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!