (alpaca, mohair, cashmere) than that available at all. I like to work mostly with natural fibers, so online just works much better for me. It’s actually cheaper for me to order from Knitpicks, or find online sales, anyway.
I am trying to only purchase for specific projects, but it’s difficult. There is just so much beautiful yarn out there!!! And sometimes, I’ll see something at one of the smaller online stores and know it’s going to be sold out if I don’t buy it RIGHT NOW, and it’s gorgeous and one of a kind and yummy … and it hops into my cart and makes it through checkout before I really realize what is happening. :lol:
I can’t wait to move to somewhere that actually has local yarn stores! Course, then I’ll probably need a second mortgage to fund my yarn habit, when I can actually touch and see (and smell ) the yarn. Oy!
Since the LYS is 80 miles away in 1 direction, if I wanted wool for felting or anything besides what Walmart or Michael’s sales I have to shop online.
Before I joined this forum, all of my purchases were Red Heart yarns… boy do I know theirs something better out there now…
Anne
I don’t have a LYS. and the nearest Michaels and JoAnn’s is about an hour away. We have WalMart, but most of the projects I do are socks, or call for something that’s at least a wool blend or 100% wool. That said, I DO LOVE A SALE!! And when I see a good one online, I usually can think of a project in my head that I can use the excuse for. But I MUST stop buying so much yarn–especially sock yarn. I have too much of it–or rather–more than I’ll use in a good while. SO my ONLY resolution this year is to USE the yarn I have before I buy more–at LEAST more of the sock yarn!! 
I buy the majority of my yarn on line. It’s hard for me to spend the difference in price I see in my LYS’s, but I do go there when they have their sales. It’s good that Webs isn’t closer, though–their selection is just too good.
I also find that shopping on-line is too easy. Somehow 'add to cart’and ‘place order’ are too easy to push, especially since I have my MC number memorized.
As for how often? Hmmm. What time is it?
Nah, I’ve gotten better. 
I buy for specific patterns only, I’ve also bought some of my needles online too. My LYS is lovely, but some of the prices in there are a bit too much for me. My Wal Mart doesn’t do too much for me in the yarn department, not much to choose from. Michael’s and JoAnn’s both have good selections, in fact last weekend I had sticker shock when I came out of JoAnn’s! :shock: