Resources: Poll about art supplies

[mekare]

Hey all, sorry for being so absent last week. I'm back and off to comment on all your wonderful Inktober posts in the next couple of days.
ETA: I decided to make a poll. Sorry if the answer options a kinda dumb, it's my first poll ever.

Poll #18995 Art supplies

This poll is anonymous.
Open to: Registered Users, detailed results viewable to: All, participants: 16

Where do you get your art supplies?

View Answers

local art supply shop
11 (68.8%)

online art supply shop (which?)
4 (25.0%)

get them as birthday/Christmas gifts
3 (18.8%)

a subscription service (artsnacks, scrawlrbox...)
1 (6.2%)

amazon
5 (31.2%)

ebay
0 (0.0%)

other (please put info in the comments)
5 (31.2%)

Where do you get your information about art supplies?

View Answers

Manufacturer sites
2 (12.5%)

Customer reviews in online shops
3 (18.8%)

my local art supply store
2 (12.5%)

Artist friends
7 (43.8%)

Artist blogs (which?)
2 (12.5%)

Review blogs (which?)
0 (0.0%)

I usually just buy and try them out myself
9 (56.2%)

Other (please specify in comments)
7 (43.8%)

sexycazzy mentioned subscribing to one of those art supplies box services where you get a mixed bag of art supplies each month, I think earlier there was a post or a comment about a service like that in the US (and after a brief search I realized there a a lot of services like that out there). So, questions:

1. Who here has (is being) using a service like that and what on earth do you do with the supplies that pile up? Since you don't know beforehand what you'll get, I'm imagining there's supplies left and right that aren't being used.

2. Do you have recommendations for sites where supplies are being reviewed (apart from amazon which is obvious)? Of course, I have my local stationary store I use for the basics (it has reduced price on Schmincke watercolours at the moment which is fantastic). For the rest I use a German online art supplier. Unfortunately its site is pretty light on the customer reviews.I'm guessing I'm looking for your personal experiences with different supplies as well as trusted sites where I can believe the reviewers. That box-service is awfully tempting (and since I'm not a poor student anymore I could probably afford one) but I am hesitant to spend money when I'll have stuff here that's not getting used.

Oh right, I'm looking for ink stuff, pastels, watercolours and brushes mostly. And there probably are a lot of cool special effects tools out there that I don't even know exist.

Comments

[syntheid]

Unwanted supplies is the main reason I haven't signed up for any subscription services, hah. That and from watching unboxings I find they all seem very marker and pencil heavy, and I don't really want to get any more of those than I already have since I'm not that into those mediums.

I'm also reccing youtube reviews. It's the most useful to me since I can watch how things actually work when an artist reviews it by doing samples or color swatches. Jetpens and Goulet pens also have some good sampling on their websites, usually including pen test sheets at least and sometimes also videos, comparisons, and suggestion lists. Goulet has a great selection of inks, notebooks, and fountain pens, but not much else, they're more oriented to fountain pen enthusiasts than general artists. Jetpens has a lot of import pens and pencils I can't get elsewhere. I also buy from Dickblick for paints, they're usually one of the cheapest. But also Amazon, if it's available and reasonably cheap because I can get faster shipping, or the Michael's chain (probably US only?) or my local art shops (Meinengers and a stationery store) if I need something immediately. For some things like Copic markers, I've bought off eBay to get them cheaper.

[mekare]

Thank you for sharing so comprehensively. Many of those shops are US-based right? I loved browsing through their merchandise though :-)

[syntheid]

Yep, I think most (all?) have international shipping options, but they're based in the US, so it might not be the most cost effective for other countries, sorry!

[mekare]

Hey no worries. I love windowshopping as much as the real thing :-)