Do you sell to pet stores?

[PulpFaction]

If you sell directly to pet stores, I would like to hear about your experiences.

My mentor just sold off all of her stock at convention and has lined me up with a great foundation to fill her shoes in the area. She has always sold her culls to the local pet store. The downside is that she has to evaluate, tattoo and make her picks at 5-6 weeks because the babies go to the shop shortly thereafter.

She sells to the pet shop for $15 per kit, which is not bad as far as a price goes. She takes them in in a giant pic nic basket and everyone oohs and ahhs. Each bunny is tattooed and comes with a certificate of authenticity stating the rabbit's gender, birth date, tattoo number, breed, and declaring it free from disqualifications. It has all of her contact information on it, the contact info for the local rabbit club and ARBA, and states that she will always be willing to answer questions about the rabbits or take back one of her bunnies if the new owner can no longer care for it. (No refund.)

Since she will have no more litters, she's told the pet shop they can expect litters from me as I have them available. I guess if you're going to do pet shop sales, this is the way to do it....but I'm still not sure! The way I got my first Thrianta and got in touch with her was because he and I both ended up at the animal shelter on the same day!

How do you all feel about pet shop sales?

 

[ladysown]

i have zero problems with pet store sales. sometimes it's the only place people know where to go to for rabbit. PICK your pet store carefully if you can some are better than others.

 

[akane]

Depends on the store. Petco and Petsmart I wouldn't touch. What little information they do provide is often wrong and the animals tend to be way over crowded. Our local petland potentially. They have better information particularly about diet and prefer to get their animals from local sources instead of mill breeders. The 2 small petstores I'm familiar with in the area I would have little issue selling to. They only take in animals from small breeders who have excess stock or culls, do not sell them for insanely marked up prices, provide them plenty of space and proper food, and give their customers a lot of good information since they exist only so long as everyone is happy with their purchase and recommends them.

Unfortunately some guy with ugly lop mix rabbits has taken over the area and flooded every petstore and feedstore with his rabbits as well as requiring exclusive contracts for some. This rabbits have just been sitting in the cages and steadily getting overcrowded because they do not appeal to enough people.

 

[Jack]

Petco and Petsmart only buy from 'corporate approved breeders' what ever that means, to me, no local business, on another forum they were talking about the decline in ferrets due to there being a single breeder who does 80% of all US animals

Our local shop buys for 15 and sells for 30 (35 for 'special' rabbits)

PetZoo, the place Rachel is talking about is pretty picky, the one near me won't buy 'Trantulas' but they sell the hell out of any small breed, esp. Polish and N. Dwarfs.
I won't let a bunny go out with out an Ear Tat, and sometimes I feel like X-ing out the right ear so I will know if ever shows up on the show circuit, with a fake pedigree. After hearing some of the stories, I would almost rather sell them for meat than pet them out.

 

[longtail]

I used to when we had Mini Rex but I think it was wrong and would never do it again. I know when they are on the meat truck they are gonna be killed quickly and consumed, how many did I send to a terrible life and death at the hands of pet shops and idiots who took them home? I am pretyy hardened to life and death but I cannot warrant making a buck from creatures sufferein needlessly.

 

[Devon's Mom Lauren]

petsmart has to come out and inspect the rabbitry before they will buy from you. I also think but not 100% sure , that Petsmart also spays or neuters the rabbits first.

 

[rabbitgeek]

I've sold to pet stores on a cash and carry basis, no contracts. Some breeders get stuck on contracts having to provide X amount each month at X dollars. Since rabbits can't read contracts they don't know that must produce litters in timing with the contract.

As for ongoing relationships, we would visit to see if the rabbits are selling fast enough. If they are taking too long to sell, I'll trade them out for younger rabbits whenever I can.

The older ones will go to the zoo buyer or get bonked for meat or raptor center donation. If I put meat sized rabbits in at 6 weeks and take them back at 10 or 11 weeks, they just fattened up on pet store feed, so that usually worked in my favor.

I had three places that bought rabbits pretty steady, two feed stores and one pet store, two were paying $5 each, one was $10 each. Not a ton of money, but they were steady customers, especially for Dutch, Holland Lops, and Netherland Dwarf.

Sometimes I would put rabbits that were showable at the pet store with tattoos and pedigrees since sometimes 4H kids would come looking for showbunnies. I know at least two kids who won Best of Breed with a Netherland Dwarf and a New Zealand that they bought through the feed store. Now THAT is good for repeat business.

Have a good day!
Franco Rios<br /><br />__________ Wed Dec 22, 2010 4:35 pm __________<br /><br />

Unfortunately some guy with ugly lop mix rabbits has taken over the area and flooded every petstore and feedstore with his rabbits as well as requiring exclusive contracts for some. This rabbits have just been sitting in the cages and steadily getting overcrowded because they do not appeal to enough people.

Talk to the store manager. Ask them how this contract is working out?

They might be ready to boot the guy and make other arrangements.

Have a good day!

 

[Jack]

My wife made friends with the 'animal team' senior associate and basically we only go to sell if we call and she is there, the GM was there one day, asked her what she was doing cause buying the whole lot would put the store over quota... she turned around and said "that's OK, they will be gone by Monday"
and they were.
It's nice to have a good rep and know people, and have animals that sell.

 

[BlueCamasRabbitry]

I have done pet store sales in the past, and have thought about dumping culls off there (obviously nothing that was a cull for disease problem...just pet quality), however I've just been lucky enough *knocks on wood* that I've gotten buyers before taking them there.

One store I took my mixbreds too, back when I first started out, would pay I think...$5-$10 per bunny? But...it was STORE CREDIT! This was a pet store...not a farm store. It made me kinda upset, because, well what in the world could I buy there? And secondly, they weren't losing money...they were kind of gaining it, just losing products. Eh. I could still probably take rabbits there, and there's always the chance I might in the future, but if I ever do, I will request cash, and also give them my phone number so that buyers can contact me...Maybe. That might be dangerous to do so, as I wouldn't want my rep ruined or anything. Hrm.

Emily

 

[Jack]

Actually a pet store doesn't make it's money on the rabbit, take a rabbit, bought at $15, sold by them for 25-30, but walking out the door with this rabbit is about $80 of stuff, $40 of supplies, 30 of food and 15 in litter.

 

[Devon's Mom Lauren]

I can't believe the prices they charge for their junk!

 

[ladysown]

I can't believe the prices they charge for their junk!

thanks Lauren...that's my "JUNK" they are selling.... (though I will admit... that yes...some of those rabbits are very much pet quality rabbits. BUT I don't call them JUNK rabbits). That "junk" rabbit could be the next person's beloved pet and sometimes even a start to the wonderful world that is rabbit raising.

Not all pet store bunnies are junk. There are some good rabbits in pet stores.

It's not different than what some breeders sell as quality rabbits.

The prices on some rabbits are phenomenal...and yes, some rabbits deserve it, as do some breeders. But others...oh my... prices asked aren't what that rabbit deserves.

and the times I've cut someone a deal on a rabbit I'm selling, and then they turn around and try to sell that exact same rabbit for $15 more than what I sold it for. It's like...but it's not worth that much! Good luck getting it...but sometimes they succeed.

People try to sell their rabbits for what they think the market will bear, some is over priced and some is underpriced...and not all those rabbits are worth the price being asked...both positively and negatively.

Don't knock the pet stores for selling pet quality rabbits at a price that the market will bear. Isn't that what we all do???

 

[MaggieJ]

Uh... I read it the same way you did the first time, Ladysown... but when I went back for a second look, I decided Lauren meant the pet supplies that pet stores make their big bucks on are mainly junk... not the buns themselves.

 

[PulpFaction]

Uh... I read it the same way you did the first time, Ladysown... but when I went back for a second look, I decided Lauren meant the pet supplies that pet stores make their big bucks on are mainly junk... not the buns themselves.

That's what I thought it to mean, too.

I've decided pet sales with a certificate that states I will always take the rabbit back if they can't keep it puts my mind at ease. Of course, if that ever happened, I'd have to have to make up a quarantine space, but that's no big deal. I struggle to decide which bunnies to keep, I have yet to produce something that I would be embarrassed to put on the show table, they all have their strengths. I actually would like to get some of the rabbits back somewhere down the line for a potential breeding!

I've also been in touch with the animal shelters and rabbit rescue people to let them know that if they get any "red rabbits" that I will take them back, and I patrol Craigslist religiously. I guess I'm just a control freak when it comes to these kids!

 

[MaggieJ]

Seems to me, Rachel, that you are being extremely ethical and caring... and that's a good thing! :goodjob:

 

[ladysown]

well... oops.

yes, some pet stores sell junk cages and junk food for critters. The one that I sell most of my pet stock to is really good in that aspect though. They stock the big cages for rabbits, and strongly encourage their pet rabbit people to purchase them.

Though I have to admit... there are a fair number of breeders who keep their rabbits in cages smaller than what most pet store cages are, so I have to wonder... what's so wrong about the cages pet stores sell? Most meet my minimum standards and I don't do anything smaller than 24 x 24. Just makes me curious is all.

 

[Jack]

Actually , the local pet store has a no questions asked take back policy any animal the sell,(or take one that might have come from them)
don't know what the extra paper is worth at pet stores, sorry Rachel, most of the time the paper makes to the waste basket. With personal pet sales, yeah, that and business cards help on a non pedigree (pet) sale

 

[PulpFaction]

Actually , the local pet store has a no questions asked take back policy any animal the sell,(or take one that might have come from them)
don't know what the extra paper is worth at pet stores, sorry Rachel, most of the time the paper makes to the waste basket. With personal pet sales, yeah, that and business cards help on a non pedigree (pet) sale

Well, I disagree. I'm sure it's not fool proof. I know I, too, can be bad about losing paper work. But I do know for a fact that the paperwork actually makes it into the hand of the purchaser, and I do know a fair number of rabbits that people can no longer keep end up going back through their breeder. (I know you don't really like messing with getting pet sales back, but I do!) People like for their animals to have "papers", even if they are arbitrary. It makes them assign more value to the critter, for some reason, and the pet stores like anything they can do to make their animals seem more valuable without added expense.

Of course, like I said, accidents still happen, and that's why I have taken measures to follow up with other outlets people might use to "get rid" of a pet.

Every little bit helps.

 

[Jack]

Rachel, ask me how I know....
Most of the paperwork you see, is either from a direct sale, or from them passing on your info from the purchase invoice.

 

[Devon's Mom Lauren]

Ah yes I meant the supplies they sell and the prices they charge! Most of it is dollar store worthy at best, yet they charge premium prices for it. Unless they are selling actual wire cages like breeders use, those plastic coated ones that have a lot of plastic parts holding them together actually fall apart quite easily. Which considering the price charged you would think they are the Cadillac of cages or something..