Average 24 Shell Kit Prices?

[fireworkguy98]

Hey yall, long time no see! Its that time of year where I come out of pyro hibernation and start looking at my options for the 4th again... actually I may be a bit later than normal this year... but anyways, I was looking at the prices of my local stores on their websites and my usual place has all their 24 shell kits priced at 150-210 a kit. does this seem pretty average for normal consumer fireworks to everyone this year? I know buying wholesale would always be cheaper but I've never had the kind of budget that would make a bunch of cases of the same thing seem worth it to me... my 4th is usually just family and friends so its never a choreographed show or anything. just kind of wondering if I should just accept those prices or look other places for a chance at better prices. No matter what im looking forward to having a successful, fun, and safe 4th again this year.

P.S. It feels good to be dipping back into the pyro again after the long winter LOL :cool:

[fireworkguy98]

Also I should probably mention this is in the western PA area... I know some of you lucky ducks get really nice prices in other areas lol ;)

[displayfireworks1]

I never understand this , if you are not placing a large order and having it shipped to you , you driving distance choices are limited. There is no one out there selling anything fireworks related with a dramatic price difference that is going to make a big cost savings with a few hundred dollar budget, driving 100 miles to save $20.00. Demand , supply and the rapidly approaching July 4th holiday are keeping prices high. Here are your driving distance Pennsylvania choices.
.
PA full line fireworks stores. Four of the local stores in Western Pa carry my Displayfireworks1 shells.
https://padeptag.maps.arcgis.com/apps/webappviewer/index.html?id=7311c65f7fb84efea6d09b8766b00c90

[fireworkguy98]

No worries, I was just seeing what the average was for everyone, sorry if I said something wrong...
Thank you for the link

[jamisonlm3]

Hey yall, long time no see! Its that time of year where I come out of pyro hibernation and start looking at my options for the 4th again... actually I may be a bit later than normal this year... but anyways, I was looking at the prices of my local stores on their websites and my usual place has all their 24 shell kits priced at 150-210 a kit. does this seem pretty average for normal consumer fireworks to everyone this year? I know buying wholesale would always be cheaper but I've never had the kind of budget that would make a bunch of cases of the same thing seem worth it to me... my 4th is usually just family and friends so its never a choreographed show or anything. just kind of wondering if I should just accept those prices or look other places for a chance at better prices. No matter what im looking forward to having a successful, fun, and safe 4th again this year.

P.S. It feels good to be dipping back into the pyro again after the long winter LOL :cool:I'm sorry you had to get back into it at such a bad time. Prices have gone up quite a bit i the past couple of years. I'd say $150 is about what a box of 24 shells is going for now. Some places are less and some more. You can call around and check, but I wouldn't go out of my way to have roadtrip to save a few dollars. The time and money saved isn't worth it. Depending on how much you are planning on spending, some places stores will ship to you.

[rer07]

Kneppys Fireworks still does the 20% off retail prices for pyro talk members along with their VIP card. I used this in the past before purchasing wholesale. Saves a little bit of money.

[jknepp1954]

Kneppys Fireworks still does the 20% off retail prices for pyro talk members along with their VIP card. I used this in the past before purchasing wholesale. Saves a little bit of money.

thanks for the plug rer07. yes - and if you can dig a little bit deeper in the pocket by next weekend, we have our demo nights and you can get the best deal on caselots at the best pricing!!! with a $1500 "investment" buy cases at a very price point.
BUT that is just 3 days only May 6, 7, 8.
What area of SW PA are you from? Just pack the wife, kids and have a nice drive out this way! only 16 miles from us a great play/recreation place for the whole family to enjoy - Fun Central in Clearfield.

[upNdown]

My favorite local (NH) store has 4 inch shells for $80, 6 inch shells for $130, and a dozen choices in between.
I assume those $150-210 prices include that brutal PA tax, but even so, that seems really high. I'd definitely take Dave's advice and go for a drive.

[BMoore]

$150 / kit seems pretty average right now.

Let's clear up a common "wholesale" misconception. Wholesale is a term used when a distributor sells to a retailer for resale. This is going to have case quantity pricing and sales tax exemption. What hobbyists call wholesale is really nothing more than case quantity discounts. Its no different than when you see buy one get one free, this is buy a whole case and get some discount. It is not a true wholesale transaction. When you see distributors advertising wholesale accounts with a minimum of $XXX Thousand in purchases, that's just what it is.....a wholesale account for retailers.

My point here is, it is up to the retailer whether or not to extend case pricing and what their minimum order might be. My advice is pick your favorite store, become a good customer, build a rapport with the owners and they just might cut you some deals. Just last weekend I drove to a local shop and picked up one....yes, just one case of a cake that he was willing to sell me for just a few bucks over his cost. The deals are out there, you just have to know how to find them. I deal with a single 1.3 supplier and a single 1.4 supplier. Both treat me well and if I can't get it there I don't get it. Driving all over creation or paying massive shipping costs to save a few bucks here and there is only going to hurt you in the long run.

[Engineer Cat]

I don't have the luxury of having stuff delivered to me so I have to drive about 65 miles to get to my go to spot in PA. They somehow have old stock of Excalibur's and are selling them for $99. They also have Growler's for $139. 2 years ago the Growlers where $80 and I had a discount code so I got them for $60. They have a Goliath assortment comes with 36 reloadable shells including: 12 singles, 6 doubles, 6 triples, and 12 canisters. $139 which to my recollection was pretty close to the same price 2 years ago. They got Hardcore Pyro by Cutting edge and MOAB from World Class that comes with 60 shells at $249. So depending on what you are looking for that price seems on par with everyone else. I will say that I usually get a 30% discount code sent to me around Feb. That didn't come this year. I received 15% off and the other day a 20% off good for 2 weeks only. This year I went to a different place a little further away because I wanted to get my hands on product from other manufactures that I haven't shot before. I DID pay a bit more during that haul but it is what it is. If I didn't have the extra cash to enjoy the hobby I would just buy a bunch of rockets cause they do a good job when you just want to hand fire stuff and still get your pyro fix.

I happened to be in southeast PA the other day and stopped into a store I have been to once before and they actually moved all their "OLD" stock to different shelves and had it priced according to what they paid for it back before covid. The new stock was a bit more expensive and the dude was explaining that the new stock comes with a higher price due to the extra cost to ship. (That topic is been well discussed here). I just found it interesting that they separated their inventory and are making an effort to give people the option of buying older stock with older pricing instead of just marking everything up.

[fireworkguy98]

Thanks for all the helpful comments everyone. At this point I think ill probably go with my usual place at the prices they have set this year. I do feel some obligation to stay loyal to my usual spot. I enjoy the talks with the gentleman that runs it, he never talks down to me and respects my knowledge enough to tell me his real thoughts on every product in the store, so a few extra bucks and helping continue support for his store isn't too bad.

[Engineer Cat]

Thanks for all the helpful comments everyone. At this point I think ill probably go with my usual place at the prices they have set this year. I do feel some obligation to stay loyal to my usual spot. I enjoy the talks with the gentleman that runs it, he never talks down to me and respects my knowledge enough to tell me his real thoughts on every product in the store, so a few extra bucks and helping continue support for his store isn't too bad.

I agree with ya. But if you go there often ask the guy what kind of discounts he'll give you with every $100 bux spent. I needed a few extra items for this years 4th party and that store I stopped at in south eastern PA was only the second time I have been there. However I remembered the kids name and that he lives in Staten Island and started BSing with him when I walked in before I even looked around. I told him I was only picking up a few things to complete my show but are there any discounts available. He said he would toss in some free product. I ended up with a total of $150 bux, he said if I pay cash he'll make it $125 and throw in any cake I wanted in the $35 price range or any selection of products totaling around $35 bux. Most places toss in free stuff with a certain amount spent but not every advertises that. And since he knew a little about what I was doing he didn't toss in some BS bottle rockets or saturn missiles. He offered something he thought would be useful to my show.

[Jay_]

A few things to throw in, some were already mentioned.

Loyalty will absolutely pay dividends at just about any fireworks retailer. Anytime I go to a new store, I don't ever go in and try to haggle. If they have good product at a reasonable enough price, then I start loading it up. As they see your shopping cart(s) getting full, you will typically get their attention and they will either throw in a cake or two here or there, or even turn you on to some things that you might have missed and make them available to you at a discounted rate.

If buying from a stand, some of these folks don't have any or much wiggle room at all on prices. I have a local stand that I buy from here around the season that I pay exactly what everybody else does for fireworks. With me willing to shop there the perk that I get from buying from them is that I always have the inside line on any product that they get. I also get a call when they make restocking trips from their supplier asking me if I am needing anything. I don't buy my whole show there by any means, but it is worth it to have someone with direct access to things that may be in short supply that year that appreciates my willingness to support their stand.

Know what you are looking at and know what is out there. Some shell kits/cakes/ect are absolutely worth the extra money. Some are cookie cutters and some are not.

[kmcogar]

$150 plus seems like big retailer prices. I found a small fireworks store near a Phantom store. The small store has WAYYYY better prices. Didn't even know it was there for a while. Glad I found it. I think phantom fireworks has 24 shell kits for $300 this year. Absolutely insane. My store sells them for $90 per 24 shell case. But wholesale I can get four 24 shell cases for $225. I actually drive about 1.5 hours to get there. Nothing else closer for me. The great prices are worth it.

[ss50]

You guys are making me feel so lucky. I'm still able to find kits in the $60-75 range pretty easily as of a couple weeks ago. There is a phantom nearby that sells the same kits for $300. Most of the retail stands around the 4th were in the $150 range last year here.

[barehm]

I'm not sure it really matters what you call it, but I can't wrap my hands around paying 150-200 for 24 cannister shells - period. As long as you're spending at least $1000 dollars, there's a lot of 'wholesalers' that will sell you a case (so 4 x 24) for $240. On the cheap end, I paid 184 for a case of (admittingly generic) black mamba shells - so 96 shells. If you're spending less than that, find some people to do a group buy with and get out of the insane pricing game of retail store fronts. Places throw 20%, 30% whatever at you, but that's because the markup is insane for small purchases.

[jamisonlm3]

You know that as well as most people here, but the average person that only buys fireworks once or twice a year only knows of the fireworks store/stand/tent. Buying by the case isn't even on their radar.

[Fire Art]

Just gonna throw it out there, check out www.fireartcorp.com. Wholesale by the case or piece. Live inventory online, updated every 5 minutes. Close to 20 different canister shells available. $100 minimum. Clearfield, PA. Not a store to shop around in but sign up for an account and put your order in online. We will work with you to schedule pick it up. Its that easy.

[upNdown]

I'm not sure it really matters what you call it, but I can't wrap my hands around paying 150-200 for 24 cannister shells - period. As long as you're spending at least $1000 dollars, there's a lot of 'wholesalers' that will sell you a case (so 4 x 24) for $240. On the cheap end, I paid 184 for a case of (admittingly generic) black mamba shells - so 96 shells. If you're spending less than that, find some people to do a group buy with and get out of the insane pricing game of retail store fronts. Places throw 20%, 30% whatever at you, but that's because the markup is insane for small purchases.
I think that’s easier said than done, especially these days. I’m lucky enough to be close to
NH, where there’s a few good retailers and lots of okay retailers. But I don’t know anywhere that sells wholesale. A couple of the retailers used to advertise it, but although they would sell by the case, they weren’t offering true wholesale prices. But I haven’t even seen that, this year or last year.
Believe me, I’ve googled mapped routes to wholesalers many times, but an 8+ hour drive (each way) is discouraging.

[Jordan0885]

I think that’s easier said than done, especially these days. I’m lucky enough to be close to
NH, where there’s a few good retailers and lots of okay retailers. But I don’t know anywhere that sells wholesale. A couple of the retailers used to advertise it, but although they would sell by the case, they weren’t offering true wholesale prices. But I haven’t even seen that, this year or last year.
Believe me, I’ve googled mapped routes to wholesalers many times, but an 8+ hour drive (each way) is discouraging.

You can have fireworks shipped to a terminal in New Hampshire and go pick the shipment up there. The bigger the order the better when shipping, though. You could do a group buy or buy for a couple years at a time. But it's another option to not pay crazy retail prices. Luckily I live close enough to a wholesaler where the drive is much cheaper than shipping. Though I've still thought about shipping some stuff that the wholesaler close to me doesn't carry. I haven't though cause I try not to go too crazy. Haha

[displayfireworks1]

Our boy here with the original start of this thread was looking for a local low budget purchase. Once you get that budget up and start to consider shipping options, it opens up many options, irrespective of what state it is (not including Hawaii). The way it was explained to me is, when a shipment is in commerce it is really not in any state, it is in “Commerce”. When you pick up a shipment at a truck depot, you picked it up in “Commerce” as opposed to in a state. I’ll stop here with the rest of the story.
I understand a fireworks enthusiast with a low budget wanting to get the most value for their dollar. Consumer Fireworks along with a whole list of other consumer products coming out a China is going to see a price increase. Add in you want to purchase a once a year average consumer product, it makes the pricing worse. Now, you as a fireworks enthusiast have to compete with the rest of the once a year average Joe fireworks buyer. The time to buy fireworks is when the average consumer does not want them. The analogy would be is, when is the best time of year to buy Christmas tree lights? I’m thinking July 4th LOL. We as fireworks enthusiast love them all year long .Of course the fever is highest at July 4th our high holiday, be smart , buy early, combine your purchase with others and prepare early.

[fireworkguy98]

Its very interesting to see everyone's views and experiences considering there's so many people from many different areas of the firework profession/hobby. Glad to report that I did manage to get in earlier than most to my usual store before people knew they were open for the year. Because of that I was able to have a very nice conversation with the gentleman that runs the place. He definitely remembered me from previous years and because of my loyalty he gave me an enhanced version of the usual deal the store runs which put the prices right around what I had paid in previous years. Needless to say I'm very happy with the way things turned out. :) Great advice from everyone! I love this hobby, and I appreciate all of you! <3