# i want to open a reptile shop.



## ninjaboy6r (Jul 24, 2007)

hi, i dont know if this is in the rite section of the forum, it would be my dream to open a reptile shop in bristol, there is a shop for rent near me which would be ideal. what would i need to do to open 1? do i need any qualifications or certificates etc? i would like to breed my own stock as i get great satisfaction breeding my own at home but obviously i would have to buy the inital reptiles. i have had quite alot of experience building vivs so i reakon i could do that side of it. am i dreaming or is it possible for me to live my dream?


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## SuperTed (Apr 19, 2007)

possible but until youve researched it enough its a dream :no1:


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## ninjaboy6r (Jul 24, 2007)

i was thinking of asking a shop owner over the other side of town but he probably wont want to help because it could take buisness away from him! i dont want to do dwa just the normal stuff, where can i find info?


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## SiUK (Feb 15, 2007)

basically you would need to see a business adviser and put together a decent business plan before a bank would even think about lending you the money.

You would have to look at the fact of whether theres a need for it, I can think of 5 reptile/exotics shops in and around Bristol so would you be able to do good business.


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## Plutino (Aug 5, 2007)

first step would be to figure how much setting up a shop the size of that space is going to cost, bearing in mind everything costs about 50% more for businesses, then finding the money, either your own or can you get a loan? Assuming it's within your means, next you'd probably want to contact your local council and find what it requires for pet shop licensing, it's different for every council. Breeding your own is the best way to compete really, and building your own vivs would cut down on the cost of the vivs sure, but bear in mind the time as well, as unless the space is on the market for an extended period of time, you're going to need to be building the vivs while you're paying rent, so need to factor which is cheaper overall. As long as you're confident and learn quickly, should be possible. You can study other reptile shops for ideas on how to set yours up in some respects, but really the best experience is to work in one and see what it actually entails. I think you'll have a lot more success if you work in one fulltime for a couple months before opening your own, unless you've been dealing with buying/selling reptiles for quite some time.

In Cardiff, the DWA comes with the pet shop license, I think it'd be the same for anywhere but could be wrong (we don't do DWA either). You're probably only about an hours drive from us if you wanna take a look. (Reptile Cymru) PM me anytime. I know you're rather close but then, so is Reptile Zone. I'd rather support new shops and get a friendly atmosphere in the region then have misinformation flying around.


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## Plutino (Aug 5, 2007)

5 really? I should get down to bristol more often

and perhaps stop posting at 1am when my OH who actually runs th' shop isn't awake heh


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## SiUK (Feb 15, 2007)

well theres reptile zone, another one in Bristol thats name escapes me, then theres mendip monsters, blagdon water gardens and DPS exotics which are all not far from Bristol.


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## ninjaboy6r (Jul 24, 2007)

yes there are a few around here but the closest 1 to me is right on the other side of town unless you count reptile house which is more like a boarding home. mendip monsters is a great shop and i regularly visit, i was thinking of asking adie for advise but he mite take offence lol. basicly there are no decent reptile shops within a 10 mile radius and as reptiles are my hobby and passion i think i could offer a good service to the people of bristol lol. from mechanic to reptile shop owner sounds good to me.


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## spider_mad (Mar 8, 2007)

Well rather than trying to open a pet shop why not open a shop with the experience in the viv building you have build and sell vivs only all sizes and styles and can do custom jobs for customers who are looking for something specific it would be unique and dont get many actual shops that deal in just vivs


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## madaboutreptiles (Jun 5, 2007)

I am fairly sure you will need a City and Guilds in pet shop management to be issued with a pet shop license.

I am just starting to study for mine, I think you may also be shocked on how much it costs to get started in your own buisness......I know i was!!!

Good Luck


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## Athravan (Dec 28, 2006)

Palmanda said:


> I am fairly sure you will need a City and Guilds in pet shop management to be issued with a pet shop license.
> 
> I am just starting to study for mine, I think you may also be shocked on how much it costs to get started in your own buisness......I know i was!!!
> 
> Good Luck


Only a very small handful of councils have implemented this clause ... and most of them do not require you to have it, they require you to show evidence of working on having it... ie. I got my license by just showing the acceptance letter on the course, I have not yet taken the exams.

The hardest step is really to figure out your budget, with a good solid business plan - and then figure out supply and demand, costs... everything, and then you have to ask - where is this money coming from? You might be able to do it for 10k.. but do you have a liquid sum of 10k cash? If not, you will have to get a loan, or borrow from someone, or go into partnership with someone who has it.


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## madaboutreptiles (Jun 5, 2007)

My local council have insisted that I have the C&G beofre they grant the license which is ok for me.. I wish I could get set up for 10K, in oder to maximise profits I need to buy in large quantities from the wholesalers (as you will already know)
this is just so I can compete with internet sales


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## Plutino (Aug 5, 2007)

tbh it's hard to compete on the common things unless you breed yourself or have a friend who breeds and gives you good discounts. Wholesalers, while they do the bulk, have to buy from breeders anyway if it's CB and make their profit before selling to shops. There are many species of lizard and invert that are only available CF or WC which a shop might stock from a wholesaler, but tbh if all you sell is from wholesalers, you're going to get a bad rep for only having CF/WC, and most things that come in you're going to have to hold onto for longer to ensure it's healthy. As far as I've seen, all the more successfull shops breed at least BD, Leos, and either corns or boas or both, or have connections direct to breeders.


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## madaboutreptiles (Jun 5, 2007)

for livestock i will certainly buy direct from the breeders here in the UK. Its the hardware that will cost as you can really only get good discounts for bulk purchases i.e Eurorep
everyone likes to get a good deal on their equipment so buying from the internet is the way to go but I can see this is killing the smaller shops who just cannot compete. if the small shops dissapear and the selling of reptiles on the internet gets banned it will e a big blow for the hobby


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## Plutino (Aug 5, 2007)

I don't think internet sales can ever take over from pet shops. It'll always be hard to compete with a business that has a fraction of your overhead, but I think people understand that when buying from these online shops, unless they've developed a very positive reputation over the years, you don't know what you're getting, you don't see the animal beforehand, no advice is given in person. It's perhaps fine for the hobyists who know what they're doing and know where to look for what, but a lot of our business is from new keepers or people who want to actually see and handle something before taking it home. Need to be competitive, but I think people understand that a lot of these internet only sites order in specifically from wholesalers just to ship out again to the customer in 24 hours, with no quarentine or guarantee the animal is healthy. For equipment, I think anyone who's at all intenet savvy will look online for the best deal, and on some things it's not worth trying to compete unless you have a huge budget for startup AND a large stockroom.
Best to cover the basics of everything that the animals will need. You'll find people will want full setups anyway regardless of if they can search around online for a slightly better price. If people decide to go with ceramics instead of heat mats, or bulbs with heat and UV instead of one for each, unless you're quite large, the prices online are often about the same as what you can get them in for.


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## tiffa (Jan 17, 2007)

there is all so webs and legs in bedminster what part of bristol are all so the is cadbury garden center and my house lololol


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## ninjaboy6r (Jul 24, 2007)

i think webs and legs have shut down in bedminster now, they are about 5 mins from my house and every time i go there they are closed and the fone number doesent work anymore, it wasnt a very appealing shop though it was all dark and dingy and not a very good range in there so all the more reason for me to open 1 lol. cadbury is about half an hour drive from my house.


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