Interest Check - Buying Custom Naturalistic Set Ups?

[SLY]

Answer the poll if you want


I'm just curious to see if anyone thinks there's a market interest for buying naturalistic set ups? Or if anyone themselves would, in fact be interested.

I imagine the process would operate in one similar to the way an architect interacts with his clients.

I'm just thinking of a purchase line something along the lines of the following:
-Customer puts in request for enclosure

-Including substrate choice, colors, fauna, levels, hides, completely natural or artificial materials, etc. AND most importantly, species being built for.​

-Seller draws up sketches, communicate ideas, etc.
-Customer responds with changes desired until client and seller reach agreement.
-Customer pays 35% deposit.
-Seller begins project, keeping client updated of completion date, and any hiccups along the way.
-Customer is notified of completion.
-Customer completes payment.

-Cost = Materials plus 25% (suggestions for %??) mark up for labor plus shipping.​

-Set up is shipped.


Honestly, it's like contracting a remodel for your gecko's tank.

I would want to start with desert geckos and bearded dragons (the animals I have the most knowledge about), but would love to move into the tropical stages in the future. I've built set ups before (one is posted here...my first venture with foam), and I was a structural engineering/architecture major, so I'm experienced with design and build processes.

I would expect ~2 week turnaround time from start of project to ship, to ensure good, solid work. Of course there would be some sort of guarantee, where I could fix or update set ups.

I could also do custom racks, able to ship flat and easily assemble.

There are a ton of possibilities, just wanted to see if there's an interest. Any feedback (at all!) is appreciated.

 

[thestack510]

This sounds like a good idea for those of us who are not breeders. I was actually thinking of setting up a naturalistic habitat for my retired breeders, since I know already that after all they've done for me I won't want to get rid of them. It will be a long while before I retire any of them though. I think they would love a retirement home, lol.

 

[LizMarie]

I would LOVE one but i can only imagine how expensive it would be plus shipping charges..

 

[SLY]

I don't think shipping would be that bad. I think that the only time one would run into problems would be if I was using actual rock, in which case weight would come into play, and it still wouldn't be astronomical. But if you're looking, for example, at a 20L foam setup, it would probably be around $80 (materials) + 20 (labor) + 15 (shipping) = $115, and a a solid guarantee for anything in the future.


And stack, for those that DO breed it could even be a nice "honeymoon" spot, if ya know what I mean.
haha.

 

[puckett26]

I would love if this could happen. As far as the price, I think you should allow people to do a "layaway" persay. Then you wouldnt even start building the tank till a certain amount of the price is paid. I guess this would be for those of us on a limited budget. Just a thought tho.

 

[SLY]

Layaway could work, the only thing is, there's no sense in me handling money before someone is serious, that's what the deposit is for. Money will be in my hand, so if someone does decide to back out, they're going to take a loss, and my loss will be minimized. Or maybe I'm not understanding what you mean?

I'd like to have at least a small deposit in hand before I even show sketches, as that in itself would take a couple hours. Ideally, I would like to have enough to cover materials up front, but considering that's more than 50% of the price, I don't know how that would sit.

 

[rhino43grr]

it would all depend on cost for me.

i'm trying to do a multi-level setup now for my 50 gal. but i haven't been able to get past the sketching stage yet.

 

[RepBex]

i would love for this to be real however the cost will be an issue

 

[SLY]

Yeah, that's the only thing. It would come down to estimating, based on materials (real rock v. foam), how much "stuff" you want in the tank, and shipping.

Your average costs would look something like this:
FOR FOAM CORE:
15G-30G(L) = $50~120 + labor + shipping
30-50G = $100~200 + labor + shipping
50+ = 160+ + labor + shipping
NOTE: These all ballpark ranges, depending on what you would want - multi-tier, extras, would you want lighting, etc.

The nice thing would be, there's no waiting time where your gecko(s) have to be in a smaller tank or anything, just let your stuff arrive, drop it in the tank, and you're good to go.

I guess one problem would be designing around hides that someone currently had in their tank, and wanted to keep. Designing brand new hides would be easy, especially out of rock, but if, for instance, someone wanted to keep "Gex's favorite humid hide" I'd have to find a way to incorporate it into the design without physically taking the hide from the gecko, which is doable, but might require some modifications by the owner.

Of course, this would be a semi-expensive thing, as it is a luxkury for your geckos and giving them the best you desire, just as buying high-end tanks and stands for their display would be.

 

[Bennayboi]

I would buy one if it were reasonably priced and professionally done. I wouldnt pay for some painted styrofoam cut into hides with repti-carpet.

I think making an entire line for leopard gecko or AFT tanks would be a great market. If you could make an entire set-up that matched and sell pieces individually on a website, with discounts to buy whole sets. With jungle, desert and maybe urban themes.

 

[SLY]

Of course. We're talking more about air-chiseled slate, sandstone, or arizona flagstone - type pieces. Chiseled to interlock, but still be modular in order to remove the gecko, clean, etc.

This wouldn't be some half-done job, maybe if I was doing one for myself, but not if I had plans for selling it.

The more I think about it, the more I like the idea of working with stone. It would ensure that no two enclosures are the same, BUT, I would have to consider weight, and whether one's gecko tank can hold the weight.

I'd like to keep to making ENTIRE custom tanks for that same reason - no two enclosures can be exactly alike. If I were to sell pieces (which I may, just small hides and such) then people could have very similar hides, which isn't exactly what I want. On the other hand, I do like your discount idea.

 

[LizMarie]

You could have a few basic pieces like a "line" but being hand made they wouldn't all be exactly the same then you could add the feature for custom pieces..

 

[SLY]

You could have a few basic pieces like a "line" but being hand made they wouldn't all be exactly the same then you could add the feature for custom pieces..

The problem with that is, then it wouldn't be EXACTLY to the customer's specs, unless they approved the sketch with that feature included.

You guys are all keeping the wheels turning, thanks Keep it coming.

 

[2bacop]

depends on how much it cost and what it would look like, be made out of stuff like that

 

[rrhill]

The cost of making the faux rocks (or any other background) for me is minimal and I like the idea of making my own. I know there are plenty of people out there who are "artistically challenged" or don't have the time to put one together that would be happy to pay to have someone else do it for them (lord knows I have made some money making stuff for them!). The shipping would become an issue if you were talking about an entire enclosure AND the internal set up vs. just shipping out a background or "pop in" type job that people could just stick in there own tank (or whatever they are using). Shipping glass is tricky. Shipping rocks is just insane.

 

[SLY]

glass excluded, unless someone is looking for a whole set up. I'm talking strictly about a "pop in", something made to one's specifications. Also, these rocks would not be expensive to ship, we're talking about sandstone or similar, the only time shipping rocks would be "insane" is if it were for a 30G+ tank.

 

[puckett26]

Sounds good, sign me up lol. I have tried the rock wall thing twice, first time it was really sloppy. The second it was much cleaner looking but not functional because I tried to do a second level but it took to much room and I had a serious issues trying to get to my geckos.

 

[kyahbean]

It depends on the price and how good it looks.

 

[Geck-O]

It depends on the price for me.

 

[LZRDGRL]

If I found a professional website with photos and prices of the products, I would probably consider ordering a custom-made background. My cages are all in naturalistic style. As prices are right now, the Habiscape rock wall for $20 a piece for 20g works fine for me. I would like to make a foam rock wall myself, but if the foam alone costs over $100, it is not worth while for as many cages as I have (9 right now, with two more to come).

The geckoforums should have a do-it-yourself section entirely dedicated to building naturalistic cages and backgrounds, so that one does not have to search the housing section for pictures and instructions. Having all in one place with suitable headers would be neat.

You could also sell your instructions (publish an online manual, and give passwords to people who paid for access, or email them the pdf file), if it varies greatly from the already published, free instructions how to build a cage background. Some people might want to try it themselves, but would need a list of materials, tools, steps, and timelines. Just a marketing idea.

Chrissy