Discount Beads for Jewelry

Buying discount beads for jewelry is one of the key ways you can make more money when you’re making and selling your own bead jewelry. The cheaper your beads and other beading supplies cost, the more profit you can make out of each piece. And while keeping your costs low is obviously a key goal, you also don’t want to sacrifice quality in your materials as you sometimes can when you’re buying discount beads.

There are, however, some ways you can buy beads at a discount without sacrificing quality. The key is to always keep in mind that you’re aiming to buy cheap beads and always try to keep track of your cost per bead to realize your true discount.

Here are some ways you can buy discounted beads:

Clearance Beads: If you’re going to look for cheap beading supplies then you have to be willing to shop the clearance aisle of just about any store you enter. You’d be surprised how many different types of stores attempt to sell beads for jewelry and then later decide to sell the beads at a deep discount. I once picked up a large back full of discount wooden beads at a local office supply store for less than one dollar because they were clearing out all their cheaper craft supplies.

Increase Your Bead Discount by Buying More: This is the way a lot of online bead stores encourage you to buy more items. They offer discounts on beads based on buying larger amounts of beads. You can get these bead discounts on high end beads as well as cheaper beads with most stores. This is a great way to buy a lot of discounted beads at once, but if you don’t need all those beads or don’t want to put out all the money you could try this next method.

Combing Bead Sales for A Deeper Discount: Let’s say you want to buy some discount beads and your two beading buddies also want to buy some discounted beads. The three of you could get together and buy a larger quantity of beads for a discounted price knowing that you will break them up amongst you when the order arrives.

Take Advantage of the Wholesale Bead Discount: If you are a serious bead jewelry artist then you may want to look into getting a wholesaler’s license and take advantage of the wholesale discount for beads. Buying discount beads for jewelry wholesale will also allow you to avoid double-paying on taxes and will allow you to buy a lot of beads at one time.

These are just some of the ways you can score great deals on beads for jewelry and get your hands on some great discount beads!

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Every so often someone asks me if Swarovski crystal beads are dangerous or not, seeing how Swarovski advertises its products as being made with “lead crystal.” Let’s cover some of the more common questions:

Do Swarovski crystal beads contain lead?
Yes, it does! And yes, it is the lead that you always hear about in paint and other substances that can poison the body. It is estimated that Swarovski crystal beads contain about 32% lead or lead oxide in them. The lead is used to maximize the way the light refracts through the crystal which gives them an almost diamond-like sparkling quality.

Do all crystal beads also contain lead?
No, but some do. To be advertised as “lead crystal” the European standards dictate that there must be 30% or more lead contained within the crystal. Anything below that amount can just be advertised as “crystal.”

Is the lead in Swarovski crystal beads dangerous?
Generally, no, though you may want to wash your hands and be sure to keep lead crystal of any sort out of your mouth and away from children. Lead is toxic if it is ingested or otherwise introduced into the bloodstream, but simply touching crystal lead jewelry will not expose you to enough lead to be toxic. Swarovski has made statements (see below!) which say that they believe the lead in their crystal is not easily “released” from the crystal and therefore does not pose a health threat. That being said, if you’ve been working with Swarovski lead crystal beads or any beading supplies containing lead you may want to thoroughly wash your hands before touch or preparing any food, just to be safe.

Can I buy and sell Swarovski crystal beads for jewelry in California?
You are may be aware of California Proposition 65 which sets requirements on the use of lead in products including jewelry of certain types. This is directly from the state of California’s Toxic Substances Control website: “Glass and crystal decorative components used in adult jewelry are considered Class 1 materials. There are no lead limits for Class 1 materials used for adult jewelry. Therefore, the use of leaded crystal, including Swarovski crystal, may be used in adult jewelry.”

Can I use Swarovski crystal beads in children’s jewelry in California?
You can, but there are limits. Given the very real possibility of children accidentally digesting lead crystals you might want to avoid the practice. For more information please visit that California Toxic Substances Control site.

What gives Swarovski crystal beads that unique shine? Is that lead?
No. Swarovski coats many of its beads with different special coatings to give the surfaces of their crystal beads different shimmers and colors. One of the more common coatings is called AB or “Aurora Borealis” and it is applied to many of the Swarovski crystal beads. There are many types of coatings and the coatings can be applied in different amounts and even on different parts of the crystal beads to really make a unique piece of crystal.

What does Swarovski say about lead in their crystal beads?
I wrote to Swarovski asking them about the safety of lead in their crystal beads. A very nice woman named Bianca wrote me back and gave me what appears to be an “official” statement from Swarovski:

Recently, there has been an increased regulatory focus on potential human exposure to lead from various consumer products, including jewellery. Crystal has unique properties. The crystal manufacturing process creates a matrix which inhibits the mobility of lead. In other words, lead is bound into the structure of the crystal. Because of this structure, lead crystal poses no significant risk of excessive lead exposure to human health via surface contact (hand to mouth), mouthing or even ingestion. Indeed, Swarovski crystals have been tested under a variety of test methods for extractable lead. Test conditions and procedures do vary, but lead levels are well below regulatory limits even when the crystal is tested in an acid solution to maximize the release of lead.

Most authorities considering lead in crystal have concluded that limits on total lead should not apply to crystal. In 2006, for example, the California Attorney General settled a lawsuit brought in the state alleging exposure to lead from jewellery. The court-approved settlement agreement, as well as the later legislatively enacted Californian AB 1681, established limits for lead in metals and several other components, with stricter standards for jewellery intended for children 6 and younger. Significantly, in recognition of the limited risk of availability of lead from crystal, the settlement agreement as well as California AB 1681 allows the continued use of crystal without limitation in jewellery not intended for children. For children 6 or younger, up to 1 gram of crystal may be used in such jewellery. These same standards were adopted in the state of Minnesota. Similar bills are pending in other states, but some states are considering or have adopted new limits on lead that do not include an exemption for crystal.

Therefore you are in no danger in touching crystals. This is also the reason that there are no specific recommendations about touching or using crystal, however, we do not recommend that crystals are put in the mouth, swallowed, choked on or inhaled under any circumstances, or are used as children’s toys due to the small parts hazard.

Let’s hope those states that do not have an exemption for crystal don’t accidentally outlaw Swarovski crystal beads!

The bottom line? Swarovski crystal beads are perfectly safe to work with and use in adult jewelry, but should be kept out of the hands of children and never put in children’s jewelry. Yes, lead crystal beads do contain lead, but that’s no reason to shy away from using Swarovski crystal beads in any of your adult jewelry pieces or projects!

I love going to my local bead shop for unique beads that I can’t seem to find anywhere else and I love shopping at big online bead stores for regular beading supplies. But I also appreciate shopping convenience and saving a few pennies on discount beads here and there. When I am shopping for beads, especially a brand name like Swarovski crystal beads, I’ll often sit down and figure out the total cost per bead and usually end up going with the least expensive option. That’s why I often end up buying my Swarovski Crystal beads from none other than Amazon.com instead of some other big bead jewelry supply stores.

Amazon has a few other things going for it as well:

Quality Discount Beading Supply Vendors: Amazon.com is less like a big chain grocery store and more like a huge farmer’s market now. Lots of different vendors all sell their items on Amazon and that means competition for best price and best product is fierce.

Bead Supply Shopping Convenience: I like the idea of being able to buy a book I want, a DVD, my favorite shampoo and even a few bead jewelry supplies all in about six clicks on the computer. It saves me time that I would normally use going out to shop and the prices are almost always cheaper than I would pay in the store.

Discounted Beads and Supplies: Yes, it is true that Amazon doesn’t have a million different beads for sale, but name brand items like Swarovski Crystal beads I’ve found that Amazon is actually cheaper if you figure out the cost per bead! Yes, they are even cheaper than Fire Mountain Gems in some cases and you don’t have to order 70 packages to get the cheapest price.

Discounted Bead and Beading Supplies Shipping Costs: Amazon almost always has a cheaper shipping cost than most of the big online bead stores because of the volume of packages they sell. Depending upon the items and vendor I’m sometimes even able to get free shipping if I don’t mind waiting a few extra days.

Smaller Selection of Discounted Beads: A smaller selection of items is usually seen as a negative and in many cases it is. However, I’ve found that it can sometimes be overwhelming, especially for beginner bead jewelers, to have 500 choices of beads to choose from. Sometimes simpler is better, and having a limited selection isn’t so bad if you know what beads or beading supplies you’re looking for and Amazon carries it.

Beading Supply and Beading Vendor Reviews: Amazon.com allows anyone to leave comments about the products that are bought, so you can quickly see what products are popular and read the reviews that others have left. These reviews are often more helpful than the product description alone and they often help my figure out what beading items I want.

Still not convinced Amazon.com sells decent beads and beading supplies at a discount price?

So check out some of the Amazon.com deals on beading supplies or simply browse the collection of discount Swarovski crystal beads below!

When people first get into beading they sometimes feel overwhelmed with all the new terminology and beading supplies they have to initially buy. And while the real fun of any sort of beading project is definitely in the creating something beady from scratch, one of aspects many people also enjoy is simply buying the beads. But even this process of buying beads is not easy because we’re constantly bombarded with a thousand different beads in a hundred different packages and counts at what seems like a million different prices! The trick is learning how to buy the same beads for less money. These are truly discounted beads!

I know a lot of people various local bead shops and online bead stores and they are quickly confused, bewildered and simply amazed at all the different varieties and prices of the many, many different types of beads available. Bead store owners deal with exactly the same issue: buying beads and maintaining an inventory of millions of little beads and supplies for an entire store can get to be quite a trying experience!

While the variety of beads and beading supplies available doesn’t look like it will get any smaller soon (thankfully… LOL!) there are some things you can do to eliminate some of the confusion of buying beads, especially when it comes to comparing prices.

When faced with the idea of buying the exact same or almost exact same bead from two different stores, you simply need to figure out what the cost per bead is and then buy the discounted bead. This is not a new idea and you might even do it now when you’re grocery shopping. But when you’re starting to buy lots of beads this can really come in handy and save you some money.

The cost per bead is calculated by simply taking the number of beads and dividing it by the price. One simple calculation will do it but you might want to use a calculator because the division is almost never perfect.

Let’s say you are faced with buying some beautiful limited edition Swarovski crystal beads and you’ve seen them being sold at two different places. One place advertises them as 50 for $5.95. The other place sells 75 of those Swarovski beads for $8.20. Which place is cheaper? All you have to do is do the math!

$5.95 / 50 beads = $.119 cents per bead.

$8.20 / 75 beads = $.109 cents per bead which is about a penny less per bead. These are the cheaper beads!

Now, I know… one cent per bead probably doesn’t sound like much of a discount, but let’s say you are making 30 different necklaces for an upcoming craft show and and each necklace has 100 Swarovski crystal beads in it then you just saved yourself $30.00. No, that isn’t a huge discount beads on beads for jewelry but as you buy more expensive beads and larger lots of beads the savings will really start to add up.

I especially like to use the cost per bead method when comparing online bead store prices, especially when I’m comparing the exact same type, size and brand of bead. I do this for all my Swarovski crystal bead purchases and have found that I can save quite a lot depending upon what I’m looking for at the time. Obviously, you can do this little math trick with everyone from crystal beads to seed beads to wire (count length of wire) to find the best price for discount beads!

Let’s face it, the most expensive part of creating bead jewelry is the beads and beading supplies. At some point most serious bead jewelry artists begin to take a good hard look at the money they’re making with their jewelry and comparing it to their expenses and quickly realize that the one item the most money is spent on is the beads themselves. The same is true, of course, for artists who make their own beads whether it be out of glass or silver clay or some sort of polymer or even paper! The raw materials used to make the jewelry are often the most expensive part of any jewelry making business. This means, of course, that it makes sense to try to get your materials at the lowest cost available.

That’s where buying beads and other bead jewelry supplies “wholesale” can really help an aspiring bead jewelry artist or even bead jewelry store owner who is starting out. But you can’t just walk into any bead store or visit any beading website and really buy things wholesale. It’s all a little more complicated than that.

Let’s begin with the basics:

What does it mean to buy something like beads wholesale? The word “wholesale” is thrown around a lot these days and is often used as a substitute for “cheap” but that’s not really the true meaning of the word. Normally when you buy beads or wire or gemstones or anything from a bead supply store you’re buying small quantities from the store. The store, in turn, bought larger quantities from a wholesale operation somewhere. By buying larger quantities the store was able to get a lower price per bead, which they can then mark up a little bit and sell to you. This is how most retail stores, not just bead jewelry stores, work.

Retail stores are the “middle man” for selling one or two items to people. Wholesale bead companies usually do not deal with the general public, don’t have a showroom and only deal in big quantities of bead sales. When you buy things wholesale you often don’t pay sales tax on the items because it is understood that you will eventually sell the items and collect sales tax instead.

Where do wholesale companies get their beads? Most wholesale companies have a relationship with large distribution centers or directly with the manufactures of whatever it is they are selling, including beads and supplies. So the XYZ Wholesale Bead Company may have a contract with Swarovski to buy 10,000 crystal beads a week directly from Swarovski. Swarovski can sell the beads cheaply to XYZ Wholesale Bead Company because it is guaranteed income and they are the manufacturer. XYZ Wholesale Bead Company must then sell their beads to hundreds of different bead stores. They make a profit by marking up the beads a little bit. Often real wholesale bead sellers will only sell large quantities of beads to buyers. It just isn’t worth their time to sell 3 pendants to someone when they have a crate of 1,000 of them sitting in the a storeroom.

How can wholesale bead companies sell beads for so much cheaper than retail stores? There are a number of reasons for this, some of which we’ve already covered. Most wholesale bead stores don’t have a real “showroom” so they don’t have to worry about expensive storefronts, insurance for customers, parking, nice lighting, calming ambiance, friendly clerks, etc. They are often big warehouses with nothing more than thousands of shelves and boxes filled with beads! Many wholesale bead stores now have beautiful internet websites, but that’s relatively cheap to build compared to a real brick and mortar bead store. They also make money by selling in large quantities of beads or items. If they only make 10 cents per bead in a sale but they sell a minimum of 10,000 beads at a time, then they are still going to make a fairly decent profit. A regular bead store may make 50 center to a $1 or more per bead sale in some cases, but they are usually only selling a few beads at a time to any one customer.

Doesn’t Fire Mountain Gems Sell Wholesale Beads? Well, sort of. They may sell their beads for near wholesale “prices” if you buy enough of them at one time, but they really seem to sell their beads as a retail outlet. Yes, I know some bead stores who do buy some of their product directly from Fire Mountain Gems because of their wide selection and convenience. Their prices on some things are very low and if you need many of the same thing, then you do get some beads for an amazingly cheap price. A lot of internet bead jewelry supply stores advertise themselves as wholesale sellers, but to really buy things wholesale you typically need to prove that you’re operating a valid business and you often even need a license to buy beads wholesale.

Okay, so how can I buy beads wholesale?! Ahh, this is the big question and there isn’t an easy answer. First, you can search for wholesale bead stores online. Be careful! Just because a website says “wholesale beads” doesn’t mean it necessarily is a true wholesaler. Most “true” wholesale establishments will only sell to you if you have a store or you’re serious about buying a lot of beads. Most require that you have a real registered business with your state commerce department as well as a “wholesaler’s license” which can usually also be obtained through your state. A wholesaler’s license basically allows you to buy items from wholesale centers without paying sales tax. But when you then sell the items you bought you must collect sales tax and give that tax to your state. Some wholesale bead companies specifically ask that you also provide proof of a legitimate business ownership as well as photos of your storefront. Wholesale bead sellers want to make sure you’re truly able to buy <em>lots </em>of beads from them! Yes, this is a lot of work and it really is for the true bead jewelry business woman, not just the part-time bead jeweler who wants to get some cheap beads.

With a little persistence and some effort put towards your beading business, you can really save a lot of money and find some wonderful beads through wholesale distributors!