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Question

Ok I want to start selling osme fish stuff. Like I was thinking tank decorator starter kits with like gravel, caves(homemade), driftwood when availible, and plants(plastic or real, buyers choice)
How much should this cost me to start up?
The supplys I would need would be
The plants
The gravel(a huge bag form home depot)
pvc pipes and pots(for the caves)

And how much should I charge, I would do kits for liek a 2.5 gallon, a 5 gallon, and a ten gallon

I never said I was going to paint, the driftwood will be driftwood that I already have and if I find any I will cure it

Answer 1

What uyou are doing is called making a business plan and that's a really wise move before you jump right in. The first move you want to make is to see if you have a market for what you want to sell. Who would you sell it to? How much will they pay? If you can do it for way less than a pet store, you will be able to sell it, but to who? Find your market.

Then actually put one together. Figure out exactly what you will need by actually doing one. Count every thing right down to the box you will put it in to ship or sell it. Even the glue or staple for packages and the labels to address with. Be sure to search the web and local wholesale places for the very best prices you can get. There may be a lanscaping company that will sell you a ton or two of gravel for WAY less per pound than the big bags at Home depot. Plant growers in FL charge pennies for some great live plants. Way less than the pet stores would. Don't forget you will have to have a place to keep all this stuff while you make the kits! That might cost you something too. Then figure out the cost for each item. Some will be easy like the gravel, some would be harder ( how much does 1/4th of a glue stick cost0 but stick with it and get some help with it if need be. Plenty of people will be willing to help if you let them know you are serious and trying to do it the right way.

Now see how much people would pay and subtract how much one will cost you. That's your profit. Yo made one, was it worth the time to make that profit? You will have to answer that.

Best of luck with you plans!

MM

Answer 2

Sorry to tell you, but you really shouldn't be selling handmade props unless you know what your doing.

You can't buy gravel at a store and call it your own. You also can't just paint it.
You'll need a special paint.

Where do you want driftwood from???

To get real plants, you'll eed to buy a growing center, and tons of geune aquentic plant bolbs. Nothing wild, some plants are harmful.

The caves= I'm not going there. If you want to buy supplies from other companies and make starter kits, you can.You'll need the companies promition, and a special tax certificate to be able to sell the items.

The price depends on your labor, what you pay, and maintaining upkeep.

Good Luck!

Answer 3

When a retail store sells individual items, they mark them up to 4-5 times what their wholesale cost is. When they put them together in a kit, the markup is 3-4 times the wholesale cost of the items totalled. They will take a smaller % of profit to sell more individual items in a kit.

What you should do then, is figure out how much each item costs you individually and then estimate how much your time is worth when you assemble the kits. Give yourself a profit, but try to undercut the retail prices for comparable kits by at least 25-30% if you can.

Good luck with your business venture.

Answer 4

Driftwood has to be of a certain kind, you can't just go out and find any old driftwood. Even if you steralize it, certain woods will release tanins which make the water acidic and can kill certain fish.