ethically sound pet supply store?

[pinkpink33]

what i was thinking about, is does anyone think it's possible to make money from a decent pet supply store? i mean decent as in not selling those crappy small cages that are far too small for any animal to live in, selling only healthy pet treats (eg no added sugar content for degus and dwarf hams) etc.
it seems that, as people have said before, the money comes from selling cutsey bright coloured cages, that i personally have to connect a few of together for them to be suitable for a single ham to live in (like rotastak). to sell a suitable home for a ham (we're using ham examples as i have most knowledge in this area) using these cutesy cages, you would have to sell about 2 or 3 "cages" to make a decent living area, totalling about £90, for one hamster cage. how many adults will pay this much? no parent will spend £90 on a hamster cage for their kid, and most adults who keep pets nicely know these cages are crap, and use bin cages, aquariums or bigger unattractive wire cages.
this is just one small example of the kind of thing i mean to imply. i wouldnt be comfortable selling cages too small for the animals (whether or not i stocked the actual pets), as it just leads to more mistreatment of animals.
we dont have any pet supply only stores in this area, so i cant check any actual (non-online) stores to see what they stock, and try to work out how they profit.

so anyone, could this type of store be profitable in any way??? if so, how? what kinds of products?

[ratbrat21]

i think if you were to sell certain things you might. But you would have to make the prices really high because they wouldnt be "popular" items. BUT you could inform people why you dont sell the usual "popular" items. They could spread the word around and it might work.

[Jennicat]

Yes!

http://www.phydeauxpets.com

They're near us. They sell NO animals, hold adopt-a-thons, and only sell high quality products, and they're very successful!

[pinkpink33]

even if i didnt sell pets i would still stock good books, and care-booklets which i would make on a wide variety of animals. when i was young and my parents bought me hamsters, we were very poor so we coudn't get the pretty cages, and we couldn't get particularly large cages, and being a child, i didnt even think about it. but i think most children who want their hamsters/gerbils/mice etc want them to be happy, and like watching them play and playing with them. i wonder if there would be a market for selling home-made bin cages of different sizes etc? the low price would be good for adults, and spacey cages are good for pets. hmm. it's not like they take long to make, and you could buy the bins in bulk in different colours, so it'd still be pretty for the kids.
i think what is needed is more info on pet care. if more people knew the ACTUAL pet requirements there might be less sick, mis-treated and abandoned pets.
there would be so much to think about and research before i could even consider opening a store.

[pinkpink33]

that does look like a good store :) will have to investigate further...
i do like the idea of adopt-a-thons, working with local shelters, helping animals and bringing in customers for healthy food etc. you could have like a big pin-board with pics and details of available animals :)
i've tried looking for wholesale foods etc, just research, but everything i've found is like 9p (15cents) cheaper than my local pet store!