Fire Mountain Gems and Beads, Inc. — Attraction in Grants Pass

This was the first time I order through this company. Overall performance: 1. slow shipping 2. ordered Art Clay Silver 10 gram (turned out to be much less clay in gram than advertised on the packet) was a very costly material for what you get (3) $23.29 for 10gm, took a while to arrive to my office. Excited to receive/view the item, opened the small envelope 3x3 manufactured by Art Clay Silver, product of Japan (however the price of the clay is set by Fire Mountain Gems).

I am aware how much 10 gram is (2 teaspoon) when I opened the plastic wrapped of clay, knew right then and there; there's no way it's 10 gram as advertised on the envelope, the clay was not a chunk of clay as I anticipated, it was a smear of mud like material (and not 2 teaspoon, as should be).

Since I've not started my thumbprint necklace project, and knew the clay dries quickly once exposed to air, quickly put the smear of clay (texture was more like peanut butter) on the teaspoon to measure. As expected, it was barely a teaspoon of clay.

Clay $23.29, shipping $5.99 (Oregon to Utah) envelope was super lightweight (postage should have been $1.35 - $1.45 at most), I work for a large corporate company, we've two in-house mail crew, they pick up-sort-add postage to business mail/personal packages so I've an idea how much postage costs; then $1.81 sales tax = $31.09

For a teaspoon metal mud like silver clay, it's very pricey.

I would not be disappointed, had it measured 2 teaspoon (10 gram) for what I paid. This experience makes me wonder if other craft / supply companies that purchase thru various metal clay manufacturing companies in Japan and/or other countries, truly understand what they're buying in the market and reselling.

I will try other craft supply companies, compare prices. For $31 and barely received a teaspoon of clay immediately concluded my decision to be more cautious in the future what I am buying and if worth my dollars.

The name Fire Mountain Gems & Beads sounds impressive, however being my first purchase and experience, I cannot give them a 5...

I came across Fire Mountain while searching for Swarovski hotfix rhinestones. I was immediately drawn into some outstanding deals on discontinued Swarovski merchandise. I did some research and was a little unsure about purchasing due to a seemingly even balance of positive and negative reviews. However, with the discount prices on some items I was interested in being too good to pass up, I decided to do a small, yet inexpensive bulk order. I received a confirmation email quickly, and shipping information a few days later. (I had anticipated this since I put my order in on a Friday and the website clearly stated they were not filling orders on the weekends.) My order arrived in just under two weeks and I was pleased to see the order fulfilled correctly, included a free gift, a coupon for another purchase, as well as having no issues with billing or quality of the products. I have since made a second small order, which arrived in 7 days and again, no issues the entire process.

My only complaints are the high shipping costs, especially for smaller orders and how the 30 piece burr set ordered in the second order was not secure in the case in which it came, so all the burrs were in a disarray and most had come out of the case. Luckily, they package things in closed bags within the padded shipping envelope, so nothing was damaged or missing.

The website can seem daunting at first with the large selection and wide array of quantities available for some things, but you can use the extensive filters to narrow down your search. The website also has great resource articles. Anything from how to clean different materials properly, to instructional guidance on project ideas, to reference and comparison charts. A nice feature is being able to save items for later in your shopping cart for expedited access to products you're considering buying.

Bottom line, I will use them again in the near future for...

QUALITY: Hit or miss, at best. Generally speaking, you could get the same quality from Temu. Almost everything they have comes from China, findings break, often beads arrive damaged and with MUCH less color than pictured.

SHIPPING: They literally throw everything in a zip lock bag, in a box, and then forget about it. I've never received an order that wasn't damaged in some way. Shipping takes forever! Don't order with urgency in mind!

CUSTOMER SERVICE: Given the other issues they have, their customer service just adds insult to injury. They literally pride themselves on their customer service, yet in reality, it is atrocious. Enjoy hours on hold only to be laughed off the phone, literally laughed at, and hung up on. They consistently deny any issues that may have been their fault and will blame you. They lack any and all empathy for small businesses and double charge large orders. They will tell you just to wait 30 days for your money back all while having the ability to rectify the situation, but lacking any desire to resolve even the simplest of issues. If you are fortunate enough to speak to a customer service manager, they will display the source of the agents' terrible attitudes and work ethics. They will promise to send emails, perform tasks, and then ghost you. You will never speak to them again at this point.

PLATINUM CLUB: It's like their drug. They can't not push it on you insistently. Yet they treat you like nothing to them.

Save yourself a headache, money, and time and source your materials elsewhere. The wire they carry is cheaper on the manufacturers site and available in larger quantities, as with many other items. Amazon also has the same quality with free quick shipping. I find cheaper and MUCH higher quality stones, beads, and crystals through US based TikTok sellers at the same and often...