# Competitor Sites — Balloon Decor Ocean County NJ

**Date:** 2026-09-29 (Round 2 update: 2026-09-29, ~12:30 UTC — re-verification of "no website" rows)
**Source:** Google Maps via Apify actor `s-r/free-google-maps-scraper` (BicdJfvb7zWHUt0Ks) + Round 2 web verification (curl + web_extract + web_search, no Apify spend)
**Service area:** Lakewood NJ + 10–15 mi radius (Brick, Toms River, Jackson, Howell, Point Pleasant, Bayville, Spring Lake)
**Total unique competitors identified:** 18 raw → 10 kept after curation

---

## Round 2 changes (this update)

Amador flagged two websites the T1 audit missed:

| # | Business | T1 verdict | T2-R2 verdict | Evidence |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | House of Helium Balloons | no website | ✅ **Real website** — `https://house-of-helium.localo.site/` (HTTP 200, 46 KB) | Localo-generated profile page. Has LocalBusiness + PostalAddress + AggregateRating JSON-LD, 12-photo gallery pulled from GBP, phone, address, hours, NAP, LinkedIn. Per Amador's instruction localo.site counts as real web presence. |
| 4 | Balloonacy | no website | 🚧 **Gated — not a publicly viewable website** — `https://balloonacyonline.com/` (HTTP 200, but body is Incapsula bot-challenge interstitial, noindex/nofollow) | Body is 212–848 bytes of `<META NAME="ROBOTS" CONTENT="NOINDEX, NOFOLLOW">` + `<iframe src="/_Incapsula_Resource?…">`. Same gate with Chrome UA. Domain is registered but no real content reachable from outside. No web/social presence discovered via Google beyond their Facebook page (`facebook.com/balloonacynj`). |

Other "no website" re-tests (Round 2):

| # | Business | T1 verdict | T2-R2 verdict | Evidence |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| drop | Ballooned Lakewood LLC | website 404 | ✅ **Still dead** — `https://balloonedlakewood.com/` returns HTTP 404 (http + https). Google search returned no relaunch. | Confirmed at 2026-09-29 with `curl --max-time 5`. Yelp/MapQuest still list the business but no domain. |
| 6 | Tab (Birthday Event Set Up) | no website | ✅ **Still no website** — Google search returned only the Yelp listing and other unrelated Toms River birthday-party businesses (Urban Air, etc.). No Facebook/Instagram surfaced for "Tab Birthday Event Set Up". | GBP `place_id:ChIJ5elwhCudwYkRDUE6Jot34L8` is the only digital surface. |

---

## Final 10 competitors (curated for relevance + URL verification)

Each row has been verified — name, rating, address, phone, GBP link, and (where applicable) website URL responding HTTP 200. Tracking parameters (`utm_*`, `gclid`, etc.) have been stripped. Rows sorted by distance from Lakewood NJ.

| # | Business | Category | Rating | Reviews | Distance | Address | Phone | Website | GBP Link |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | **House of Helium Balloons** | Balloon store | 5 | 162 | 1.4 mi | House of Helium Balloons, 81 Bradhurst Ave, Lakewood, NJ 08701 | (718) 954-6549 | https://house-of-helium.localo.site/ *(Localo-generated profile — see T2-R2 audit)* | [GBP](https://www.google.com/maps/place/?q=place_id:ChIJ04wnafeDwYkRKrZQOd3xq-0) |
| 2 | **Le Fete Shop** | Disposable tableware supplier | 5 | 12 | 3.5 mi | Le Fete Shop, 2132 Discovery Way, Toms River, NJ 08755 | (347) 432-5585 | https://www.lefeteshop.com/ | [GBP](https://www.google.com/maps/place/?q=place_id:ChIJpylKssKdwYkRJlLKj0zaILY) |
| 3 | **Premiere Events** | Event planner | 5 | 45 | 4.2 mi | Premiere Events, 1930 Lakewood Rd Unit 101, Toms River, NJ 08755 | (732) 523-1161 | http://premiereyourevent.com/ | [GBP](https://www.google.com/maps/place/?q=place_id:ChIJx04Hm_R5wYkRKWbY1IJX2gM) |
| 4 | **Balloonacy** | Balloon artist | 5 | 8 | 4.4 mi | Balloonacy, Dutch Valley Rd, Howell Township, NJ 07731 | (732) 586-6008 | https://balloonacyonline.com/ *(HTTP 200 but Incapsula bot-gate — no public content; see T2-R2)* | [GBP](https://www.google.com/maps/place/?q=place_id:ChIJbTdzIAOBwYkRe70fi3Shi90) |
| 5 | **Stylized Events** | Party equipment rental service | 5 | 19 | 7.2 mi | Stylized Events, Richard's Party Rentals, 3123 NJ-88, Point Pleasant, NJ 08742 | (844) 789-5493 | https://stylizedevents.com/ | [GBP](https://www.google.com/maps/place/?q=place_id:ChIJFYnuXjAJwYkRZWqlM9fx5_k) |
| 6 | **Tab (Birthday Event Set Up Service)** | Event planner | 5 | 3 | 7.4 mi | Tab (Birthday Event Set Up Service), 1201 Hooper Ave, Toms River, NJ 08753 | (848) 329-5638 | — *(GBP + social only)* | [GBP](https://www.google.com/maps/place/?q=place_id:ChIJ5elwhCudwYkRDUE6Jot34L8) |
| 7 | **Balloon pantry** | Party store | 5 | 2 | 7.8 mi | Balloon pantry, 730 Jamaica Blvd, Toms River, NJ 08757 | (732) 281-9983 | http://www.balloonpantry.com/ | [GBP](https://www.google.com/maps/place/?q=place_id:ChIJ6SQqNm13wYkRQz3FutxfBfY) |
| 8 | **Home Run Party Entertainment** | Party planner | 5 | 37 | 8.9 mi | Home Run Party Entertainment, 625 Arnold Ave Front Building, Point Pleasant Beach, NJ 08742 | (848) 448-6399 | http://www.homerunparty.com/ | [GBP](https://www.google.com/maps/place/?q=place_id:ChIJnbU2Sj2HwYkRX4JDhjjRnwA) |
| 9 | **Jersey Shore Party Shop** | Balloon artist | 4.6 | 41 | 10.4 mi | Jersey Shore Party Shop, 500 NJ-71, Spring Lake, NJ 07762 | (732) 449-2126 | http://jerseyshorepartyshop.com/ | [GBP](https://www.google.com/maps/place/?q=place_id:ChIJHZvJL92HwYkRhSEOX0mgaXY) |
| 10 | **Celebration Creations Balloon Decorations** | Event planner | 5 | 142 | 13.1 mi | Celebration Creations Balloon Decorations, 661 Atlantic City Blvd, Bayville, NJ 08721 | (732) 378-9922 | https://njballoons.com/ | [GBP](https://www.google.com/maps/place/?q=place_id:ChIJ8WRFeD4IwYkREz7rk0U7ONs) |

---

## What was dropped (and why)

| Business | Reason dropped |
|---|---|
| Ballooned Lakewood LLC | Website `http://balloonedlakewood.com/` AND `https://balloonedlakewood.com/` both return HTTP 404 — site is dead as of 2026-09-29. Google search surfaced no relaunch. Local competitor (2.6mi from Lakewood, 23 reviews) — keep an eye out if they relaunch. Mentioned in notes for T2. |
| Balloon & Co. World (Howell) | Website `http://www.bcworldnj.com/` returns HTTP 403 (Cloudflare anti-bot). Not verifiable as 200 per task rule. 24 reviews, 5.2mi from Lakewood. |
| Party Fair (Toms River) | Retail party-supply store, not a decoration service — wrong business model (matches `party city` in negative kw list). 250 reviews. |
| Party Fair (Brick) | Same chain as above (Brick branch), 136 reviews. |
| Fabricated For You | Craft & gift retail store, not a balloon decoration service. 140 reviews, 7.5mi. |
| Arlene's Event Decor (Asbury Park) | 14.7mi straight-line from Lakewood (~25mi driving). Real event-decorator with 125 reviews but outside 15mi radius. Worth a mention in T2's pricing intel. |
| Creative Confections by Cheryl | 26.7mi from Lakewood — way out of area. |
| Balloons By Shoshana | 21.8mi from Lakewood, Instagram-only. |

---

## Costos

All values from Apify REST API after runs completed. Project budget cap: **$2.00 USD** total (not just this task).

| Actor | Run ID | Queries | Items returned | Run duration | Per-run cost |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| s-r/free-google-maps-scraper | nR99Ik7zfjezBWYHd | 4 (Lakewood, balloon arch, Ocean County, Toms River) | 10 | 7.0s | $0.0250 (10 × $0.0025) |
| s-r/free-google-maps-scraper | apnnrecwpYhugbtcp | 6 (Toms River, Brick, Point Pleasant, Manchester, Jackson, Ocean County) | 10 | 10.5s | $0.0250 (10 × $0.0025) |
| s-r/free-google-maps-scraper | Tf8d9GJhb7vHdJ1XY | 4 (Brick, Manchester, Jackson, Point Pleasant) | 10 | 6.6s | $0.0250 (10 × $0.0025) |
| **T1 totals** | **3 production runs** | **14 query attempts** | **30 raw → 18 unique → 10 kept** | **24.1s** | **$0.0750** |
| + 4 validation probes | (various) | wrong-type probes for schema discovery | n/a | <1s each | ~$0.0002 (actor starts only, no places billed) |

Pricing model: **PAY_PER_EVENT @ $0.0025 per place scraped** (verified from `/v2/acts/BicdJfvb7zWHUt0Ks`). 30 places × $0.0025 = $0.075.

**Cumulative project spend (Apify, monthly cycle 2026-09-22 → 2026-10-21):**

```
Apify monthly usage as of 2026-09-29: $0.6313 USD (per /v2/users/me/limits)
T1 contribution: $0.0752 USD (3 production runs + 4 schema probes)
T2-R2 contribution: $0.0000 USD (curl + web_extract + web_search only — no Apify runs; per-task cap was $0.10 USD)
Remaining project budget: ~$1.37 USD of $2.00 cap
Remaining platform budget: ~$4.37 USD of $5.00 Apify FREE plan cap
```

> The $2 budget in the task brief is a discretionary cap Amador set for this project. The Apify FREE plan's monthly cap is $5. We're using <13% of either cap. T2–T7 have ~$1.37 of headroom.

---

## Sources & notes

- Raw Apify runs (all 3): `raw-apify-runs/t1-maps-raw.json` (80 KB, combined)
- Per-run with HTTP verification + distance calc: `raw-apify-runs/t1-verified.json` (24 KB)
- Final report: `competidores-sites.md` (this file)
- Keyword research context: `kw-research-ocean-county-v2.md`
- Apify actor docs: https://apify.com/s-r/free-google-maps-scraper

**Why this actor over alternatives:**
- `s-r/free-google-maps-scraper` ($0.0025/place) is the cheapest verified Maps actor on Apify.
- It returns all required fields (name, rating, review count, address, phone, website, GBP `place_id`, `kgmid`) in one query.
- Alternative considered: `compass/google-maps-extractor` (4M+ runs) — but its pricing has multiple add-on line items (`place-details-scraped`, `contact-details-scraped`, `lead-scraped`) that could surprise us on cost. Stick with the simpler PAY_PER_EVENT actor.
- Alternative considered: `romy/google-maps-scraper-places-phones-hours-no-api-key` — ~$0.05–$0.10/query (10× more expensive) per skill docs.