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Shopping For Consumer Fireworks

The first thing you have to do for shopping for fireworks is find a reliable source to buy them from. A good reliable source is a licensed firework dealer. I have no doubt that you have seen those tents pop up, towards the 4th of July these are NOT reliable sources. The people that are selling you these items most of the time have no clue what they are selling you. They are there for one reason only, that reason is to rip you off! There prices are a lot higher than most licensed dealers.

How do I locate a reliable source?
The easiest way to locate a reliable source is to check on the internet. Most of the larger firework companies have website that will let you see what they are selling, and might even have videos on their website. You can find these firework dealers by typing in keywords like; firework showroom,  fireworks, firework wholesaler, or any other keyword that deals with fireworks. We have a list of reliable firework distributors here.

Visit there website often
When you find where you want to go to pick up your consumer fireworks, before you make the trip visit there website to see what they have available. This will also allow you to get an idea of what you want to spend, and what to get to stay within budget. So sites allow you to create a shopping list of the items that you find interesting that you can print out and take with you when you go to pick up your fireworks.

Shop Early, the early the more selection.
I would recommend that you shop for your 4th of July fireworks as early as possible. From working at my local fireworks dealer I see it year after year people wait until the last moment, they are looking for a specific popular piece and alas we sold out of them 2 weeks before the 4th. Some places even offer huge savings to try to get you to come early to buy your 4th of July fireworks. The reason that you will save money is if you come in early enough they can cut the price, and reorder more stuff to replace it. Another benefit of shopping early is that you can ask the employees who work there what certain items do so you make a better decision when choosing what to purchase. The few days before the 4th of July it gets hectic and  if you have any questions chances are that there won't be anyone to help you with you question.

Shop with Friends who want to buy fireworks.
A few places that I have visited give a percentage off of a item if you buy a case of them. While if you are just buy yourself this doesn't make sense to have 12 of the same items or 6 of the same item, unless you really like the item. This becomes a benefit when you have more than  just yourself shopping for fireworks. Lets just say you are shopping with 3 of your buddies at a place that gives a discount if you buy it by the case. This item you are looking at has 8 pieces in the case of this cake that you all think sounds good it would be to your benefit to but this case together and split the cost. This can usually save you up to 20% off of retail value.

Look for discounts depending on how much you buy.
A few places offer discounts based upon how much you buy. This is great for you and a few of your friend if you pool your money together and checkout at the same time as one big order. Say the company has discount levels at $150 and you get 10% free merchandise,  $600 then you get 15% free merchandise. If you are there with two of your buddies you each only have to spend $200 a piece to get the increase in free merchandise. While this might see like a small amount what if you each spend $500 and there is a level above the two that are listed. Most places have at least three levels of discounts.

Look for assorted cases of items.
A lot of the items that the place that I work at are receiving now, are now coming assorted in a case. This is especially true when it comes to the 500 Gram Heavy Weights. For example, a new Heavy Weight by Black Cat is Professional Pyro. There is 4 different versions of this cake 1,2,3,4 each with different effects. If you are looking to purchase a few of these types of cakes look at getting a case of these that are all ready assorted and save money. The Professional Pyro retail at $40 a piece but in the case they only cost $128 for 4 for a savings of $32.00, where I work. Another great variation per case is Brother's Brand Big Bomb Box which have 4 assorted 36 shot cakes with loads of different effects.

Ask about guarantees for the fireworks that you purchase.
This is another reason why you shouldn't go to those firework tents if you get a lot of duds with the items you purchase from a tent. How are you going to get your money back, simple you won't! Tents are a fly by night business. A lot of them buy junk items that are damaged because they know they won't have to listen to angry customers like a actual building based firework dealer would. Some building based firework dealers offer full guarantees on their items. If anything should not perform like it should bring it back and it will be replaced with no questions asked, remember they want you to come back. However always ask about the guarantee policy, most places will not openly say they have a guarantee. This is because most people don't ask so if they do get a bad piece by chance they don't know about it so they'll just throw it away. Remember the only stupid question is one that is not asked.

Check for physical damage.
When you pick up a piece make sure that there isn't any powder that is leaking from a device. Leaking powder is a sign that the item might not function properly. You want to inspect the package for any rips or indents, while most items are received undamaged there are always some that get damaged. If the paper that is on top of the item is slightly ripped the device is still ok. You want to make sure on repeating devices that none of the tubes are deformed, this could potentially prevent a shell from leaving the cake properly. Another factor you want to watch out for is water damage you can usually see the water damage on a piece by checking for discoloration, and other watermarks. Also always make sure that all fuses are covered and secured, a loose fuse could potentially have been pulled out so it won't light the device.

Buy one, get on free and other similar deals.

The good buy one, get one deals are on items that the place might not be carrying anymore or are overstocked with too many items. These are the deals that you want to take advantage of.  These are the legitimate reasons for the good deals that you might encounter.

Now the hard part comes into play when you are trying to decide why this item is buy one, get one. The best way to do this is to shop around online to see what the going rate is for certain items. This will help you eliminate all of the bogus buy one, get one deals. For example a company has a #200 aerial tube for $17.99 and buy a second for 99 cents, these I have typically seen as cheap as $9.00 so when you do the math you are actually paying more for the buy one, get one "deal". A lot of people see the buy one, get one signs and automatically think that they are getting a deal. Trust me they have done research to see what entices people to buy things. Another way to see if the buy one, get one are a deal ask someone who works there why they are like that. If it sounds like they are giving you the truth then pick a few up, otherwise stay clear.

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