Are pets like bicycles?

It occurs to me that maybe pet stores and bike shops have more in common than you might think. In bike shops, the big ticket items are bicycles; they're usually the most expensive single item a customer will buy, and they're theoretically what the store is "all about". However, bicycles are not at all what bike shops live off of; that would be accessory sales. Bicycles are big ticket items, but selling one requires a fair amount of an employee's time (and the better the shop, the more time the employee takes). Bikes don't get that great of a markup (percentage-wise), and those that don't get sold before the next model year is released usually have to be marked down (even if the next model year has changed little beyond the paint color); not to mention that with a big-ticket item there's additional pressure to compete with internet sellers making far less than typical retail margin. So bike shops more or less break even on actual bikes, if they're lucky.
What lets them keep the lights on is accessory sales: clothing, helmets, locks, cupholders, shoes, drink mixes, seat covers, racks, fenders, bags, etc. Also regular maintenance items like tires, lubes, chains, cables, etc. Repairs can vary, but they're still practically never a cash cow.

In a pet store, the actual pet might be the "big ticket item" if it's especially exotic, but animals have to be looked after, which cost money and requires time; and selling a pet also requires a good bit of an employee's time (and similarly, the better the pet store, the more time it takes). If the animal doesn't sell, it still has to be fed. I don't know what kind of markups pet stores get on animals, but I'm guessing they aren't cash cows either. So that leaves accessories: enclosures, decorations, heaters, lights, collars, beds, etc; plus maintenance supplies like food and bedding.

I've worked in the bike industry, but not in the pet industry, so please correct me if I'm wrong. But in the bike industry, what that all means is that if you value the advice and expertise, or even just the convenience, of having a good local bike shop, you might as well buy your accessories there instead of online, even if it's a few bucks more (but you'll have it right away and won't have to pay for shipping, and you'll be able to see it before you buy it and know for sure that it's what you wanted).
And I would imagine the same is true of pet stores. If you appreciate having a high quality pet store with knowledgeable staff that takes good care of their animals, you might as well support them by buying accessories there.

This is all assuming that the place has what you want and that they're actually good - there are crap bike shops that sell people bikes that don't fit and crap they don't need just like there are pet stores that don't take care of their animals or don't help their customers be prepared to do the same.

But there are some definite parallels, no?

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Originally Posted by Coluber42

But there are some definite parallels, no?

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Yes there are. The same is true of motorcycle and car dealers, gun shops, boating supply stores, and many other niche industries.

hmm, LB was the only snake i purchased from the pet store i only get live feeder rats/mice from.. I seen that they had LB and after 3 weeks of getting feeder rats/mice he was still there so i knew what snake caught my eye and i went for it...cheapest morph i ever OWN/ed..

I can see the parallels, but I see some issues too. Most that the difference between retail and online pricing is usually huge, with the online stores often having prices half or less compared to the retail counterpart. Now I'm all for supporting local, especially if the price is within a reasonable margin of what is available online. Even did just that with my other hobby this weekend. But where the pet industry is concerned, way too much can be had from a local building supply store that will do the job as well or better, and be a lot cheaper to boot. Examples: a halogen basking bulb from Lowe's costs me around $3-5, whereas the petstore version will cost $9-15 and likely not last nearly as long. Plastic tote from whatever store is a few bucks, verses the cost of a tank and screen lid, which then needs a ton of mods anyway to work right. Or not even having prorper equipment available from the big players in the industry, like not having one decent thermostat among them. The good ones come from smaller niche companies. Where as good quality, which I usually refer to as hobby grade, can usually only be had from the stores that specialize in it, such as good quality bike specific accessories, hobby grade radio control vehicles (my other hobby) and so on. I mean let's face it, how many petstores have you walked in where they had vision cages and herpstats in stock? Those were just the first two I thought of, insert any brands there. Unlike most hobby industries, I feel the pet reptile industry has a very long way to go on producing secondary items that are actually useful.

this is the same for pretty much anything anyone wants to make profit from... Computer sales, Console sales anything you can think of.

With 13 yrs retail experience within various industries quite a time back, I most definitely agree that accessories ARE the name of the game.

You can usually tell a commissioned salesperson right away. They will not just say "anything else?" or "boots with those skis?". They will say "let me show you these new hi-tech boots with awesome new colors...". And then give great benefits as s/he goes down the list of other add-ons.

When the salesperson makes money, the store wins!


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Originally Posted by Darkbird

I can see the parallels, but I see some issues too. Most that the difference between retail and online pricing is usually huge, with the online stores often having prices half or less compared to the retail counterpart. Now I'm all for supporting local, especially if the price is within a reasonable margin of what is available online. Even did just that with my other hobby this weekend. But where the pet industry is concerned, way too much can be had from a local building supply store that will do the job as well or better, and be a lot cheaper to boot. Examples: a halogen basking bulb from Lowe's costs me around $3-5, whereas the petstore version will cost $9-15 and likely not last nearly as long. Plastic tote from whatever store is a few bucks, verses the cost of a tank and screen lid, which then needs a ton of mods anyway to work right. Or not even having prorper equipment available from the big players in the industry, like not having one decent thermostat among them. The good ones come from smaller niche companies. Where as good quality, which I usually refer to as hobby grade, can usually only be had from the stores that specialize in it, such as good quality bike specific accessories, hobby grade radio control vehicles (my other hobby) and so on. I mean let's face it, how many petstores have you walked in where they had vision cages and herpstats in stock? Those were just the first two I thought of, insert any brands there. Unlike most hobby industries, I feel the pet reptile industry has a very long way to go on producing secondary items that are actually useful.

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You're not likely to find large caging at a local retail store simply because it's fairly expensive and it takes up a lot of space; retailers have to turn over inventory - and quickly - to stay in business. They can't tie up a lot of capital and shelf space in items where they may sell one or two a year. So, they focus on consumables - food, substrate, light bulbs - because those keep people coming back to the store.

That said, my local exotic shop does have several new Boamaster melamine racks for sale, as well as a used 60" enclosure in on consignment (and I'm soooooooo tempted...)

OTOH I don't understand why stores don't stock better thermostats, even if it's just the basic mid-range quality models aren't that much more costly than the crappy ones. Yes, you can find t-stats cheaper online but usually if I need a new t-stat I need it right now, not in a week (which is why I have spares). Or, at least the stores should have some decent ones to send home with a new keeper.

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Originally Posted by bcr229

You're not likely to find large caging at a local retail store simply because it's fairly expensive and it takes up a lot of space; retailers have to turn over inventory - and quickly - to stay in business. They can't tie up a lot of capital and shelf space in items where they may sell one or two a year. So, they focus on consumables - food, substrate, light bulbs - because those keep people coming back to the store.

That said, my local exotic shop does have several new Boamaster melamine racks for sale, as well as a used 60" enclosure in on consignment (and I'm soooooooo tempted...)

OTOH I don't understand why stores don't stock better thermostats, even if it's just the basic mid-range quality models aren't that much more costly than the crappy ones. Yes, you can find t-stats cheaper online but usually if I need a new t-stat I need it right now, not in a week (which is why I have spares). Or, at least the stores should have some decent ones to send home with a new keeper.

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Darkbird's post, and the above, got me thinking. I am actually confused by this.

Other types of shops do stock the high end items, even if they take up a lot of floor space. Our local bike ship has the best accessories available, and a few thousand dollar priced bikes are out on the floor. (BF bought himself a bike with accessories this past week.) I've been in small yarn shops that had at least one spinning wheel for sale, even maybe a floor loom. Those are usually $500+ items. I see the latest sewing machines and quilting tools at the quilt shops...

So, why ARE the pet shops so lame?

My first job was as a commissioned employee in a pet store. I can absolutely tell you I would sell you a 60-70 dollar lovebird and then convince you to get the 200 dollar cage now since you'll need it later and it's better than having to get it later, the expensive food because it's better for it, the toys because birds are like bored children and can get into trouble without toys, the nail clippers (unless you would like to pay me to do it) the 10 different perches because just one perch will cause foot problems the little moth catchers just in case the airtight food container, the seed guards to protect your floors from food and poop. And in one of your shopping bags will be my business card telling you that I provide nail and wing trimmings, and I will persist for you when on holiday ( with prices listed)...

Its all all about the stuff. And people would come back, because I knew what I was talking about and gave quality service. Even though I pretty much got them to buy half the store. I even had pictures to help explain why you needed to have what I wanted to sell you.

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Originally Posted by Kokorobosoi

My first job was as a commissioned employee in a pet store. I can absolutely tell you I would sell you a 60-70 dollar lovebird and then convince you to get the 200 dollar cage now since you'll need it later and it's better than having to get it later, the expensive food because it's better for it, the toys because birds are like bored children and can get into trouble without toys, the nail clippers (unless you would like to pay me to do it) the 10 different perches because just one perch will cause foot problems the little moth catchers just in case the airtight food container, the seed guards to protect your floors from food and poop. And in one of your shopping bags will be my business card telling you that I provide nail and wing trimmings, and I will persist for you when on holiday ( with prices listed)...

Its all all about the stuff. And people would come back, because I knew what I was talking about and gave quality service. Even though I pretty much got them to buy half the store. I even had pictures to help explain why you needed to have what I wanted to sell you.

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Wow. Was that store just birds? I'm all for buying what I'm supposed to have - even if I end up spending five times as much.
The thing about so many of the pet stores is that they push the useless junk, and don't stock the equipment the customer actually needs for good husbandry.

No they sold everything, but I was the bird whisperer. Lol.

Sorry, but when pet stores stock 150gal tanks and lighting fixtures that cost hundreds, they could stock larger caging. And thermostats don't take up a ton of space. I could be wrong, but I think with most stores it's all about the margins, rather than what's best for the animals. Otherwise none would sell the crummy little analog gauges, and they would stock decent t-stats. I do understand the stores have to make money to stay open, and if a store has only a few reptiles I wouldn't expect a huge selection of equipment. But I'd hope for decent quality in what they had. Anyway this is getting too far off the track of the thread, so my apologies to the OP. Back on track, yes most retail niche stores will make the bulk of their cash on secondary items and consumables. Having worked at a retail pet store, I know things like bedding, feeders, and in the case of the store I was at, RO water and salt, were kind of the bread and butter items.

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Originally Posted by Darkbird

Sorry, but when pet stores stock 150gal tanks and lighting fixtures that cost hundreds.... *snip* .... if a store has only a few reptiles .... *snip* .... getting too far off the track of the thread, so my apologies to the OP. Back on track, yes most retail niche stores will make the bulk of their cash on secondary items and consumables. Having worked at a retail pet store, I know things like bedding, feeders, and in the case of the store I was at, RO water and salt, were kind of the bread and butter items.

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Actually, it's not really off track. Bike stores that try to cater to every type of bicycling, from a kid's first bike to a roadie to a commuter to a bike tourist to a MTBer don't necessarily do a great job of serving any of those customers. They carry a lot of gear that works more or less OK for a lot of people, even if it isn't quite the perfect thing for most of them; and they don't carry much specialized equipment that only works on one type of bike. If they do carry more specialized stuff, it's probably geared toward the category of rider they make the most money off of. One reason a pet store might prefer to stock a 55-gal aquarium over a similarly-sized Vision enclosure is that you can sell it to people who have reptiles, or fish, or small mammals, or whatever. You can't put fish in an enclosure with a sliding front door; and plenty of aquarium enthusiasts spend a lot of money. Similarly, a bike shop would carry a bunch of stuff that's good for roadies, but might not carry more specialized gear that's only used for particular types of riding.

But if you find someplace that specializes a little more, you'll find a lot more of what you're looking for. Lots of those places have online presences, in addition to (or instead of) brick-and-mortar stores. You'll also get better advice; someone who knows about mountain bike racing won't necessarily know about ultra-distance road riding, just like someone who knows about fish doesn't necessarily also know about geckos. So it's really a jack-of-all-trades, master-of-none situation.

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I could be wrong, but I think with most stores it's all about the margins

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This right here. Yes, pet stores could stock some of the lower end herpstats or VEs like the Intro or VE100, but why sell those $90ish tstats, that they'd have to mark up even further just to break even when you consider overhead cost, when the zoomed dial one markets for over $50 and probably costs pennies on the dollar to buy whole sale? It's the markup that kills it. Plus people don't want to blow their whole budget on one $100+ piece of equipment, knowing there's about 50 other things they need to get, and the employee isn't going to tell them "hey, it's cool, buy this thermostat from us, then go to home depot/wal-mart/whatever and buy this list of super cheap stuff that works as well as if not better than what we're selling".

Combine that with the fact that reptiles (and fish) are still very much considered a throw away pet. You can convince the lay person with no knowledge of their new pet to spend a few hundred dollars on the cute feathery or fluffy pet that interacts with you, but the general public still thinks of reptiles (and again, fish too) as unfeeling decorations. They want to put in the bare minimum effort and expense, and the store still wants to get the biggest sale. So. You end up with sub par "specialty" items that do the bare minimum of functioning while being sold at huge margins which gets the store profit.