Not sure what to do anymore

[Joshyboy]

I've had a bad feeling from these guys for awhile now but I'm done now but I don't really know what to do. So it started out with me getting to know a peer, his name is Robert and he owns his own reptile store. Now disclaimer. Last time under a different username I posted about having snakes I couldn't feed and blah blah blah and you guys did recon and found them like some FBI agents and started calling their phone number so please DO NOT CALL THEM IR HARASS THEM they're good people but I probably just annoy them. everything is all good I can feed my snakes. Well here's the delemma. Both Robert and his father own the store and they know me well, often talking to me for awhile, and they are very knowledgeable. All their animals are well kept. But when they first opened the store they were extremely nice, treated me as a customer, but slowly I kind of have been mistreated and prices have been changed, and I don't have a problem with that, you have to make money. But with some things, like feeder mice for example, when I know when the weather is cooler the price is cheaper because you don't need to air condition them, they keep the price the same. Just little things. Or when I come in and ask for mice and my mom is waiting on a time restraint in the car and I ask for my usual 6 adult frozen mice I get soemthing like. "I don't know if we have any" what do you mean you don't know. Okay then I say something like "can I get 6 prekilled" and I'll get some response from the father like "I really don't feel like killing them". Come on it literally says on the board you have that. So I sit and wait and banter until he does and I get my things. But just until recently my text conversations with Robert have been really rude and I'm done supporting their business. However I do not want to support petsmart either. I do not know where to get my feeders. I've looked online and the prices are good but when I put the shipping it becomes outrageous. I'm really stuck here. I just don't know what to do. Here are some screenshots of our texts. What do you think?

[Mangiapane85]

What's your question exactly?

The adult mice at my local box store is about 4 dollars per... I've never seen them for 2.50.

Ordering online in bulk is the best bargain, even with shipping.


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[Timelugia]

Temps really don't have to do with prices. If they raised the prices and they said the reason was temp then what they probably meant was "cooling the mice in summer is cutting into our profits so we'll raise them in order to cover that." Changing prices between seasons requires printing out new tags or making new signs- so time and effort. It makes sense for their prices to remain constant.
As for changing the prices, they probably picked a price initially- then realized they were losing money. That's my guess anyway.
Sounds like the son is a bit clueless/apathetic. I'm not sure I would say he's being rude. It's hard to tell from a text. Does sound like their customer service enthusiasm is lacking. How long ago did they open?

But 2.75 doesn't sound bad. But maybe that's 'cause I buy medium live rats and that's a good $8 a week.

Welp time to go track them down
Just kidding.
Dar I ask why petsmart is such a bad alternative? I mean you still get apathetic/clueless employees but at least its a 50/50 chance.

[Coluber42]

What percentage of the cost of one mouse do you think the A/C accounts for? Keep in mind the cost of food, space (even if you do it in the garage of a house you own, there are still costs associated with that), maintaining a breeding colony, and the human labor it takes to clean and feed and stuff. And if you're buying from a retail shop, contained in the price of every single item (yes, even mice bred in the garage) is the cost of rent, electricity, staff (like paying for someone to come in and feed the animals even on days when the store is closed, even if it is the owner - yes, you pay for that when you buy mice from a brick and mortar pet store), and all the other licenses and expenses involved with running a business. Plus the fact that presumably the owners feel that they deserve a decent take home paycheck.

Are you seriously asking for a discount based on what you assume their air conditioning costs are? Are you looking for sympathy because you got a chilly reception?

I have worked in a couple of different small businesses and run my own currently. Sometimes there are customers who just take way more time than they are worth, to put it bluntly. If you're the employee or the owner, after awhile, you just reply very briefly or not at all. You definitely don't go out of your way for the person. Mostly you just hope they'll go away, and if they go waste people's time at the competition, so much the better. People who quibble on the price of small items end up in that category very quickly.

[Joshyboy]

Temps really don't have to do with prices. If they raised the prices and they said the reason was temp then what they probably meant was "cooling the mice in summer is cutting into our profits so we'll raise them in order to cover that." Changing prices between seasons requires printing out new tags or making new signs- so time and effort. It makes sense for their prices to remain constant.
As for changing the prices, they probably picked a price initially- then realized they were losing money. That's my guess anyway.
Sounds like the son is a bit clueless/apathetic. I'm not sure I would say he's being rude. It's hard to tell from a text. Does sound like their customer service enthusiasm is lacking. How long ago did they open?

But 2.75 doesn't sound bad. But maybe that's 'cause I buy medium live rats and that's a good $8 a week.

Welp time to go track them down
Just kidding.
Dar I ask why petsmart is such a bad alternative? I mean you still get apathetic/clueless employees but at least its a 50/50 chance.

They have a white board they change the prices all the time

[Joshyboy]

What percentage of the cost of one mouse do you think the A/C accounts for? Keep in mind the cost of food, space (even if you do it in the garage of a house you own, there are still costs associated with that), maintaining a breeding colony, and the human labor it takes to clean and feed and stuff. And if you're buying from a retail shop, contained in the price of every single item (yes, even mice bred in the garage) is the cost of rent, electricity, staff (like paying for someone to come in and feed the animals even on days when the store is closed, even if it is the owner - yes, you pay for that when you buy mice from a brick and mortar pet store), and all the other licenses and expenses involved with running a business. Plus the fact that presumably the owners feel that they deserve a decent take home paycheck.

Are you seriously asking for a discount based on what you assume their air conditioning costs are? Are you looking for sympathy because you got a chilly reception?

I have worked in a couple of different small businesses and run my own currently. Sometimes there are customers who just take way more time than they are worth, to put it bluntly. If you're the employee or the owner, after awhile, you just reply very briefly or not at all. You definitely don't go out of your way for the person. Mostly you just hope they'll go away, and if they go waste people's time at the competition, so much the better. People who quibble on the price of small items end up in that category very quickly.

The owners father explained it to me that when it's hot outside simply that they have to breed them inside. We live in Southern California it's easily over 100 degrees. He didn't go into detail. I wasn't expecting a discount but during our conversation but it did come up that during the cooler months that price for his mice would come down.

[cletus]

Google is your friend. Unless you live in a really small place I'm sure you can find a source. You may have to buy in bulk to make it worth the trouble but I'm sure you can find something. You might just have to support Petsmart. I know Petsmart is evil on these forums and we aren't supposed to like them all that but for the health and welfare of your animals you might just have to. I buy once a month from a local breeder and euthanize myself with dry ice. The dry ice costs .60 a pound. Once pound does the trick.

[Joshyboy]

What's your question exactly?

The adult mice at my local box store is about 4 dollars per... I've never seen them for 2.50.

Ordering online in bulk is the best bargain, even with shipping.


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My question was who/ where should I buy my mice from? I looked around online but the shipping killed and I don't really have $100 to spend on mice right now. Just wanted suggestions.

[Joshyboy]

Google is your friend. Unless you live in a really small place I'm sure you can find a source. You may have to buy in bulk to make it worth the trouble but I'm sure you can find something. You might just have to support Petsmart. I know Petsmart is evil on these forums and we aren't supposed to like them all that but for the health and welfare of your animals you might just have to. I buy once a month from a local breeder and euthanize myself with dry ice. The dry ice costs .60 a pound. Once pound does the trick.

How much does your breeder charge if you mind me asking? Kind of curious if it matters on how many you buy or not. Would it be cheaper to find a breeder than go to a pet store?

[cletus]

How much does your breeder charge if you mind me asking? Kind of curious if it matters on how many you buy or not. Would it be cheaper to find a breeder than go to a pet store?

Rat pups are 1.50 and small rats are 2.00. I think weaned rats are 1.80. You get a better deal if you buy in bulk. I don't know about mice. I never bought any from him.