# Your perfect shop



## lesvegas (Jan 6, 2007)

Just wanted to know what people wanted from a small shop to make it memorable and make them want to visit again

What animals would people like to see

We currently stock corns, trinkets, milks, kings, pythons, water dragons, gecko's, curly tails, cresties, beardies, egg eaters, tortoise and a good range of accessories and 20 different colours of vivs (about 6 colours with the rest to order.

I want to expand the range of livestock but we have limited space. For first timers id say our range is fine but for the more experianced keepers we need to expand

So what livestock would people like to see???

and what kind of animals would you definatley not want to see?

Thanks


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## intravenous (Dec 20, 2006)

I think what makes a shop most memorable is good customer service, good animal care and a willingness to help rather than range of livestock....you could always offer to order in anything unusual that people might want rather than leaving it caged up in a shop for months.


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## HABU (Mar 21, 2007)

i don't know about over there but here nearly all shops carry dog and cat stuff and it usually takes up most of the store. so it's dog and cat and everything else like reptile, fish,small animal, bird. i wish they had separate dog and cat stores. reptiles as a sideline does'nt work. herp shops or exotic shops are few and far between. it sounds like england has some good specalty shops. you can buy many more uncommon species. most of our shops are so corporate like mini-walmarts. they strickly go for the $$$. and they only have the usual suspects. sometimes you can order something but i like to see what i'm buying first and don't mind paying a little more for that. i can't go out and buy a chondro no matter how much money i have. an i don't want to drve 1300 miles to florida to go to a retail store that does. a store that is devoted to fish and reptiles would be nice. stock the "good stuff...high end stuff" a baby boa, a corn snake etc is all you find here.


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## SiUK (Feb 15, 2007)

intravenous said:


> I think what makes a shop most memorable is good customer service, good animal care and a willingness to help rather than range of livestock....you could always offer to order in anything unusual that people might want rather than leaving it caged up in a shop for months.


yeh definately I agree freindly and helpful advice makes me remember a shop more than anything


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## lesvegas (Jan 6, 2007)

Thanks for the answers, i myself have been in many shops where the staff dont even look up but its a fine line between being helpful and bugging them

I just dont want the experianced keepers to come in and get a bad impression because of the lack of range of livestock


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## snakeboy101 (Jul 3, 2006)

HABU said:


> i don't know about over there but here nearly all shops carry dog and cat stuff and it usually takes up most of the store. so it's dog and cat and everything else like reptile, fish,small animal, bird. i wish they had separate dog and cat stores. reptiles as a sideline does'nt work. herp shops or exotic shops are few and far between. it sounds like england has some good specalty shops. you can buy many more uncommon species. most of our shops are so corporate like mini-walmarts. they strickly go for the $$$. and they only have the usual suspects. sometimes you can order something but i like to see what i'm buying first and don't mind paying a little more for that. i can't go out and buy a chondro no matter how much money i have. an i don't want to drve 1300 miles to florida to go to a retail store that does. a store that is devoted to fish and reptiles would be nice. stock the "good stuff...high end stuff" a baby boa, a corn snake etc is all you find here.


i totally agree.
also having some morphs on display might attract breeders.
this and friendly and knowledgable advice and service.


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## mark666black (Feb 18, 2007)

Knowledgeable staff is always a bonus! Clean vivs with clean water for the animals. Good sized vivs without 3 different species of snakes stuffed into one tiny cage. Healthy looking animals that don't spend their whole time in their water bowls because they are infested with parasites. A good selection of animals to choose from, not 17 variations of corns and 1 royal python. 
I've yet to visit your new shop, (but I will) the above is in reference to the other 2 rep shops in sheffield, if you want to know what not to do go and visit them  lol
And if you would like to good example the Mill in chesterfield is an amazing shop which I cannot fault, the selection of reps is great, the staff know their stuff, the animals are in nice sized clean vivs and are healthy.


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## snakelover (Dec 17, 2006)

you wnant to have a nice little shop make sure it is clean, all the vivs, are looking good, and clean, and 24/7 water. also no poo, should be cleaned straight away seen your in there all day. And maybe some small monitors (but thats me, coz i am getting some, so others will say diffrent) but clean  is good.! also a variety of geckos, LEOS. and corns, as they are starters, I would ask if people/coustomes, if they found what they were looking for, then you can note what you dont and maybe stock up and say come back next week, that help:?:


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## HABU (Mar 21, 2007)

i worked in several shops and the number1 turn off was any smell. customers would tell me all the time about shops that had a smell. it would hit them as soon as they walked into places. i know what they mean. a smell is an instant turn off and is what they remember.


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## lesvegas (Jan 6, 2007)

mark666black said:


> Knowledgeable staff is always a bonus! Clean vivs with clean water for the animals. Good sized vivs without 3 different species of snakes stuffed into one tiny cage. Healthy looking animals that don't spend their whole time in their water bowls because they are infested with parasites. A good selection of animals to choose from, not 17 variations of corns and 1 royal python.
> I've yet to visit your new shop, (but I will) the above is in reference to the other 2 rep shops in sheffield, if you want to know what not to do go and visit them  lol
> And if you would like to good example the Mill in chesterfield is an amazing shop which I cannot fault, the selection of reps is great, the staff know their stuff, the animals are in nice sized clean vivs and are healthy.


I love the mill its great, cant really fault it apart from the fact that my friend bought a lovely milk snake that has so far refused to feed, they said it had fed the week he got it, i seriously doubt that.

The other two in Sheff are good, i just hope we can all exist together, im sure we will.


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## lesvegas (Jan 6, 2007)

HABU said:


> i worked in several shops and the number1 turn off was any smell. customers would tell me all the time about shops that had a smell. it would hit them as soon as they walked into places. i know what they mean. a smell is an instant turn off and is what they remember.


Ours does not smell one bit so far but we have only been open a day, its also really cool even on a hot day like this


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## lesvegas (Jan 6, 2007)

snakelover said:


> you wnant to have a nice little shop make sure it is clean, all the vivs, are looking good, and clean, and 24/7 water. also no poo, should be cleaned straight away seen your in there all day. And maybe some small monitors (but thats me, coz i am getting some, so others will say diffrent) but clean  is good.! also a variety of geckos, LEOS. and corns, as they are starters, I would ask if people/coustomes, if they found what they were looking for, then you can note what you dont and maybe stock up and say come back next week, that help:?:


Yeah cheers mate cleanliness is very important to us

i also thought of having a list up of everything that we can get hold of for people to order, do you think people would go for it?


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## HABU (Mar 21, 2007)

some owners don't care or are used to it. i know you won't be that way. the rodents are the usual culprids. i had this girl i worked with that loved rats and the boss let her keep a big cage of them...we rarely sold any as she didn't want them used for snake food. so they multipied and multiplied. i'm sorry but it's hard to keep a large colony of rats from smelling no matter how often you clean em. anyway on her day off the boss would have me work with them. so i'd take 20 or so into the back room and in no time we had frozen feeders. on monday, when she came back we would tell her that we sold a bunch. she never knew any what we were really doing. we made her think that we order frozen rats. we did'nt want her to cry.:grin1:


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## YELLOWFISH (Mar 30, 2007)

Lasvegas, where abouts is your shop? I'm in worksop and have visited the mill and one in sheffield but not heard of yours. I might have to pop in.


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## dnarra (Feb 14, 2007)

take a leaf out of Ameyzoos' book, i first went in there with a problem which arose from bad info from another retailer, suzi spent at least 90minutes going through everything with me, not trying to sell me anything but making sure i had everything right in my head, they stock all kinds from spiders, frogs and lizards through to venomus snakes, before you buy any livestock from there you have to do a small test paper to show you know the requirements of said species and how to look after them, if you fail they help you get through giving you all the pointers towards the info you need. they will always get my custom even though they are an hours drive away:no1:


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## snakeboy101 (Jul 3, 2006)

dnarra said:


> take a leaf out of Ameyzoos' book, i first went in there with a problem which arose from bad info from another retailer, suzi spent at least 90minutes going through everything with me, not trying to sell me anything but making sure i had everything right in my head, they stock all kinds from spiders, frogs and lizards through to venomus snakes, before you buy any livestock from there you have to do a small test paper to show you know the requirements of said species and how to look after them, if you fail they help you get through giving you all the pointers towards the info you need. they will always get my custom even though they are an hours drive away:no1:


where is this store located?


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## snakelover (Dec 17, 2006)

lesvegas, yes i do, if you have a list of all reptiles you can get hold of, on a poster or something in the shop i think that would be used loads, with the price they will be next to them also.


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## lesvegas (Jan 6, 2007)

YELLOWFISH said:


> Lasvegas, where abouts is your shop? I'm in worksop and have visited the mill and one in sheffield but not heard of yours. I might have to pop in.


Hi

The shop is at 118 Holme Lane in Hillsborough, S6 4JW.

Pop in and see us and see what you think, i think for the size we have a good range but if theres anything you want in particular and the same goes for everyone on here, let us know and ill see if i can knck you some off the RRP.


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## lesvegas (Jan 6, 2007)

dnarra said:


> take a leaf out of Ameyzoos' book, i first went in there with a problem which arose from bad info from another retailer, suzi spent at least 90minutes going through everything with me, not trying to sell me anything but making sure i had everything right in my head, they stock all kinds from spiders, frogs and lizards through to venomus snakes, before you buy any livestock from there you have to do a small test paper to show you know the requirements of said species and how to look after them, if you fail they help you get through giving you all the pointers towards the info you need. they will always get my custom even though they are an hours drive away:no1:


Wow i never thought of doing that, i can imagine some customers dont react well to that at all???

Its a good idea i might give it a try with a few people


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## dnarra (Feb 14, 2007)

snakeboy101 said:


> where is this store located?


bovingdon 5 minutes from junction 8 M1(hemel hempstead)


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## ~Indie~ (Apr 4, 2007)

*I know where I work... we sponsor reptiles for a local reptile charity... we have Brittany the burmese python, Cairo the ornate nile monito and Trojan the Bosc monitor. We basically had them a) because they do draw customers into the shop b) it is our policy in the shop not to sell reptiles such as these so we can use them as examples of why not to get larger reptiles c) the reptile charity needs places that can foster larger reptiles due to limited space. Our shop is predominantly reptiles, fish and pond supplies. The vivariums are kept imaculately clean which is commented on and all our staff are very knowledgeable in their fields. A big thing with us is after care. We don't just sell an animal and expect people to get on with it. Customers are more than welcome to call us with any queries and even bring their pet in to get advise.*


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## dnarra (Feb 14, 2007)

to be honest i think people appreciate it they know they can look after the animal properly the only ones who would dislike it is the ones who dont know anything about the animal they want to buy


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## dnarra (Feb 14, 2007)

~Indie~ said:


> *I know where I work... we sponsor reptiles for a local reptile charity... we have Brittany the burmese python, Cairo the ornate nile monito and Trojan the Bosc monitor. We basically had them a) because they do draw customers into the shop b) it is our policy in the shop not to sell reptiles such as these so we can use them as examples of why not to get larger reptiles c) the reptile charity needs places that can foster larger reptiles due to limited space. Our shop is predominantly reptiles, fish and pond supplies. The vivariums are kept imaculately clean which is commented on and all our staff are very knowledgeable in their fields. A big thing with us is after care. We don't just sell an animal and expect people to get on with it. Customers are more than welcome to call us with any queries and even bring their pet in to get advise.*


where do you work then indie


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## tom1400 (Jan 21, 2007)

I think to add to your collection you could always think about chameleons and iguanas if you have the room. You can always put one iguana on show and anyone who is interested order them in, because the amount of people that buy iggys don't know how much responsibilty is needed. Also you could get some boas, dumerals, common boa and soo on....


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## lesvegas (Jan 6, 2007)

tom1400 said:


> I think to add to your collection you could always think about chameleons and iguanas if you have the room. You can always put one iguana on show and anyone who is interested order them in, because the amount of people that buy iggys don't know how much responsibilty is needed. Also you could get some boas, dumerals, common boa and soo on....


cheers but i dont really want to sell iguanas

we have already had people asking for them who obviously could not look after them

unless someone could prove to me they know wht they are doing i would never sell any

someone came in today who had one and he obvioulsy new his stuff but he already had one

we would not just sell to anyone, im an animal lover first and a business man second

might get some boas in though

thanks for the replies everyone, keep em coming


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## dnarra (Feb 14, 2007)

lesvegas said:


> cheers but i dont really want to sell iguanas
> 
> we have already had people asking for them who obviously could not look after them
> 
> ...


the little test sounds even better in cases like this, people would understand that they couldnt look after the reps in question:lol2:


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## lesvegas (Jan 6, 2007)

dnarra said:


> the little test sounds even better in cases like this, people would understand that they couldnt look after the reps in question:lol2:


This kid wouldnt even have past the test to get to the test


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## hullreptilelover (Mar 4, 2006)

I currently own and run a reptile shop in Hull and speaking personally I think its not just about how many species of reptiles you stock, its about how they are looked after and their wellbeing. 
I also think customer service is a priority and myself and my staff will bend over backwards to keep our customers happy by giving out correct advice and being approachable. I make sure my staff are well trained and if they cant help with a customers query, they come and get me to speak to them. There is nothing worse than going into a reptile shop and being told a load of crap by someone who hasnt got a clue! At the end of the day, the customer will see straight through you and not only will they go elsewhere, its the reptile that ends up suffering because someone has given out bad advice!


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## mark666black (Feb 18, 2007)

hullreptilelover said:


> I currently own and run a reptile shop in Hull and speaking personally I think its not just about how many species of reptiles you stock, its about how they are looked after and their wellbeing.
> I also think customer service is a priority and myself and my staff will bend over backwards to keep our customers happy by giving out correct advice and being approachable. I make sure my staff are well trained and if they cant help with a customers query, they come and get me to speak to them. There is nothing worse than going into a reptile shop and being told a load of crap by someone who hasnt got a clue! At the end of the day, the customer will see straight through you and not only will they go elsewhere, its the reptile that ends up suffering because someone has given out bad advice!


I completely agree. You could be the biggest best stocked shop in the Uk with every variety of rep you can think of, but if your staff are not knowledgeable, the shop is run down and the reps look ill and not cared for, I wouldn't go back to you, even if your prices were as 'cheap as chips'. But on the other hand if you stocked a few species of common reps, your staff were in the know and friendly, and the reps were healthy and looked after I'd come back time and time again, even if it was just for snake food!


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## mark666black (Feb 18, 2007)

lesvegas said:


> I love the mill its great, cant really fault it apart from the fact that my friend bought a lovely milk snake that has so far refused to feed, they said it had fed the week he got it, i seriously doubt that.
> 
> The other two in Sheff are good, i just hope we can all exist together, im sure we will.


Oh and in reguard to this post...

There is always one or two animals that refuse to feed after being taken home because of stress, if the mill said it fed, it fed. They do also offer after sales advice so your friend could always try phoning them if he has any queries and I'm sure they will do their upmost to help.
The other ones in shef are down to a matter of opinion, as a buyer imo they are not what I would call Good, not terrible but I won't be visiting again.


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## HABU (Mar 21, 2007)

chameleons are def. people fall in love with them and you can sell so many feeders and gear. that's going to help the bottom line. i used to almost give away chams because i knew they would be back twice a week for crickets. i made so much money off of crickets and superworms and also feeder goldfish, the reptile or fish did'nt matter. you still have to pay the bills.once they buy a veiled, they are stuck and have already fallen in love with it and bought the cage etc. 30 people buying $10.00 worth of crickets a week = big profits.


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## hullreptilelover (Mar 4, 2006)

mark666black - 
Thats exacly it, we get the same customers coming back again and again and a lot of people coming who have been reccomended to us. We have got a good variety of reptiles but that doesnt make a good reptile shop what it is, its not about that. I also made the desision to not stock stuff like green iggys and a few other species as I am so sick of people calling us who have bought them from other "so called" reptile shops and havent been told anything about them and about the correct care for them which really grates my cheese! I have the number of rescues which I would rather pass the details onto people genuinley wanting to keep them for this. I could sell iggys all day long for a good profit as they are so cheap if I wanted to but whats the point whe there are sooooo many out there that need rehoming and a second chance.


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## hullreptilelover (Mar 4, 2006)

tom1400 said:


> I think to add to your collection you could always think about chameleons and iguanas if you have the room. You can always put one iguana on show and anyone who is interested order them in, because the amount of people that buy iggys don't know how much responsibilty is needed. Also you could get some boas, dumerals, common boa and soo on....


I had my rescue iggy on show in my shop last year for a while basically to show people just how big they can get and how much of a handful they can sometimes be and we got people saying that they heard how big they got but never realised just how big! He was there more of a deterrant really to stop people buying them!


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## mark666black (Feb 18, 2007)

Yes! Lol its good to hear from a rep shop that does the good stuff and thinks along the right lines!  The minute you become just in the game for money is the day you should quit. It is one of my BIG dislikes - bad rep shops, I just wish there wasn't so many around


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## HABU (Mar 21, 2007)

hullreptilelover said:


> mark666black -
> Thats exacly it, we get the same customers coming back again and again and a lot of people coming who have been reccomended to us. We have got a good variety of reptiles but that doesnt make a good reptile shop what it is, its not about that. I also made the desision to not stock stuff like green iggys and a few other species as I am so sick of people calling us who have bought them from other "so called" reptile shops and havent been told anything about them and about the correct care for them which really grates my cheese! I have the number of rescues which I would rather pass the details onto people genuinley wanting to keep them for this. I could sell iggys all day long for a good profit as they are so cheap if I wanted to but whats the point whe there are sooooo many out there that need rehoming and a second chance.


i got around that, get a massive male iguana as a shop mascot. nothing like being eyeball to eyeball with what they are actually buying. they go running or talk the kid into a leopard gecko or something. and whenthey buy the leopard you get to sell them all the stuff that goes with it. but a little kid that says daddy i want an iguana and daddy really see's what an iguana is he will be more than happy to shell out more for the leopard gecko... it's win-win!! i know: victory:


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## hullreptilelover (Mar 4, 2006)

mark666black said:


> Yes! Lol its good to hear from a rep shop that does the good stuff and thinks along the right lines!  The minute you become just in the game for money is the day you should quit. It is one of my BIG dislikes - bad rep shops, I just wish there wasn't so many around


The problem is that you will always get the really good shops and plenty more of the bad shops too, from my point of view, as a reptile shop, the only thing I can do is give out the right advice and explain to some one who maybe hasnt been keeping something right, the right way to do it. I also wont sell something like a python to someone new to reptile keeping and me and my staff will point blank refuse to sell anything to someone if we think they wont look after it, no matter if it means losing out on a lot of money from a big sale.


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## mark666black (Feb 18, 2007)

hullreptilelover said:


> I had my rescue iggy on show in my shop last year for a while basically to show people just how big they can get and how much of a handful they can sometimes be and we got people saying that they heard how big they got but never realised just how big! He was there more of a deterrant really to stop people buying them!


The only Iggy we have ever had was a rescue we once had. He belonged to our next door neighbour, they wasn't bad people, just did not have a clue about the proper care required for an iggy. He had been kept in a 3 x 2 x 2 tank without UV, only ever having been fed on lettice for quiet a few years. He had scars all over his nose from rubbing it, bent toes, lots of scars and a bent tail. When we moved in and found out we tried to advise them what to do...In the end we offered to buy him from them, which they quiet gladly accepted. We got him settled in a much bigger viv, got his lighting and heating sorted, started to feed him properly, added vitamins to his diet and for a while he was quiet happy, in his viv. The only problem was that the damage had been done, he was nasty snappy and completely vicious! He was doing hiself more damage whipping the glass, and charging at it when ever he sensed anyone near him. 
In the end we decided to donate him to Amazonia on Yarmouth sea front, where he should be happier. As far as I know by speeking to the assistant manager on here, an iggy matching his description and attitude had been rehomed from Amazonia as it was starting to scare the staff, he is quiet sure it is the same Iggy.

The moral of the story is he probably would have made a great pet if he hadn't had a bad start in life, it wasn't his fault he was like that. You don't have to be an evil person to not care properly for an Iggy, they are just VERY high maintance lizzards who require ALOT of knowledge from their owners. They are available to easily and too cheeply on the market.


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## HABU (Mar 21, 2007)

mark666black said:


> Yes! Lol its good to hear from a rep shop that does the good stuff and thinks along the right lines!  The minute you become just in the game for money is the day you should quit. It is one of my BIG dislikes - bad rep shops, I just wish there wasn't so many around


you have to be about the money. no matter the good intentions, the money comes first. you have to pay the bills, insurance wages, taxes etc. if you don't worry about the money you won't have to quit. it's great to be idealistic but you have to turn the profit. otherwise you won't be able to do all the good work you want to do. a profitable business gives you freedom to be the owner i know you want to be. i know it sucks but the money has to come first or else you used to own a petshop i don't want you mad at me i'm just being honest, you deserve that from me.


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## mark666black (Feb 18, 2007)

HABU said:


> you have to be about the money. no matter the good intentions, the money comes first. you have to pay the bills, insurance wages, taxes etc. if you don't worry about the money you won't have to quit. it's great to be idealistic but you have to turn the profit. otherwise you won't be able to do all the good work you want to do. a profitable business gives you freedom to be the owner i know you want to be. i know it sucks but the money has to come first or else you used to own a petshop i don't want you mad at me i'm just being honest, you deserve that from me.


 
If you re-read my post it states when it becomes _just_ about the money, nothing else. I know a shop needs to make its keep, a profit otherwise whats the point?


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## hullreptilelover (Mar 4, 2006)

HABU said:


> you have to be about the money. no matter the good intentions, the money comes first. you have to pay the bills, insurance wages, taxes etc. if you don't worry about the money you won't have to quit. it's great to be idealistic but you have to turn the profit. otherwise you won't be able to do all the good work you want to do. a profitable business gives you freedom to be the owner i know you want to be. i know it sucks but the money has to come first or else you used to own a petshop i don't want you mad at me i'm just being honest, you deserve that from me.


Obviously from a business point of view I have to make some money as this is my livelihood and I too pay taxes and wages etc BUT (and its a big BUT) its still not all about the money. There is never a need to compromise the safety and wellbeing of any reptile in order to make money, we regularly turn people away from the shop because they refuse to buy the correct setup for something


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## HABU (Mar 21, 2007)

i opoligize, it's just that as you know, while 2/3rds of the brain is busy doing the good deed, we know the other third has to keep it real. i made an assumtion, and that was'nt right. i just have known a few that believed if they were doing the right thing , evryting would take care of itself. anyone that has been in the biz for very long knows this is not true. i just like for people to succeed. and a business is not a good learning ground, it's brutal. so sorry if i came off the wrong way, it's just a dog eat dog world and everyone needs to be realistic.: victory:


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## lesvegas (Jan 6, 2007)

mark666black said:


> Oh and in reguard to this post...
> 
> There is always one or two animals that refuse to feed after being taken home because of stress, if the mill said it fed, it fed. They do also offer after sales advice so your friend could always try phoning them if he has any queries and I'm sure they will do their upmost to help.
> The other ones in shef are down to a matter of opinion, as a buyer imo they are not what I would call Good, not terrible but I won't be visiting again.


tbf the mill are really good, as i said befre i cant really fault it, apart from the none feeder but like you said it could be down to stress i just hope its ok in the end


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## lesvegas (Jan 6, 2007)

HABU said:


> chameleons are def. people fall in love with them and you can sell so many feeders and gear. that's going to help the bottom line. i used to almost give away chams because i knew they would be back twice a week for crickets. i made so much money off of crickets and superworms and also feeder goldfish, the reptile or fish did'nt matter. you still have to pay the bills.once they buy a veiled, they are stuck and have already fallen in love with it and bought the cage etc. 30 people buying $10.00 worth of crickets a week = big profits.


Thanks for the advice

I personally love chams but neither of us have ever kept them which is why im a little wary, i need to understand them a bit more before we get any in but im sure it wont be long


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## lesvegas (Jan 6, 2007)

HABU said:


> you have to be about the money. no matter the good intentions, the money comes first. you have to pay the bills, insurance wages, taxes etc. if you don't worry about the money you won't have to quit. it's great to be idealistic but you have to turn the profit. otherwise you won't be able to do all the good work you want to do. a profitable business gives you freedom to be the owner i know you want to be. i know it sucks but the money has to come first or else you used to own a petshop i don't want you mad at me i'm just being honest, you deserve that from me.


I think money and the health of the animals comes hand in hand, like everyone has said, your customers will not come back if the quality of animals is poor

Id say both are priorities


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