08/30/2026
We were recently told by someone that $225 for a bounce house was crazy.
Crazy, right? 🤯
$225 for a piece of plastic that holds air and lets your kids launch themselves into the sidewalls for a few hours. 😂
But let’s take a quick look at what actually goes into getting that “piece of plastic” to your backyard…
🎈 The bounce house: About $1,600.
Sure, you can find cheaper ones on Amazon or Walmart. But there’s a pretty big difference between a $300 backyard toy and equipment designed for commercial use, being set up and used hundreds of times.
🛞 The dolly: About $1,500.
Because apparently 300+ pounds of inflatable equipment doesn't magically float from the trailer to your backyard.
🚚 The trailer: About $8,000.
Something has to haul all that plastic around.
🛻 The truck: About $60,000 NEW.
And after one year and 49,506 miles, it's worth roughly $36,000 while we still owe about $50,000.
Apparently trucks don't appreciate like fine wine. 🍷😂
And then there are the costs you don't see:
• Employee wages
• Fuel
• Maintenance
• Cleaning supplies
• Repairs
• Travel time
• Delivery and setup time
• Teardown and pickup
• Shop rent
• Insurance
• Software
• Advertising
• Taxes
• And approximately 47 other expenses that seem to appear out of nowhere.
Like yesterday…
A case of printer paper cost us $77 and lunch at subway for 3 guys, $64.53 for some drinks, bags of chips and 3 sandwiches.....
Apparently we're printing on sheets of gold and fine dining at Subway!
And here's the other part people don't always think about:
We're a seasonal business.
We have roughly 8–9 months to generate enough revenue to cover 12 months of salaries, insurance, rent, equipment, maintenance, and all the other fun stuff that still has to be paid when the bounce houses are sitting quietly in the warehouse.
Because unfortunately, our bills don't go into hibernation when the season ends.
Our employees would still like to be able to cash their checks in December when there's nothing going on…
And the owner?
Well… he still works a full-time time job to ensure everyone else keeps working, so we're not worried about him yet!
So yeah…
$225 might sound like a lot for a bounce house.
But you're not really paying $225 for a piece of plastic.
You're paying for the equipment, the people, the truck, the trailer, the insurance, the fuel, the warehouse, the cleaning, the maintenance, the delivery, the setup, the teardown, the overhead…
…and the privilege of letting someone else deal with all of that while you sit back and enjoy the party. 🎉
We love what we do, and we're incredibly grateful every time you choose to support a local small business.
Just remember…
That bounce house has a LOT more expenses attached to it than the air inside. 😂
