Reptile Basics

"They say I'm lazy, but it takes all my time"- Joe Walsh

Archive for January, 2010

Tinley Park Reptile Show and USARK/Pijac Summit

Jan 28

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We have reserved a couple of tables at the Feb. 13 & 14 Tinley show.  Looks like I will be bringing most dry goods including thermostats, hide boxes, rodent watering, heat panels, etc.  We will not be bringing racks or cages due to time and space limitations.  Had not really planned on this until just a couple of weeks ago and we have been quite busy with web orders and the White Plains show. Still, it is a nice show and an event well worth supporting so we will be there.

I would encourage anyone thinking about attending to do so- it is a great way to support the efforts of USARK and Pijac while having some fun.  Who knows, you might even get some shopping done as well?  As usual- if you know you need something specific I would encourage you to email me ahead of time so we can make sure we have you covered.  Seems like whatever we do not have room for is what everyone needs?  Can’t seem to win.   Hope to see you there!

Some of you may have noticed that a couple of caging products have been discontinued on the site.  We are still taking orders on them for the time being but they will be phased out over the next couple of months.  Most are relics of tubs that have been discontinued (STC-410) or simply have not been popular enough to warrant making them any longer.  We will be adding a couple of new items to take their place in the next few weeks that I think will be more popular.  Right now I am working on a new 2×2 cage and a few other things.  We are moving the CNC to a new spot to make room for a new handy dandy laser cnc setup so I am trying desperately to get far enough ahead to buy enough time to do that without interrupting the normal flow of work.

The astute reader will be wondering “well, what is he going to do with a laser cnc?”  You will know pretty soon!  Already laying out the drawings for some new toys and once I figure out how to use this thing half ways decently I will show you.  I am hoping to show up in Daytona at the expo this summer with some pretty neat new things!

Once the CNC has moved I will be transitioning to a new rack/cage shipping strategy.  It is my hope to have about 75% of our offerings shipped the same day or day after ordered.  While we have been a leader in the rack/cage market for awhile now I see some room for improvement in the turnaround time.  It is not as easy as it sounds but I think with the new setup and a week or two to get far enough ahead we can pull it off.  I am looking for this to go into effect end of March and will update as we get closer.

Thanks again for keeping me busy!

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Thanks for another good year!

Jan 1

Posted by Reptile Basics in General Ramblings........ | Comments off

2009 has been a challenging year for many businesses.  Somehow though, the reptile industry remains as strong as ever!  I want to thank everyone for their support this past year- I hope we have lived up to expectations as much as possible!

I have added quite a bit to the offerings in 2009.  I have reworked a lot of the rodent watering equipment to make life a bit easier!   Added water bowls right at the end of the year and much more.  Also survived a major website overhaul.  That is just not much fun!  Been a busy year and I have a lot more coming in 2010.  There are several pretty big projects that I had really hoped would hit in ‘09 that just did not make it.  They about can not miss for ‘10!

On the subject of rodent watering- Seems like I have finally managed to strike at least a small truce with Edstrom and we will be offering some better price breaks on the valves in the next week or so.  Have to wait for the new shipment to arrive.  Following this shipment I will be offering bulk/wholesale pricing on the valves and several other related hardware again.  Edstrom continues to have excessive waits on the valves which is not helping but they tell me that will improve in the coming months.  Hasn’t yet.  I apologize in advance for any back orders on the valves- I really work hard to keep good supplies of what I sell on hand so I can fill orders promptly but just can’t seem to with the valves no matter what I try.

The animal market this year has been a rough one for many.  Some will blame it all on the economy, not so sure about that- supplies are selling same or better than ever.   Others will blame it on market crashing sales from some larger breeders- seen that happen before over the years and it is generally a short term impact.  My thinking is while that contributes, the largest factor is the explosive growth in this hobby in the past few years.  Kind of a “reptile bubble” if you will.  Many thousands of hobbyists have been getting in and getting a few animals and now they are successfully breeding them.  Remember all those BP’s 3 years ago?  They are breeding now.  Like houses, you can’t keep building them endlessly forever and expect they will all sell for large sums.  At some point things need to re balance.  Prices need to hit an equilibrium in the market.  This is not new to reptiles, just been a long time since it has happened and never to this scale.  Again, we have never seen this kind of popularity in this hobby before! Have faith!

We will be in White Plains again January 24th.  You can click on the link for the website and more info.  Bruce continues to do an outstanding job with that show and it is really a pleasure to attend.  Attendance is always good, good vendors, good facility, right size, and on and on.  It has achieved Zen!  If you need to reserve caging now is the time!  it is only about 3 weeks out and coming fast! We have already started to build for that show.  Hopefully the snow will manage to not trap us up there?  Been lucky for years now- we will see?  Seems like a year for snow so far.

It looks very likely we will hit the Tinley Park expo in mid February.  We will likely not be bringing caging but can make pre-arranged deliveries if it is needed.  Going to “go light”- supplies in large quantities but no trailer.  Let me know if you have any requests on that show, I will be making the final decision in a few days.

We are also looking ahead to the Daytona Expo already.  Got the invite in the mail a few days ago.  Time to start thinking about that again………If you have not made it to FL. for that one I suggest you go, it is worth it!