# Opening shop



## captaincaveman (Nov 6, 2006)

A mate of mine is in the process of opening a reptile shop in the warwickshire area, he has kept reptiles, amphibs and inverts for years and worked in the reptile trade for many years. Anyway I said I would do a bit of reserch for him and ask a couple of questions, 

1; How far are you willing to travel to a decent reptile shop? 
2; Is sunday opening important or usefull to you?
3; Would late night opening appeal to customers? 
4; Is there any service you would like to see from a reptile shop that would appeal to you?


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## Athravan (Dec 28, 2006)

I can't answer on behalf of being a customer, but as a retailer, here is my opinion 

1; How far are you willing to travel to a decent reptile shop? 

In my experience people are not willing to travel far for livefood/frozen unless it is significantly cheaper, they'll go to the closest shop... but for equipment and especially livestock, hobbyiests will travel across the country, and locals will go the extra distance to the shop they feel is the best, or have the most loyalty to.

2; Is sunday opening important or usefull to you?

As a retailer for mesunday can either be dead slow or super busy, it really
varies a lot, but it's always worth opening. My council specifies that I have to go and turn the lights on and feed the animals every day even if we're not open anyway - if you have to do that, might as well open, even if it's just for a few hours.

3; Would late night opening appeal to customers? 

Never tried this, but as a customer.. I'd probably appreciate a shop that's open after work. As a retailer, I'd be way too knackered to open late, although maybe worth it around holiday times like christmas.

4; Is there any service you would like to see from a reptile shop that would appeal to you? 

I get a lot of requests for health checks (basic ones where we give them a quick check over and weigh them, see if it's the right weight, and give them the number of our recommended vet if they are having a specific problem), sexing (probing), nail clipping, and holiday boarding.

Dunno if that helps


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## ratboy (Jan 10, 2007)

1; How far are you willing to travel to a decent reptile shop? 
*Not far .... 20-30 miles maybe. *

2; Is sunday opening important or usefull to you?
*Yes... Most definately.

* 3; Would late night opening appeal to customers? 
*No. I just want to go home... Shopping is for weekends

* 4; Is there any service you would like to see from a reptile shop that would appeal to you?
*Delivery of things like vivariums, large sacks of substrate etc. If I order on-line, large/heavy stuff is delivered to my door. If I order from a shop, it should be too.
*


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## BecciBoo (Aug 31, 2007)

How far are you willing to travel to a decent reptile shop? 
_*I don't go to my closest shop for live food etc, but thats because its really expensive. I live in Sale, Cheshire and travel to Stockport for food and bits and bobs. For livestock I am willing to travel very far, if its what I want and the shop is good. I quiet often travel to snakes n adders in Leeds. (by the way I don't drive )*_

2; Is sunday opening important or usefull to you?
*Yep..I tend to do most of my shopping on sundays.

* 3; Would late night opening appeal to customers? 
*It would be if the shop was on the way home.

* 4; Is there any service you would like to see from a reptile shop that would appeal to you?
_*Online, so I can see a list of stock and equipment before I visited incase they didnt have what I wanted. Sexing would be helpful, but anyone opening a shop should ave this sort of knowledge anyway. Erm...All the staff had the correct knowlege.*_


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## freekygeeky (May 25, 2007)

1; How far are you willing to travel to a decent reptile shop? 
*i currently drive 40 mins*
2; Is sunday opening important or usefull to you?
*yea*
3; Would late night opening appeal to customers? 
*yea*
4; Is there any service you would like to see from a reptile shop that would appeal to you?
*being friendly. talk ative...*


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## Torres13 (Aug 30, 2007)

1; How far are you willing to travel to a decent reptile shop? 
2 hours max drive
2; Is sunday opening important or usefull to you?
not for me because I work Sunday but I would suggest you open Sunday
3; Would late night opening appeal to customers? 
Yes
4; Is there any service you would like to see from a reptile shop that would appeal to you?
Allow services like reptile taxi etc to courier your livestock to customers who live too far. Also longer than a 48hr guarantee for more expensive livestock


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## Trice (Oct 4, 2006)

1; How far are you willing to travel to a decent reptile shop? 

Not on a regular, maybe every now and then i'd drive a couple hours? 

2; Is sunday opening important or usefull to you?

based on the reptile shop i go to near me, they're open sundays and it's usually impossible for me to get in there on sundays. Theres always sooo many people there and all of their livefoods pretty much get sold out on those days 

3; Would late night opening appeal to customers? 
Don't; think it would matter too much.

4; Is there any service you would like to see from a reptile shop that would appeal to you?


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## SiUK (Feb 15, 2007)

captaincaveman said:


> A mate of mine is in the process of opening a reptile shop in the warwickshire area, he has kept reptiles, amphibs and inverts for years and worked in the reptile trade for many years. Anyway I said I would do a bit of reserch for him and ask a couple of questions,
> 
> 1; How far are you willing to travel to a decent reptile shop?
> *A pretty long way to check out a shop or if they have something I really want.*
> ...


there you go mate


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## Kellybee (Oct 13, 2006)

For me, I buy my bugs either on a Sunday or a wednesday late night.... thats the only days I can get to my fave shop which is about 14 miles from home... I prefer to buy there as they do 14 large hoppers in a box instead of the crappy six or seven I get in the local pet shop. I like to spend my money with people who value their trade and look after their animals too.. I've actually just moved back to Cov so have arranged for the shop to send me bugs in the post... nobody does livefood at value for money like they do. Anyway where is this shop going to be, I'm Warks and a new shop is really exciting !!


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## claire_e_dodd (Sep 18, 2007)

captaincaveman said:


> 1; How far are you willing to travel to a decent reptile shop?
> 2; Is sunday opening important or usefull to you?
> 3; Would late night opening appeal to customers?
> 4; Is there any service you would like to see from a reptile shop that would appeal to you?


1. Currently I drive form Halifax to Leeds (Snakes N Adders) which is fantastic so I don't consider going anywhere further, not sure if I'd go much further than an hours drive if that wasn't there though.

2. Very usefull, I think it could be worth opening limited hours, say 11-4, or even shorter.

3. Yes, I can't shop during the week due to work, and I don't want to have to rush around doing everything at the weekend, so late opening once or twice a week could be good. The beauty of running your own shop is you open when you want, so to compensate for later openings, you could do a half day on one of the weekdays, or open late as well as closing late on one day.

4. Pretty much what's already been said, sexing and care advice, info on local vets, up to date website, delivery & reptile taxi services. And the opportunity for local breeders to sell offspring to the shop to sell on, like supporting the local community rather than big CF importer types.


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## captaincaveman (Nov 6, 2006)

gan1 said:


> For me, I buy my bugs either on a Sunday or a wednesday late night.... thats the only days I can get to my fave shop which is about 14 miles from home... I prefer to buy there as they do 14 large hoppers in a box instead of the crappy six or seven I get in the local pet shop. I like to spend my money with people who value their trade and look after their animals too.. I've actually just moved back to Cov so have arranged for the shop to send me bugs in the post... nobody does livefood at value for money like they do. Anyway where is this shop going to be, I'm Warks and a new shop is really exciting !!


 
I think somewhere around rugby,though thats being worked out:no1:


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## captaincaveman (Nov 6, 2006)

thanks for the answers guys:no1:


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## slither61 (Nov 18, 2006)

HI all,

I will travel a long way to a good shop I like and trust.

Sunday opening does not bother me, I like to go through the week.

Late night opening is nice to see but again it would not bother me

What I would like to see in a shop is a knowledgable owner and a friendly atmosphere and a cup of tea.

I wish your friend Captaincaveman, all the best in setting his shop up I would certainly come and have a look.

slither61 :snake::snake::snake::snake:


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## Fangio (Jun 2, 2007)

*1; How far are you willing to travel to a decent reptile shop?* 

Just locally for frozen/livefoods but would travel any distance if the shop had what I wanted at the time. Most I've gone so far is 2 hours of driving. I'd be willing to travel much further for a large shop with a big selection - more a hobbiest shop than pet shop.

*2; Is sunday opening important or usefull to you?*

Mos def

*3; Would late night opening appeal to customers?* 

Nope - all my shopping gets done on the weekend

*4; Is there any service you would like to see from a reptile shop that would appeal to you?*

Dunno really. Just good friendly advice would do. Maybe to deliver larger items would be good though.


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## davenoble (Aug 25, 2007)

well one of the reptile shops near me is open every day and will stay open after hours even if theres only one customer in the shop. also they love to have the reps out to show ppl. that kind of thing keeps their shop full of customers. obviously a lot of ppl dont buy anything but that soon changes once they see how freindly the reps are....


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## Angi (Nov 12, 2005)

As a customer I would travel an hour or two to go to a good reptile shop.

From both a customer ands staff point of view - I think a reptile shop should be open on Sundays. Sundays can be extremely busy or very quiet.

As a customer late night opening appealed to me, as staff the reality was that we rarely got a customer after 6pm.

What I like to see from a reptile shop is friendly informative staff that are happy to spend time helping you learn and truly think about a purchase before buying, as well as staff being there for advice in the future. Choose your staff well they can make or break your business.


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## sarahssnakes (Feb 19, 2006)

captaincaveman said:


> I think somewhere around rugby,though thats being worked out:no1:


oohhh rugby would be good not that far from me: victory:


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## captaincaveman (Nov 6, 2006)

sarahssnakes said:


> oohhh rugby would be good not that far from me: victory:


 
same here, were right near junction 16, so i'm chuffed with where its gonna be:no1:


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## sarahssnakes (Feb 19, 2006)

captaincaveman said:


> same here, were right near junction 16, so i'm chuffed with where its gonna be:no1:


where abouts are you then?pm me if you dont want everyone to know: victory:


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## captaincaveman (Nov 6, 2006)

sarahssnakes said:


> where abouts are you then?pm me if you dont want everyone to know: victory:


I dont mind, im in Harpole:no1:


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## sarahssnakes (Feb 19, 2006)

cool not really that far from me then: victory:


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## captaincaveman (Nov 6, 2006)

sarahssnakes said:


> cool not really that far from me then: victory:


 
No, just a stones throw:no1:, ant and nige who i see are right on the other side of town


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## Akua_Ko_Nalu (Feb 15, 2007)

To be honest, I'll travel anywhere if I want something, Just last wednesday I travelled from Southampton to County Durham to pick up some stuff, and visit Coast to Coast as I was near the area! 

So aslong as there is some quality to the shop, I'll more than likely make a visit!


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## sarahssnakes (Feb 19, 2006)

i know we went to see Ant last saturday and it seemed to take forever to get there.
now harpole is closer lol


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## captaincaveman (Nov 6, 2006)

sarahssnakes said:


> i know we went to see Ant last saturday and it seemed to take forever to get there.
> now harpole is closer lol


 
yeah, i popped round ants last night to take some pics for him, ive known him years:lol2:


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## sarahssnakes (Feb 19, 2006)

yeah i seen the pics they are good mine end up looking like my 3yr old took them:lol2:


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## captaincaveman (Nov 6, 2006)

sarahssnakes said:


> yeah i seen the pics they are good mine end up looking like my 3yr old took them:lol2:


 
I think its more the camera than me:lol2:


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## snickers (Aug 15, 2007)

1; an hours radius

2; Sunday is the only time I CAN go.

3; Yes, even one day a week - especially for frozen or livefood, and emergencies

4; previous answers seem good. Sexing, health check, boarding, stock/price list on the net, option to buy just one locust instead of whole box


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## Johelian (Nov 25, 2006)

1; How far are you willing to travel to a decent reptile shop? 
As far as a "local" for food and equipment, up to about 20 miles. When it comes to livestock, up to around 60-70 miles to look at unusual bits. It has to be something REALLY special to go any further (though I did do a 360mile round trip to get some monkey tails once...and then there was Houten of course, lol). Id say the regular clientele will probably have to be within around 20-40 miles - otherwise you'll probably be crossing boundaries of other shops.

2; Is sunday opening important or usefull to you?
Yes, I think all shops should have some hours on Sunday. Considering I would only have 2 days available to get to the shop, I would feel pretty annoyed if I couldnt make it on Saturday and was consequently screwed for the rest of the week! I would probably just end up going someplace else instead.

3; Would late night opening appeal to customers? 
I dont think so. Perhaps one night a week, like a Wednesday or something.

4; Is there any service you would like to see from a reptile shop that would appeal to you?
Free caresheets and information on the species attached to every cage, so even if the staff are too busy to talk to you you can still get some useful info. The rest of the other answers are good too, particularly boarding and on-line price list - really cant be bothered to call some stores up to see what they have!


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## captaincaveman (Nov 6, 2006)

snickers said:


> 1; an hours radius
> 
> 2; Sunday is the only time I CAN go.
> 
> ...


Actually thats quite an interesting point for invert keepers who dont have many and waste the majority of the box:no1:


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## eeji (Feb 22, 2006)

1; How far are you willing to travel to a decent reptile shop? 
for frozen/live food, equipment etc - not very far
for quality livestock - i'd go a few hours drive, further if the place has a good reputation

2; Is sunday opening important or usefull to you?
very - i work a lot of saturdays, so its the only time i can get there

3; Would late night opening appeal to customers? 
not to me - i just want to go home and relax 

4; Is there any service you would like to see from a reptile shop that would appeal to you?
delivery for big stuff, sexing, online price/stock list, and a BIG kettle with plenty of tea bags, and maybe some choccy digestives - a great way to get to know the customers on a personal level, and therefore enhance a reputation


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## Snow_Man_UK (Nov 20, 2006)

1; How far are you willing to travel to a decent reptile shop? 
45 minutes for day to day stuff
4-5 hours each way for something special

2; Is sunday opening important or usefull to you?
It's useful but not essential

3; Would late night opening appeal to customers? 
Yes, for me I tend to pick up frozen food from my local shop after I finish work.

4; Is there any service you would like to see from a reptile shop that would appeal to you?
As already stated. Sexing is always appreciated, Local delivery will be useful for some. I like the idea of a loyalty/discount card. Personally I wouldn't use boarding.


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## Snakesteve (Oct 24, 2007)

1; How far are you willing to travel to a decent reptile shop? 
*I am willing to travel a long way for the right shop, just recently traveled to Mill Garden Pet and Aquatic Centre in Chesterfield toatal of 250 miles round trip but i found they have a good selection and friendly staff and prices are not to bad either so will happily go again.
*2; Is sunday opening important or usefull to you?
*Deffinatly yes cause if your travelling a long distance you can make a day out of it and check out other shops in the area which you may not have time to do in the week, especially as i keep Reps, Fish, and Fluffies. *
3; Would late night opening appeal to customers?
*Not as far as travelling but for local customers they may find it helpfull if shop is open late 1 day, say when live food comes in and they can pick it up fresh on there way home from work instead of having to wait until the weekend when a lot of times its nearly dead by then. * 
4; Is there any service you would like to see from a reptile shop that would appeal to you?
*Just the usual good friendly service, time to talk, and maybe a cup of tea especially if you've just travelled a couple of hours.*

*WISH HIM GOOD LUCK AND HOPE TO BE VISITING HIS SHOP IN THE NEAR FUTURE. :snake:STEVE*


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## Dexter (Jun 24, 2005)

captaincaveman said:


> 1; How far are you willing to travel to a decent reptile shop?
> 
> *I'd not drive more than 30 minutes to go to a shop, unless you are talking about a huge shop such as CPR where you'd find hundreds of top quality animals, etc*
> 
> ...


: victory::no1::whistling2::snake:


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