Frequently Asked Questions
Here are the answers to some questions that we hear often, both online and in the store.
Frequently asked questions about buying from the US are here.
| Q:
Do you give wholesale prices or a volume buying discount? |
A: Sorry, no, we are primarily retail. We now offer a 20% discount for businesses. We also offer bulk pricing on some products. The most popular can be found on our website here:
In order to set you up with your business discount, we would need to see proof of business documentation (business licence/tax exemption forms) You can fax these to 416.701.9182 or email a scan of these to info@beadfx.com along with your name, phone number, email address and shipping address.
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| Q:
Can I buy a gift certificate for a friend? |
A: Certainly, place your order here! |
| Q:
I'm uncomfortable using my credit card online. Can I still order? |
A: Yes you can. You can use the shopping cart to place a callback order, see help on that here, and we will call you to get the number (US and Canada only.) You can also phone, email, fax or snail mail us your order. |
| Q:
What are these Frequent Beader Points I see on my sales receipt and how do I redeem them? |
A: See our Frequent Beader page here. |
| Q:
Can you help me with your shopping cart? |
A: More information on using our shopping cart is here. |
| Q:
Do you have a store? |
A: Yes we do, we have a storefront in Scarborough, Ontario. Please see here for details. |
| Q:
Are you open to the public? |
A: Yes! Please see here for our hours! |
| Q:
You don't have _____. Can you get it for me? |
A: Let us know what it is - we can try. Email us at info@beadfx.com |
| Q:
Do I need a retail sales tax license to buy from you? |
A: Nope - everyone is welcome! |
| Q:
Do you have a catalogue? |
A: This website is our catalogue - we update it almost every week - which would be prohibitively expensive for a print catalogue. We do have a pricelist that you can download for easy reference, however |
| Q:
I sent you an email and I didn't hear back. Don't you answer your email? |
A: Yes we do. Unfortunately, we get a lot "bounced" replies every week - where our email has been blocked by your ISP or your mail program because we are not on your "permitted" list. If you have not heard from us, this is very likely the case. Please call us toll free at 1-877-473-2323 or add info@beadfx.com to your "white list." |
| Q:
Do you carry plastic beads? |
A: As we are a glass studio, we specialize in glass beads, with some semi-precious stone, metal, and sterling silver. We do not carry plastic beads. However, if you need plastic beads in bulk, say for teaching crafts at summer camp, we can help you out by getting them in as a special order. |
| Q:
Do you send a confirmation email when I order? |
A: A confirmation email is sent automatically. If you do not receive one, please check that the email address you gave us is correct. |
| Q:
Do you have a minimum order? |
A: Nope - order as little, (or as much) as you'd like. |
| Q:
What does AB mean? |
A: AB stands for Aurora Borealis -- its an iridescent finish reminiscent of the play of colours on a soap bubble. Here are some more terms that might be confusing. |
More on Bead Appearances
Transparent — Classic, changeable, transparent glows with background light, and changes with the colour of the beads around it.
Opaque — Always useful, opaque glass
Metallic — for the rich, metallic look
Lustre — a subtle look, Lustre is softer than a high-gloss. |
Colour-Lined — a colour-core with a transparent coat.
Silver-Lined — A silver inner core, with a transparent colour overlay gives a glittering, luxurious effect. Square holes.
Oily — despite the odd name, is a lovely, subtle finish, slightly lustreous.
Matte — Matte is a silky soft non-glossy finish. May be combined with another finish |
Iris or Aurora Borealis (AB) — Aurora Borealis or Iris is an iridescent finish reminiscent of the play of colours on a soap bubble. May be transparent or opaque, glossy or matte.
Dyed — some colours are harder to create and are simulated with dyes. The dyes do not rub off in these beads, but may fade with time.
Pearl — very subtle lusterous finish |
| Q:
What is a delica? What make the Japanese seedbeads different - and more expensive! |
A: A delica is a "delicious" little bead - a "tube" shaped seedbead, in a size 11/0. These beads, as with all the Japanese-made beads, are much more regular in shape and size than the Czechoslovakian-made beads. Japanese beads, Delicas, Miyukis, etc. are perfect for very sculptural projects, beadweaving, amulet bags, and similar projects. Czech seed beads have a more organic look. |
| Q:
How many delicas are in a tube? |
A: About 1500. A tube is usually 7.5 grams. There are about 200 delicas per gram. Our delicas are sorted by colour and by number, and the numbering is standard. |
| Q:
What does 6/0, 11/0, etc. mean? How big are these beads? |
A:  Seedbeads sizes are indicated by a numbering system. The larger the number, the smaller the bead. (size 33/0 is the exception - these are big!) Size 6/0 (commonly referred to as "sixes") are about 2.5 mm by 4 mm and are shaped like little tires or doughnuts. Size 8/0s are a little smaller than 6/0s. Size 11/0s are small - size 10/0s are a little larger. To the novice beader - they will seem very similar - but with experience you can tell them apart. Sizes 12/0 and 13/0 are smaller still, although the hole is still about the same size at the 11/0s. Size 22/0s - well - they are just mind-bogglingly small!
- 6/0 beads - 10 beads to an inch
- 8/0 beads - 12 beads to an inch
- 10/0 beads - 15 beads to an inch
- 11/0 beads - 18 beads to an inch .
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| Q:
What is a Charlotte? |
A: A Charlotte is specifically a size 13/0 seedbead with a single hand-cut facet on it. Lately, we have seen the term "Charlotte" applied to size 11/0 beads with a facet. 3-cut and 2-cut are seedbeads in whatever size stated and have 2 or 3 facets (polished flat surfaces). |
| Q:
How come the silver-lined seedbeads have a square hole? |
A: I'm not sure why, but they all do. |
| Q:
How many beads are in a gram? What about a hank? |
A: The number of beads varies, of course, as some beads are a little heavier than others. but, a little experimenting reveals that the 20 g 6/0 seed beads would make one really full heaping tablespoon, assuming round glass beads actually wanted to heap, that is! A hank of 11/0s would give you 2 really full heaping tablespoons. Now, that is a lot more beads, as the beads are smaller.
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| Q:
Can you tell me approx. how many of the faceted seed beads there would be in a hank? |
A: Which of the faceted seed beads were you referring to? We have the 2-cut and 3-cut 10/0s, and the Charlottes (single cut 13/0s:). For the 10/0s it would be about 3000 beads, the charlottes (13/0) about 5000. |
| Q:
How many beads are in one of those bundles? (the beads that were on strings and then several strings make up a bundle) |
A: Those "bundles" are called hanks. In a strand selected at random, there are 18 beads to the inch. There are 12 strands at 20 inches long each in a hank (aprox)which gave me a total of 4320 beads per hank give or take :-) |
| Q:
I got an error message when I tried to put some beads in my shopping cart. |
A: We try to test everything and double check that everything is working correctly. However, computer systems vary. Please tell us about these errors - we can't fix 'em if we don't know about them! |
| Q:
Whenever I put something in my shopping cart, the last thing I put in it disappears? What is happening? |
A: Our shopping cart uses "cookies" - check your browser's settings. Cookies must be turned on for you to use the shopping cart. |
| Q:
What does "temporarily strung" mean? |
A: For convenience, some beads are strung for shipping. The quality of the string and the stringing is not such that you would want to trust it in the long term for your projects! However, buying beads temporarily strung can make it easier to string them for your projects. Simply slide the needle with your good thread down through the beads next to the temporary string to transfer them. |
| Q:
How long are your bugle beads? |
A: Just when you thought you had seed beads figured out, eh? - we throw bugle beads at you. #3 bugles are 6-7 mm, #4s are 8-9mm. Larger sizes are indicated in mm. |
| Q:
What is a "mm"? |
A: mm is short for "millimetre" - there are about 25 mm in an inch. |
| Q:
Why are those lovely red beads more expensive than the same bead in another colour? |
A: Red glass, and the really nice pinks and purples, are more expensive than other colours of glass - as the main colouring agent is gold. |
| Q:
What currency will my credit card be charged in? |
A: Your credit card will be charged in whatever currency your card is in. If you have a US dollar credit card, you will be charged in US dollars, and your bank will convert for you based on the exchange rate that they are charging on that day. We are working on changing the shopping cart so that you can shop in the currency of your choice, but for now, everything is Canadian dollars with an approx. US dollar price. |
| Q:
I have a question about shipping. |
A: See our Shipping page for more information. |
| Q:
Do you take credit cards? Money orders? |
A: Yes. See our Payment page for more information on payment options. |
| Q:
I have a question about my order? Who do I contact. |
A: Phone us at 1-877-473-2323 or 416-701-1373 or email us at info@beadfx.com. Please quote the name that you ordered under so that we can find your order quickly. (Not the sales receipt number.) Oddly enough, we organize our files by first name! |
| Q:
Do you take orders for custom lampwork beads? |
A: Custom orders cheerfully attempted. Please contact us to discuss, toll free 1-877-473-2323 |
| Q:
Do you knit? I need to know what size bead would fit over knitting worsted or DK yarn.
What would fit over fingering and sport? |
A: (from the knitter in the group)
For knitting worsted you would need at least a 2/0 bead. We don't carry very much variety in that size as it is not often used. If you wish to embellish a worsted weight item, it may be better to sew on the bead afterwards using a finer yarn in a matching colour, or carry the beads along on a separate yarn as you knit.
For DK, a size 6/0 seed bead is best and we have this size in a great many colours.
For sport weight, a size 6/0 or size 8/0 bead can be used
For fingering, 8/0 is best and you might even be able to use a size 10/0 for lace weight.
You will need to do a bit of experimenting here. I've found that some colours have larger holes than others, even within the same overall bead size. Also a lot will depend on the type of yarn. Smooth yarns are definitely preferable for bead knitting.
If you have any other questions about bead knitting, feel free to email. This is an addiction all on it's own!
Find all our seedbeads here.
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