Healthy Petstore?

[AnimalsR4Me]

I've been reading more and more posts about companies coming out with CRAP products! The most recent one about the Kaytee new chew toys that say "plastic is safe" for chinchillas just set me over the edge, and since chins & quills is a "chins and polls" board haha, I decided to start a poll (go figure)
Heres my idea...I am attending college in the fall, and am an undeclared major. So now my question...If there was a pet store, that only offered the best for each animal that they sell, and they offered it at reasonable prices, would you go there?
This is my thinking
Offering only Aspen, Kiln Dried Pine, and Carefresh bedding.
Offering only the best foods such as Mazuri, Oxbow, Tradition, and APD
Offer only SAFE wheels, such as Leo Braun, Flying Saucer, Chinspin, and other wheels that are tail and toe safe at REASONABLE prices!(basically dealer price insted of hiking them up 50$ to make money off of them!)
Offering healthy, fresh hay, not the crap that has been sitting around for 5 years and is now brown and gross and moldy!
Offering HEALTHY animals, that have had human interaction from day 1 to ensure human tolorance
Receiving animals from breeders insted of just "john doe" and giving out the breeders information, such as name, and phone number & having animals either pedigreed or breeders reassurance that the animal is "healthy"
VET CHECKS! As soon as the animal is received by the store, our "staffed" vet checks the animal to ensure it is healthy!--By staffed I do NOT mean a "corrupt" vet who will say anything just to get paid!
Offering "animal care basic" courses for free on each animal that the owner buys. If you know NOTHING about a chinchilla, you can come to this program and get the basics " what they need to eat, what they cannot eat, what to do if you chinchilla gets the basic sickness(i.e. burnt toast) and if you suspect something is wrong TAKE IT TO THE VET IMMEDIATELY!
ONLY STAFF WHO KNOWS ABOUT THE ANIMALS THEY ARE WORKING WITH! I'm SICK of the staff at petstores knowing NOTHING about the animal they are working with!

Im just sick of seeing animals that are bought and are un healthy and the owners know NOTHING about! I think that if I offer only the best products at my store, and they're reasonable, that people should come back to my store to buy these products, right? and then I would feel better knowing that at least the products I sell are SAFE and the animals I sell are healthy! The vet checks are more for my safety than anyone elses...If the vet checks the animal and says it is healthy and safe, and the person brings it back dead, and says MY ANIMAL ATE PLASTIC WHILE IT WAS HERE AND IT DIED AND IM SUING YOU! theres nothing they can do, as we will not give the animals plastic(cuz its unhealthy right?) and the animal has been documented as being healthy!
I understand that not everyone will come to the "good" stores and continue to buy crap food, bedding, and cages and toys, but thats their choice, I just think that at least I tried right??
Okay, maybe this was more of a rant than a poll, but tell me your opinions!
Would you shop there? If not, tell me why

[Virginia]

Yes I would Tami. My husband and I have been talking about this. This is my dream to do some day :) I just gotta figure out HOW lol

[AnimalsR4Me]

It would be hard. I mean, Id have bills to pay too, but I think just little things can deffinately help. Like insted of charging 62.00$ for a wheel(dealer cost) I'd charge 65.00$ I mean, you can't get a wheel shipped for 3.00$ so you'd save money still....If it wasn't for my dad telling me that I could do something better, I'd probably major in business management!

[Brea]

I would. If you don't support the good stores they will go out and so will their ideas. No one will start a good pet store if one just went out doing the exact same thing.

[emilyone]

I would definitely shop there. I've often had the same idea myself.

On a side note, make sure and put a lot of thought into the retail space, staffing, etc... We have a pet supply store here that caters to cats and dogs with completely natural and safe products, and I was so excited about it until I actually went inside. The whole store is the size of my living room, and crammed wall to wall so it's impossible to move, not to mention looks super trashy. The owner followed us around the entire store asking if we had questions every two minutes and drove me absolutley crazy. I doubt that I will ever go back.

[Melody]

Not to burst your bubbles, but I DO have a business degree. Trust me if it were possible to do all of the above, I would have already done it. I always wanted a pet store. But to do it right, it is impossible to mark up a $62 item three dollars and survive - you have rent, salaries, insurance, overhead etc etc etc. The chain stores are able to buy everything much much cheaper because they buy in such great quantities (how may Petsmarts have you seen, plus online?). One solo retailer has to pay much more for his wholesale goods. A knowledgeable pet advisor employee isn't going to work for minimum wage either. Look at us purchasers - we already gripe because the stuff is too expensive, shipping is too expensive etc. I think all the breeders will attest to the fact that raising critters is a labor of love, not necessarily profitable. I raise birds, and I'm thrilled if I make enough to feed the entire managerie and keep them supplied with toys, much less make a "profit" - lol. I don't like paying too much either, but I don't think any of our "chinnie" suupliers are getting rich off of us.

[FurryAnimalsOhMy]

Haha Yes! We'd shop there. You'd have to make it a chain, too, so us east coasters could shop there. We could all open a branch, haha. :)

[tracsim]

I used to work at a pet store that boasted quality supplies. It started out selling just the good stuff, but when Petsmart moved in to town it couldn't compete. One of its three branches closed last year and I know the owner was thinking of closing another. Some people just arent' smart enough to spend more for quality supplies on their pets and they think the cheaper stuff from a chain store is just as good.

[Kiki's Mom]

ISome people just arent' smart enough to spend more for quality supplies on their pets and they think the cheaper stuff from a chain store is just as good.

And some people just don't know any better. Seriously if a person buys a male chin from Petco do you think the employee is going to demonstrate how to do a hair ring check and encourage feeding Mazuri pellets and staying away from Kaytee? The majority of people trust that these pet store employees know what they're talking about, and it doesn't make the customer stupid, they just trust and believe what they're hearing. I'm not saying all pet store employees know nothing about the animals they're selling, but the mere fact that Petco houses their chins in plexiglass domes with no ledges and no chew toys is case in point. I agree that the idea of a "healthy" pet store is wonderful and they do actually exist. But most of them are driven out of business by corporate chains that really don't care if your animal is healthy or not. I just responded to the "What's Next" thread about dangerous chin toys being promoted as safe. What do we really expect out of a company that sold Hartz flea and tick treatment until they were forced to pull it from their shelves (Petco)? They knew darn well it was causing illness and death in thousands of animals and they didn't care. So of course they're not going to care if there's a chance your chin may ingest some plastic or isn't eating the best quality pellet food.

[parkerspetchins]

I'd absolutely shop there but Melody is right. When you own a business if you keep 5% of your annual sales you are doing good. That's not much. You have to pay shipping for product to get to your store as well so there goes the $3.00 you might have made in mark-up on the wheel in your scenario. Not to mention all of the other overhead costs. It's tough unless you are a major player out there. I was a buyer for a store and we HAD to mark up the merchandise 100% (we paid 10.00 customer paid 20.00 which was normal for that particular market) in order to just stay in business (as it was the owner eventually went out of business). As a consumer I understand that now and if I can't live with that then I don't buy it. With that said, I hope your dream comes true anyway! Mark up that merchandise, we'll still buy it if that's what is best for our pets :)