Dollar Bead Bag is a smaller box from Dollar Bead Box, which delivers Czech fire-polished beads every month. During a given month, you can reorder your favorite items from the Dollar Bead shop for just $1. (This deal is only available to subscribers.)
My Subscription Addiction pays for this subscription. (Check out the review process post to learn more about how we review boxes.)
This review is of the Dollar Bead Bag, which is $8.00 a month.
About Dollar Bead Bag
The Subscription Box: Dollar Bead Bag
The Cost: $19.50 + $4.50 shipping for the Dollar Bead Box or $8 for the Dollar Bead Bag (4 strands of 3 mm Czech Fire Polish Beads and 4 strands of 4 mm Czech Fire Polish Beads in every bag); free shipping with 3- and 6-month subscriptions (plus get an additional discount on 6-month subscriptions)
The Products: Beads and beading-related items including but not limited to stringing materials, Swarovski crystals, vintage glass, freshwater pearls, buttons, and more.
Ships to: US
Dollar Bead Bag July 2018 Review
This is a subscription where you know what to expect every month, only the actual colors of the beads are unknown. The information card lists the color names for reordering purposes:
The bag included a list of items.
A note on prices: Items like this can come from a variety of different suppliers at many price points depending on how many you buy, etc. I couldn’t find a lot of these exact beads from common sources (e.g., Fire Mountain Gems) and it’s of questionable value to pick something similar because a slight difference in grading or size or material and you are looking at half or double the price (or an even greater difference). Even different colors of the same size and shape of glass beads are priced differently due to materials needed to make the colors!
3 mm Czech Firepolished Beads in (from top to bottom): Matte Pumpkin Copper, Matte Crystal Vitrail Blue, Navy Vega Luster, and “Take a Chance”
Sometimes the strands will color coordinate and sometimes not. There are some possibilities for color coordination among the 3mm beads this month (like the second and third strands) if that is your thing, but this is also good as a stash-building subscription if the possible color combinations don’t inspire you in a given month. The fourth strand may vary although I am happy with this partially coated green color that I received. I know the pumpkin copper beads will work with a number of other items in my stash, too.
4 mm Czech Firepolished Beads in (from top to bottom): Full Coat Chrome, Matte Pumpkin Copper, Matte Pearlized Ruby Red, and Opaque Turquoise Blue Zircon
There are some interesting finishes here. The full coat chrome will be useful wherever I want something silver toned, the pumpkin copper matches the 3mm beads and can be used together with them, and the last two finishes are new and different for me (but I’ve been buying a lot of Czech beads in the “tutti frutti” finishes lately and the pearlized ruby red will definitely work well with those).
Here are some earrings I made using the navy vega luster 3mm beads. This is Deb Roberti’s Flower Earrings pattern, which is free and available here. You may remember I tried to make these earrings back in February, but I wasn’t satisfied then with how they came out, and it turns out it’s because I used 7mm cabochons in the center instead of 6mm cabochons, so I was really forcing things with the pattern. It looks much better with the proper size of bead!
Verdict: I did not calculate a value for the July 2018 Dollar Bead Bag, for reasons explained above. This is one of those subscriptions where you know in advance what you are going to get each month (only the color is a surprise). It works out to $1 per strand, and I think that is reasonable. These strands are a little shorter than what you’d get at Fire Mountain Gems, for example, but the prices are also lower. This is a good subscription if you are looking to build your stash.
Please note that no directions are given and you have to supply your own needles, stringing materials, tools, and findings.
To Wrap Up:
Can you still get this box if you sign up today? No, but if there is a color that appeals to you, if you become a Dollar Bead Bag member, you can order items from the past two Dollar Bead Bags from the Dollar Bead Box shop for $1 each (plus shipping).
Value Breakdown: At $8.00 for this subscription, you are paying $1 per strand.
Check out all of our Dollar Bead Box reviews and the Craft Subscription Box Directory!
Keep Track of Your Subscriptions: Add this box to your subscription list or wishlist!
What did you think of the July 2018 Dollar Bead Bag? Do you subscribe to any DIY beading or craft boxes?
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