Looking for suggestions

Hello
I have been lurking around here for about 5 months now. I have 8 normal ball pythons, 3 cats, 3 rats.
I have a question to ask. I am looking at starting a pet store in my area, and was wondering what types of animals sell the most. I know what is usually in a pet store, but I want to ask what most people buy. I would research anything that Im not familiar with. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks
Jamie

Ball pythons and corn snakes are usually the best sellers

hamsters, bunnies, birds, are all good sellers.

Fish, small mammals and Dog/Cat supplies??

Animals in general or Snakes???

Looking for all animals in general I would like to stay away from fish. Every pet store has fish even Wal-mart. Im looking for reptiles and other small animals most often bought. I intend to do alot of research on this and any animals I would chose to sell. Would also be looking for distributors. I will also be providing care sheets on animals I sell.
Thanks
Jamie

You should try dealing only in captive born/bred snakes.. sadly many pet stores are ill-informed about the reptiles they stock. If you could do what most don't, and research, plan out and use proper caging, I bet you'll go a long way!

I think specialty shops run better than very large and general shops. So i would suggest being a herp specialty possibly with salt water, or tropical fish, with only one or two tanks with hamsters or gerbles. You may have to start with a general shop then focus your shop into an area. But that is just my opinion, i am sure others will say general all the way. top sellers when i was at a pet store:


snakes (maybe not exaclty this order):
1. Ball pythons
2. boas
3. corns
4. Burms
5. king snakes/milks

lizards (stay away from iguanas! too many problems including mites):
1. leo's
2. beardies
3. anoles
4. uromastyxs
5. tokays/various other climbing geckos
6. savs/monitors

amphibs:
1. african claws
2. fire bellies
3. pixie or pacmans (abino pacs are popular)
4. White's tree frog
5. green tree frogs

mammals (stay away from cats and dogs, plenty for adoption)
1. hamsters
2. gerbels
3. guinie pigs
4. rabbits
5. chinchillas
6. feeder/fancy rats and mice

Birds:
1. parakeets
2. cockatiels
3. amazons
4. cockatails

fish:
1. cichlids
2. neons
3. goldfish
4. mollies
5. sword tails
6. plecos
7. guppies
8. feeder fish (golds, tuffies, guppies)

Feeder inverts, frozen rats and mice.

breed your own stuff, people like that you are selling all your own animals and they can know where they're comming from

just what went at my store

~mike

Sell intertebraes like various Tarantula species, Scorpians, and mabe Millipedes and Centipedes.

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Originally Posted by Grim91Z

Sell intertebraes like various Tarantula species, Scorpians, and mabe Millipedes and Centipedes.

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Depends on the state, CT and several others has a no venomous laws, so millipedes are ok, but none of the otherones.

just be sure to do a bit of research on local laws and such about the animals you can have and sell. There are laws in some states about sizes of snakes, like over 7ft and such. just a heads up!!!

~mike

Well, if you want something that will draw attention to your store that not every store, nor every keeper has is saltwater fish. They're very vibrant and gorgeous, and awesome to keep! It would definitely draw some attention to your store. I know you said you didn't want fish but not every store has them...truth is very few have them other than some specialty stores.

As for snakes, I would go with a few different species... I'd avoid selling Burms, retics, afrocks and annies.They're very cool in their own right but I wouldn't carry then nor sell them to just anyone walking in a store willing to drop the money on them. Alot of the stores here I've seen hardly sell them as well which is a good thing. I guess it all depends on location. Try and find out what interests the general public in your area that isn't too difficult or dangerous/harmful to keep if mistakes are made.

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Originally Posted by AndrewH

Well, if you want something that will draw attention to your store that not every store, nor every keeper has is saltwater fish. They're very vibrant and gorgeous, and awesome to keep! It would definitely draw some attention to your store. I know you said you didn't want fish but not every store has them...truth is very few have them other than some specialty stores.

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Only problem with starting an aquatic section/store is huge startup cost. Depending on how large of a saltwater section you went with you'd want the tanks themselves which would have to be custom drilled, sump systems custom drilled, UV sterilizers for each section, protein skimmers, return pumps, heaters, lighting (Metal Halides, T5s, VHO, PCs, or NO Flouros), Reverse Osmosis DI system...then you are talking, setting up plumbing, cycling the tanks, spending the usual minimum order of $500 plus roughly $200 for shipping. All of that livestock cost you can figure as weekly cost...as well as the usual livestock losses. And if you sell the corals and fish, then you'll want to stock salt, foods, additives, filters, substrates, lighting....etc... I think you get the picture. ;) It's costly and at times downright confusing.

Squarefootage is spendy, make the best use of it that you can...mainly products for the animals that you'll be selling. Also find nice displays, costly in the beginning, but definitely worthwhile for saving time on maintenance as well as drawing the customers eye...professionalism is key.

Keep it simple, stay away from fish, as they "can" be great sellers, but you have to first recoup costly initial expenses little by little, whereas you could use the same space for better sellers with a larger profit margin.

Here's what I'd stock.

Lizards:
Leopard Geckos
Anoles
Crested Geckos
African Fat tails
Chameleons
Bearded dragons
Chinese Water Dragons
Tegus
Skinks

Torts/Turtles:
Red ear Sliders
Painted Turtles
Box Turtles
Redfoot Tortoises
Russian Tortoises
Herman's Tortoises

Amphibians:
Salamanders
Newts
Green Tree Frog
Red Eyed Tree Frog
Poison Dart Frogs
Horn Frogs
Firebelly Toads

Snakes:
Cornsnakes (great variability)
Kingsnakes
Asian ratsnakes
Rosy Boas
Ball Pythons
Rubber Boas
Childrens Pythons
Sand Boas
Red-tailed Boas
Carpet Pythons

Birds:
Parakeets
Lovebirds
Cockatiels
Quaker Parrots
Green Cheek Conures
Sun Conures
Jenday Conures
Parrotlets
Lorikeets
Finches
Doves

if larger birds...
Eclectus
Cockatoos

Small Mammals:
Mice
Hamsters
-Dwarves
-Teddy Bear
-Shorthair
Gerbils
Rats
-Feeders (White w/Red eyes)
-Hoodeds
-Dumbos
-etc.
Ferrets
Chinchillas
Hedgehogs
Degus
Guinea Pigs
Rabbits
Sugar Gliders

That's all I can think of as of now...but that's what I'd recommend.

Good luck with your endeavor!

I would like to thank everyone who replied. I now have alot of research to do and Im sure I will be asking more questions later.

Thanks
Jamie

One more suggestion....see if you can find any privately owned successful pet stores...and study THEM. Good luck with it.

Also, check out your state's government small business dept...I know here in MN they will give to a free guide that goes through all of the steps that you need to complete to become a legit small business... as well as the entire business plan writing process.

Again, Good luck!

-Jason

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Originally Posted by JLC

One more suggestion....see if you can find any privately owned successful pet stores...and study THEM. Good luck with it.

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Or if there is one going out of buisness in one area you may want to think about buying them out (Don't stay there they went out for a reason!), and try and stay FAR away from a petco, they undersell many small stores, the way to beat them is quality, variety, and knowlege!!

good luck

A person I know has a store, and bought out two smaller shops that closed; got a lot of nice tanks (for fish displays) for dirt cheap! This person spends a ton on bringing inventory in, and in my opinion they sell things at too low a price, because they say they're not bringing in enough money. If they raised their prices a tad, considering their isolated rural loaction, I am sure they'd be doing better!

depends on where you are...i work in a petshop at the minute and they biggest sellers are rabbits guinea pigs hamsters(gerbils dont go because most people have a think bout tails the same with mice and rats) then u got ur budgies, finchs, canarys cockatiels, reptiles stuff like geckos beardies go well, bps dont really do as much as the baby corns and boas believe it or not...anything overly expensive doesnt normally sell to well eg chinchillas, burms, parrots...alot of people wont buy anoles becasue a) they think they are very plane and b) they arent as calm as the geckos and that its goo tho to have a few more exotic animals of ur own on show...eg a parrot a burm maybe a boa few of the rarer reptiles tht kind of thing..well thats what works here