How to Open an Online Pet Store
If you love animals and enjoy being online, opening an online pet supply store could be the perfect business opportunity for you. Selling on the Internet is fun, and it helps you connect with people who love animals as much as you do. But like any other business venture, an online pet supply store requires commitment and marketing and accounting skills. Being able to write clear, concise, descriptive product listings and take good photographs are necessary, too. Here are some suggestions to get you started.
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Instructions
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Getting Started As an Online Pet Supply Retailer
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Decide what you want to sell and think about creating a niche market for yourself. If you love dogs, for instance, you could specialize in training aids. Specializing in one product category is a way of setting yourself apart from all of the other pet supply retailers on the Internet and winning repeat customers.
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Do some market research to determine whether your products will sell. Sometimes the auctions on eBay are a good indicator of a product's popularity.
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Find a venue. Marketplaces like Amazon, eBay, iOffer, Bonanzle and eCrater have easy-to-use templates for building an online store and drive traffic to your site with their search engines. There are no listing fees on iOffer, eCrater and Bonanzle. If you're planning to sell handmade pet products, Etsy could be the perfect venue.
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Register with your state for a sales tax number. Even if you're not required to collect sales tax, that number will prove to vendors that you're a legitimate business.
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Buy your inventory. The wholesale pet supply distributors' websites are a good place to start because you'll find many vendors in one location. Many of the vendors offer unique products not available in pet supply chain stores. Another place to find product is Pet Age Magazine's Online Sourcebook.
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Research shipping methods. Since most pet products are quite small, you might find that United States Postal Service Flat Rate Envelopes and Boxes are the easiest and least expensive way of shipping items to your customers.
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Tips & Warnings
Start small. Test your market before you invest in large amounts of inventory. Be realistic when setting prices. Remember this is a business, and you need to make a profit on each item. Offer stellar customer service. That's one way to set yourself apart from other pet supply retailers and win repeat customers.
