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Tips
to Making Your Parrotlet Business a Success - Sell Your Parrotlets
Raising
Parrotlets is just like anything, it is rewarding but and takes
time and patience. Now, we are going to assume you have already
done your research. You have a good environment for your cages,
provide a healthy diet/care and have a adequate number of pairs.
So now you have baby Parrotlets and/or healthy breeding pairs,
where and how are you going to sell them.
Bird
Shows
Find
local bird shows in your area/state. They are a great way to meet
other breeders and find more customers. Make sure you have flyers
or business cards made up incase people don't have the money at the
time but want to contact you later or want to tell a friend about
you. Also people usually pay cash at these events and there are usually
cash machines close by so you don't have to worry about people wanting
to write you a check. I have heard horror stories so be careful if
you decide to accept checks without waiting for them to clear at
these type of events. You may be required to have a state license
to sell birds to attend these events. Double check if this is a requirement.
(They cost about $40/year and take a few weeks to process-this is
for Florida, I can't be sure what it may cost in your state)
 BirdTalk
Magazine
This in a invaluable resource for Parrotlet breeders. Many of you may of found
us through our advertising in BirdTalk which
was well worth it.
Referrals
Treat your customers well and they will come back and bring their
friends. This is a proven fact. Offer discounts, sell healthy birds and maintain
good communication
with
your customers is a great way to build your business. Offer discounts
on their next purchase or if they refer a friend.
Your
Local Paper
Advertise
in your local paper to find Parrotlet lovers close by.
Networking
Work, Family, Friends? Get the word out. Also, my mother
shows Chesapeake Bay Retrievers and Arabians and has sold birds through
meeting people at these events. Animal lovers are your market, not
just bird lovers.
Flyers
Flyers
are an inexpensive way to advertise your Parrotlets. They are a great
pet for
people in apartments, condos and Elderly. If you know of public bulletin
boards in areas such as these, this is a great market. You don't
have to make a lot. Just make one and they have it photocopied and if you don't
have a computer, just neatly design one with your contact and Parrotlet info
clearly written with a picture adhered to the top and then photocopy. You can
even make one with those little tear off things with your phone number at the
bottom.
Web
site
The
web is an invaluable tool. It saves you time spent with people
emailing pictures as you can post all your pictures, prices, information
and just advertise your site. Advertising your site offline is
even more important. Print
your site on business cards, flyers everything! You
don't have to spend a lot to get online. We used www.pixeljoy.com for
building the site and www.aplus.net for
hosting and registering the domain name. You could even limit yourself
to one page of information and a few pictures. Some people build
their own and save money or have a friend or family member who
know html help you out. Or why not trade services for a Parrotlet?
Online
There
are many Pet oriented web sites now offering free advertising to
sell your Parrotlets. Do a search online and put up as many free
listings as you can. And many have the option of uploading pictures
as well as description, contact and price. So have your pictures
ready and to save time write a description you like, paste it into
word or note pad and then keep reusing it so you don't have to retype
for every ad you list. This will save you time.
Pet Shops
The Pet Shops will pay the least amount for your Parrotlets. I consider them
a last resort. But they, in my experience, pay immediately. They will also
want
to see your
merchandise in person and may ask if you have a state license to sell birds.
Expect around half of what your retail rate is. It is still a good resource
to build relationships with local shops incase you experience Parrotlet
explosion.
(All
your pairs conspire
and breed at the same time)
Brokers
See above info for Pet Stores same principal applies here too.
Avoid Scams
I get emailed monthly, sometimes weekly requests for Parrotlets
in poorly written English from third world countries. The "customer" offers
to pay you a check for several hundred or thousand over the
exact amount if you will wire
him money back through western union. You can't wait for the check to clear
he says, and there is some kind of emergency or elaborate story
why you can't. This
is a scam to pass fake checks. And if you wire your money via western union
to his "desperate friend in need", you can't get it back. |
