Some Pet Stores! - Page 2

drewlowe · 03-02-04, 02:56 PM

I was going to say the same as rwg about the heat lamps.

Most, not all of the ones sold in pet stores are the ceramic ones, where i have never seen a ceramic heat lamp sold at home depot or lowes they are all plastic. I have used both, and i personally prefer the ceramic ones. Yeah i pay more but they also last longer. For example i've had my ceramic heat lamps for 4 years now and they all are still working like the day i brought them home. On the other hand the plastic ones never last over a year (with me at least). so i will buck up and pay a higher price for better quality.

But as far as anything else i will try to find it cheaper elsewhere. I like feed stores a lot along with home depot. I can get the huge bricks of bed a beast (eco earth) for 8 bucks at a feed store where if i bought that at a pet store i'd be spending 25. along with a 50 lbs bag of wheat bran for 7, if you got that at a grocery store you'd be lucky to walk out with 1 lb for under 4. So many great deals you just have to look for them.

nita · 03-04-04, 07:45 PM

I also buy most of my stuff from non-petstores. And when my brother started with geckos he quickly went the same way. Since I get 15% off at a local pet store though for club membership if I need something from a pet store I buy there. I do like the fake drift wood and usually buy it there.

jathoma · 03-05-04, 07:16 AM

OK, fine...I admit it....I bought from a pet store too when I got my ball...in fact, I got him at the same store on sale for $39.99. The glass cage and snake starter kit I bought with him cost around $100!!

Then, after reading on this site about enclosures and getting opinions from other herpers, I went to Wal-mart and got a 92qt rubbermaid, under counter flourescent fixture w/hardware to attach and s-hooks to clamp lid down all for $23!!

With the difference in price there, I could have gotten an entire 2nd set-up and another ball at the same time!!

Pet store purchases for accesories?? Never again!

Lisa · 03-09-04, 10:30 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by Bighead
I work at a pet store and I find myself refering people to walmart or home depot all the time (as long as the boss isn't listening). Some of my favorites are the $10 spray bottles and $3 cardboard tubes for hamsters (toilet paper rolls). How about all the crap you can shell out on your crickets? It's amazing what people will pay for useless stuff.

one day your boss may not be able to pay you... if you were my employee and i caught you doing this your hours would be cut to 0.

Some stuff at the pet store you are not going to find at the hardware store, such as uv bulbs and sometimes knowledge. not every petstore is like the big chains that hire some kid who knows nothing about the animals.

And as others have said, sometimes the hardware store equivelents aren't up to snuff.

snakeylesnake · 03-09-04, 10:59 PM

well said lisa, petstores arent out to rip you off (well most of them arent) they have so many over heads to pay for that the dry goods are how they can make any money. regardless of what the charge for an animal, if they sell one at 50% profit you can bet that there are more that when sold will be in the minus profit. thats why the dry goods are a bit more pricey. light bulbs and fixtures dont need to be fed, cleaned etc like the $90 beardy does. by the time they sell that beardie to someone that already has all the kit they are lucky to break even. they make their money from the tank, lights etc. im not saying that we should only buy from petstores for that reason, but all im asking is that you understand that petstores are not out to rip us all of by charging higher than "chain store" prices
cheers
paul

Cas · 03-10-04, 11:37 PM

Keep in mind, the petstore usually isn't the one making the big bucks because the product says "reptiles" on it - it's the manufacturer that makes the killing. The manufacturer buys no-name components for the same price as the people that put them together for hardware stores, stamps 'for reptiles' on it, and then markets it for more. The petstore then buys the "specially for reptiles lamp, with pretty pictures on the package!" for the increased price, and then the consumer pays more too. If the petstore bought no-name lamps, it'd cost a lot less for everyone involved. But.... packaging sells.....

Also, I've found ceramic fixtures with hoods and clips (rated at 250 watts I believe) at Home Depot for like $10 (that's Canadian dollars). The same size fixture at a petstore generally runs $20 or so. The <i>real</i> savings are in things like the difference between "funky-colored 'reptile' sand" and washed playsand from the hardware store. Lessee.... 50 lbs for $4.... or 10 lbs for $20.....

Dawn

Cas · 03-10-04, 11:39 PM

Oh, and, many many petstores actually mark-up live animals between 200 and 300% - which <i>usually</i> pays for that animal's overhead... assuimg it doesn't sit at the store for months and months.

Dawn

daver676 · 03-11-04, 04:21 PM

I'll admit. My trip to the exotic pet store to get my ball was a VERY uninformed one. I overpaid then, but I know better now.

I agree though that people need to be educated about heat sources and such before going to a non pet store to buy that cheap heat light they saw there.