Balloons have the magic ability to delight us and are essential for any birthday party. Though balloons are fun and exciting, blowing them up isn't always fun as they require a good set of lungs or a balloon pump.  One should always use a balloon pump to inflate a balloon. Keep balloons away from eyes and face as the bursting of balloon may cause injury and do not try to inflate a balloon by mouth.  

With a huge collection of balloon pumps stacked in stores, particularly with cheap Chinese look-alike fake imports, it is difficult to choose a good quality, durable, less expensive, efficient balloon pump. Here is the guide:

What should you look for while choosing a good quality balloon pump?

1)     A good quality pump must be strong , durable,  but at the same time light weight and easy to carry.

2)      Must fit all types of balloons like modelling balloons, round balloons of different dia meters.

3)      Must inflate faster with less effort

4)      and also be maintenance-free. 

Here is our attempt to evaluate a good balloon pump we found in the market : 

A good quality Hand held Double Action Balloon Pump or Twin Action or 2- ways Balloon Pump also known as Faster Blaster balloon pump is now available in India at amazon . This twin action or 2way balloon pump can be used for inflating modelling or twisting balloons like 260, 350, 646 and also for inflating round balloons (5" to 12"), heart shaped balloons (6" and 12") and any foil balloon. This pump also inflates air mattresses, beach toys etc

This Twin Action, Faster Blaster II balloon pump is made in Sweden, exclusively for Gemar balloons, Italy for their sole official distributor in India - 'bubbly balloons' and is now offered for sale on www.amazon.in  It is more efficient than many balloon pumps available in the market as it has dual action.

This balloon pump inflates faster and with less effort because of a unique double action design where they pump air on both the push and pull strokes, which creates an even air flow. That is, the pump Inflates the balloon when you push the pump as well as when you pull the pump- bothways (twin- action), for easy, faster and effortless balloon inflation. The out stroke and in stroke give out air and this balloon pump reduces the back flow of air from the balloon to the pump.

This balloon pump is easy-to-carry, easy -to-use, and is small-sized and with light weight and hence is a good product for young adults or women of smaller build. The pump requires no special skills to operate

These balloon pumps are precision crafted from rugged durable plastic and are compact and light weight, and the nozzle is formed with a snoopy top on the handle to fit most types of balloons of different dia meters and modelling or twisting balloons without any extra adapter. 

This twin action balloon pump has a pump volume of 2 x 0.3dm³

It requires no real maintenance. To get an old pump to function like new, you can, if necessary, add a little oil that you use for preparing food. We have heard of a balloon artist who used the same for over 10 years!

This balloon pump is the same that most balloon decorators and balloon twisters use the world over. It is highly recommended for balloon decorators and also for balloon twisters, as it is durable, portable, easy to use and affordable. Have you gotten yours?

The brands that are showcased in a physical store are often those that offer more margins to the store and not necessarily be a good brand or a quality product. The specialty items found on the top shelf are generally chosen by local store managers based on its profit margin.

Sometime back we approached a famous Dubai based Indian Retail chain stores, headquartered in Bangalore to sell our balloons. we found some cheap quality locally made balloons on their shelves. When we pointed out this to the merchandising manager of the stores, this is what he replied “ we are not bothered about quality , we are only worried about our margins. Customers who walk into our stores always assume that we sell quality products and they blindly buy whatever we offer, assuming that this is the best quality available compared to other stores”. This is true as there is always a misconception that goods sold in big stores are of good quality. When we explained to the merchandising manager that our balloons are made from pure rubber latex, 100% bio degradable, comply with CE European Toy Safety Standards, Tested for hazardous chemicals at SGS TUV SAAR, Germany , he agreed with the quality but simply rejected stating the margin is low’

We then thought we, at bubbly balloons, will be successful selling on online market place like  amazon ,  flipkart, snapdeal and other e stores. Here we learnt a different story. There are thousands of balloons – unbranded or unknown brands that are listed on these market places. No information on where they are made, how they are made or certified. Most of them are self-certified with the words’ best quality’, ‘bio-degradable’, ‘ helium-quality’ and so on.  Here is why the balloons have to be certified:

A Toy is defined as ‘an object for children to play with’. Since balloons too are used by children to play with , balloons are classified  under the category ‘Toys’. Toy safety is the practice of ensuring that toys, are safe, usually through the application of set of safety standards. In many countries, including India, commercial toys must be able to pass safety tests in order to be sold. Many countries model their safety standards on the European Union’s EN 71 standards. The toys have to be tested safe as per the guidelines in accredited laboratories. On the 20.07.2013, the new European toy standard EN 71 part 12:  an amendment of the EN 71 part 3: migration of certain elements came into effect.  Our  balloons made by Gemar balloons, Italy are already tested regarding the new standards and passed. Our balloons have  also successfully passed TUV proof tests in relation to the new standards.

Getting back to what we were saying, when you search for balloons on these online market places, the results show some cheap locally made or Chinese balloons that do not comply with any quality. Then how do they manage to appear on the front pages? 1) The vendors list the products with very high unrelated MRP and then offer a huge discount. Thus highly discounted products are always given prominence in the search result. 2) some vendors manage to get a high customer rating by self - ordering the products among friends and relatives and who then give a 5-star rating for the product. These 5-star rated products always appear on the front pages 3) Your decision to buy based on the displayed image may not be wise, as often the images may not be the actual image , but some  downloaded attractive image from the internet that is remotely related to the product displayed.

It’s a challenge getting a good quality product at least standing shoulder to shoulder on the online marketplace with cheap quality products. The cheaper brands always find more favourable placement, particularly on online market places

When it comes to their little ones, every birthday is a milestone for parents. So make it count!

Certain birthdays carry more significance than others. From US to India and from Europe to Korea, first birthdays are one of the most widely celebrated milestones all over the world. First Birthday is just as much a party for the parents as it is for their child. Go extra mile to make sure that the party is the ‘talk of the town’. Trust 'bubbly balloons' with this special day and choose from our wide variety of  First Birthday Party Supplies

Adorable Latex and new Microfoil birthday balloons for First Birthday are available with us . Also available are First Birthday Banners, Swirl Danglers, Decorating Kits, Table Decorating Kits, Cut outs, Candles and so on…for First Birthday Boys as well as for First Birthday Girls.

Call us today to know how our balloon decorations could create a visually stunning experience in your child's first birthday party! Visit us at  www.merabubbly.com 

Bubbly Balloons launches new online shopping site for balloons & party accessories.. 

Over 600 quality Latex Balloons, Foil Balloons and Balloon Accessories at a very low price are now available in India on our e shop .  Our premium balloons and world class balloon accessories are directly imported by us  from Italy & USA and distributed . 

We import and distribute Gemar balloons from Italy, Anagram Balloons from USA, Amscan party products from USA and Conwin balloon decor equipment from USA. Visit us at www.merabubbly.com