I have found it difficult to find red beads for reasonable prices in Amazon's ranks, so I do not know if red beads are harder to make or what. But Bling Jewelry makes several that are quite nice and even has one "bundle" of them in which you get 5 red beads for what you would easily pay at another site for just one bead. They have great deals. This is a really pretty bead and I reccommend it.
It is now June of 2011 and this bead has fallen into my own personal contest for "the perfect red bead." I am looking for just the right bead for a Traditional Christmas bracelet. I have decided the perfect red is 8 mm  in diameter. This one is 12. Perfect has width of 6 mm. This one is 7mm. Perfect has hole size of 4mm. This one is 4 mm. Perfect one is Coca Cola Red and shiney. This one is Coca Cola red and shiney with no inclusions or foil line. And the Perfect one has no price listed, but the price on this one is 6.99 which I consider to be pretty perfect. You can always pay a lot more for a bead, but to get a bright, red, does it have to be expensive? Others in the running will be linked:There is one which will not come up. Key in under Jewelry: Heirloom charms Cherry red murano glass bead.<a data-hook="product-link-linked" class="a-link-normal" href="/Lovelinks-Sterling-Silver-Bead-with-Murano-Glass-Mars-By-Aagaard/dp/B004NV23OS/ref=cm_cr_arp_d_rvw_txt?ie=UTF8">Lovelinks Sterling Silver Bead with Murano Glass - Mars By Aagaard</a><a data-hook="product-link-linked" class="a-link-normal" href="/Lovelinks-Sterling-Silver-Bead-with-Murano-Glass-Big-Red-By-Aagaard/dp/B004NV23LQ/ref=cm_cr_arp_d_rvw_txt?ie=UTF8">Lovelinks Sterling Silver Bead with Murano Glass - Big Red By Aagaard</a><a data-hook="product-link-linked" class="a-link-normal" href="/925-Silver-Cherry-Red-Crystal-PAVE-July-Birthstone-European-Charm-Bead/dp/B0036G65K4/ref=cm_cr_arp_d_rvw_txt?ie=UTF8">925 Silver & Cherry Red Crystal PAVE July Birthstone European Charm Bead</a>

NOVEMBER 2011: This red bead by Bling has won the Christmas Red contest. I ended up looking at many red beads as several became available after this review was written. This finally won the contest based on its Coco Cola Red color; its conformation to general Pandora style bead size guidlines; and because of its very reasonable cost
This bead by Lovelinks is the green bead I finally chose to use. Because it is so expensive (when one is buying several of them), I decided not to use a Lovelinks red bead also. Not practical from an expense standpoint.<a data-hook="product-link-linked" class="a-link-normal" href="/Lovelinks-by-Aagaard-Sterling-Silver-Autumn-Green-Bead-with-Murano-Glass/dp/B004QNQATW/ref=cm_cr_arp_d_rvw_txt?ie=UTF8">Lovelinks by Aagaard - Sterling Silver Autumn Green Bead with Murano Glass</a>

So it is a Bling red bead and a Lovelinks green plus I put in some Bling red and green beads with Swarovski Crystals to add glitter the lovely bracelet.