Hey guys what do you think of a warehouse kind of pet shop? There are a few places that will be avalable in the next few years that I could use. Three of the places are falling under slowly but they are none the less. But, I was thinking of having people pay like 30 dollars for a membership and just have everything about the same prices as the internet sites, just without shipping, plus I can can beat out them other pet shops by bringing ALOT of there products down to slightly above wholesale. I will not make them go out of business, and will give them fare warning to either get out of the business or? Well, just the one, the other has three different stores and is just money hungry. Anyway, this place will have live fish, 100 fresh tanks 50 salt. Anyway just thinking out loud. John
What do you think of a warehouse?
- Thread starter bb7551
- Start date
clarionreef
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- San Francisco
Goodness me,
Look what our trade is descending into.
LOWBALL price wars on wild resources that are in serious trouble in so many places. He will of course fail but these kinds of fly by niters ruin things for legitamite marinelife retailers before they do.
If it were easily manufactured plastic goods it might be different but to hear this kind of low road game plan as we try to reform and elevate our livestock procedures is sad.
Nice vision there kid.
Steve
ps. Please dont bother applying for membership to AMDA.
Look what our trade is descending into.
LOWBALL price wars on wild resources that are in serious trouble in so many places. He will of course fail but these kinds of fly by niters ruin things for legitamite marinelife retailers before they do.
If it were easily manufactured plastic goods it might be different but to hear this kind of low road game plan as we try to reform and elevate our livestock procedures is sad.
Nice vision there kid.
Steve
ps. Please dont bother applying for membership to AMDA.
cortez marine":1tbqtpvb said:
this is how you reply to a 15-16 yr old kid who's 'feeling his oats'?
the new amda? :roll:
why not try to foster the right direction, then,steve? (assuming this is a kid and not a troll-i'm giving the benefit of the doubt)
can the amda afford such a snooty attitude? :wink:
steve,
fwiw...
amda just lost my vote, and possible future support
methinks you would better serve the industry fostering a more positive attitude about how you handle things in public-hubris is not something an org like the one amda is claiming to be, through your postings about it,can afford, nor is it becoming, regardless of the 'purity' of your motives
(that's the constructive criticism part, btw) :wink:
fwiw...
amda just lost my vote, and possible future support
methinks you would better serve the industry fostering a more positive attitude about how you handle things in public-hubris is not something an org like the one amda is claiming to be, through your postings about it,can afford, nor is it becoming, regardless of the 'purity' of your motives
(that's the constructive criticism part, btw) :wink:
Come on Steve, there are some really questionable members of the AMDA already. I don't agree with his plan either, but there is alot worse in your membership now IMO. If you are going to pick & choose on membership, you should start weeding what you have first.
Bad idea.
You don't have the budget to compete with the big-box type of pet stores such as Petco and Petsmart - stores that can afford the high rent, high exposure locations and who get large discounts because of their buying power.
You would have to provide good customer service while pushing for volume sales. You just wouldn't be able to get any real volume discounts from the vendors based on the sales of one store - no matter how much you could sell.
If you want to have a store, get as good a location as you can afford, provide excellent selection and customer service, work long hours, be smart, and be prepared to struggle for the first while. If you're serious about it, go work for the best of your competitors - study what they do well and what they don't and take it from there.
Just my 2 cents. I'm sure there are others out there with more experience who'll chime in.
You don't have the budget to compete with the big-box type of pet stores such as Petco and Petsmart - stores that can afford the high rent, high exposure locations and who get large discounts because of their buying power.
You would have to provide good customer service while pushing for volume sales. You just wouldn't be able to get any real volume discounts from the vendors based on the sales of one store - no matter how much you could sell.
If you want to have a store, get as good a location as you can afford, provide excellent selection and customer service, work long hours, be smart, and be prepared to struggle for the first while. If you're serious about it, go work for the best of your competitors - study what they do well and what they don't and take it from there.
Just my 2 cents. I'm sure there are others out there with more experience who'll chime in.
DBM":1fpwpeip said:
Amen to this.
I had a reply typed up last night and my browser blew up... and I didn't feel like re-typing it over again.
Regarding Steve's comments, I am going to give STEVE the benefit of the doubt that he was unaware that he's talking to a young person, and thought he was talking to an adult. Since we've all heard trolls and wannabes here every so often, I can see where he might perceive this as yet another of those...... (Right, Steve?).
John... what I was going to say last night...
What makes you think you can rent a warehouse, pay all that overhead, utilities, water, employees, upkeep, still make $30K/yr for yourself, and be ABLE to undercut all the etailers? IF (and that's a big IF) you could do that, you would have to be turning and burning a helluva lot of livestock - is that what you really want to do? IMO that would put you in the "money hungry" crowd that you are critical of now, because you would really have to sell sell sell to be able to accomplish that.
Quality - not quantity. Start SMALL. Do it BETTER than any of the others. Size does not matter if you are the best. Size will happen if you do it right - the business will grow, and you can grow with it.
You're young, you need to watch and learn before you venture out on your own. I worked in small-medium sized busisness for 20 years before I opened my own place, I spent a year in this trade working for somebody else in my last year before I opened my place, and I spent the next 8 months tuning my business plan, finding a location and building it.
Slow down - listen to the advice you receive here - it's good advice.
Jenn
clarionreef
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- Location
- San Francisco
Misunderstood way too often!
Really people.
1] The 'child' didn't post his age in the thread. I didn't know he was just a kid with a fantasy. It sounded like a game plan I've heard often...too often.
2] The philiosophy of LOWBALLING LIVESTOCK to the public in order to compete against you guys while netcaught divers insist on higher prices is mutually exclusive.
3] Sorry for defending you guys and your segment of the chain of production. You want support for every concievable way to 'turn and burn' a buck [as Jenn so aptly put] at the expense of the reef?
Since drop-shipping direct to hobbyists from LA Dealers wharehouses is already a reality...these notions put forth by the kid are very real. Why shop at the local retailer who has paid his dues, conditions the fish and provides face to face service? Just use him for brine shrimp, free advice and let the wharehouse lowballer make all the real money.
Thats all I was reacting too. Sorry...I'll check the age of the poster next time.
Gee whiz.....Steve
Really people.
1] The 'child' didn't post his age in the thread. I didn't know he was just a kid with a fantasy. It sounded like a game plan I've heard often...too often.
2] The philiosophy of LOWBALLING LIVESTOCK to the public in order to compete against you guys while netcaught divers insist on higher prices is mutually exclusive.
3] Sorry for defending you guys and your segment of the chain of production. You want support for every concievable way to 'turn and burn' a buck [as Jenn so aptly put] at the expense of the reef?
Since drop-shipping direct to hobbyists from LA Dealers wharehouses is already a reality...these notions put forth by the kid are very real. Why shop at the local retailer who has paid his dues, conditions the fish and provides face to face service? Just use him for brine shrimp, free advice and let the wharehouse lowballer make all the real money.
Thats all I was reacting too. Sorry...I'll check the age of the poster next time.
Gee whiz.....Steve
it isn't all the livestock I want to make cheaper, just the other products. I know alot of people who shop on line because the prices at the LFS is way to much higher then the ones in the net. If I could just bring the prices down to about the price of the ones on the net, I could save alot of hastle and stop the people from ordering on one of those big online stores. If I were to do the warehouse I figure I could manage the livestock myself. and Frankly I am a perfectionist. No smuges on my tanks or any seeds on the floor from my birds and I go crazy and sweep them up, or wipe them up. LOL. My age, on the 21st I will be 16, so I got some years to think about it. Now, can someone please describe what "feeling my oats" means? sorry I am kind of airheadid. John
LOL I'm I the only one who didn't automatically read into his warehouse comment "livestock". Anyway - in order to take that apparoach you'd need a LARGE (couple hundred grand anyway) amount of capital that you could tie up in inventory and a location near a large metropolis that could support the kind of volume you would do. With that volume of inventory you'd have to hire an inventory manager, someone who's sole job is buying product and keeping the shelves stocked. If it was a club style store you would have to employ a certain amount of advertising and marketing to get people to buy in.
feeling oats, or sowing oats is basically another term for "youthful exuburance"
feeling oats, or sowing oats is basically another term for "youthful exuburance"
The personal attacks and "critiques" on what someone said and how are not necessary or appreciated. If you have a problem with what someone said, please by all means discuss it to your hearts content, and feel free to be passionate about it. If you have a problem with how someone said something, well, that's what the little PM button is for.
John,
The Petsmart and Petcos are about as close to a warehouse club as you are going to get. Fortunately the idea of warehousing animals doesn't work and has failed miserably many times to the detriment of many animals intended for sale. To keep animals right requires great attention to detail, the bigger you get the more details you add to the operation. The more details that require managing the more people you need to oversee them, and the more people you have overseeing them, the higher you payroll and thusly your overhead. Which leads to higher prices and negates the entire reasoning behind a warehouse club. You will always be much better off by saying "screw it" to the prices and focusing on selling quality. If you are the best, you will succeed, regardless of what you charge, within reason .
John,
The Petsmart and Petcos are about as close to a warehouse club as you are going to get. Fortunately the idea of warehousing animals doesn't work and has failed miserably many times to the detriment of many animals intended for sale. To keep animals right requires great attention to detail, the bigger you get the more details you add to the operation. The more details that require managing the more people you need to oversee them, and the more people you have overseeing them, the higher you payroll and thusly your overhead. Which leads to higher prices and negates the entire reasoning behind a warehouse club. You will always be much better off by saying "screw it" to the prices and focusing on selling quality. If you are the best, you will succeed, regardless of what you charge, within reason
.I don't think the "warehouse" approach will work with animals, but it can work to a certain extent to the drygoods. However I don't really think people (the majority - lets exclude the occasional cheap bastard) shop for their pets on price alone. They want, desire the service but don't want to be "gouged" either. Where you see the "Mom and Pops" thriving against the big stores is when they can offer that combination of expertise and fair pricing. If all the service is mediocre or the shop is a hellhole then they will go for the cheapest, if the shop is a nice place to be and offers good service and a fair price the word of mouth will spread. The "mom and pops" that failed when the big box moved in were/are the ones that were pretty much dives that never moved enough volume to offer a better price thus the illusion to the customer of "gouging".
bb7551 - unless you have an angel investor, a trust fund to use, or secure one hell of a loan - you are better off starting small and building your rep and your inventory. You can't just have a turn key operation thats ready to fly full speed ahead from the moment you open your doors. It takes on average 3 years for a new company to even post a profit and MOST new companies don't make it through their first year.
bb7551 - unless you have an angel investor, a trust fund to use, or secure one hell of a loan - you are better off starting small and building your rep and your inventory. You can't just have a turn key operation thats ready to fly full speed ahead from the moment you open your doors. It takes on average 3 years for a new company to even post a profit and MOST new companies don't make it through their first year.
Yah, I've worked at a locally owned warehouse pet supply store, they quit dealing in overhead items (livestock) and beefed up their dog toy & food dept. One of many reasons, e-tail prices for both livestock and drygoods. The biggest reason, way more money in dog food and toys. They do make a killing with the dog food, several semis biweekly full of dog food going thru their doors.
so it is possable to make a good living from a warehouse type situation? Or you are just saying that it is possable? I see the name "jf's discount pet products" "where we make owning pets affordable, and fun!" OK got to work on both but, hey it is a start lol.
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