Artbeads.com

Full review
Since purchasing a few bead bracelets from my cousin (who has a part-time bead jewelry business with a friend of hers), I decided that I would save myself some money and start making my own bead jewelry. I needed a supply of beads and knew that purchasing them at retail craft stores such as Michael's and Hobby Lobby was going to be more expensive than buying them online. The first online bead store I shopped with was ArtBeads.com.


The Site:

In a nutshell, ArtBeads.com is a beading website that offers a large selection of beads and other jewelry components, tools and supplies for sale.

The layout of the site is simple. It has what I would consider a basic homepage. In the center of the page (which has a purple and white theme) are sections showing pictures of their "Specials of the Week" and "New Products". Directly below those two sections are "the weekly coupon", a link to visit the learning center (which shows you how to make different types of jewelry), "Ideas", and a section to sign up to receive the site's newsletter.

If you are in a hurry to start shopping on the site, you can either type in a keyword or product name in the search box, or you can click on one of the links along the left side of the page. These links take you directly to the basic bead supplies of your choice, such as "Swarovski Beads", "Earring Components" and "Tools & Supplies". There is also a link here for "Clearance" items.


Shopping On The Site:

One of the items that I purchase the most is Swarovski Crystal Beads. When I click on the link for this item, it takes me to a page that shows all of the types of Swarovski Crystal Beads that the site carries (faceted cube, faceted bicone, etc.). Once I find the type of Swarovski bead I'm looking for and click on the picture of the item, I'm taken to another page that lets me select the color I'm looking for. Once I click on a specific color, I can then select the specific size that I need. If you prefer to shop by size first instead of color, there is a link to do that as well.

I like a large selection of beads to choose from when shopping for beads online. A unique selection of beads is helpful. ArtBeads.com does not have as large of a selection of colors of Swarovski Crystal as a few other sites I've found, but their selection is still very good. Their selection of glass beads and other types of beads is excellent, however. My cousin has mentioned that she likes their selection of glass beads as well and has placed many orders with ArtBeads.com for this reason.

One of the nice things about ArtBeads.com is that there is no minimum order. If you want to purchase one bead with a price of 40 cents, that's OK with them. I have placed orders with them for just a few beads because that is all I needed to complete a bracelet and I could not find these individual beads and colors locally. Some sites have a minimum of a lot of 10 or 20 beads of each type, size or color, but ArtBeads.com will let you buy any bead in any size or color in any quantity as long as it is in stock. This is really convenient and is one of the big reasons I keep coming back to this site.

At any time while you are shopping, you can click on the "View Cart" option at the top of the page to see what is in your online shopping cart. The shopping cart will show only the quantity of items that are in stock. For example, if you order a quantity of ten beads but only seven are in stock, a quantity of seven will show in your shopping cart. You will not get a separate message letting you know that the entire quantity is not in stock. Then when you are ready to checkout, just click on the "Checkout" button.

ArtBeads.com accepts Visa, MasterCard, Discover, American Express, Diner's Club, JCB, Optima and PayPal as payment. They also accept a cashier's check or a money order with an order that is mailed in. They do not accept personal checks. If you want to charge your order but are not comfortable entering your credit card information online, you can place your order online and then call them with your credit card number.

Once your order is placed, you will receive a confirmation email. When your order ships, you will receive another confirmation email letting you know when it shipped.


Prices:

The prices at ArtBeads.com are very competitive with other online bead stores. They all have pretty much the same prices. ArtBeads.com offers quantity discounts as well. For example, many of the Swarovski Crystal Beads I purchase are a few cents cheaper per bead if purchased in a quantity of at least 50, and then even cheaper if purchased in a quantity of at least 100.

The prices at ArtBeads.com beat all of the retail outlets I've shopped with for beads, including Michael's, Hobby Lobby and Pat Catan's (I think Pat Catan's might be a Cleveland-area-only craft store chain, so I apologize if that store name is not familiar to you). Even with Hobby Lobby's 50% off sales, the prices at ArtBeads.com rival those retail sale prices.


Shipping Costs and Options:

For customers in the U.S., shipping via First Class Mail through the U.S. Postal Service is always free for any size order. If you want to receive your order faster, the site will automatically give you several other shipping options and cost in a drop-down box during checkout. During the writing of this review, I placed a mock order and received nine different shipping options and prices (all of which were reasonable considering the order size and the shipping option and carrier). Besides USPS First Class Mail, these options can include USPS Priority Mail, USPS Express Mail, UPS Ground, UPS 3-Day Select, and other similar options.

ArtBeads.com will also ship to Canada and other countries. Shipping prices for these areas will appear in the dropdown box during checkout.


Order Quality, Shipping Time, Etc.:

My orders from ArtBeads.com have always arrived pretty quickly. However, they are not as fast as another website I have purchased from, which is FusionBeads.com. FusionBeads.com has lightning-fast shipping and delivery, and my orders are always shipped the day that I order or the day after I order. ArtBeads.com usually takes about two days to ship my order. It then takes another three to five days for the order to make its way to me via USPS First Class Mail from Washington state to Ohio. This is certainly not a complaint from me, as I think this shipping time is reasonable, but is just a comparison of the two sites and their shipping times instead.

The quality of my orders from ArtBeads.com is outstanding. My orders are always filled accurately and the beads are always in perfect condition. Each bead type and/or size is sealed separately in its own little clear plastic bag, which is resealable and convenient for storing the beads until it's time to use them. In addition, my order comes packaged neatly in a new bubble mailer. Enclosed with my order is a printout of my order, with quantities, colors, etc. clearly listed. Much to my relief, my credit card number is never printed on this printout.


Return Policy:

ArtBeads.com has a nice return policy. If for any reason you are not completely satisfied with something you have ordered, you can return it within one year for a full refund.


Final Thoughts:

ArtBeads.com is a reliable, competitively-priced beading website. Their coupon codes are a nice surprise, as I did save over $5.00 recently when ordering. Some of these codes, however, require a minimum order of $75 or $100, which is a pretty large order for the casual beading enthusiast. Overall, their shipping is fairly fast, my orders are always filled accurately and the beads are of great quality. I definitely recommend this website!