Pricing Rabbits for Rural King, how much $?

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ButtonsPalace

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So today, I went out to Rural King and met the asst. manager Jamie, she was very nice, and I got a vendor application. On the application it has"product" which is where I put the breeds of rabbit I have, then I put the price I sell the rabbits to them and the price I think they should sell the rabbits at. I plan to sell them Silver Fox (purebred), Silver Fox/New Zealand/ Standard Chinchilla Cross, Lion head (purebred). I need prices for the each individual breeds. I was thinking about asking $15 for the mutts and selling them at $30, the Lion heads & SF at $40 and they sell them at $60. Advice? I go back out tomorrow morning, but I don't want to possibly lose out because I don't know a good price
 
My local feed store sells a variety of young small/medium and mix breeds (though never any meat breeds, like the biggest they do is Mini Lops) for $20 each, regardless of breed/mix/color. :? Seems like they like to keep them small and pretty, and I guess since less feed goes into them, they can keep an appealing price tag that encourages impulse buys. :lol:
Aaand that's all I know 'bout it. I'm no help. :oops:
 
My only experience is with our local feed and seed that closed down (*sniff*) - they asked how much I wanted for each, then charged $5 more. Last year I took in 10 meat mutt kits (8 weeks old) - they gave me $15/each, sold them for $20. I actually just did store credit so there were a number of feed trips for free!
 
Maybe for the mutts I can trade for feed and the purebreds trade for like $30 and they be sold for $40? Would that be worth it or am I shooting to high? They do a net30 pay so I get profit from whatever sells in 30 days, so price is VERY important..
 
TSC pays 10 per rabbit and sells for 19.99 each (or least they did before the AR fiasco). The pet shops here pay the same 10 per rabbit and sell for 39.99 to 52.99 (the smaller multi color the more expensive, no matter the breed, these are NOT shops I would deal with either). The 2 I dealt with years ago purchased for 15 and sold for 25 AND 20 and sold for 35.

You need to know the area. Take an hour call and check around EVERY pet shop within an hour drive of the RK you are dealing with and see what they normally carry. IF they don't keep rabbits, move onto the next. If some one is sold out of rabbits, ask them when they plan on to get more and do they sell a lot or just bad timing on your part calling. If you find that the area has a base that sells quickly at say 20 price, you will want to stick around or slightly higher so they have stock but sell quickly enough to not be an issue. Going too high will cut your throat, say most places sell at 20 and you price at 40...chances of selling the majority of rabbits is LOW. The RK closest here sells NZW for 19.99 each, unknown sex/etc 8 to 12 weeks of age. The same area has several pet shops that have rabbits from that price to 50.00 each, the one that charges the most does not keep rabbits on a regular basis (holidays and Easter only with the occasional few other times).

I would also take a look at ads but this takes longer. If some one is constantly advertising the same 4 rabbits at 30 each...the price isn't favorable for those rabbits in that area. People don't know the shape or exact looks when they call but it gives you an idea of what people are willing to look for and go after. If some one advertises, doesn't for a month, then advertises new litters at 50 each...they must be doing well (or they are souping a lot of meat).

RK probably will not do an exchange of goods unless its some thing you've worked out due to company regs (least that's how TSC dealings were for me as I would rather have exchanged than just get paid but corp wouldn't have it).
 
I agree with RebelRose.....

Find out what rabbits are selling for in your market.
You want your rabbits to sell, so price at or slightly below.
(you can't make any $ if your rabbits don't sell)

In my market:
Smaller rabbits sell better for pets. (sometimes small varieties go for twice the price)
I can sell a butchered rabbit for more than a live rabbit.
I have seen lion head rabbits selling at a Michigan show for $80+
I have sold meat rabbits at 12 weeks for $15
(your prices look a little high for me, but market is dependent upon supply and demand)


Most people at retail stores won't know the difference between a silver fox and a lion head.... so be cautious on your pricing.
Personally I would list them all on the sheet, but try and supply them with only one breed at a time, so there won't be any confusion on $.
 
Well I'm trying to do a breeding cycle where I breed my two pure does at the same time and then my two mutts at the same time and my lion head is somewhere in between. I plan to mostly sell them Lions and hopefully eventually some Lion lops and pure lops as well. When I googled "pet stores in Morganton NC" I found.. I'm gonna call all of these places for confirmation but this is what I got from websites.
Petsmart: Doesn't carry rabbits according to website.
Sea Chest: No website, but honestly sounds like a fish store
Pic-a-Pal:Has rabbits for $19.99
River Valley Pets: Sells rabbits unsure on price at the moment
Pet Supplies Plus: Doesn't appear to carry any live animals.
Pet-Smart: According to website no rabbits.
in the surrounding areas there is Tri-Cities Pets and they sell rabbits for $20 as well if I'm not wrong and I believe that's it.
So I think I'll leave the prices blank and write down the names of these places, the breeds (if known) that they sell, and the price they sell, I'll also write down if it's only for the holidays or not. Then I'll go in and talk to the manager, tell her the competition and set a price from there. <br /><br /> __________ January 26th, 2017, 2:40 pm __________ <br /><br /> On a side note, how bad is pressure change for baby bunnies under 2 weeks old? I noticed yesterday all my 2 week old's were wrecked after going from Burnsville to Marion, they slept ALL day, they were like limp little jelly beans, I want to take them tomorrow back to Rural King as well as my week old kits, but I also don't want them to get stressed out or die or something, is it safe?
 
It sounds like $20 is the going rate for that area... I would do $20 or $25 (for the store to sell them at) making your asking price $10-20 or so? I think the $5 mark up at my place was likely rare...

As for toting around the itty bities - I would just leave them at home. If you are wanting to show them what you have get some good, quality pics... most cell phones have pretty nice cameras, plan out for decent lighting (depending ont he time of day - you want indirect but bright, natural light if possible), call it good.
 
It's raining outside, so nice pics like that are out although I could set them up in the light tent, Although does it hurt them to travel like that? (I'm asking because of yesterday) They slept all day, like they were so tired until about 2 hours after getting home then they perked up again
 
Zass":357yt8ey said:
I want to take them tomorrow back to Rural King as well as my week old kits,

Why would you take week old kits?

That's my curiosity as well. Yes, they are getting to the super cute stage, but it could expose them to so much being at a feed and seed place (especially if others start handling them) not to mention the undue stress on them/their systems.
 
ButtonsPalace":mhdr1itc said:
I'm not taking the week olds.. I was kinda thinking about taking the two week old ones so they can see future product
Eh... not worth the risk, IMO. I don't really know what RK is, I guess like Tractor Supply? They probably won't know much about rabbits (could be wrong, though) - they just want something cute and fluffy to sell, ya know? I think good pics would be plenty...
 
Taking week olds is a no no, OR even 2 week olds. You risk all your rabbits doing that, easily bring some thing back or cause GI upset and kill the whole litter. Take pictures if you want to show them off.
 
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