Dollar Bead Box Subscription Review – September 2018

Dollar Bead Box is a monthly delivery of beads and beading products. During a given month, reorder your favorite items from the Dollar Bead Box shop for just $1.00. (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 full Dollar Bead Box, which is $19.50 a month + shipping. 

About Dollar Bead Box

The Subscription Box: Dollar Bead Box

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 US 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 Box September 2018 Review

You’ll get a variety of different beads with this subscription. You can count on some strands and Czech glass nearly every month, but half the fun here is seeing what other random things show up. Let’s see what we got this month:

You’ll always get a brief letter and an item list from Dollar Bead Box. The item list is useful if you are looking to reorder something but don’t know what to call it; use the name to search their shop!

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!

9mm Czech Glass Tabular Square in Turquoise with Travertine (23)

And we are off to a great start. I am obsessed with the travertine (aka Picasso) finish and Dollar Bead Box does send a lot of it (it’s trendy in the bead world right now). I have many storage boxes of beads with a similar color scheme so these will fit right into my collection.

6 x 8 mm Czech Glass Tabular Oval in Sapphire Opal (25)

I think subscribers could receive one of two different colors with these but mine is this pretty blue color. I have some ideas for these based on one of the projects from this month’s Facet Jewelry Stringing box, I just need to find some coordinating beads in my stash (maybe some blue crystals or fire polished beads and faux pearls?).

5mm Czech Glass Melon in Amethyst (40)

I’ve been hoarding melon beads lately. They are a fun alternative to druks (pressed rounds) for patterns, adding some texture and visual interest to pieces. This color will work well with other items in my stash.

6mm (?) Czech Fire Polished Rounds in Crystal Copper Luster (25)

This said 6mm on the information sheet but I’m pretty sure these are actually 4mm beads. 4mm is actually a little bit more useful to me as there are a lot of patterns that call for 4mm beads. I don’t think I’ve seen this finish/color combination before, so that’s fun (I am overly nerdy when it comes to bead shapes/colors/etc.).

8mm Czech Fire Polished Rounds in Crystal Vintage Vitrail (16)

I think these could hold their own between fancier lampwork/foil beads in a bracelet. It’ll give me an excuse to go shopping at Venetian Bead Shop for some Murano glass, too.

6mm Czech Glass 2-Hole Square in Matte Carnelian Opal (25)

2-hole beads go immediately into my stash of shaped beads for use in patterns. It is kind of embarrassing how many shaped beads I have. This color will look good with antiqued brass accents, I think.

12mm Faceted Crystal Round (1)

I sometimes have trouble coming up with ideas for the single beads included in this subscription, but I managed to think of something this month. I like how I was able to capture the surface details in the photo, too (beads are tricky to take pictures of!).

6mm Czech Glass Bicone in Alabaster White with Travertine (12)

More travertine, I am all about that. I started out with the turquoise travertine but now I am into the white/off-white and red as well. 6mm bicones could be used in a pattern instead of 6mm fire polished beads but it would change the look a bit more than the same switch with 3mm or 4mm beads. Also, you’d have to buy more of them, most likely.

20mm Czech Glass Elephant in Navy with Silver Wash (2)

We got some elephants last month, too, but in a different color. I am happy to see more of them! I don’t know how many elephant earrings I need so I am going to think about how else I can use these, but I’m sure I’ll come up with something soon.

4 x 7mm Czech Glass Rondelle in Matte Black (14)

This shape is getting on my radar a bit more lately so I went looking and found some more of the same or very similar ones from Bello Modo. I think these would be good to have around if I wanted to make up some of my own patterns as they are just a shape that you don’t see too often. I can start with this neutral color and put some brighter colors on my “to be purchased in the future” list.

25 x 39mm Brass Stamped Butterfly (1)

I’ve been wanting to do some more beading on filigrees so this should be a good opportunity for practice. Alternatively, I could try to add a patina to this, but my last attempt to do that with bead box items didn’t go well so I think I will stick to beading on this one.

18mm Swarovski Twist Bead Style 5621 in Light Rose (1)

I love this bead. This color is great and I am really into the shape too. I used it in a necklace this month. Also, for what it’s worth, the $1 reorder price from Dollar Bead Box is a really good deal because even the cheapest Fire Mountain price is well above $1 per bead.

14mm Czech Glass Table Cut Bead in Brown Opal with Travertine (1)

And more travertine! I don’t have much in this brown color, though it is rather similar to the finish on some of my reddish beads, and I think this could pair well with the 4mm fire polished rounds up above. I haven’t seen this shape before and am not sure what to call it.

14 x 24mm Pewter Turtle Charm (1)

This is a cute little turtle that could be used in a charm bracelet or as a pendant on a delicate necklace. (You will receive items of various metal finishes with this subscription and they might not always match, i.e., you could get two silvertone and one copper item, etc.)

16mm Heart and Key Toggle in Antique Copper (1)

This was supposed to be a toggle clasp but I was missing the key part. I haven’t contacted Dollar Bead Box about this yet, but in the past, if there has been a problem, they have been super accommodating. In the meantime, I’ve been thinking that the heart part might actually just make a good charm on its own.

16 x 20mm Pewter Chinese Symbol Charm (1)

I don’t know what this character stands for, so I am a little hesitant to use it in a piece of jewelry for now. (If anyone does know, feel free to share in the comments.) It is a similar size to the turtle and would work in either a necklace or a charm bracelet (or even earrings if you ordered a second one).

So I mentioned how much I loved the pink Swarovski bead up above, and I really liked the faceted round as well, but I wanted three strands, so I grabbed the turtle charm also. I will admit that I was trying to finish projects for FOUR bead boxes on the same day, so I took it a bit easy this month in terms of project complexity, but I actually ended up with something in a casual style that is very wearable for me. Sometimes I like to challenge myself to use the individual beads because I am much more of a repeating pattern sort of person by instinct.

Verdict: I did not calculate a value for the September 2018 Dollar Bead Box, for reasons explained above. There were 16 items (if I counted right) so if you divide the cost of the box by the number of items, it is about $1.22 per item. The mix was eclectic this month, but that’s usually the case, and I would definitely say this was representative of what you would receive in a given month if you were to subscribe.

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 an item that appeals to you, if you become a Dollar Bead Box member, you can order items from past Dollar Bead Boxes from the Dollar Bead Box shop for $1 each (plus shipping).

Value Breakdown: At $19.50 for this subscription, you are paying about $1.22 per item.

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 September 2018 Dollar Bead Box? Do you subscribe to any beading or craft boxes?