I am sure I will stir a pot here (again), but I feel compelled to share my experience and opinion.
When we started down this road several years ago, we hit all the local shows (GLW, etc), went to Tucson, and of course all the big online sites from Fire Mountain to Rio Grande. Then I found, in my own backyard, an incredible PARTNER in succiess. I met Raj and Geeta from Eagle International (beadwholesaler.com) and was impressed with the "We care about your business" attitude. We quickly started buying all of our Silver, GF, and Swarovski from them. I firmly believe that knowing that the price is always fair, the communication straightforward, and the constant attitude that they are there to serve you and help you grow your business is in many ways responsible for our success. Unlike the "Big Boys", they truly care about you, and will spend the time to insure that you are getting what you need, when you need it. Advice is always there, and we have bounced several ideas off of them, and that has also saved us money. If someone came along and beat their price on Wire by $1 per ounce or Factory Packs by $3, I would pass. Relationships in business matter. Once you have one, it is invaluable. If you are buying jewelry supplies from a nameless website or source, I suggest you find a partner in your success. Whether it is Raj, Geeta and team at Eagle/BeadWholesaler or someone else that will a facilitator in your growth, it really does make a difference. I have even encouraged BeadWholesaler to advertise on this forum, and they are!
