My friend and I want to start a fish shop/bait store. I was wondering if anyone here has any pointers towards what to carry, what to sell, and what we should be aiming for as a goal. Thanks.
Starting a baitshop/fishstore
Started by
Guest_MUBOTE_*
, Apr 20 2009 07:37 PM
7 replies to this topic
#2
Guest_Irate Mormon_*
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Posted 21 April 2009 - 10:16 PM
My friend and I want to start a fish shop/bait store. I was wondering if anyone here has any pointers towards what to carry, what to sell, and what we should be aiming for as a goal. Thanks.
I would start with 1(one) 10" yellow bellied bullhead catfish.
#3
Guest_MUBOTE_*
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Posted 30 April 2009 - 03:58 PM
bah. he died a while back, but i can't figure out how to remove it; we've changed the focus around a bit. now we're installing fishtanks and aquariums for local businesses and hotels. we've gotten a lot of interest from some big hotels too! how much should I be charging though, for something like a 220 gallon tank? a 80 gallon tank? im buying them new and loading them with goodies. what's reasonable? (there are no LFS's near me; none within a 1 hour drive, so i'm pretty isolated). And let's assume USD.
#4
Michael Wolfe
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Posted 30 April 2009 - 04:08 PM
bah. he died a while back, but i can't figure out how to remove it; we've changed the focus around a bit. now we're installing fishtanks and aquariums for local businesses and hotels. we've gotten a lot of interest from some big hotels too! how much should I be charging though, for something like a 220 gallon tank? a 80 gallon tank? im buying them new and loading them with goodies. what's reasonable? (there are no LFS's near me; none within a 1 hour drive, so i'm pretty isolated). And let's assume USD.
I knew a couple that ran an aquarium maintenance business back 10 or so years ago (so adjust for inflation)... They would have the customer buy the tanks and stands, and then charge a dollar a gallon a month for maintenance... including basic fish. This was for fish only saltwater so basic fish meant damsels and tangs. Extra fancy fish were the customers responsibility to buy, but were gauranteed if bought from their store (meaning replaced for free).
So essentially they charged 55 dollars a month for a 55 gallon tank... came by once a month and did a water change and cleaned it up. Had a lot of customers that were even paying for home tanks... you know people that just thought a pretty aquarium was nice decoration.
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#5
Guest_az9_*
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Posted 01 May 2009 - 09:39 PM
Baitstore?
Good way to lose your arse! I've had friends that did it and got out of it. Not much money and long hours.
Good way to lose your arse! I've had friends that did it and got out of it. Not much money and long hours.
#6
Guest_Newt_*
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Posted 02 May 2009 - 12:13 PM
From what I've heard, livestock are a loss leader for most pet shops, probably for bait shops too. The money is in equipment, dry goods, and services. If you can convince people their fish need to be groomed monthly, you're golden! The cleaning service is a good idea. Way less investment than a brick-and-mortar store, and more flexible hours to boot.
#7
Guest_brian1973_*
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Posted 04 May 2009 - 10:20 AM
I passed the link to this thread onto a friend from Canada that worked on site aquarium maintenace for a while, not sure how long ago but he may be able to give you some input as well.
#8
Guest_AnubiasDesign_*
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Posted 05 May 2009 - 05:42 PM
I've owned my own retail store, a saltwater wholesale company and two aquarium maintenance companies over the years and have run stores for one regional and one national chain and currently import and ship fish throughout the US, so I have a bit of experience in the industry. The best advice I can give you is: Don't do it! Unless your economy is in a whole lot better shape than ours, I wouldn't even consider opening a shop right now. Believe me, I keep driving by all these empty retail spaces and thinking, "hmm, I bet I could get a great deal on that," but then reality hits or my wife smacks me upside the head and I stop thinking about it. It's a very difficult way to earn a living in the best of times and these are far from that. Now, that said, if you're in an affluent area and have good knowledge of your clientele, you can make it work, especially if you're doing tank maintenance. The key is the clientele. The first aquarium maintenance company I owned was not listed in any phone book and I didn't advertise. All my business was through referrals, and my average tank installation was over $4000 (and that's just the tank and setting it up). Since that time, I have not lived anywhere that would support anywhere near that kind of operation. If you want to do tank maintenance, sell the tank setups, don't lease them unless you have deep financial pockets. That way, your money isn't tied up in the equipment. Charge for service based on an hourly rate rather than X/gallon. I would base it on at least $60/hr including travel time. You can't charge a different amount every month, though, so estimate how much time it will take and bill it monthly based on that. I would charge for fish and supplies. I always guaranteed all livestock for a month as long as the customer never bought anything from anyone else. If I ever saw a fish they purchased somewhere else, all future guarantees were null and void and if they bought another one, I'd drop them. If you don't have complete control over the tank, you're going to spend too much time on emergency calls solving problems that aren't your fault. You'll make more money in the longterm by dropping these clients. If you want to talk to me in more detail, pm me.
Mark
Mark
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