![[Most Recent Quotes from www.kitco.com]](http://kitconet.com/charts/metals/silver/t24_ag_en_usoz_2.gif)
24 hour $US Dollar price per ounce.
![[Most Recent Quotes from www.kitco.com]](http://www.kitco.com/LFgif/ag0365nys.gif)
1 Year Silver Price.
7/20/2010: FedEx Switch
In early August, we will be switching to FedEx as our primary shipping provider.
We greatly appreciate all the customer feedback we received via our recent shipping survey.
We have outlined new rates and answers on FAQs.
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6/9/2010: Chain Supply Notice
This week a major world chain manufacturer suddenly closed its doors due to the recession.
We use many other chain sources; however, their departure will cause a supply gap across the
entire industry for the foreseeable future. We anticipate severe shortages of many footage chain
styles as the market struggles to absorb the demand that this manufacturer supplied. Shortages
will most likely intensify through the holiday season since remaining chain suppliers will not
have time to add new production capacity in the next three months. We are rapidly remerchandising
the items directly affected by this closure and will substitute the closest chains we can find under
the same stock numbers. We will note these changes as soon as they occur and you will start to
notice variance from the stock you are accustomed to receiving for many items. Prices will most
likely increase as we switch some items to new sources. We recommend stocking heavily on chain until
this situation improves. Lead times and stock outs will be longer than they have ever been before
so you may need to be flexible and look at close alternatives instead of waiting for items to come
in. This will be a difficult period for everyone in the trade. The closed factory was one of the
biggest and best chain manufacturers in the business. They will be truly missed. We apologize for
the inconvenience and will do our best to minimize supply disruptions and communicate with our
clients as the situation develops. Thank you for understanding.
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5/18/2010: New Flat Rates on Orange 3-Day and Blue 2-Day UPS Shipping
A huge thank you to all who responded to our shipping survey. We are still evaluating complete
results to adapt our shipping services to current customer needs. However, we are able to immediately
begin offering flat rates on some UPS express services based on overwhelming customer demand.
Flat rates are available on packages up to 3 pounds. Heavier packages will be charged the list
rates by weight and address.
Orange 3-Day flat rates vary between $14 - $17 depending on your state. Blue 2-Day flat rates
vary between $16 - $22 depending on your state. We cannot offer flat rates on Red Next Day service
at this time because rates vary too widely depending on delivery addresses and package weights.
We hope you find flat rates helpful when choosing a shipping method. Thank you for your feedback.
These flat rates are a direct result of your input!
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5/10/2010: Huge Gold Filled Price Cut!
We are pleased to announce aggressive price cuts from 5%-15% on thirty of our most popular 12/20
gold-filled wholesale beads and findings. These
prices are effective immediately and cover several plain rounds, crimps, crimp covers and small tubes.
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4/15/2010: New Smaller Pack Sizes & Reduced Wire Minimum
We heard you! ~Based on customer demand and persistent high metals markets we have reduced
our minimum pack sizes on several hundred items. We will also allow
bulk wire orders of 1/2 ounce
per item when the market fix for gold is above $900 and silver is above $16 respectively.
Our minimum order is still $100 but you can now buy smaller quantities of many products.
For example, our sterling letter cubes are now sold by the piece
(just in time for Mothers Day).
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4/15/2010: Digital Sales Sheets
We have officially made the switch into the digital era. All new product sales sheets
released between catalog publications will now be sent to customers as PDF files for
download attached to this quarterly newsletter. We will no longer print sales sheets
as package inserts. However, rest assured that we have no plans to stop publishing our
printed annual catalog each year. This change only applies to interim product releases.
Please remember that we always upload new items to our website as soon as they are available.
You can easily search for items added since a certain date by visiting our
Brand New section
online.
Check out this quarter's
New Jewelry Supply Items PDF!
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4/15/2010: New Jewelry Supply Items
Please view our sales sheet for images and pricing on the following new items. The sales
sheet PDF shows pricing at $16.79 Silver and $1093.00 Gold Market Value.
- CRYSTALLIZED Swarovski Elements: New Colors & Pendants
- Gunmetal Chain
- Leather Cord by the Meter
- Sterling findings and charms
- Woven Cable Necklaces
- and more...
Download: April 2010 Sales Sheet (1.3MB PDF)
Or, you can see the new items on our online shopping cart
Brand New section.
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4/15/2010: New Bridal Jewelry Design Tools
We are proud to announce the launch of a new, improved section in our Jewelry Design Tools. Check out our
bridesmaid jewelry making
inspiration boards complete with jewelry design ideas and product listings. This section also
features a color selector
for choosing wholesale crystal beads to complement bridesmaid apparel. Check it out for use with
your bridal party design commissions.
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4/15/2010: Grant Deadline Approaches
The June deadline is coming up for our 2010 Jewelry Design Business Development Grant
competition. See the grant section of
our website for more details.
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4/15/2010: New Blog: The Post-Recession Jewelry Market
Check out our jewelry blog
to read an opinion piece on how the recession is changing the industry landscape.
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4/15/2010: Website Improvement Launch
In late January we launched several new features on our website. Feedback has been
fantastic as customers can now order more efficiently and find items more easily. Here
are some of the most exciting new site elements:
Brand New Items are
now searchable by date. Enter the month when you last visited the section at the top of the
page and the site will return all items added since that date.
Streamlined Checkout Process. We have halved the number of clicks it takes to add items
to your shopping cart and complete the average order. This means faster ordering for
customers and more time for other things.
Out of Stock Information and Options. Items are flagged on the website when they are out
of stock so you can select an alternative or make other arrangements. The shopping cart
now also allows you to designate backordered items if you wish to do so for lines over $30.
Sort Product Pages. You can now sort the items within a product category by price instead
of the standard item number alphabetization. Find options that meet your budget more easily.
New Clearance Section Layout. The Clearance Section now features a drop down menu to limit
the items shown according to material class.
More Changes Coming Soon! We will be rolling out new enhancements throughout 2010 to improve
your experience at www.HalsteadBead.com.
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4/15/2010: Argentium Update
Argentium finding production has not yet resumed after the mill licensing switch at the
end of March. Manufacturers are still working out material supply before they can begin
production again. We have some stock remaining on most of our
Argentium findings
and are hoping to figure out replacement sourcing by the end of the summer.
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4/15/2010: Upcoming Price Increases
We have received substantial price increase notices from several
sterling silver and
gold filled chain footage
manufacturers and our
ziplock bag
manufacturer. We will be raising prices accordingly in May on many chain
items and in July on ziplock bags. Order now to stock up on footage jewelry chain styles
at current pricing while supplies last. Backorders will not receive rain check pricing.
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4/15/2010: Celebrating 37 Years
We recently celebrated our 37th year in business. Thanks to all our clients and
colleagues who have made this anniversary possible. We are grateful for your business
and your support. We look forward to serving you for another 37 years or more!
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2/17/2010: Argentium Update
Argentium has announced that mill product will now be produced in the United States by several
different alloy mills. In an extremely unusual move, Argentium is apparently granting exclusive
production rights to one mill for casting grain, another mill for sheet goods and possibly a third
mill for wire. This division of raw material production raises many questions as to the logistical
and financial feasibility of sourcing the three types of raw material necessary for findings
manufacturing. Traditionally, manufacturers could source all types of mill product from a single
producer. Having to use 2-3 raw material suppliers will increase the cost and time involved in
manufacturing.
Furthermore, to date, Argentium has only announced the mill for casting grain. It will announce
suppliers for sheet and wire in March after the previous major Argentium mill in the US ceases
production. It is not clear how long the gap will be in material supply as a result. While mill
products will be available in the market, findings manufacturers cannot plan past March for
production because Argentium is not announcing the mills involved or disclosing their pricing
structure, terms of sale, volume requirements, etc.
At Halstead Bead, we will make every attempt to continue sourcing findings in Argentium from
factories here in the USA and in Europe. However, these factories are all still saying they cannot
plan a production line until March when all information is available. It is unlikely that we will
source Argentium wire and sheet unless the mills granted exclusive rights are mills we already work
with. Otherwise, the relatively small volumes involved in Argentium wire products would make the
pricing on the line prohibitive.
We are frustrated by the lack of information and clarity of Argentium communications to date. We
currently have stock available for 22 out of the 28 Argentium findings we carry. We are stocking
up on the line to try to bridge any gap in supply to the extent possible. Please continue to check
Facebook or the News page on our website for further announcements as more information becomes
available. Thank you for your patience.
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1/25/2010: Argentium Notice
The primary manufacturer of Argentium findings, beads and mill products in the USA has announced
that they will stop producing the alloy and all associated goods in March of this year. Most
secondary manufacturers of Argentium products in North America source the alloy from this mill
so we expect significant supply disruptions late this spring. We are researching alternative
overseas suppliers of Argentium products but it is unlikely that we will have replacement supply
in place on such short notice. We are not certain that we will ever be able to replicate our
current selection. We will post updates on our website, Facebook and Twitter as more information
becomes available. In the meantime, we recommend that those requiring Argentium components stock
heavily prior to early March when production will stop. We share your frustration with this
situation and offer our sincere apologies for the bad news.
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1/25/2010: CRYSTALLIZED Swarovski Elements 6202 Heart Change
Swarovski has announced that it will be upgrading the facet configuration on the 6202 Heart Pendant
series. This design change will phase over just like the recent bicone series switch. The new product
code will be 6228. The website will show the currently available style.
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1/21/2010: New Halstead Bead Website!
Welcome to Halstead Bead's new corporate website! This updated software includes many aesthetic
and navigational improvements. Shoppers are able to sort product groups by price, stock number or
description. More improvements to the system will roll out over the course of 2010.
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