Opening a pet store?

[hoax]

I live in a town with a little under 40,000 people, surrounded by about 10 - 15 smaller towns within about a 20 minute drive. There is one pet store in Cleburne, and it is pretty bad. They are not clean and the animals are of poor quality. Their dogs come from puppy mills or local mutts, that they sell for WAY more then you can get a decent registered animal. They have a small nice selection of birds that do look like they are taken care of reasonably well for a pet store. Their rodents look like they are taken care of but their back room smells terrible. Their fish are bad, if they aren't already dead in their over crowded tanks, they die within a couple weeks of getting them home. Their reptiles are under fed, infested with mites, and not even remotely kept in the proper caging, a normal BP sells for $175. The backs of their reptile cages are peg board like what you would use in your back yard tool shed, and an exposed 100w light bulb.

I want to open a small pet store in town, nothing extravagant just a clean quality pet and pet supply store. I only want to do reptiles and birds, there are enough places to go get dog collars and cat toys. I want to have your basic reptiles but I also want to have some nice morphs for sale. I wouldn't call it a "boutique" pet shop but I do want it to be a place synonymous with quality and people who care. I would rather have a smaller inventory with better quality then have a whole bunch of cheaply made crap.

So I guess my question is, would you rather go to a quality store that doesn't have the quantity or a quantity store that doesn't have the quality? I have to run for now but I'll get back on later and expound a bit.

Mike

[Jyson]

So I guess my question is, would you rather go to a quality store that doesn't have the quantity or a quantity store that doesn't have the quality? I have to run for now but I'll get back on later and expound a bit.

Mike

Um, YES! Quality always beats quantity!
Years back there was a local pet shop I went to for feeder rats, and they took good of their animals. Because of that people from everywhere within a 100 mile radius went there to buy feeders from them. Granted they closed down because their lease was up, but they were doing great.

[bamagecko76]

Yes, I think quality is defanantly better. There is a local reptile store near me and they have very high quality and a pretty good quanity but what they don't have they'll order for you.

[BPelizabeth]

well definetly quality is what I look at first and I will drive as far as I need to each week. It currently takes us about 40-50 minutes to get to the store of our choice each week for feeders.

I might also suggest a website for your store as selling morphs is definetly a bit more difficult if you don't have the niche clientel around. That would support your sales as well. With your local store being that high in prices you could afford to take care of the snakes and have a great store set up properly and still make a little money. I always thought this was more of a boutique idea as well...offer TRUE caresheets on your animals and you can also put websites for those animals. I would also sell thermostats...not high end...but some of those that are mid priced. I have never seen that in a pet store and it is SUCH a needed staple to setting up a proper environment. Also and this is something that our local store here does. You walk into the breeding room for rats and mice to pick up your feeders. It is VERY clean....you see everything and you see how they are taken care of/fed...etc. Same with the crickets...you walk into a room and you see everything. I like that....as I can ensure that these are properly taken care of and fed and worthy of feeding to my animals. (yes I am anal)....lol

Just my 2cents... as if I saw a store like this ...I would totally travel to it.

[hoax]

Yes, I think quality is defanantly better. There is a local reptile store near me and they have very high quality and a pretty good quanity but what they don't have they'll order for you.

Thats exactly what I want, If I don't have what the customer wants I want to be able to find it for them and show them where to get it at the best price, so when they need something I have they will want to come to me and they will want to tell their friends.

Mike

[ballpythonluvr]

When I go to a pet store I definitely look for qualtiy over quantity. I wish there were some decent pet stores in my area.

[hoax]

well definetly quality is what I look at first and I will drive as far as I need to each week. It currently takes us about 40-50 minutes to get to the store of our choice each week for feeders.

I might also suggest a website for your store as selling morphs is definetly a bit more difficult if you don't have the niche clientel around. That would support your sales as well. With your local store being that high in prices you could afford to take care of the snakes and have a great store set up properly and still make a little money. I always thought this was more of a boutique idea as well...offer TRUE caresheets on your animals and you can also put websites for those animals. I would also sell thermostats...not high end...but some of those that are mid priced. I have never seen that in a pet store and it is SUCH a needed staple to setting up a proper environment. Also and this is something that our local store here does. You walk into the breeding room for rats and mice to pick up your feeders. It is VERY clean....you see everything and you see how they are taken care of/fed...etc. Same with the crickets...you walk into a room and you see everything. I like that....as I can ensure that these are properly taken care of and fed and worthy of feeding to my animals. (yes I am anal)....lol

Just my 2cents... as if I saw a store like this ...I would totally travel to it.

I would want a new herper to walk in get the pet that is right for him/her, get the proper housing, get a proper BPnet care sheet, and be able to come back any time for help, feeders, or just a place to hang out and shoot the breeze.

I want a place that people would feel welcome coming to learn, because if they are there learning they might want to upgrade their T-stat or maybe get a friend for that new gecko she got last week, a pet store where the customer comes before the sale. I am in a service industry now and the thing that I find the most satisfying is knowing that my customers are happy and don't want to look for better service some where else.

[BPelizabeth]

I would LOVE that!! It kills me when you walk in and get crazy info or sub par products.

[dsirkle]

There is a local reptile store near me (not pet's, just reptiles) that is owned by a reptile hobbyist and breeder that is miles above any pet store in the area and I shop there. They breed many of the animals that they sell or know the breeders of the animals and the animal prices are good. The prices for supplies are higher than at a chain store because they can't buy in the volume of chain stores. Any reptile purchased from there won't be sick or parasite ridden. I vote for quality.

[mainbutter]

Bruce Delles owns and runs Twin Cities Reptiles, probably one of the most top notch reptile and other exotics pet shops in the country.

If it's something you're serious about, hit him up and he might have some advice.

Most pet stores get the majority of their income from selling supplies and feeders, not the animals themselves. Selling quality animals for reasonable prices creates a customer base who will return to your store.

Starting up your own business, especially a retail storefront, is incredibly difficult. Don't expect to have a paycheck for 3+ years. In addition, it's practically impossible to get a bank loan these days for starting up a small business, so you'll have to be completely self-funded unless you find investors who can help get you started.