Our Customer Service Promise

We are most definitely here to help and as we outlined on our About Us page we are extremely keen to provide the same friendly and informative service that you would expect from a walk in bead shop . . . and that is stil the case even if things have gone slightly awry. So if you need our assistance then do not hesitate to get in touch.

FInding What You Want . . .

You can find the products you want by

• Using our Search Tool found in the top right hand corner of every page on the site. Simply enter a keyword or a full or partial product code, click the magnifing glass, and your results will be displayed. Your search results will return either individual product items, if they fall under a single category, or a block of Category Headings, allowing you to refine your search before viewing the results. Simply use the tick boxes at the bottom of each Category Heading to select the category areas you would like to view and then click Search Selected Categories. If you are only interested in one category simply click the relevant Category Heading.

• Navigating through the top level Category Headings found on the Home page and drillling down through the different layers to the item you are looking for. This will give you a good idea of the beads, chain, charms, crystals, findings gemstones, pearls, pendants, tools, and other components and products that we stock within any given category area.

• Viewing our New Stock page. If you are a regular visitor to our online bead shop and you are already familiar with our products you may just want to scroll through the items that we have added in the last week.

In all cases you can use the Project Tray facility to store and view your selections prior to placing an order. This will give you the opportunity to see how items might sit side by side in your finished project. You can add an item to the Project Tray simply by clicking the Add To Project Tray button found to the left of each product item. You can then return to your original search by selecting the Continue Shopping button or selecting the Back button on your browser. Once you have gathered all the items you are interested in within the Project Tray you can then take advantage of the Add All Items to your Bead Basket to place your order.

Likewise, you can view full Product Details and enlarge images of any product you are interested in by clicking on a Product Image which will take you to the Product Details page, from here you can read a full Product Description including stock levels and pricing, look at related or Similar Products, and zoom into the image to look at the finer detail.

But What I Really Would Like Is . . .

Have you got your heart set on a bead or component in a particular colour, size, shape or material but you cannot find it on Big Bead Little Bead? Or are you simply looking for a greater quantity than you can find in stock on our site? Then please let us know and we will be happy to work with you to supply you with exactly what you need. Please E-mail Us or use our Contact Us page and we will get back to you the same day. Though for our Vintage offerings, please bear in mind that it may be that little bit harder to track something down for you!

What About Postage Costs . . .

To keep things simple postage costs are based on a flat rate determined by your order value and your location:

For the United Kingdom – England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland (First Class Post)

• For orders up to £30 – postage is £1.50
• For orders up to £50 – postage is £2.25
• For orders up to £100 – postage is £2.95
• For orders over £100 – postage is FREE

For European countries including the Republic Of Ireland (Royal Mail Airmail)

• For orders up to £30 – postage is £2.50
• For orders up to £50 – postage is £3.95
• For orders up to £100 – postage is £5.00
• For orders over £100, postage is charged at cost up to a maximum of £15. Please note that there will be a default charge of £15 applied to your order at time of payment processing. Once your order has been packaged up and weighed, Big Bead Little Bead will credit you for any difference in postage cost.

For USA (Royal Mail Airmail)

• For orders up to £30 – postage is £4.50
• For orders up to £50 – postage is £7.95
• For orders up to £100 – postage is £10.00
• For orders over £100 postage is charged at cost up to a maximum of £20. Please note that there will be a default charge of £20 applied to your order at time of payment processing. Once your order has been packaged up and weighed, Big Bead Little Bead will credit you for any difference in postage cost.

• For all other destinations please contact us for pricing.

This information can also be found in your Bead Basket, but for full details relating to postage and the finer detail around placing orders please visit our Terms & Conditions page.

Are My Payment Details Safe?

We take internet security very seriously and ensure any information you supply to us is safeguarded. All credit card and Paypal transactions are encrypted and processed on a secure server by Worldpay and Streamline. For piece of mind when you place your order you will notice that the start of the website address changes from http: to https: confirming that the transaction is being encrypted. We accept:

Where Is My Order?

If you’ve having difficulty ordering, or you would like to check up on how your order is progressing, please E-mail Us or use our Contact Us page and we will get back to you the same day. If you want to speak to us in person then please phone us on +44 (0)1462 438233. We generally despatch your order the same day that we receive it and send a notification email when you place your order, and send a second once your order has been despatched. So if you haven’t heard from us within this time frame then please do get in touch.

Should there be a problem with your order when it arrives, then please get in contact straight away so that we have the opportunity to help resolve the problem quickly and efficiently for you. Good customer service is as important to us as the quality of our beads, and as such we would like you to rate us on both our day to day service as well as our response on the rare occasions when unexpected problems do arise. To our mind customer service levels should be consistently high throughout.

Gremlins In The Machine

If you are having problems using our website, or if there appear to be technical issues, please E-mail Us or use our Contact Us page and we will get back to you the same day. If the problem persists we will happily process your order manually by E-mail or phone.

Printed Catalogue

Being an online only bead store we have decided not to produce a catalogue as it would fall out of date too quickly and be very difficult to maintain. Our website is updated on a daily basis with the addition of new products and the removal of items that have sold out, particularly in our vintage and one-off ranges where replacements may be hard to come by. In turn this gives us the freedom to dynamically alter our product range as well as our pricing through online promotions, and it means that the cost of producing a printed catalogue is not passed on to you via our product pricing.

General Queries

If there is anything else that you would like to know, or that we might be able to help with further, then please either E-mail Us or use our Contact Us page at any time and we will get back to you the same day, or alternatively call +44 (0)1462 438233 Monday to Saturday 9.00am to 5.30pm. We can also be followed through the main social media sites:

            

Are you a Beadmaker?

Big Bead Little Bead has a number of artist bead makers who currently offer their beads and components through our website, and following the success of this niche section of our site, we are always looking to expand our artist made range of products. To do this we need you!

We are very keen to hear from artisans and small scale independent beadmakers working with any manner of materials and techniques, who may already be marketing their designs, or simply want to test the waters. If you are interested you can read more in our guide to becoming a Big Bead Little Bead Artist Bead Maker.

Do you run or belong to a Bead Club or Bead Group?

BigBeadLittleBead is keen to get in touch with bead clubs and bead groups throughout the UK with a view to maintaining a comprehensive list of these social gatherings. Our List of UK Beading Groups is already fairly long but we are certain there are more of you out there! In return for your details we will be offering a special discount voucher for all the members of your group or club. Please help us to update our list by E-mailing Us or by using our Contact Us page.