I only recently discovered the Dollar Bead site (in May 2022.) Have ordered from them four times so far and have been happy with all my orders. They've all come to me perfectly complete- no plastic when I ordered glass beads, no missing items, no bad counts even. There is a box to tick if you want them to refund any out-of-stock items, or you can let them send you their closest replacements. Personally, I like to choose my own stock, so I always tick the refund box. It is nice to have options, though. Items being unexpectedly out-of-stock after I order has never yet become a problem.

The glass and lampwork beads I've gotten are good quality and were super inexpensive, like 5- 33 cents a bead for lampwork! Bright colors tend to sell out very quickly and may or may not get restocked. The orange and white lampwork beads that have been there at least since May are actually orange with a subtle white spider's web design. That is hard to determine from the single photo and isn't listed that way in the description, which makes me think that the person who does the descriptions has never noticed. I couldn't use mine for the project I'd intended them for, but hey, Halloween is just around the corner. I'm planning to make some party favors with them.

The regular glass spacer-type beads and glass that imitates gemstones are not quite free at Dollar Bead but are still an absolute steal. I would never try to pass off faux gem beads as real but I do like the look and the range of brilliant colors, hard to find in natural stones, even at premium prices.

The real gemstone beads I've bought there are mostly mid-grade in quality- I'd guess mostly B and C grade, but all the ones I've tested were the real stones. I wish I could say the same of other suppliers I've used. All the gemstone beads I've received were very pretty and useable even if they looked somewhat different in hue or pattern to the ones pictured in the photos. Generally, the photos listed are a pretty good indication of what to expect. You have to accept some variation, though, with natural stone and with handmade lampwork and hand-carved beads, as well. No two are ever going to be exactly the same. I much prefer beads that have character as opposed to the machine-pressed ones that are perfect and identical. But if you love those, Dollar Bead has plenty of those kind at great prices as well.

The packaging is minimal but effective. Breakage in my shipments has been either non-existent or negligiable. I think I've lost two plain glass spacer beads out of the many hundreds of beads bought across my 4 orders. I will use the broken beads too in a mosaic as soon as I get enough to make one. I try hard not to let anything pretty go to waste. My orders have taken anywhere from a couple of days to three weeks to appear, but I expect delays these days due to covid and related supply chain issues.

I'm puzzled by the low-ball reviews I've read here about Dollar Bead. I have to think that either other reviewers have had wildly different shopping experiences from mine, or perhaps some are mistakenly reviewing some other company with a similar sounding name- like Dollar Store beads, instead of Dollar Bead beads?

At Dollar Bead, I've found gorgeous genuine rose quartz nugget beads (20 of them for a dollar,) hand-carved jade and carnelian beads, each 3 to a pack for a dollar, all sorts of gemstone strands I'd easily pay 10, 20, 30 times more for on Amazon. The pic I'm including features some I haven't used yet of the many beautiful gemstone beads I've bought at Dollar Bead.

I suspect I'm missing a lot of good stuff that flies out of there every day, even though I check what's new just about every time I go online. My best advice is, check often. If it looks intriquing, spend a dollar or 1.15 for a sample strand or single pack. If you sample 15 or so items including several strands, you will end up with hundreds of beautiful assorted gemstone and glass beads for about 25 bucks including the cost of the flat rate shipping. Seriously, where else can you find that online? I like Dollar Bead because small numbers are available. I make one-of-a-kind art jewelry. I don't have any interest in making a thousand of the same piece, so bulk isn't practical for me. With an affordable assortment, I can turn those beads into many beautiful items and please my customers with one-of-a-kind, quality pieces at fair prices, while still turning a comfy little profit for my time and work. If you are a hobbyist, just starting out, have a small local business, or sell on Etsy, I guarantee you won't be sorry if you try this supplier.

By the way, the crimp beads, jump rings, and other findings I've bought here are sturdy and have worked great for me. I also liked the galaxy glass beads I bought, which remind me of mermaid glass- very reflective and shimmery- except with more sophisticated colors and neutrals.

I absolutely love this store! I've paid more elsewhere and gotten a whole lot lot less. When I need something specific for my jewelry, I'll always check Dollar Bead first. They don't have everything I require, but they do have great stuff that I haven't found anywhere else at better prices.

I hope this review is useful to you. Also, thanks to the reviewers of these other bead suppliers, many of which I haven't tried yet! Wishing peace, light, love, good health, and a more prosperous future to all!