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To my fellow bead store owners:

 I’m finally fed up with Fire Mountain.  I’ve been a faithful customer of theirs since I first started making and selling jewelry 13 years ago. 

This spring I had a couple of phone calls from MJ wherein she threatened to take away my Platinum Status because I wasn’t buying enough product.  I told her that their new pricing structure makes it difficult for me, as a bead store owner, to place orders. It used to be that I could order 10 packages of headpins, for example, and get the best price on them.  That gave me an edge over my customers who buy from them. I was able to mark up my findings so that customers who needed headpins, would rather pay a little bit more at my store than to buy a package of 100 from Fire Mountain and then pay shipping.

 The new pricing structure forces me to buy 200 items every time I place an order. This makes ordering difficult because I can no longer just phone in my order from my ordering sheets. Instead, I have to use the website to keep track of how many items I have so I can get to the 200 item minimum.  It makes no difference whether I’m buying one package of 1000 pieces or one package of 100 pieces.  The package counts as one item.

 Also, sales have been slow since the first of this year. That and the pain-in-the-butt ordering system has made my purchases from Fire Mountain drop. Obviously Fire Mountain is feeling the pinch which explains repeated phone calls and e-mails from MJ.

 After a discussion about my concerns this spring, MJ called me back and said that my Platinum Status had been renewed.  The advantage of the Platinum Membership is that you don’t have to order 200 items every time you place an order, and you still get the best price.

 Last week I got another phone call from MJ. She told me that because I haven’t ordered $5000 this year, my Platinum Status would end at the end of October.

 Well, I’m putting Fire Mountain on notice that I’m revoking THEIR Platinum status with ME!  I’m tired of having my arm twisted.  None of my other suppliers require minimum orders from their bead store customers.  They understand that when we need product, we need it now. We don’t have time to fool around shopping their websites in an effort to pad our orders to get up to their minimum.

 As I’ve told MJ in the past, I do bead store consulting and I send a lot of business to Fire Mountain.  So far this year, I’ve helped 9 bead stores open up.    Up to this point, I’ve been giving my clients pre-printed opening orders for Fire Mountain for plated beads and findings, gem stones, fresh water pearls and seed beads. The total cost of these opening orders is $2490 (not including shipping).  Multiplied by 9, that comes to
$22,410.

 I have other sources for all of Fire Mountain’s products.  Up to now, I’ve ordered from Fire Mountain out of habit.  And Fire Mountain used to make it so easy to place orders that there was no reason to shop anywhere else.  So, dear friends, I am spending the rest of this week putting together revised ordering sheets for all my other suppliers so that Fire Mountain will no longer get any business from me and my clients.

 Enough is enough.

 I’m tired of Fire Mountain aggressively going after the retail market. As a bead store owner, it’s hard enough to compete with all the wholesalers selling to the retail public at wholesale prices. It’s hard enough to compete with the big hobby stores like Michael’s and Hobby Lobby.  I’ll be damned if I’ll give Fire Mountain one more penny of my money.

 So, please call if you have questions. If you can’t wait to receive my revised ordering sheets, call me and I’ll tell you where to buy your plated findings, stones and seed beads and pearls.

 Cheri Haug
Gossamer Wings Beads
608-386-5998 cell