NEPT (New England Paper Tubes)

[scarbelly]

I recently went on to nepapertubes.com (the website of NEPT) and I asked for a quote on 50 1 pound rocket tubes with a wall thickness of 1/4". (length 7.5") Now normally one would expect this to run you upwards of $25 ( I think?). The quote came about a week after asking for it, but when I got it, the website said (i believe) that each set of 50 would cost 3 dollars. This seems insanely cheap to me, and so I ask you experienced people: is it for real? or a simple mistake? Thank you.

 

P.S. Direct quote from email:

"We are pleased to quote the following:

 

7-1/2" Lg x 3/4" ID x 1-1/4" OD x 1/4" Wall

Nepcore Kraft Convolute Wound

 

Qty 50 @$3.00 ea. FOB, PAWT. R.I

COD, or we do accept all major credit cards.

 

We are looking forward to hearing from you.

 

Thanking you in advance.

 

New England Paper Tube Co., Inc."

 

P.P.S. Whats with FOB,PAWT. R.I.? is it just their location?

[deadman]

To me it looks like it is saying 50 @ $3 each. So a total cost of $150.

 

Not trying to nitpick, but it is www.nepapertube.com

Edited July 16, 2009 by deadman

[Gunzway]

'Qty 50 @$3.00 ea.'

Yeah, I also interpret it as $3 each.

[TrueBluePyro]

I Think there saying you get 50 for the price of $3, pretty good deal. because they say "Qty 50" note the Qty, yeah...

[Mumbles]

Nope, they're $3 a piece. I would have actually expected something higher, unless they just have spare stock laying around they're trying to offload, and it's not a true run. You probably should clarify, but I doubt you're going to get them for $3 total. You might also want to clarify that price includes the setup price, and it certainly does not include shipping, which could be pricy.

 

Jim also sells some stronger tubes if you want to check it out:

http://www.hobbyhorse.com/pyro_tubes.shtml

 

The "High preformance" tubes clock in at 3/16" wall. Not quite the 1/4" you're after, but it might do the trick for you.

[TrueBluePyro]

yeah, ur right, i just had a thought and yeah. Do u really need them this thick? Edited July 16, 2009 by TrueBluePyro

[Swede]

Yeah it'd be nice if they were $3 for 50, but I don't think it'd be physically possible to make them that cheaply.

 

I don't care how good a tube is, 3 bucks for a single tube is too much, unless you are making rocket motors for fancy model rockets and such.

[scarbelly]

yeah, ur right, i just had a thought and yeah. Do u really need them this thick?

No I don't need them that thick, I was just checking the site to see the prices straight from the company. If it was really good I figured I would consider buying them. Anyways, I sent them an email asking for clarification and I will update you when I get a response.

I kinda didn't believe they would be $3 for 50, but I kinda didn't believ it would be $3 each either... Maybe just a mistake?

[deadman]

I believe NEPT would charge $3 dollars per tube. They usually do very large orders. On smaller orders the profit margin has to "skyrocket" to make worth their time and effort. You probably should have asked for there long tube quote and cut them down yourself. That probably is where some of the high cost comes in too.

 

I could see spending dollars maybe tens of dollars if I was really in love with Clark's giant steel fountain and wanted to make several of them, but I don't see the dimensions for that tube available according to there sight. Either way $3 for a tube is too high. Maybe this is why commercial fireworks are so expensive nowadays. The chinese buy there tubes from New England!

[hondo]

why dont you ask them how many you would need to order to get the price down to 50 cents each. sometime if you actually talk to them on the phone they can give you some Ideas of how to get the price down. like ordering the tubes 5 foot long or wait till they run a batch of the same size or order a ton of them then you can go into business and sell them, yea right

 

just a thought

 

or you might just want to order from the usual places so far the government has not tried to stop the sell of Paper tubes. but give them time they can f**k up any thing they touch

 

we won our independance in 1776 and we fight to stay free every day

Edited July 18, 2009 by hondo

[scarbelly]

yeah so all of you were right. After thinking about it i realized you had to be, but I continued to send them an email anyways. I got it back and they confirmed your beliefs that each tube cost 3 bucks. I will just have to buy from other places i guess... oh well.

 

Actually, out of curiosity; how many of you actually buy tubes versus making them? Ids the difference in homemade versus bought tubes very significant?

[Ventsi]

Well, that depends. For the average small time hobbyist rolling tubes for rockets is easy, and convenient.

For people who make hundreds of devices a day want absolute consistency and reliability bulk online buying is the way to go.

Although even the hobbyist pyro will get annoyed having to roll tubes whenever they want to shoot a rocket.

I recommend the tubes from skylighter , every other place has a very poor selection of tubes, most of which are some crazy dimensions 1"x 3"? They might s well sell flash.

Edited July 18, 2009 by Ventsi

[Mumbles]

You can get some sort of idea what kind of money you have to shell out by looking at the link I posted above and seeing those. I've seen Jim's supply, and I could build a very nice castle out of all the boxes. I can't remember how many tubes he bought overall, but said he spent a good chunk of change to get decent pricing. Well over $10,000.

 

I generally purchase most of my tubes. It's not that I build so many shells, or sleep on piles of cash. It's about convenience and consistency for me. When I am spending 10-15 hours on a shell, an extra 2 or 3 hours plus additional drying time really starts to build up. If I don't do something correctly and my ID or OD don't end up right, it could seriously mess up something. I do roll all of my own canister shell casings, and thats time consuming enough.