We all have choices. When making them, we need to act responsibly, and
think about the consequences of our actions.
I will not tell anyone they should not buy from The Ferret Store.
Likewise, I will not hold it against anyone who does. But, we should
consider our choices.
People have pointed out that TFS offers a 20% discount to shelters. The
Ferret Depot offers the same 20% discount. And, while PetCo and PETsMart
may not offer discounts to shelters, they do both have a charity division
that offer help to animal welfare groups that are bona fide non-profit
organizations. Also, some PetCo stores do offer a shelter discount.
This may be on a store by store basis, but I know that one time when I
was stocking up on litter, I was asked if I was a cat rescue by a PetCo
employee, and was told that if I was a rescue, I could get a 20%
discount.
Many people have commented how the dollar rules how choices are made. I
realize that people who receive benefits from The Ferret Store will most
likely continue to shop there and support them. That is their right to
make that choice. I am not saying this in a negative way, either.
It takes a lot of money to care for the ferrets in a shelter, and shelter
moms need all the financial breaks they can get. It also takes money to
put on an event like a ferret show or a Symposium. There are many up
front expenses that have to be paid even before the first registration
dollars come in. Sponsors are necessary to have that money. And groups
and individuals need to be supportive of their sponsors.
And, in the past, TFS has sponsored many events. Unfortunately, the
number of events they are sponsoring is dwindling, and they are also
putting restrictions on some events before they will provide a
sponsorship. Restrictions like allowing them to be the only sponsor
(although they are not increasing the amount of their donation) and not
allowing advertising from any other ferret supply retailer. This makes
it difficult for the organizers of the event. If TFS is not offering
enough money to cover costs, but refusing to be a sponsor if there are
other sponsors, then the organization either has to work with less mo
ney, or look elsewhere for sponsors. But, these are choices that both
TFS and the event organizers have the right to make.
In his reply to me, Scott Sanfilippo said that TFS was not a profitable
business. It seemed odd to me that someone would keep a business
going for 10 years that was not profitable. So, I checked the company
website - not TFS site, but the NEEPS site.
http://www.neeps-inc.com/about.htm
According to the website, NEEPS is a hugely successful company, doing
over 5 million dollars worth of business in 2003, and expanding rapidly .
Moreover, they claim the story of their success is taught in business
seminars and classrooms.
Now, a business has overhead, and so I am sure that Joe and Steve are not
able to drive Bentleys and Rolls Royces, at least not yet. However, they
are obviously either grossly exaggerating their success on the company
site, or else they are turning a profit. And, when you have revenues of
over 5 million a year, a few $500.00 and $1,000.00 sponsorships are just
a drop in the bucket, especially when they are also a tax write off.
Again, I am not knocking TFS for being successful. All I am trying to
do is present FML readers with some facts, to help them in making their
choices. I am sure the revenues for both PetCo and PETsMART are far
higher then 5 million. But then, PetCo, PETsMART and the Ferret Depot
all provide sponsorship money for events, also.
I have made a personal decision to shop places other then TFS at this
time. I have been a customer there for quite a while, and even after
they raised their prices, I still continued to buy from them out of
loyalty. I placed a rather large order with them in April, and priced it
out with Ferret Depot as well. Had I bought from Ferret Depot, I could
have saved over $20.00, even after considering the cost of shipping.
So, in all honesty, my decision to buy from other suppliers is based in
part on the almighty dollar. I see no reason to continue spending more
to shop with TFS, when I feel they are letting down the ferret community
by continuing to sell products that are unhealthy to ferrets. I am glad
they have indicated they will talk to the manufacturers about improving
the quality of products, but I do not feel that is going far enough.
It all comes down to choices. They can make the choice to sell inferior
products, and I can make the choice to shop elsewhere.
--
Danee
International Ferret Congress Health Issues Coordinator
http://ferretcongress.org
ADV - If your ferret hasn't been tested, you don't know!
For more information visit: http://www.ferretadv.com
[Posted in FML issue 4888]
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