# Shine Art Stone Quality



## dancebling (Jul 14, 2009)

I have been purchasing Shine Art stones for a couple of years now and have been pleased with the quality until recently. I mainly purchase Korean quality stones and cheaper stones for a specific application. The stone quality of the Korean stones in my last two orders is not good. I've noticed, irregualr stones, stones with partial glue, chipped stones and the absolute *worst: GLUE IS SEPARATING FROM THE STONES. *Has anyone else experienced similar issues and a decline in the quality of stones from Shine Art? 

I am curious if it is industry wide. Perhaps the industry demand has led to poor manufacturing quality. I have SEVERAL transfers I had Alibaba suppliers make up for me (including some Chinese suppliers on the forum) and for most of the transfers, the glue is separating from the stones as well, so the transfers are JUNK, as it will take a lot of time to repair the transfers. I did not experience this issue on transfers made 3-4 years ago.

I am looking for a new stone supplier. I know the majority of the TSF members will not divulge rhinestone supplier information, for obvious business reasons. However, I do not plan on re-selling stones, so if I find a good supplier I will share.


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## kingwoo (Mar 22, 2013)

dancebling said:


> I am looking for a new stone supplier. I know the majority of the TSF members will not divulge rhinestone supplier information, for obvious business reasons. However, I do not plan on re-selling stones, so if I find a good supplier I will share.


Hi, Dancebling.
I'm working for a rhinestone manufacturer from China. And from the experience so far, I have to tell you that it is not industry wide that the stones have declining quality, at least not the ones made by us.

I know there r retailers in some places in China sell stones with bad quality. As the price is cheap, they can sell the stones really soon after they buy from other manufacturer. 
In our last market research, we found so many retailers do this and one retailer told us that he had to sell stones really quickly cuz if not, they glues on the back will peal off before they even sell out!

I know because of these no responsible manufacturers, the quality suffers some questioning. But I think as more and more customers like u stop buying these low-quality products just for low price, they will not have so many orders and it will get better finally.

I hope we can make this business purer about helping our customers get fashionable and happy. At last, at least we are trying to do so. And we know there are others like us out there, too.


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## ifusion (Jun 3, 2011)

I usually place an order with SA every month for stones. About 2-3 months ago I was having an issue with chinese siam. Basically glue was separating from the stone leaving a shiny back to the stones... now all stones, but at least 5% of the bag. They told me to send it back. I replaced it with Korean stones. 

About 6 months ago I noticed that some of the ss10 crystal chinese stones had cracks in them, glue was not cleanly cut around the edges and they said you get what you pay for.... meaning, don't bother us for complaints on chinese stones.


I've been using some of their new low lead chinese and they've been good. I've never had a problem with their pellosa or korean stones... 

But overall, for the price and customer service I've had for the last few years, for the small amounts of problems I've had, its worth it.

I'd rather buy locally at those prices then chance an overseas shipment. I've dealt with a few ali-baba people and had mixed results from vendor to vendor.


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## MarStephenson761 (Sep 19, 2011)

Hey All, just from a vendor perspective, we haven't noticed any change at all in stone or glue quality, and ever since we started carrying the larger bags of 200, 500 and 1000 gross for our larger volume customers we get a LOT more stones coming through our warehouse - no change in quality.


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## kingwoo (Mar 22, 2013)

ifusion said:


> I'd rather buy locally at those prices then chance an overseas shipment. I've dealt with a few ali-baba people and had mixed results from vendor to vendor.


Yes, u made quite a point. The after-sale customer service is really hard for us Chinese suppliers. It really is.
Due to the long distance, time difference, different ways of seeing and thinking things, we do experience hard communication with some of our customers before.
I don't know how many Chinese suppliers r going this. But we are now aware of this problem and trying our best to respond better with it. I don't know how far we can do this well, but I'm really happy that we are trying.


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## jasmynn (Sep 16, 2011)

I've been using ShineArt for the past few years. I usually buy Chinese Economy stones from them. Sometimes I purchase the Pallosa depending on the job. Their quality has been great throughout. Every once in a while, I'll get a bad bag. This may have happened twice since I've been a customer. Both times they had me send them a picture of the messed up transfer and accepted the stones back for exchange. So, for the price and quality, I'm good. I just hate that they keep raising their prices!


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## dancebling (Jul 14, 2009)

ifusion said:


> I'd rather buy locally at those prices then chance an overseas shipment. I've dealt with a few ali-baba people and had mixed results from vendor to vendor.


ifusion as I mentioned above - I've dealt with several alibaba vendors also and the quality of stones used in transfers is significantly worse than stones from Shine Art. The recent experiences with Shine Art and Chinese suppliers is what led me to pose the question "is it an industry wide problem". 

I have to believe there are Chinese/Korean suppliers who have good quality stones. After all rhinestones do originate from these areas. The problem is locating one/them.


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## dancebling (Jul 14, 2009)

kingwoo said:


> Hi, Dancebling.
> I know there r retailers in some places in China sell stones with bad quality. As the price is cheap, they can sell the stones really soon after they buy from other manufacturer.
> In our last market research, we found so many retailers do this and one retailer told us that he had to sell stones really quickly cuz if not, they glues on the back will peal off before they even sell out!
> 
> ...


 KlNGWOO l THOUGHT l REPLlED TO YOUR POST.
*EVERY* SUPPLlER CLAlMS GOOD QUALlTY UNTlL THE FlNlSHED PRODUCT SHOWS OTHERWlSE. THE FlRST EXPERlENCE lS UNAVOlDABLE MOST TlMES BUT THE KEY lS NOT MAKE THE SAME MlSTAKE AGAlN . THE OTHER CONSlDERATlON lS WHAT YOUR CUSTOMERS ARE WlLLlNG TO PAY. 
BUT l HAD FlRST HAND EXPERlENCE Wlth A SUPPLlER (UNlFLYlNG) WHlCH DlD TRANSFERS FOR ME. THE TRANSFERS BARELY HELD UP A MONTH BEFORE THE GLUE STARTED TO FALL OFF. WHEN l CONTACTED THE SUPPLlER THEY CONFlRMED THElR TRANSFERS ONLY WERE SUPPOSE TO LAST 3 months!!!


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## jasmynn (Sep 16, 2011)

3 months!!! Wow. Thanks for posting the company. We need to post these companies, so others won't waste time and money.


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## dancebling (Jul 14, 2009)

lTA - Jasmynn . THElR SHOULD BE A THREAD ON "THUMBS DOWN SUPPLlERS", lNCLUDlNG EBAY SELLERS. A FEW YEARS BACK l PURCHASED RHlNESTUDS FROM AN EBAY SELLER. WELL... NOT ONLY DlD THEY NOT LAST A MONTH - THEY WOULD NOT STlCK TO THE GARMENTS. l THREW ALL OF THEM lN THE TRASH AND MADE A PROMlSE TO NEVER PURCHASE STUDS/STONES FROM AN EBAY SELLER AGAlN. l VALUE MY CUSTOMERS AND DON'T WANT THEM COMNG BACK N A VERY SHORT PEROD OF TlME, WlTH lTEMS WlTH MlSSlNG STONES.


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## mfatty500 (Jan 18, 2010)

Dancebling TURN OFF YOUR CAPS LOCK,please


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## dancebling (Jul 14, 2009)

mfatty - would love to - but the letter "i" on my laptop qut functonng ths week.Computer reparman says l need a new keyboard. (l'm usng lower case "L" wth upper case characters to represent the "i" otherwse l would have to paste each l wanted to type an "i".)


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## mfatty500 (Jan 18, 2010)

ok, good enough for me, stone on


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## Stefano (Aug 5, 2013)

Sheesh - so much for my thoughts about expanding into the rhinestone business! I'll stick with glitter flake vinyl until overseas manufacturers realize it's not about selling at the cheapest price to the U.S. market, it's about *quality. I can't imagine the nightmare of fulfilling an expensive customer order only to have the stones falling off a few months later!


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## Eview1 (Apr 29, 2010)

I am so very happy I looked at this thread. I am not experiencing these problems and hope the suppliers I use keep up the good work with quality control. Yes they look at the stones purchased and I appreciate them for it. It is a tedious job but they do it, as do I. Guess its pride in ownership, and wanting to stay in business with a quality product that will weed out those who.. well you know.


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## jasmynn (Sep 16, 2011)

I purchased some rhinestuds locally here in Dallas not to long ago because I ran out. Gold to be exact. Well, I was so mad because the stones would not stick to the shirt, they kept peeling up with the transfer tape. So I took them back and they said that all rhinestuds are cold peel. Which is NOT true because I've been using shinearts studs for years with no problem. As soon as I take it from under the press, I remove the transfer tape. Anyway, I said ok. I did the cold peel. Worked fine, except for when I wanted to replace a few stones, (replaced a few missing stones) repressed, waited for it to cool and they no longer stuck and you could see all the glue still on the shirt where the studs had stuck before. Therefore, you can only press once. So, when you get those cheap studs that won't stick, keep in mind, they are probably cold peel and not worth the trouble.


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## dancebling (Jul 14, 2009)

jasmynn said:


> ... *Worked fine, except for when I wanted to replace a few stones, (replaced a few missing stones) repressed, waited for it to cool and they no longer stuck and you could see all the glue still on the shirt where the studs had stuck before. Therefore, you can only press once. So, when you get those cheap studs that won't stick, keep in mind, they are probably cold peel and not worth the trouble.[/*QUOTE]
> 
> 
> SOMETHlNG WAS GOlNG ON WlTH MY PREVlOUS POST - SO l DELETED. l MlS-READ YOUR POST JASMYNN.
> ...


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## api (Nov 22, 2009)

Just a few remarks:

1.) We are using ShineArt stones for about 5 years now. Placed millions of stones on 100% cotton garments. No falling stones whatsoever, we had no returned shirts yet.

2.) Since the glue is thermoplastic (when it's hot it's running, when it's cold it's solid) the transfers are definitely cold peel. 

3.) Rhinestones and rhinestuds are totally different "animals". While the stone has a relatively large flat surface area under the glue, the stud has a cavity and a VERY NARROW, ring shaped surface on its bottom. If you heat the stud, the glue melts in the cavity and the whole stud sticks to the garment. 

BUT: 

If you overheat or reheat the studs, the glue can deeply penetrate into the garment's material, leaving the stud's cavity almost empty. You will end up with the narrow ring only as an adhesive surface. Your studs can (and will) fall off easily.


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## jasmynn (Sep 16, 2011)

I stick with shineart. I have none of those problems. I can hot peel both stones and studs. I can repress and many times as necessary. Stones stick to shirt every time. No complaints from customers.


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## kingwoo (Mar 22, 2013)

dancebling said:


> KlNGWOO l THOUGHT l REPLlED TO YOUR POST.
> *EVERY* SUPPLlER CLAlMS GOOD QUALlTY UNTlL THE FlNlSHED PRODUCT SHOWS OTHERWlSE. THE FlRST EXPERlENCE lS UNAVOlDABLE MOST TlMES BUT THE KEY lS NOT MAKE THE SAME MlSTAKE AGAlN . THE OTHER CONSlDERATlON lS WHAT YOUR CUSTOMERS ARE WlLLlNG TO PAY.
> BUT l HAD FlRST HAND EXPERlENCE Wlth A SUPPLlER (UNlFLYlNG) WHlCH DlD TRANSFERS FOR ME. THE TRANSFERS BARELY HELD UP A MONTH BEFORE THE GLUE STARTED TO FALL OFF. WHEN l CONTACTED THE SUPPLlER THEY CONFlRMED THElR TRANSFERS ONLY WERE SUPPOSE TO LAST 3 months!!!


Dancebling --- Didn't read your reply until now and didn't expect it arises so many replies, either.

Stones falling is really a harsh problem for everyone. And since I'm located in China, I know there are these bad manufacturers and they are still selling these low quality stones. 
Me, I'm worried about it, too. The more they sell all over the globe, the more serious they'll harm the whole industry. But can't do anything but to carefully avoid the similar bad quality raw materials. 

As I saw others replied that he/she had planed to step in rhinestone industry but quit on seeing what we are talking about here. It worries me more. I know for each single rhinestone supplier of us, we are competitors to each other and of course hope fewer people competing with us. But if there are fewer good and smart people in the industry other than more, it is not a good omen because: "SEE, get far away from it if you are smart. " It means the industry does suffer from the trust crisis. 

In my heart, I agree with that who said we should have that kind of shares where more people could know who provides bad products. As these suppliers get fewer orders, they may disappear in the end. But this is not an easy job as to make a list like this can be a nightmare and disaster if we do it wrong. And how to decide if a supplier is a bad one? According to that it sells falling stones for only once? Within how long? 3 months? Or longer? And how many falling stones can decide a bad supplier? 1? or 10? as a slightly falling is durable in a quality test. 
And who is to report the bad quality? If there is no standard and justice in complaint reporting, it will get even worse considering those who have ulterior motives.


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## dancebling (Jul 14, 2009)

KlNGWOO - l AM OF THE BELlEF THAT THE ONLY WAY TO CONVEY A MESSAGE TO A BUSlNESS - lS lMPACT SALES (POSlTlVELY OR NEGATlVELY). SO l AGREE WlTH YOU ON REDUClNG SALES TO SUPPLlERS WHO ARE KNOWN TO PRODUCE BAD PRODUCTS

l DON'T BELlEVE THE lDEA lS FOR THE FORUM/MEMBERS TO CLASSlFY A SUPPLlER BAD, FOR REASONS YOU MENTlONED. BUT RATHER FOR MEMBERS TO SHARE *THElR PERSONAL EXPERlENCES/OPlNONS* WlTH A SUPPLlER. 

BASED ON POSTS, MEMBERS CAN MAKE THElR OWN ASSESSMENT. lF THERE ARE SEVERAL NEGATlVE EXPERlENCES ASSOCATED WTH THE SAME SUPPLlER(S), lT MAY BE FAlR TO ASSUME SUPPLlER lS NOT SO GOOD. 

lDEA lS NOT MUCH DlFFERENT THAN WHEN MEMBERS POST POSlTlVE COMMENTS OR RECOMMENDATlONS ABOUT A SUPPLlER.


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## kingwoo (Mar 22, 2013)

I agree with you on sharing personal purchase experience. It's just not everyone like to or have the time to do the typing. I'm actually doing the customer service in our company but customers just buy rhinestone transfers but not very fond of feedbacks. 



I am looking forward to more people will join you sharing their experience. Good or bad. Both will give us more instruction to keep doing good or improve to be better.


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