The Great Cheap, Safe Fireworks Hunt

Computertec

Hi,

Just a quick safety note,

My friend really got seriously injured last year because he touched a firework he thought was dead. He seriously got burnt on the arm.

So when you are celebrating this fun day remember safety first
And to remind all of you the code, With thanks to Martin

The Firework Safety Code

Plus for safety's sake I thought I'd include the firework safety code to make sure you're buying the right fireworks and stay safe.

• Only buy fireworks that conform to British Safety Standards which are ones marked BS 7114 on the box.
• Don't drink alcohol if setting off fireworks.
• Keep fireworks in a closed box.
• Follow the instructions on each firework.
• Light at arm's length, using a taper.
• Stand well back.
• Never go near a firework that has been lit. Even if it hasn't gone off, it could still explode.
• Never put fireworks in your pocket or throw them.
• Always supervise children around fireworks.
• Light sparklers one at a time and wear gloves.
• Never give sparklers to a child under five.
• Keep pets indoors.

and don't forget...

• It is an offence to let fireworks off between 11pm and 7am, except on Bonfire Night (midnight), Diwali, New Year, and Chinese New Year (1am).
• It is against the law to carry fireworks in public if you're under 18.
• It is against the law to throw or set off fireworks in the street.
• Fireworks must not be sold to anyone who is under 18.

Rich44_2

If you want a real bargain join http://www.firework-review.org.uk/ it's £10 for 3 months for that you get to see loads of video and reviews of fireworks AND huge discounts from loads of suppliers.

I've just ordered my display fireworks and for £600 i've got the best part of £1,000 of fireworks and thats not necessarily RRP thats the price they are actually selling them for if you dont have the UKFR discount.

On top of that the forum is full of helpful people who can offer tips and advice on what works and what doesnt

Oh and dont touch the BLue Apollo rockets from Lidl the build quality is appalling the other year I had one bypass the motor stage of the rocket and explode in the rack whilst I was only a few feet away and i'm not the only one who has had a bad experience with them

Rich44_2

BorisTheSpider wrote: »

You can get an idea of the firework quality from http://www.firework-review.org.uk/ They have a membership charge which is well OTT, but you can browse the review scores and outline descriptions of all the fireworks, which worked pretty well last year. Obviously if you're getting a £30 firework for £15, then it's going to score much better than those scores there which are based on full RRP.

£10 for 3 months OTT? What do you think is fair for Pete who spends an age editting and uploading video footage and paying for the servers etc. It's may be a little OTT for the average person who wants a £30 selection box but its not aimed at those kind of people anyway.

As I mentioned previously I have saved at least £300 a year by being a member so I think its worth it at any rate

FireworkCrazy

Hi All,

I've been an avid follower of Martyn and this forum for many years and have saved much money through the help of him and his team. Although I've never joined in on the forum before. I suppose you could call me a lurker!

But this post has caught my eye in particluar.

Firstly, I would like to point out that my comment that i make here are purely professional and not biased at all. I run a firework company and our aims are to provide an excellent service to our customers with excellent fireworks. It's not in our interest to sell rubbish. We don't sell bread, milk or sweets. Fireworks are our business and pay the bills!

I've read many of the posts here and there are lots of very helpfull comments, but we must always promote the safe use of fireworks. Always make sure you read the labels and follow the instructions, and always make sure you buy fireworks that are appropriate for the size of garden you have. The safety distances on fireworks aren't there for the fun of it. They are explosives and they will kill or seriously injur you if not used correctly.

We all like a bargain! that's why we all come here don't we?

However, not everything is as it may always seem. Let me give you a few examples.

Many of the products you buy in supermarkets are relabeled items from some brands such as cosmic, blackcat / standard etc.

For example, the supermarket has a rocket called sky missile this is really a relabel of a well known brands rocket called moonstars. Theres nothing wrong with that you say, but what is wrong is that the moonstars has an rrp of £9.99 but the supermarkets version sky missile has an rrp of £19.99 Buy One Get One Free! but it's not really is it. I'm not saying that all items are like this, but i have proved this to be the case over the last few years with several items.

Another classic is the selection box. When a fireworks is produced the manufacturers have to tell us how much chemical composition is included in each firework, this is for transport and storage regulations as fireworks are classed as explosives.

So would it surprise you if I told you that the £20 Buy One Get One Free selection box at one of the UK's leading supermarkets had roughly HALF the chemical composition as our own £20 selection box. So with the two boxes for £20 your only going to get the same amount of bang for your buck as the single £20 box, so your not getting a better deal at all.

It's common practice and it goes on all the time. I'm not saying that all the special offers are not all they seem, there are some great offers out there to be had, but just be a bit carefull when choosing your fireworks.

Companies that have their own branded fireworks can make up any rrp they like and then give you 50% off, but is the firework really worth that full rrp in the first place? That's for you to decide.

We don't hide behind our fireworks, we provide you the customer with as much information on each firework as possible and also have hi-resolution streaming videos of nearly all our fireworks so you can make up your mind if an item is worth the price we charge before you buy it.

I hope you find this information useful.

But please remember to follow the firework code and be safe!

FireworkCrazy

Beware of all these "bargain discounts" you see. They're not always the case! For example Lidl sell a "Benstar" cake "Rainbow Storm" at £6.99 from an RRP of "£13.99". However, EXACTLY the same firework, with a different label "Colour Blitz", is sold at an RRP of £6.99 under the Cosmic Brand name.

Just to reiterate the so called bargain!

Poppycat

FireworkCrazy your not allowed links in signatures btw

FireworkCrazy

Just to cover a couple of other posters in here concerns.

Someone asked why the cost of fireworks have gone up over the last few years? To be honest costs to the consumer have gone up very little but the costs to use retailers have been huge. To give you an example. the costs of some items we stock have gone up by as much as 27% this year, but we haven't increased the retail prices.

Selling fireworks is an expensive business, licenses, specialist storage, transport and don't even mention the insurance! And we have to make the majority of our yearly wage in four weeks of the year.

Why don't you try that in your job, tell your boss that you think that you should only sell your product seasonally.

NEXT.... Banning fireworks.

This always pops up at this time of year, you get politicians and local doo-gooders jumping on the bandwaggon. Banning fireworks is the stupidest thing that could be done. Do you think banning them will stop people using them? At least with fireworks being on sale through registered outlets the fireworks that are sold are heavilly regulated, tested and as safe as can be. If they were banned, they would be available still, but on the black market and they wouldn't be no where near as safe.

Pet owners. Yes I can understand that some pets are nervous of loud bangs, my two cats actually seem to enjoy fireworks even to the point where one them sits at the window and watches! But lets change things around a little. What about all the people that spend every day / night living next to someone who's dog barks half the night, keeping them up at all hours. Do you hear these people shouting that dogs should be banned?

FireworkCrazy

Thanks poppycat, but if that's the case, why don't they turn that feature of the forum off?

Poppycat

Mark the signature url is only allowed if its a charity or for a board guide, its in this rule below

SIGNATURE LINKS

The only links permitted in signatures are those of the MSE team, the Forum team, Board Guides and links to charity (ie they are on the Charities Commission Register of Charities). This includes un-activated links. If in doubt, contact [EMAIL="abuse@moneysavingexpert.com"]abuse@moneysavingexpert.com[/EMAIL]

http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showpost.html?p=3477034&postcount=25

FireworkCrazy

Hi Poppycat.

Yes i was just reading that, i have changed my signature so as to not offend.