Art Beads

I ordered some supplies from Artbeads and I was really impressed with their costumer service. A representative emailed me back quickly and efficiently. I was able to find everything I was looking for on their site and they all look great! Although shipping did take about 2 weeks that's still a lot sooner than most places.

Hi

I have received excellent service for years and I still do. I didn't know they had moved. They also take suggestions well, e.g., offer larger PMC3 packages. Orders still shipped promptly and I receive immediate response to my customer service emails.

Like this site, free shipping with products, and they provide more beads choice, a little expensive price, like this site, I buy from different suppliers, artbeads is a good supplier, some items I can't find.

After receiving an incorrect item I contacted customer service. Said they would send out the correct item. Received the same wrong item. Clearly a labeling/stocking problem. Most concerning is that I have emailed and left chat message. Absolutely no response from them! I just wanted the item I paid for, not the wrong item they keep sending. Can't risk ordering from them again. I'll stay with Beadaholic and Fire Mountain Gems. They have excellent customer service.

I do like the variety and the tracking of what you are ordering to show you more choices in the category you are looking at. The packaging is well done and it DOES take a long time to receive the pieces you have ordered. But I consider Artbeads my go to site for the selection of findings.

I have been ordering from this site for years. They used to offer free shipping, which is why I originally started ordering from them for smaller orders of sterling findings but now free shipping is only for orders over a certain dollar amount, which really doesn't stop me from ordering from them at all, especially considering sterling prices these days. Their selection is great (tried new earwires and found a new favorite that I can only find with artbeads), their prices on the stuff I typically purchase are quite reasonable (very comparable to large order discounts from some other suppliers, much better than local store, who's always out of what I need anyway), they have a real-time inventory system which means you're never surprised by backorders (unlike some other retailers I could mention...) and the shipping is super quick (I usually get my orders within a couple of days). They are my number one go-to online supplier at this point.

So far i have gotten 2 orders from artbeads. I loved every item i have bought from beads to wire to their fabulous wirelace to knit with. First order was a wee bit slow but second order came pretty fast. Im very pleased. Oh and their shipping prices are great. No gouging to make money off shipping. I like this company very much and i will return to order more since im just a beginner beader. Thank you Artbeads.

Most of the beads I purchased, for the most part, were very pretty. They were a broader selection than I could get at my local craft store or even another site I shop on. HOWEVER, I only purchased less than 10 items and my price was well over $100. I was ok with this UNTIL I received my beads and the amount I received was literally nonexistent. I have no clue what I will be able to make with this tiny amount. It certainly wasn't worth the price I paid. So lesson learned, but I will not shop here again and do not recommend for anyone else either.

Nothing about Artbeads is true. I ordered from them twice and each time the beads I ordered were not what I expected. I did keep a few but needed to return the entire 2nd order and some from the first order. Over 3-4 days I sent 2 emails and neither were responded even after 2-3 weeks. When I went online and followed the directions for a return, the shipping site they say they use does not have them as a customer, then I called the number on their website and it automatically rerouted me to the website. Bottom line they have no Customer Service, no returns, and their merchandise is not what they claim. BEWARE!

I placed an order on April 1st from Canada and waited over 3 weeks for a card to arrive in the mail saying to pick up my parcel from the post office where I had to spend another $25.00 for custom fees. OK- so I not only placed 1 order but by mistake I placed a second order on the same day. I called to cancel the order but no reply so now I am still waiting for the second order which no doubt will have duty fees. Under the H117 Canadian tax code fees do apply but having tried to cancel the 2nd order and no reply to chat or phone call I would not buy from Artbeads from Canada. I might as well have ordered from China direct with no shipping fees.

I have ordered from Artbeads for over 10 years, but I won't be doing so anymore. Their order fulfillment and shipping response ABSOLUTELY SUCKS, and it really frickin' frosts me that my credit card was charged immediately but they did not ship until 9 days later. No email that it would be delayed - or any follow up actually - everything was in stock, just really lousy customer service.

Incidentally, I had ordered from two other internet bead suppliers and received those orders within 2 and 4 business days respectively. Artbeads just doesn't have it going on anymore, and their pricing is just standard so your are not saving enough to compensate for the lousy service.

I placed an order and receive only part of the order. After 5 emails with a canned response for each inquiry, I have given up. I've been ordering from them for years so I am very disappointed.

I've been buying from Artbeads for eight years and I've been happy with every single order. Great customer service and timely processing. Always great prices but I don't shop unless it's a sale.

I had big problem in July 2017with my credit card, since NEVER been able to get through to anyone, only they have message to email them. I got 18 canned emails, but problem not fixed... YET. Made COMPLAINT to BBB & no response from Artbeads at all!
Lin B

I would give zero stars if I could! What happened? Artbeads was my go to site - no more! Terrible customer service! No response to emails and you can't get through on the phone! I finally got a live person to speak with about checking the color of a product before it was sent as I always did in the past but the girl in Washington couldn't check any longer because their warehouse is in another state! She said she would send the warehouse an email and that my account would be documented and to go ahead and place my order. I ordered and thought I'd add a note to my order just to be safe but there is no note section when ordering. I followed up with an email to the 'support' address (with no response) and guess what I received - the wrong color! So frustrating! Again today I'm trying to call and getting that silly recording! Of course they're overwhelmed - with complaints I'm sure! Soon they'll have all the time in the world to answer the phone because there won't be any customers! This was such a good company - so very sad!

I have placed 4 orders with Artbeads within the past couple of months, for beads and other supplies, and THREE of the 4 orders were filled incorrectly. A cheaper pliers instead of a side cutter, smaller lapis beads than ordered (and worse, incorrectly labeled). The latest (and last) order was shorted a couple strands of TWO different bead types.
Artbeads did eventually fix the orders, but 3 out of 4?! I'm done with them! Not only did it delay projects, but then I had the added hassle of having to write them to explain their mistakes, plus make special trips to the Post Office for the returns.
Their canned apology email sounds hollow after 3 times... (The last time, I was told "We do ask that you please keep the item(s) you received in error as a gift"... but I was SHORTED merchandise on the last order! Anybody home? Insulting.).
I ordered online for convenience; they were anything but. Their selection and prices were okay; but their website is painfully slow at refreshing; they just don't seem up to the task of running a business.

I had been ordering from Artbeads for over a year, with minimal glitches ( an order delayed for no apparent reason, items needed to finish a project out of stock, etc.) when I placed an order to make one of the owners, Cynthia's, designs and an integral part of the order was out of stock. It was sent without this chain, and I was told that I had to place another order to receive a substitute. The shipping would cost over 50% of the cost of the chain. Any decent customer service would offer to ship it free, but not Artbeads. I even wrote to the owner, detailing my plight, and was told thar their "resolution team" (which I strongly suspect is the customer service department, which may be only one person) would be in touch. A week later, I found a local source for the chain. A month later, I have not yet received a response. A shame, but there are more customer friendly online bead shops out there--- Fusion, Red Panda, Goody. And they all have markedly better customer service than Artbeads.

I have placed 4 orders with Artbeads recently and have not received what I've ordered in 3 of the 4 orders. When I placed the order, I receive an order confirmation and my account is debited. About a week later I receive an email that an item on my order is out of stock and my account will be credited. This is extremely frustrating as I am unable to reliably commit to completing a project for one of my customers when I can't depend on Artbeads. The last time this happened I sent Artbeads an email instructing them not to ship the order if they couldn't ship everything I ordered. I never received a response but was shipped the partial order anyway. I've left subsequent emails concerning the order and still no response. I finally found a phone number for their ‘customer service' department (a poor excuse for customer service). No one answered so I left a message which has not been returned.
I've had problems with Artbeads throughout the years but rather than addressing problems they tend to ignore them and things are just getting worse. It is a poorly run business with little regard for trying to keep customers. I do business with several other vendors and do not have these sorts of issues. I plan to take my business elsewhere. There are many reliable vendors that appreciate their customers. Unfortunately, Artbeads is not one of them.

I had a very poor customer service experience as a potential new customer and a creative business owner. Last night before the sale was over, I ordered several items. I attempted my credit card and my card was denied. Then, I attempted to use my husband's credit card and the same happened. I emailed the company asking why my cards would not go through, as they are the only cards that we use for everything, and the cards had not notified us of an issue as they normally do.

The response that I received was that there was a hold on my credit card for possible fraudulent activity. The reason for the 2nd card not going through was because I made several attempts with the first one (as one would with the thought that a number was off or the website system was down). I was told to contact my bank on both cards for fraudulent activity.

Needless to say, I was quite nervous and called the banks immediately, having had this happen to me before. Thankfully, it was discovered that the cards have no fraud related to them and are in perfect working order.

The sale prices of my items jumped up to almost double in price. I asked via email if I could be honored the sale prices and was told no.

As a new potential customer, I was beginning to think that fraud was being committed against me, due to the incident and poor customer service. And as a business owner, I can't imagine treating my customers this way-I would honor the sales prices due to the fact that the fault of the error was on Art Beads.

I will be shopping elsewhere for my supplies.

Because all of that are arts and need attention, appreciation of every human and we need sensitivity in order to appreciate every category.

Artbeads resolved my issue on 4/8/20 to my satisfaction and apologized for the delay in responding to me.

If I could give zero stars I would! I have shopped with Artbeads for over 10 years with zero issues. I placed an order earlier this year and some of the items were faulty (missing springs in the clasps, won't close, etc). I contacted the company and they said it wasn't their problem as it had been over 30 days... crazy as I ordered 30 of these clasps and had no plans to make 30 necklaces immediately. Fast forward to my next order on June 4th; after 11 days I contacted them to see where my package was because it said it shipped and should be delivered but I had nothing. Keep in mind my address is less than 60 miles from where it was mailed from. I received no answer. I then did an online chat which was recommended because they no longer answer the phone during Covid. The online chat didn't work either, basically, it's a note that is sent/emailed to them, again no answer. I then tried another email and finally 7 days later I receive a reply saying it's not their responsibility and I should contact the USPS. I just contacted the post office and they said I could come in and fill out paperwork, but most likely it wouldn't be returned as it was a smaller envelope and not a large package. Also, why should I be responsible for the USPS error and Artbeads not having insurance for this type of issue (sounds like it's a common problem after reading the other reviews)? I also have extreme asthma and shouldn't be going to a post office to fill out paperwork and stand in line if it's not essential! I also asked all of my neighbors last week as well as this weekend if they've received anything (again not my responsibility but was hoping to recover my items). After over 10 years and no issues, I would now advise and will spread the word STAY AWAY from Artbeads, they could care less about the customer and our hard-earned money.

I love this site. I've never had any problems and I order fairly on a regular basis.