• Make Your Own Beaded Jewellery

• Choose Specialty Beads

• Find Loose Beads on eBay Australia

• Buy Loose Beads With Confidence

• Need More Help?

• Legal Disclaimer

Make Your Own Beaded Jewellery

Make Your Own Beaded Jewellery

To put together a basic jewellery-making supply kit, consider the the type of jewellery you would like to create. You may want:

• Loose beads: Choose a variety of loose beads in various sizes. Although you’ll save a lot of money if you purchase beads by the mass (1 mass equals 1,200 beads) in one size, you’ll often find them online in much smaller quantities. Also buy spacers that fit between your primary beads. 

• Jewellery wire: Wire is available in various gauges, or diameters. You can start by stocking it with 18G (1mm), 20G (0.8mm) and 22G (0.65mm) inexpensive practice jewellery wire. The higher the number of the gauge, the thinner the wire.    

• Findings: Select findings, which are the metal parts that fit to and hold or attach a gemstone or bead. Findings include pins (pre-cut lengths of wire) such as a head pins (stopper) or eye pin (loop), any type of necklace or bracelet clasp, and earring parts, posts, clutches (the backs of post earrings), and clip closures.    

• Pliers and cutters: Ensure you have the right tools to open and close loops to attach clasps. A good pair of bent chain nose pliers makes it easy to grasp and open or close a loop by turning it to the side so that you can slide your cord in and secure it. You may also want a good pair of round nose pliers and a flush cutter for cutting wire.

There are a plethora of ways to make your own jewellery and many jewellery-making books to get you started. When starting out, look for those that cover beginning techniques. Below are some basic techniques:

• Learn to make basic loops: Twisting wire into basic loops is one of the most used skills in jewellery-making. The most common loops are the "P" loop, which looks like the letter P, and the "Eye" loop.    

• Wrap your beads: Create wire coils to wrap around your beads.

• Create illusion jewellery: Create the illusion that your beads are floating on your wire or cord by gluing them. A simple way to achieve the effect is to place your beads on your cord where you want them and mark the location on a bead board by clamping a haemostat next to each bead, then simply applying glue inside each bead hole and allowing it to dry thoroughly.

Choose Specialty Beads

Choose Specialty Beads

Some of the more unique types of loose beads include:

• Handmade lampworking beads: Lampwork beads, often called “glass-blowing beads”, form when a high-temperature torch melts raw glass and forms it into shapes.    

• Gemstone beads: Craft makers and gemstone lovers enjoy the vast array of colours, shapes, sizes, and “mystical properties” that gemstone beads and semi-precious gemstones such as turquoise beads add to their art. Be sure you know what you’re buying. Many gemstones are heated, dyed, or fractured-filled to enhance colour and smoothness. The more expensive varieties are often crafted in briolette (teardrop-shaped) style.

• Vintage glass beads: Many vintage glass beads are from Germany, Japan, or Italy. Often, they’re handmade and are hard to find. Their beauty and uniqueness means most bead lovers have a special place in their hearts reserved for vintage glass beads.      

• Antique beads: Antique beads can create beautiful accents on the jewellery you create. While some beads are antique, other beads are newly made with an antique style. Some brands come in smaller sizes from 15/0 to 24/0; these require ultra-thin (and increasingly rare) beading needles size 15 and up.      

• Swarovski crystal beads: Swarovski-cut, Austrian crystals are often considered the best beads in the world. These high-brilliance leaded-crystal beads are named for the 19th century Bohemian man who developed a machine to cut glass, which was formerly cut by hand.    

• Seed beads: Use seed beads for embroidery and weaving. These minuscule, ovular beads are created from bits and pieces of drawn glass.      

• Craft beads: Craft beads, used for arts and crafts projects, can also make good beadwork objects.

Find Loose Beads on eBay Australia

Find Loose Beads on eBay Australia

Once you know what type of loose beads you want, go to the Jewellery, Gems & Watches portal, click Loose Beads, and start searching for items on eBay Australia.

• Categories: The Categories list on the left side of each page will help you narrow down your listings by item type. You'll find links for Acrylic, Crystal, Gemstones, Glass, Lampwork, Metal, Pearls and more. As you dig deeper into the site you'll be able to further narrow down your choices by subcategory.    

• Keyword search: Search eBay Australia listing titles for specific words. For example, if you want to find blue beads made of crystal, type "blue crystal beads" (without quotation marks) into the Search box. Click "Search title and description" to expand your results. Visit eBay Australia's Search Tips page for more tips on searching with keywords.

If you can't find exactly what you want, try shopping eBay Stores, tell the eBay Australia Community what you want by creating a post on Want It Now, or save a search on My eBay and eBay Australia will email you when a match becomes available. You can also find bead supplies in the Crafts category on eBay Australia.

Buy Loose Beads With Confidence

Buy Loose Beads With Confidence

Before making your purchase, make sure you know exactly what you're buying, research your seller, and understand how eBay Australia and PayPal protect you.

Know your purchase

Carefully read the details in item listings.

• Figure delivery costs into your final price. If you spend a lot of money, make sure the seller will insure the item when it ships.

• If you want more information, ask by clicking the "Ask seller a question" link under the seller's profile.

• Always make sure to complete your transaction on eBay Australia (with a bid, Buy It Now, or Best Offer). Transactions conducted outside of eBay Australia are not covered by eBay Australia protection programs.

• Never pay for your eBay Australia item using instant cash wire transfer services through Western Union or MoneyGram. These payment methods are unsafe when paying someone you do not know.

Know your seller

Research your seller so you feel positive and secure about every transaction.

• What is the seller's Feedback rating? How many transactions have they completed? What percentage of positive responses do they have?

• What do buyers say in their Feedback? Did the seller receive praise?

• Most top eBay Australia sellers operate like retail stores and have return policies. Do they offer a money-back guarantee? What are the terms and conditions?

Buyer protection

In the unlikely event that a problem arises during your transaction, eBay Australia and PayPal are there for you.

• Pay safely with PayPal: PayPal enables you to pay without the seller ever seeing your bank account or credit card numbers. In fact, PayPal protects buyers 100% against unauthorised payments from their accounts. Plus, with PayPal Buyer Protection, your purchase can be covered up to $1,500.

• eBay Australia Security & Resolution Centre: Visit the Security & Resolution Centre to learn how to protect your account and use eBay Australia's quick and efficient resolution tools.

Need More Help?

Need More Help?

Visit our help pages or start a thread on one of our Community Discussion Boards - If you have a quick question that needs answering, try posting it on our community Answer Centre - there's bound to be a seasoned eBay Australia veteran with just the information you're looking for!  

Legal Disclaimer

Legal Disclaimer

Buying Guides are intended merely as a guide or review for members when considering what products or services they may be interested in bidding on or purchasing. eBay does not make, and nothing in these Buying Guides is intended to constitute, any warranties, guarantees, representations or assurances about the accuracy of the information or content contained in these Buying Guides. Furthermore, eBay does not make, and nothing in these Buying Guides is intended to constitute, any warranties, guarantees, representations or assurances about the nature or performance of the products or services appearing in the Buying Guides. eBay is not affiliated with nor does it endorse the use of any particular product or service.