• Are you using a Mac or a Windows machine (or something else)? Each platform tends to render colors differently.

• What color bit-depth is your computer set to? If it is set to 16 colors, you are absolutely not seeing the correct colors. If you are viewing at 256 colors, you might be seeing something close. If you are viewing at more than 256 colors, you have the best chance of viewing colors correctly.

• What are the brightness and contrast settings of your monitor? These can make images appear much brighter or darker. Also, if your monitor has a color temperature setting, this can also make a huge difference (if you see a setting which is usually 6500K or 9300K then you've found it). We use a setting of 6500K when we scan and process the images.

• We are not graphic professionals. We scan most of our beads quickly and do minimal color correction. Basically, we're trying to give you a good idea of what the bead looks like. Transparent and greasy colors can be particularly difficult because the scanner light is very intense which causes the bead to appear to be brighter than it actually is. We try to compensate for this when required.

OK, now that we know the colors are inaccurate, what about the size? In almost all cases, we are making no attempt to match the image size to the bead. In fact, we deliberately increase the size for seed beads so that you can see the colors. It's really tough to see the color of a 13/0 bead on a computer screen if the image is true-size. Also, your platform makes a difference again. Macs use 72 dpi and Windows uses 96 dpi. This means that the same image will appear to be one size on a Mac, and another size on a Windows box. Your resolution settings in relationship to your monitors physical resolution will also be a factor. Basically, don't trust any of the images as far as size is concerned. Trust the product description instead.