34 replies to this topic

[pendulum]

It's not good really is it, it doesn't take long to email "Hi, thanks for your order for <list of items>. Order will be packed up and shipped out by X, so it should arrive by Y, if not let me know, thanks"

The products are really good but the communications definitely not up to it, you have to hound them for answers...

Edited by pendulum, 12 September 2006 - 11:16 AM.

[Creepin_pyro]

Why don't you try phoning them?

[PsychoticSock]

I've tried but I'll try keep trying.

Oh and thanks for the reassurance Portfire!

Christian

[BrightStar]

Just a quick note to say that my Inoxia order 3 weeks ago was missing the ususal confirmation, but I sent them a quick message this morning and they replied immediately.

I have confidence in their business (after several successful orders) and I'm happy to recommend them to others.

[Andrew]

apparently there having problems with the website

A new version of the web site is well on its way. Unfortunately this means a shortfall in the house keeping of the current web site.

Steve has recently taken a trip to the hospital for an emergency op because he ignored a pain in his abdomen for 9 days. The backlog is pretty much gone now.

[BrightStar]

Steve has recently taken a trip to the hospital for an emergency op because he ignored a pain in his abdomen for 9 days.

Wow, best wishes to Steve for a quick recovery - this puts things in perspective...

[PsychoticSock]

Ah, that explains things nicely!

Get well soon!

edit: Yay! Part of my order arrived today, it's all good.

Edited by PsychoticSock, 13 September 2006 - 06:49 AM.

[pendulum]

I'm still waiting for my order, that I ordered & paid for on 2 September (18 days ago )

I've not had any replies to email or the web form. So could someone please tell me when/if I can expect it to arrive?

Uni goes back soon so my free time is rapidly running out.

Edit: came today, good quality as usual but a bit slow.

Edited by pendulum, 22 September 2006 - 11:16 AM.

[shadowpyro]

Hm, ive ordered from him about a fortnight ago, email him alot asking for the status of my order, just so that i can here to recieve it. Problem is that there been no reply to anything. Does anyone know whether he's 'busy' with something at moment?

thanks

[aquarius]

I got an e-mail from Steve telling me they were in progress of changing teir courier service for export, and thus my order is on hold. I do not know if this has anything to do with domestic orders, but so was his answer. I have used them before, and things usually turn up. Better order now to be ready for NY 2007...

[BrightStar]

My latest order from Inoxia turned up a few days ago - very well packaged and labeled as always. The last I heard from Steve, they were focusing their resources on building up stock levels to speed things up a bit. Once they have done this there are some interesting new products planned.

The more we order, the better they will become... so yes, order now for NY 2007...

Edited by BrightStar, 28 October 2006 - 09:42 AM.

[pendulum]

It's funny really because every time I order something from Inoxia, by the time it comes it's time to buy other stuff. That's just the way they are though, slow to ship, but the products are definitely good. No point complaining (like I did earlier in the thread!) as that's just the way it is. Should be grateful for every dedicated pyro supplier we have.

[shadowpyro]

Order has been sorted out, stuff to arrive on wednsday, just a small mix up thats all.
Lol yea i definately know what you mean, its hard finding "none dodgy" websites...

[Andrew]

A little insight into, well, read on....

One of the biggest problems in running a dedicated Pyro supplies company is the simple lack of market. There are many hidden costs like DGSA's etc, (and KNO3.com defrauding you out of stock!). Sorting out CHIP compliant labels for example, cost a lot of money and took a lot of time; Something that KNO3.com with their stupid prices have still failed to achieve! With little custom there is little revenue to pay the fixed costs and try to expand, let alone pay the people that work hard trying to keep everyone happy. In fact in the year as a Ltd we have had no wages at all, we have worked at Inoxia basically for free (well minus money actually) to alleviate the lack of supplier that made our lives difficult in the past. We thought it would be nice to help everyone else as we got so frustrated with having to source everything from different places. This also makes it more expensive having to pay shipping for small orders over and over! The only benefit we have had is having access to a load of chemicals slightly cheaper than buying them individually form 30 suppliers! But upon quiet reflection we actually haven't been able to do anything with this stock for the past 6 events that warrant ("experimental") fireworks because Inoxia has ragged us silly out of every spare bit of time available. So, in conclusion to that, there has been no remuneration out of Inoxia for the people that run it at all, except the warm feelings we get every now and then. Not too much of a warm feeling after all!

There are two options;
1. Silly prices (cough cough, kno3.com), one day delivery and visit from the police!?! .
(sorry, shouldn't really laugh at that, it's quite serious! )
2. Sensible prices (that are coming down) and a two week delivery target.

Of course the two weeks isn't always met due to reasons such as customers not submitting proof of age and customer agreements, or combinational issues that require careful though over shipping and occasionally stock running out. Things that might not affect a company if it employed and paid permanent full time staff. In fact most orders now only take less than a week to be completed.

When you consider that Inoxia's staff receive no pay(I cannot emphasise this enough and how mush it affects our lives) for their work, and that prices are reasonable, and time committed to Inoxia comes from an already strained timetable, it's not performing too bad! We get a lot of thank you emails, to quote but a few;

"Thanks so much for setting up a pyro supplier that I can buy from without feeling like a criminal..."

I kid you not, this sort of email finds it's way into my mail box quite a lot. And this is remuneration enough for me, except I have recently sold myself out as I have other unfortunately important commitments that leave me with pretty much no free time to dedicate to helping others . Unfortunately, Steve and Mina are now just a duo working like dogs at Inoxia, and still for no pay at all. New products are on the way, in fact there are about a dozen already, problem is, none of us have had the time to add them to the database!

Unfortunately for now at least, (things will get much much better in the future, rest assured ), reasonable prices without instant delivery are going to have to be a tolerable price to pay for a dedicated pyro supplier that you "can buy from without feeling like a criminal", (or not having to be bold enough to put up with ignorant umms and arrs from ceramic suppliers, ).

Remember things for the amature pyro are on the up. The BPS are working like dogs (just to make clear the BPS and Inoxia are nothing to do with each other), believe me I know what it's like to be run ragged constantly with no hope of it ever ending . Hopefully one day the UKPS will provide a very nice net for us to practice our hobby over, and Inoxia (or "something similar" to not sound bias or commercially imploring), will provide a legal and comprehensive supply that is cheap, like the yanks enjoy already.
Just Bear in mind that dreaming gets us nowhere, only a lot of hard hard work makes progress!

Thanks for be patient enough to read this, that is if you got this far without feeling like a bitch .


edit: BPS to UKPS.

Edited by Andrew, 29 October 2006 - 11:12 PM.

[phildunford]

Speaking from personal experience, I can agree that no one is going to get rich selling pyro components in the uk. There is a very small market and far too many legal problems...

There is also the catch 22 situation that 99.9 % of us want to put our 'experimental mixtures' in a tube and make a firework, at which point most of us are breaking the law - therefore many who would like to try do not, and do not become customers.

The only way we are going to change this is to expand the society (both in members and money), make ourselves a credible pressure group and get concessions in the law the way the rocket boys have done. If and when this happens, the good people of Inoxia etc will be in a position to expand their businesses and make some money.

In the mean time give them a chance, they are doing their best for no return.

Anyway thanks to this forum I think we all know who the good guys and the bad guys are!