Scorpion Store Plan for New Orleans-French Quarter, input wanted

This is nowhere near being close to being a reality. This is a plan for the future I hope to be able to succeed in. But when the dominoes fall, I want to be as ready as possible. This would be a dream "job" for me, and I'm going to try and make it happen. Any ideas or issues you could see arising, anything, is appreciated. Thanks, ryan

So I want to start a scorpion store in New Orleans, preferably in the French Quarter. I imagine an old time looking shop, with a wooden scorpion sign hanging above the sidewalk lit by gas lamp. It won't be big. But how big would a scorpion store need to be? Also, I want it to be a display "curio?" where tourist could just walk in and look and learn about scorpions. Of course I would sell scorpions too. And scorpion shirts, jewelry, and supplies.

I would make basic small care-sheets for every specie I sell to include with purchase, along with websites to go to if that's allowed.

Of coarse, being in a port, I would get my import license. It would be easy once there and funded. I would display adults of many or most of the slings I sell. I would try to sell and encourage captive breeding as much as possible. I would breed many of the specimens, but I don't know if I could even breed everything if I wanted to.. So I will need help there. Also, I want to have the best displays anywhere. Off the chain. But that's going to be expensive.. ooohhhh

Here's one question, right off the bat someone could help me with I'd bet...

How do you think I should deal with med-sig or "hot" species? Read on before replying please....

I have thought so far that I would keep all of "those" species in the back, or behind the counter with me, except for some displays. And if people I know in the hobby, or experienced responsible known locals come in, they are there. And of course online as well.

But is all of that needed? Should I just make them available to any sober 18+? How would that effect insurance that I am sure I have to have? Would this even be allowed? Are there laws on that for "Pet" Stores? What would be ethical? What would be best practice?

Also, I want to be clear, I will not sell dead scorpions.

NO belt buckles, paper weights, tequilla or snacks. No dead ones.

Books. Critter keepers, and hand built cages. I hope to find a local to be the feeder breeder. I would like to have a handful of different feeders available. I want it to be a destination. I want people who wander in to tell everyone they know how cool it is. So if you have any suggestions on how I might achieve that, by all means, share away.

And yes, I really just want to keep it to scorpions. I may eventually add something else, but for now just live scorpions and associated products.

Oh, and I would probably have a few masks for sale on the wall as well....'


This sounds cool as all get out though right? I know I may not make a dollar at the store. If I could cover costs, it would be worth it. I will probably sell more stuff online. But it would be awesome. And then my house doesn't have to be the "zoo". And I still need to take trips and all. Heck, if i get an import license, I could probably go overseas, collect and broker my shipments. How awesome would that be? Anyway, give me some ideas folks, I can't even think of a name!!! So far I've got
The Scorpion Scrape I think you can do better, help me out!

Thanks, Ryan

Sounds like you got it all well planned, except for the location. A shop in the Quarter will cost a few thousand dollars a month just in rent. I would look for something on the West Bank or just outside the city. Open it in Lafayette and I will work for free I wanna be the first customer

well, I figure expenses would be around $2500 a month, maybe $3000.

But I figure between soft goods, supplies, t-shirts, jewelry, feeders,

Scorpions I breed, scorpions others breed that I sell for percent, and scorpions I import...

And scorpions I sell online as well..... I plan on having an amazing number of specimens available. I could have more than anywhere in the world in one place if I play my cards right.

Oh, and don't forget the masks. I think between it all, I could more than pull off French Quarter rent.

It's going to be a lot of hard work. But I think it's doable. Second and third choices would be marigny and uptown.

I don't think I want to be that far from New Orleans, but I will probably need a some local help I can trust. I would at least need a caretaker for collecting trips/Photography/ or study. But there's a long way between here and there!

Will you be working with other kritters beside scorpions? I got about a billion inverts I would love to collect, if I could them instate. There is also the Expo twice a year, which always has room for a few tables. Not to many dealers specialized in inverts, but ALOT of people where interested in the few available. You could make pretty good money there I would bet. I was there for about two hours at the October show and spent over $500 on an assortment of various inverts.

8by8 said:

Will you be working with other kritters beside scorpions?

There is also the Expo twice a year

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Nope. Just scorpions and feeders for them. I would consider Preying Mantis. I have always loved them. If I could breed them, I might keep a couple of species. Otherwise, just scorpions and their food.

The expo would be rad. We want to do trips like that too. Heck, I could write if off taxes at least!

8by8 said:

Will you be working with other kritters beside scorpions? I got about a billion inverts I would love to collect.

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Well, you have hentzi. You are going to have to travel more! Florida has some nice species. Texas isn't far. Although, once in texas, nothing is close.
But what I really want is breeders. All I'd want for my store is a handful of adults for display, then I would want you to send me a clutch or two when I need. I would then give you store credit or cash. Scorpions or feeders.
Or scorpion art, t-shirts, stuff like that. Just don't start printing t-shirts or anything, I will want to design them and include the name etc...

Theres a couple of problems with this plan.. (1. merchandising..if your going to cater to tourist as well as locals you'll have to sell the novelties(belt buckles,paperweights,ect.)tourists aren't gonna buy live scorpions to take home especially if their from out of country or they live in a city where you can't keep scorps. (2.when it comes to opening a store..it comes down to one word..location,location,location! (3.I know it's illegal in my state to sell any venomous animal(medically significant) in stores where the public can walk on in, and I think it maybe illegal in all 50. (4. if you do keep the HOT scorps there your insurance is gonna be astronomical!!!..I know mine was when I kept HOT snakes and I kept them in my house..not in a store. (5.You would have to keep other inverts kinda like a Noah's ark of arach's and insects or a Zoo of invert knowledge ..I mean come on if I had a store in my city that catered to nothing but inverts and had a ton of different sp. You might want to set me up a cot in the back of the store, cause I'm moving in! other than that if you could figure a way thru those road block's this would be one of the awesomest stores on the planet. I'd pay it a visit.

Just keep Austin weird and do it here, you'd have to go north though away from Zkeeper, a dream without some start-up cash though, not going to happen if you can't finance a start up. But bringing something like that to N.O. might work if it doesn't have something diff like that, might work because of that. You have to get some cash in this world for that kind of stuff though.

Sarcastro said:

(1. merchandising..if your going to cater to tourist (2.location,location,location! (3.I know it's illegal in my state to sell any venomous animal(medically significant) in stores where the public can walk on in, and I think it maybe illegal in all 50. (4. if you do keep the HOT scorps there your insurance is gonna be astronomical!!. (5.You would have to keep other inverts kinda like a Noah's ark of arach's and insects or a Zoo of invert knowledge . I'd pay it a visit.

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1. I don't have to sell anything I don't want to! It will be my store! No deads. None. And the tourists will be lucky to get to see my displays. It's more of a service than anything. I can sell a decent amount of shirts and jewelry. But I'm not going to be relying on merchandising sales, or even in store sales. Mask sales and online sales will be the bulk of my income. The retail is mostly just advertising.

2. Did i mention the French Quarter? Could you think of a better location? You can walk anywhere in the quarter, and I would advertise in local guides.

3. Fine, no hots in the store. I can hand out my card, and I can sell them online, or in my home by appointment only.

4. See 3 above.

5. I'm just doing scorpions. Hope you still come. I'll make sure and get some cots.

Galapoheros said:

Just keep Austin weird and do it here, you'd have to go north though away from Zkeeper, a dream without some start-up cash though, not going to happen if you can't finance a start up. But bringing something like that to N.O. might work if it doesn't have something diff like that, might work because of that. You have to get some cash in this world for that kind of stuff though.

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Yeah, I like Austin. But I need to move on. I can get financing there, and it's perfect for it. I can't begin to explain how perfect on so many levels. That fact that its an animal import port is crucial. I can ride my cargo bike to pick up my shipments if I want. It's just different. I like the pace there. I like jazz. I play the trumpet. There probably isn't a better place in the world for me to sell masks either. It really is perfect. Tourists will buy a t-shirt maybe, but some will buy scorpions when they get home. Plus then I have a store and public displays that would give me a good reason to import. And I can get start up money there. Maybe not this year, but soon enough. I'm honest and charismatic. With a well thought out and realistic business plan, I can get the money soon enough....I just need to know what I'm in for, the hidden costs and regulations that I can't begin to expect I am sure. Maybe I should go talk to zk..

Ryan,

I think it sounds awesome! I would make a trip just to go check out your store & meet you in person. As far as online sales just make sure you dont have a ridiculously high minimum and accept PayPal. Also could look into making scorpion habitat kits and ivnert catching kits. As soon as I am done with my imperator tank I will try to send you a vid explaining what was done with costs of everything. You can also make some really cool backgrounds being that you know how to make masks. You can have them ready to make after making a master mold. Or you can use a vaccuum former mold your own dishes backgrounds and enclosure lids.
Another thing to consider is international shipping. It is a real pain to ship to an individual living overseas. The aimals become sickly and die which can lead to a bad online reputation.

Maybe you could consider doing an invert zoo instead of selling the animals. I can see NOLA tourists paying to walk through a tour of "creep crawlies" and buying t-shirts and stuff afterward more than I can envision them purchasing enough scorps to come close to covering your expenses. Halloween is HUGE there too. I personally would want to see more than just scorps though. I would want to see all the rarest, largest, most colorful ro just plain different inverts of the world. It would give you a reason to collect more animals, house them in cool desplays and personally care for them. I'd feel a little weird handing over a live animal to someone with a Hand Grenade in their hand, lol.

Also, I can't imagine anything in the Quarter being <$3000 a month. Retail space here in No Name-town, FL goes for that. If it is that cheap, I'm in the wrong state!!

Sithis said:

Ryan,

I think it sounds awesome! I would make a trip just to go check out your store & meet you in person.
Another thing to consider is international shipping. It is a real pain to ship to an individual living overseas. .

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I'm going to hold you to that! hehe.

As far as international shipping goes, I wouldn't be selling to overseas, rarely if ever. I would be importing. And yes, sometimes you loose specimens. But I would be breeding almost everything I order, and hopefully others would breed the rest. That way, at least we can slow the need to constantly import.

And its really not hard on them if packaged well and sent overnight. It's just not. I hear all sorts of horror stories, but they all revolve around horrible packing. IF they are packaged and shipped correctly, you should loose no more than 10% max. And if i am the importer, I will have the ability to influence the practices of the exporters. They can step up and do it right, or I can find someone else to do it., or like I mentioned above, I would love to go collect them and broker them myself. If they can't do it right, I'll do it myself. And then I'll write if off my taxes.

you might look into the "Rattlesnake Museum" in Albuquerque, he doesn't actually sell snakes but I think does similar things like your wanting to do. I would also consider location change for tourist business, in America scorps are considered 'old west and desert'. Tucson, Pheonix, Yuma, Albuquerque, or a roadside attraction on a major highway somewhere in the southwest would probably attract more, be cheaper, and allow the focus for online sales which 'should' be where most of the money comes from. JMHO

Jilly1337 said:

Maybe you could consider doing an invert zoo instead of selling the animals. I can see NOLA tourists paying to walk through a tour of "creep crawlies" and buying t-shirts and stuff afterward more than I can envision them purchasing enough scorps to come close to covering your expenses. Halloween is HUGE there too. I personally would want to see more than just scorps though. I would want to see all the rarest, largest, most colorful ro just plain different inverts of the world. It would give you a reason to collect more animals, house them in cool desplays and personally care for them. I'd feel a little weird handing over a live animal to someone with a Hand Grenade in their hand, lol.

Also, I can't imagine anything in the Quarter being <$3000 a month. Retail space here in No Name-town, FL goes for that. If it is that cheap, I'm in the wrong state!!

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They already have that in New Orleans!

http://www.auduboninstitute.org/visit/insectarium

Plus, that's not what I want to do. I don't want to charge people to look. I want kids with poor parents to be able to come look. And anyway, how many people would pay just to look at a couple dozen scorpion tanks? I couldn't make it like that. Audubon can do that because of it's size and non-profit donation driven "system". I don't want that anyway.

A big part of wanting to do this, is to increase my ability to import, and to encourage captive bred scorpion collecting. I want to breed as much as possible, and get others breeding, so that we can at least slow the "taking" of wild caught specimens. Some day, we might not be allowed to import, and if that happened right now, the hobby would collapse. There is that little breeding going on. It would collapse.

I may in the end, decide it's not worth it to sell scorpions over the counter there. But that wouldn't change my business plan. Most people who came in and wanted a scorpion (s), would buy them online from me, and have them shipped to their house. I could also have private sales completed in my home to breeders or people who make special trips to visit. The store would be better advertising for that than anything else I could possibly do.
And at very least, would allow me the space to breed, so that my home can be my art studio, not just a "zoo".

*lol about the hand grenade. I've thought of that. First, I would cut half of that out just by closing by 7pm. For the other half, I would have a strict sober buying policy. Anyone smelling of booze, or acting drunk, could not purchase anything live from me. ever.

Yes, you are in the wrong state! Plus, remember, I'm not getting a huge space. I need 300-600 square feet. 1000 max. Plus, I am well known and well liked by the right people there. I can find rents most can't, because people like having me around, well, most people anyway.

I do appreciate the ideas though! Keep them coming! Peace, r

reverendsterlin said:

I would also consider location change for tourist business, in America scorps are considered 'old west and desert'. Tucson, Pheonix, Yuma, Albuquerque, or a roadside attraction on a major highway somewhere in the southwest would probably attract more, be cheaper, and allow the focus for online sales which 'should' be where most of the money comes from. JMHO

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Thanks for the ideas. Roadside attraction isn't really what I'm going for though. Plus, people in the South West see scorpions all the time anyway. Maybe not the big ones, or the prettiest ones, but they see them.

New Orleans really is perfect for it. It's novel there. New Orleans has a creepy crawly atmosphere already. The store front I want, would fit there best. And I need to be able to sell lots of masks. That's New Orleans or NYC.

No, New Orleans is the spot. It's really just a question of whether or not I sell them otc, and if I can sell "hots" otc or not. But it will be in New Orleans. And it will just be scorpions and their needs, with a little tourista retail. (and masks)

Insurance and all that may be an issue as well. Oh, and I have to have a good evacuation plan for them all, and somewhere to take them if there is a big 'cane coming.

But that's where it will be. There isn't a better place in the world for scorpions and masks combined. (plus trumpeting!)

"Laissez Les Bon Temps Roulez" ~r

reverendsterlin said:

you might look into the "Rattlesnake Museum" in Albuquerque, he doesn't actually sell snakes but I think does similar things like your wanting to do. I would also consider location change for tourist business, in America scorps are considered 'old west and desert'. Tucson, Pheonix, Yuma, Albuquerque, or a roadside attraction on a major highway somewhere in the southwest would probably attract more, be cheaper, and allow the focus for online sales which 'should' be where most of the money comes from. JMHO

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Not to get of topic but the rattlesnake museum here in Albuquerque is cool

Sithis said:

Not to get of topic but the rattlesnake museum here in Albuquerque is cool

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lol, I would love to see it. Someday I could breed pygmy rattlers. But that isn't in the cards for a good long time I think. How many species does he keep? Does he have any Mojave? Apparently, they live down in the Big Bend. That's what I'm scared of most when I go there. Mojave's can put down a healthy adult horse in an hour. I'm going to run into one or more sooner than later. And it's a bit much for me. I don't even have boots.

Do OTC transactions anyway. any bit of extra you can bring in would be good.

Sithis said:

Do OTC transactions anyway. any bit of extra you can bring in would be good.

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I agree. Maybe keep the hots at home for insurance purposes, but mom and pop LPS sell the milder ones on tight budgets. I still think your being a "specieist" for discriminating on T's