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The price jump was no joke. I work part time at a seasonal stand and our wholesale on some cases went up like 25-30% from last year. We had to raise prices and people still complained but yeah they still bought it.
I think the shipping container situation is the real story here. My boss was telling me a 40ft container from China that cost to ship in 2023 was closer to -8k this year. Add in the America 250 demand spike and you get Excaliburs lol.
Im actually curious if the factories cranked up production enough that we’ll see a glut next year and prices drop back down. Would be nice.
Man I’ve seen this too. Some of the cheaper brands from China use really thin paper labels and whatever adhesive they use just doesn’t hold up in humidity. Had a case where the label slid right off a cake and you couldn’t tell if it was a peony or a willow effect. Had to light it and find out lol.
I spray all my connections with CorrosionX after every show. Learned the hard way last year when a module died mid-show cause of moisture. Also replaced all my cheap speaker wire with proper 18ga stuff – makes a huge diff in reliability. Still hand-light my finale tho lol, trust issues I guess.
Honest answer? It depends on the state laws at both ends. There’s no federal law that says you can’t have 1.4G consumer fireworks shipped across state lines IF the seller is licensed and the product is legal in your state.
The tricky part is that some states require the seller to collect state tax or have specific permits to ship into that state. California and Massachusetts for example are real strict about it. And a lot of online retailers just blanket refuse to ship to certain states to avoid the headache.
Also worth noting – even if the retailer ships it, the carrier might have their own rules. FedEx and UPS won’t touch hazmat shipments from non-contract shippers. Most legit fireworks retailers use specialized hazmat carriers.
TL;DR – yeah you can do it but do your homework on your state laws first. Some online stores are upfront about where they ship, others you gotta ask.
Test reply please ignore
Jim’s got it right. I’ll add one thing – the state vs federal tension isn’t even new, it just got more visible this year cuz of how dry it’s been out west.
I’m in Colorado and our county was under a stage 2 fire ban the whole week of the 4th. Consumer fireworks were 100% prohibited, no exceptions. But the town 20 minutes away still did their municipal show because professional displays with safety personnel and fire trucks on standby get an exemption. So you had this weird situation where I couldn’t legally light a sparkler in my own driveway but I could go watch mortars being launched 300 feet in the air.
People were PISSED. Like “if it’s safe enough for the city show why can’t I light my own” kinda arguments. But honestly the stats don’t lie – 90%+ of fireworks fires are caused by consumers, not pro shows. The rules exist for a reason even if they’re annoying.
Still sucks tho.
I’m already planning my NYE show too lol. July 4th was great but I always go bigger for New Years since the sky gets dark earlier and you get better visual. Plus the neighbors are more forgiving about noise on NYE vs the 4th for some reason. Gonna try a bigger finale this year with some 500g cakes I’ve been testing.
Haha I’m the same way man. 4th is barely over and I’m already making my NYE shopping list. Winter shows are so much better – the cold air makes everything crack louder and the smoke doesn’t drift away as fast.
One thing about going up to 1.3G for NYE though – make sure you’ve got the storage situation figured out before you buy. You don’t wanna be sitting on a bunch of 1.3G without proper mag storage. I learned that the hard way a few years back.
Lmao Danny that mortar tip-over story is too real. Had the same thing happen my first year doing backyard shows. Got a rack setup this year and never looked back. Way more stable.
Best thing I lit was this 6 inch peony shell I snagged from a guy I know. Gold tail going up then BOOM ? huge purple and silver break. Musta been 200ft easy. Whole neighborhood stopped what they were doing lol.
Only issue I had was one of those cheap rocket packs. Half of em fizzled out on the ground instead of taking off. Guess you get what you pay for at .99 for a 12 pack. Stick with the good stuff.
Anyone know when Phantom usually starts their clearance sales? I’m tryna restock for Labor Day on a budget.
I’ve ordered from a few sites before. The key thing is most legit online retailers only ship to states where consumer fireworks are legal. Ohio you’re fine for stuff like fountains, sparklers, novelties. But actual aerial stuff? That gets trickier. Some will ship 1.4G to Ohio, some won’t. You gotta check their shipping policy. Phantom has a store locator thing on their site. TNT’s similar. Independent sites are more hit or miss.
Ive actually started doing this thing where I intentionally buy a little extra and set aside a “rainy day” stash for like random weekends through the summer. No joke sometimes the best shows are the ones you do on a random Saturday in August when theres nothing going on and you just feel like lighting stuff up.
Just make sure your storage is solid if youre keeping them for months. I keep mine in a plastic ammo box with a silica pack in the basement. Stays cool and dry. Had some cakes get damp one time from storage in the garage and the lift was super weak – shells barely popped. Total waste of good fireworks.
Honestly Tina you should def save at least a couple for Labor Day. Theres something nice about having a small show when the summer is winding down.
in reply to: Best packaging you’ve seen this season? #5518Big fan of the World Class canister shell boxes. The artwork on their 2025 line was gorgeous – almost felt bad throwing them away. But honestly for practical packaging, I think Brothers does it best. Those plastic trays inside their cake boxes keep everything snug and nothing rattles around during shipping.
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