BGG said:
I didn't even plan on carrying many dry goods, but you bring up a very good point. I could concentrate on all the gadgets that you CAN'T get at a corprorate pet store. Such as airpumps, Co2 Units, Wet-Dry's, and alot of products that I have invented or seen done DIY style, that I could retail.. Such as: Home-made Heater Covers for Ray tanks, DIY wet drys, PVC decor etc..
Ah yes.. 'Decor', I forgot to add that..
Our plan is to carry all the stuff that I have wanted for years, at a reasonable price.. We wouldn't carry any of the common gravel sizes, nor colored gravel for that matter. Instead we would carry a variety of sands, in different sizes and colors.. As well as some of the more premium planted substrates that you can't often find available. None of the LFS, nor chain stores carry Sand substrates (other then aragonite), let alone stingray safe substrates..
We also plan to have a section of slate in tubs. Rather then selling the slate at a ridicolously overpriced rate, by the pound, we would sell it by the size of the peice. I get slate in bulk from a garden center, so I can keep the pricing very reasonable.. ie: Sml pc-$3, Med pc-$6, Lg pc-$10. If that were to be purchased by the LB, you would be paying ALOT MORE, trust me! This 'slate' section will likely include lava rock and a few other styles of stones available for aquascaping.
Driftwood, a good selection, but I am not going to gouge the price like the other LFS here.. There is only one place that carries driftwood here in town, and a 12" chunk will run you about $35!! I plan on purchasing a large amount of driftwood in bulk, then planting it and putting it in the Aquarium, and from there we will sell it directly out of the aquariums, or have peices down near the sand and slate to choose from as well. Also, just because the driftwood has a piece of java fern stuck to it, dosn't mean I will double the price of that piece!
I really like your idea about the PVC decor, Dan.. I am also a ceramics major, and I used to make ceramic fish houses all the time... I could likely find a wide array of designs and ideas to make a more reasonably priced 'decor' section, instead of paying $60 for a cheezy sunken ship... It would also have a more natural look, and be designed with functionality.
I plan to carry asst. live potted plants, but would also like to include a section of silk plants. No plastic plants, as they don't look as nice, plus I don't want to compete with chain stores.. But I have noticed silk plants are quite spendy? So what do I do..?.. I make my own! Wal-mart sells silk house plants at a very cheap rate, the only problem is the metal wire will rust over time? That is where the DIY person jumps in, instead we chop the silk plant at the base, ridding it of that wire.. Then you simply drill into a peice of driftwood, lava rock, or tufa rock, and silicone that plant in there.. Now you have a nice silk plant, with a weight that doubles as more decor, and it looks very natural.. Not to mention I would be offering it at 1/2 the price of any other store selling a similiar product.
Crustaceans- I doub't I will carry many of these, other then the few shrimp I plan to keep when we Import them.. They just don't have a market here in this town for what the cost of them is.. They either die, jump out, or 'disappear' for most people, so I would say ghost shrimp is going to be our primary crustacean.. Most people can't comprehend the thought of spending $5 or more on a tiny shrimp that might die or get eaten.. They have a hard time spending that on a fish.
Do some of you struggle with Aquascaping at times? Do you wish you could make your tanks look like Takashi Amanos, even if they have no live plants? What if a LFS had a program to come into your home and give your tank a 'make-over' with all new decor and plants, so it could fit a theme? I plan on having a book out of all my 'full-tank shots' over the years, showing people what I can do with fake decor and plants.. I hope to start a program for in-home tank maintenance and aquascaping, for those who 'cant quite get it the way we want it' ..
-Tank Selection?
*Where do you buy your tanks from? Do you special order your monster tanks? Do you buy them from the chain stores? What if you could have the person at the LFS special order your monster tank for you, including getting custom designs! I would like to work with a major wholesaler for the generic glass tanks, but at the same time I would like to provide the option of getting a custom tank built by a company such as NotJustFish here on MFK. Got to support our brudders, and Tenecor is too expensive.
-Pricing Rare Fish?
*Well how many LFS do you know IMPORT DIRECTLY? What does that mean you ask... Well that means we can offer those super-rare oddballs at a reasonable price, because we cut out about 2-3 middle-men! So when you see a Tigrinus at your LFS for $400, we will likely offer it for $200.. When you see a Star ray for $600, we will have them for $300.. Why can we do this.. BECAUSE WE CAN!! I plan on selling majority of the rare fish online, as the market won't have that continual flow of rare fish flyinig out the door, eventually the serious fish keepers are going to have all tanks full! Good thing I have MFK here to back me up
I also plan to dedicate alot of tanks to livebearers, tetras, corys, plecos and other 'small tank friendly/newbie friendly' fish..Education will be key with the newcomers, and I will likely have to refuse fish sales to those who are unintentionally going to kill their fish. These 'bread-n-butter' sections however won't be like most LFS, as most LFS have higher prices then the chain stores.. So when you see a LFS with a Cory cat for $2.99, the chain store will have it for $1.99.. Well we will also sell that Cory cat for $1.99, but it will be healthier and have the knowledge to go with it.
Our goal: To never have a Tetra or Livebearer over the price of $1.99. This would put us in competition with the corporate pet stores price wise. The only reason we could do these types of prices is because we import directly, not through a wholesale. So when most peoples rules are 'must triple cost', we still abide by that rule. We also plan to give discount on schooling fish, such as 12 Tetras for $20. We may not have a huge selection of 'bread-n-butter' fish like your chain stores, but we also will be saving alot of room by not stocking 'stupid fish' like Pacus, Oscars, Clown knifes, Pangasius and other fish that are overly sold and grow too large for most aquaria.
I believe the pricing of fish will put us in great competition with the chains, however will that be enough income to keep the business rolling? Without dry goods and display tanks for sale, we would have to be selling alot of fish! Perhaps the Decor, Gadgets, and Live Foods will be our staple? I would have to say things that people NEED, and buy often, will be a big plus, such as the foods and feeders.. What else is a 'repeated need' of the fish hobbyist..? What will keep them coming back to the store, making a purchase everytime?
Keep em coming guys!
just keep plenty of stock on hand 