Buy the Beads, or Buy the Kit??

I read a most interesting article a couple days ago on Beading Daily, about the merits of purchasing a kit of beads for a tutorial, versus hunting down all the individual beads needed for yourself. The article mentioned several benefits, including time savings, not having to own and store leftover extra beads, one stop shopping, and cost.

Maybe it makes a difference if you already own a huge number of beads.  I certainly do, but I also find several $20 - $50 trips to the bead store are part of every project I undertake.  It seems no matter how many I have, the right one is missing.

I ran a little test this evening, on my most recent kit.   The kit for "Rose Hips" is very complex, with 20 different beads involved, some of which are discontinued by the manufacturer.  Holy cow, it was a LOT of counting and weighing!

In my test, I pretended I was a beader in my own city, with access to two great local bead stores with large inventory, were I do most of my shopping.   I used retail pricing for what I hope is the smallest packaging available, and shopped locally, at the fewest possible stops.  I did order a few things online, but did not count the shipping costs.

I expected that the kit, at $60, would likely cost about the same as the beads, and other supplies included in the kit.  But boy was I wrong.  Purchased separately, the beads cost more than twice as much, $141.84.

Material	Name	Grams or Pcs per Kit	Source	Packaged Amount	Cost
A Dark  Bead	Aiko #617	3.50	Bobby Bead	14  gr Tube	8.65
B Dark Bead	Miyuki # 306 Transparent Luster Olive Gold 11/0	4.50	Stormcloud Trading	30 gr Tube	6.95
C Bead All Colors	Miyuki  # 465 24k Gold 15/0	1.80	Stormcloud Trading	10 gram Tube	21.95
D Bead Dk & Med	Miyuki #143B Transparent Olivene 15/0	0.80	Stormcloud Trading	30 gr Tube	2.75
E Bead Dark	Toho #167 Olive Green Matte Metallic 8/0	2.50	Bobby Bead	14 gr Box	4.50
E Rainbow  w/E	Too #2631F Glazed Rainbow Iguana 8/0	2 pcs	Bobby Bead	14 gr Box	4.50	Only 2 pieces needed
Aa Bead Medium	Delica #1135 Opaque Dk Olive	2.20	Stormcloud Trading	5 gr Tube	2.75
Bb Bead Medium	Toho #1007 Metallic Lined Olive Luster 11/0	4.20	Bobby Bead	14 gr Tube	3.25	Discontinued
Ee Bead Medium	Miyuki #411 Dark Olive 8/0	1.30	Stormcloud Trading	30 gr Tube	2.75
Aaa Bead Light	Aiko #1610F Moss Matte Opaque	1.30	Bobby Bead	5 gr Box	11.50
Bbb Bead Light	Matsuno #356H Lined Rainbow Olivene/Tan	2.50	Stormcloud Trading	30 gr Tube	2.95
Ddd Bead Light	Beads By Dee Unknown Peridot Transparent 15/0	0.20	Beads by Dee	15 gr Box	2.00	Guesstimated cost
Eee Bead Light	Toho #2011 Ancient Light Green Matte Opaque 8/0	1.50	Bobby Bead	14 gr Box	3.85
F Coral	9x5 Rice Coral	17 pcs	Bobby Bead	50 piece Strand	10.00	Special ordered
G Rondelles	Red Czech Rondel	11 pcs	Bobby Bead	100 piece Strand	3.15
H Stringing 6/0 Dk	Toho #617 Olive Green Metallic Matte 6/0	12 pcs	Bobby Bead	14 gr Box	4.90
J 6mm Czech FP	Unknown Color	16 pcs	Papio Gems	25 piece Strand	1.00	Discontinued
K Miyuki 11/0 24K	Miyuki  #191 24k Gold 11/0	40 pcs	Caravan Beads	5 gr Tube	11.25
L 4mm Czech FP	4mm Czech Olivine Snakeskin Fire Polish	8 pcs	Prairie Flower Beads	50 piece Strand	4.00
M Czech Drop	Czech Drop Bead 5x8	12 pcs	Prairie Flower Beads	0.12	7.00	Discontinued
Clasp	Gold Plate Toggle & Loop	1 set	Stormcloud Trading	Pkg of 10 sets	2.95
4 Soldered Rings	4mm Soldered Ring Gold Plated	2 pcs	Stormcloud Trading	Pkg of 10 pcs	2.25
4x6 Oval Jump R	4x6mm Oval Jump Rings	4 pcs	Stormcloud Trading	Pkg of 100 pcs	3.95
Nylon Core	Stren 50# Test	12"	E-Bay	100 yd Spool	3.99	Limited Supply
Thread	One-G Thread	1 spool	Bobby Bead	50 yd Spool	3.75
Spring Clamp	Beadalon Bead Stoppers	2 pcs	Amazon	20 piece pkg	13.95
				Total Materials Cost	141.84

Now there were two big ticket items, the spring clamps, and the 15/0 24k gold plated Miyuki rocailles.  But even if we assume that I could have found either or both in smaller quantity, the kit is still looking like a great deal.  Also, there are sales at Bobby Bead, so if I didn't mind waiting for what I needed to go on sale, and buying some this week, and some more the next, money could be saved.

Substituting beads would be a challenge, because the hues and values in the leaves are pretty tightly controlled and each one depends on the others.  I did many samples to come up with combinations that worked.

Just to illustrate the point...

And then, there's the fact that some of the beads in the kit have been discontinued by the manufacturer, making them a challenge to hunt down and purchase.

Note to self, before deciding to write a tutorial, and kit a project, it might be best to have everything needed on hand.  Sigh, learning curve.  Perhaps simpler would be best, but as a designer, this is what I like to do.

SO...  before you think kits are expensive, and before you think you can find everything you need for yourself, consider my little test above.  It surprised me.  Did it surprise you too?