Great Northern, Leeds. A good, reliable shop- well stock all year round, up to date website and opens regular hours. Drawback is that some stuff is a bit pricey. Location a real pain in the 'arris to reach.
Firework Factory, Lancaster- Well stocked in season, although some brands are less appealing than others. Friendly staff, but slightly inclined towards the "saleman" approach.
HFM, Cannock- Limited stock, mainly Kimbolton- some shop stuff priced at DOUBLE the RRP and the Website price.
Spyrotechnics- Decent range, selected based on performance .
Galactic, South Yorks- Good selection, some instore offers.
Rocket Box, Preston- Formerly Milleniums outlet, now sells TNT - seasonal hours only, in my experience unknowledgable staff. Limited competition in the area means that prices arn't typically discounted. Certainly not worth travelling to.
Firework Store, Wakefield- Good range of stock, good if you are local but nothing outstanding that would make a long journey worthwhile.
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Supermarkets.
Morrisons- Have sold exactly the same rather limited range for the last few years. Selection boxes worth about £7.99 are priced at £16 "Buy one get one free" . Do yourself a favour and visit a dedicated fireworks shop.
ASDA- Stock varies- or at least used to- with store. Sells a bit of TNT stuff- usually a few selection boxes, some rocket packs a single bit rocket and a single big cake. As above- Do yourself a favour and visit a dedicated fireworks shop.
Aldi- Stocks Weco, a German brand although stuff may well be Chinese made. Some decent stuff, although selection is very limited.
Lidl- Very very limited selection, pretty average stuff.
Tesco- As with Morrisons, stock varies with stores- typically a few crummy selection boxes at an inflated price with "Buy one get one free."
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Garden centres, seasonal shops on industrial estates etc- Typically average, although some do offer a large selection of good fireworks. Don't expect the staff to be knowledgeable about what they are selling. In some cases, be preapred for UNhelpful staff.
BEST ADVICE- Plan your budget round about... now! Some shops have discounts/freebies if you order early, so its worth giving them a ring and asking. Start browsing in mid October, aim to have bought your stuff before Novembers mad rush kicks in. Don't be afraid to walk out of a shop, even if you are told " We've sold 8 this morning, and there are only three left... " etc, as its most likely a sales pitch. Remember, you can always call back.
UPDATE- some comments on marketing practice-
Please note- This is a general discussion, I have avoided naming shops, brands or individual fireworks- the reason being- they all do it, to a greater or less degree! I raise these issues because there is nothing worse than spending a large amount of money on a firework and expecting it to be better than it is- a problem I often had with rockets.
With fireworks the customer is generally not well informed about the value of the product. Whilst everyone knows the value of groceries, the same cannot be said for fireworks. For example we know that £1 for a loaf of bread is average, 50p is cheap and £2 is a massive rip off.
As such the potential exists for firework sellers- online and brick and mortar retailers, as well as companies, to perhaps make claims and promote their products in ways which might be considered unethical.
Here are some of the common ones-
1. Inaccurate pictures on fireworks and in brochures. Its far too common to see fireworks with lovely big shell burst pictures next the them-even with such photos on the firework itself. This is often a professional effect and has nothing to do with the firework in question.
2. Promotional videos that actually show 2, 3 or even NINE units being fired at once, without making this fact clear.
3. “Fresh Air Spacing” or “Window Dressing.” The practice of spacing out tubes to make the firework physically much bigger, or encasing a rockets shell in a farcically oversized plastic case. True, it might be part of the effect (fans for example). But equally its just over packaging.
4. Using the line “So good we use them on out professional shows.” This might well be true, it just seems to be used an awful lot nowadays!
5. Pay now, pick up later deals- You are doing the shop a MASSIVE favour here. If you do this promotion, expect a good discount, and/free delivery. My own experience tells me never to pay for things in advance.
6. Keen and helpful staff. A controversial one here! For sure, many staff are enthusiasts too- and as such are as keen as you are. But equally, they are salespeople in a competitive market. Take what you are told with a pinch of salt. A tip- look at what they are stocking. If they are stocking selected items it would tend to imply that they have been chosen on merit. If they are stocking an entire range it is perhaps more likely that they have bought in bulk and are personally unaware of how good (or bad) each product is.
7. Remember there will be no comeback if a product is damaged or fails to fire. As such it’s a good idea to check the fireworks before you pay for them. If something look a bit bashed or ripped, avoid.
Edited by David, 01 October 2007 - 01:58 AM.
