Shops are there to sell customers animals and the consumable items that these animals require.

In order to do this continually they need to make money for:

A pet shop uses more electricity than your average house so has high electricity bills.

They have to feed and water animals so the price of this has to be worked into the cost of the item.

They pay VAT and Taxes private keepers don't, these costs have to be added to the item prices.

The staff need paying so these costs get added to the item prices.

The shop has to have a license (if selling livestock comercially) this gets added to the item prices.

The shop has to be insured and suprisingly this has to be added to the item prices.

The shop has to ensure all animals are healthy so vet visits may be needed, this cost has to be added to the items.



I have created this thread so i can refer back to it at later dates as people seem to forget that shops HAVE to be there with the intention of making money. By all means use it as a referral yourself if you feel the need.
If i have missed anything feel free to add it below.

Hahahaha!

I'm guessing this is to all the people who *still* seem constantly shocked to find that not all shops have a resident reptile expert and that yes, they *will* recommend their £6 a bag calci-sand with every sale. It has a good markup and helps them get a little more out of you.

People do forget that some/most are businesses in it for the profit not the love of the hobby. Even those that love the hobby still have to make profits.

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surely these still apply to private breeders? I had some shop offer me only 25 quid each for my crested gecko hacthlings, they sell for them 70. Criminal.

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If you think about it though, the £45 they make on each one sold probably wont go far in terms of paying bills/buying in new stock etc. Its not a high profit business in most cases at all; it seems that many stores are pretty much run by the skin of their teeth sometimes. I imagine I would probably be a bit annoyed as well though if I saw them going for those prices - but I guess its one of those things that you have to lump if you couldnt sell them privately and they were your last option, or something.

Reticulatus, they also need to factor in where the money is coming from for their next purchases. They will also nearly always have to pay rent for the shop space.

I dont have an issue with the markups people put on their stock in most cases, particularly as many stores are willing to negotiate to an extent because of it The only thing that bugs me is when they have had the animal in the shop for years, and wont drop their price by, say, an extra £20 or so. They would rather keep it forever than sell it at a slightly lower price? I can see why they do it, but if an extra £20 was the difference between a £400 sale and not knowing when/if the animal would ever sell, I think I would take the money.

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At the end of the day... how much a mark up do you think there is on the food that you buy, the clothes that you wear.. do you think Tesco just adds a few pennies?

I know the outgoings required, and I know that the income cannot be made for a shop to survive if the markups are not made. I don't know if some shops take the P a bit with their markups, but it all depends on how big your rent, council tax, bills etc. are.

They may have that animal in the shop for several weeks - maybe even months - before it sells, depending on if it is a quick moving product or not (this should determine the markup realisitlcally). Although food costs are cheaper for shops who buy trade... electricity gas and water are all higher, not just higher bills because we use more, but we actually get charged more per the kw of electricity we use, etc.

I was a breeder of corn snakes for many years before I started this venture. I sold my normal corn at £10 knowing that they would be marked up to £30-40, sometimes even £50 depending on their age. I went into the business knowing that. I sold to shops knowing that. Thats just the way it is. Did I still make a profit? Not really. I covered my overheads, food, heating, lighting.. with maybe a little left over to buy a new snake or 2 as investment at the end of the year.

Do most shops make a big profit? Not really.. and many are crippled for years with large debts/loans from the 10-50k (depending on size of shop, ive known ppl at both ends of those ranges) that they spent setting up the shop in the first place.

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As Dan said, pet shops are there to make money, they are a Business after all. Hobby breeders rarely actually 'make' money, they do it for the love and perhaps to cover the costs of feeding their pets. Pet shops need to have a large mark up, they have their taxes to pay etc (again as Dan said)
they are not in it as a hobby, although some shops are an extention of a hoby, they simply would not be able to exist if they offered their stock at the same price the breeders sell direct for. I had a few leopard gecko babies left over last year after the Exeter Expo, I took those to a reptile shop, they gave me what I was asking for at the show, and sold them for three times as much.........Does that bother me ? NO! not at all, I got my asking price, they got their stock, where is the problem ?

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pet shops are a business at the end of the day and the functions are as any other business. Its not about ripping someone off though some prices can be steep but depends on the shop. From what i seen in pet shops they are reasonably priced in general

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You know, i totally agree with the fact a pet shop needs to mark up to survive.

What I dont argree with is employing staff who know diddly squat about the animals they are 'recomending' and the 'sometimes' found practice of trying to sell, push or force customers to buy equipment that is either not needed or simply inncorect for the animal.

This practice can never be agreed with under the banner 'they need to make a profit'

I know what you mean jurrasic but in most places you buy things i.e. cars, electrical equipment the salesman will try to sell you extras. Pet shops dont make that much profit from the animals I think the majority of profit comes from their dry goods. As long as the pets are getting the basic stuff they need then any extras offered are a way of bumping up the profits as all business's do. As long as they arent getting sold stuff like humidity foggers for rosy boas say I dont see the harm.

This is true but also true of any retail business. No matter where you are people are trying to sell you things.. even if you don't really need them. Most stores get better deals on a certain "brand" or type of equipment, and will offer the best promotions, deals, setups, and just generally try to push the thing that offers them the best return. This does come under the fact that shops have sales targets they need to meet to survive.

I have never seen a shop "forcing" items on customers so cant comment on that.

The consumer should also be savvy enough to be able to say, I'll think about it, or I'll research it. If a car salesman tells you to buy 5 grand worth of extras on your car - you don't just say, oh, ok, you told me to, i guess I'd better.. you pick which options you think are best for you.

If it is incorrect/bad for the animal.. that is a completely different story and unacceptable. Staff should know the basic requirements and be able to supply the correct equipment.

A reverse scenario. Someone came in yesterday and asked to buy a heat rock for his leopard gecko. I asked what he had in the way of heating - heat mat over half the tank and a spot bulb. I said he probably didn't need one (now these are the new heat rocks by exo-terra with the in built thermostat, not the old ones that used to heat and burn, which is why I sell them). I honestly don't think a leopard gecko will ever use this heat rock.. nor will it ever be switched on anyway as with that much heating (and he uses a thermostat) the damn thing will never be needed. He was adamant. He wanted a heat rock. He didn't care if I didn't think it was suitable or if it would be used. He bought it anyway...

Often people do not listen to advice, and think they know best, and want to make their own minds up anyway.

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