Selling T's as a business?(Well, not just T's)

[Sky`Scorcher]

I'm planning on making this hobby into a business model since my other proposal was ripped to shreds and one of my comments were "you looked uninterested and lack enthusiasm in your report" and one of them told me "Its here in your description that you take care of T's and scorps maybe thats your real interest"

So I made a lot of thinking, evaluated that I have to print out another business model from scratch and compare my previous model that has a net profit of more than half a million(thats in peso, you'll just have to convert that ) and had only learned about for just 3 weeks to a humble hobby such as this which I have been in for 3 years which is not that much compared to others.

So what am I asking about? Simply put, is our hobby also a good way to earn money and make a living? Not just T's, exotic animals in general. I'm hoping somebody here in the boards have experience in importing T's and distributing them to other hobbyists that can chime in if ever this thread gets noticed.

It also said in our model guidelines that "Your New Business Venture must be your passion and you can go with it all the way" I'm looking for other "go signals" for now.


Thanks much
Vinz

[cobaltbrew]

There was a thread about this not too long ago.

My personal opinion is that its definitely possible. I mean look at the online dealers right now. They did it so can you.

Here's the thing:

As I see it the initial investment will be large. You'll want to set up a way to breed many different species of tarantula, scorpions, or reptiles. Then you need the space for the babies. Then you need a web domain name. Then you need containers, accessories, space, and an ability to keep a good temperature. Maybe even afford an assistant or two.

That's only a small part because I'm sure there are legal issues involved including permits. Then you have to either buy breeding groups or catch them in the wild. And then there's establishing a customer base and shipping.

But its not undoable and it is probably a way to make a living if you're smart about it and really care about your work.

It seems to me that opening an exotic pet shop that also ships and breeds at the store is a good idea too. But that's just me. ^_^

[Arachnoholic420]

The reptile/invert industry is still growing.. if your main focus is revenue,... what i would suggest is supplying feeders... breeding mice,hamster,rabbits, roaches, crickets etc... this is what i think would be more profitable... yes ther is a good mark up on T's and reptile's... thats only when your breeding them on your own... i hope this helps... I was born there, and left in the 80's, i was only a child then.... So my question is? is the invert hobby back home really that big???

[forrestpengra]

I posted a thread similar to this a few days ago. My thought was just to make enough money to support my arachno-addiction.

Do do anything and make some money off it in a relatively short time period you're initial would be HUGE. You would need multiple breeding pairs of the common species and expensive species. Plus with inverts you will have to wait and wait... They can often take a while to lay a sack, eat their sack after its made, have a complete dud, or even molt after pairing.

With reptiles it can be far more expensive, including exotic morphs, etc... Not to mention they eat more than inverts.

I think the suggestion of the feeders might be good, but that can be a messy proposition, for the scale in which you would need to do it. As well, you would need to make sure you have enough clients to sell off the feeders.

If I were you, I would buy up all the breeding pairs you can, start breeding them and selling the slings out of your house. See how that goes before jumping in full tilt.

[Sky`Scorcher]

The reptile/invert industry is still growing.. if your main focus is revenue,... what i would suggest is supplying feeders... breeding mice,hamster,rabbits, roaches, crickets etc... this is what i think would be more profitable... yes ther is a good mark up on T's and reptile's... thats only when your breeding them on your own... i hope this helps... I was born there, and left in the 80's, i was only a child then.... So my question is? is the invert hobby back home really that big???

I can say its big but we're on a low profile in the whole population. Thats just my observation though. On T's its the rare-ish ones that are on demand because almost everybody I know breed on their own and its the most common of T's that are getting cheaper and cheaper to the point that their slings are practically "meant-for-sharing" if someone has produced a sac. If you ask me its not healthy for the hobby but there are some who still keep their prices high to preserve the value of some T's.

On a general aspect, the exotic animal hobby is pretty big. Some importers post available animals today and the next day its sold out.

I have doubts on some feeders seeing as others can setup their own and be self-supplying but i don't know I think it still depends if their collection demands as much as to startup your own colony of feeders(self-argument, sorry)




Thanks for chiming in Arachnoholic042 and cobaltbrew much appreciated.

[Sky`Scorcher]

I posted a thread similar to this a few days ago. My thought was just to make enough money to support my arachno-addiction.

Do do anything and make some money off it in a relatively short time period you're initial would be HUGE. You would need multiple breeding pairs of the common species and expensive species. Plus with inverts you will have to wait and wait... They can often take a while to lay a sack, eat their sack after its made, have a complete dud, or even molt after pairing.

With reptiles it can be far more expensive, including exotic morphs, etc... Not to mention they eat more than inverts.

I think the suggestion of the feeders might be good, but that can be a messy proposition, for the scale in which you would need to do it. As well, you would need to make sure you have enough clients to sell off the feeders.

If I were you, I would buy up all the breeding pairs you can, start breeding them and selling the slings out of your house. See how that goes before jumping in full tilt.

Ahh yes the probability of getting a viable and unscathed sac. As much as I like to breed on my own, I don't have funds right now seeing as I still run on an allowance and its kind of hard to find a freshly matured male nowadays unless I trade off some of my collection for breeding pairs.

[Arachnoholic420]

it's easier to breed feeders than t's... imo the fastest way to make profit......

cheers

[sean-820]

I think this hobby has a better money making potential then other pet hobbies such as fish, but its still not a ton. The best way to make money is to sell those rare and expensive species that just hit the market.

With t's, you can buy slings to raise breeder to save money, do trades... so operating costs shouldn't be much as they don't need any additional heat and there cheap to house. If you can "get" some p metalica breeding pairs and other rare species there is a change you could make decent money, but theres also a chance the male/female gets killed and your out a couple hundred bucks.