Cat Bed Sales - Survey please

[Whiley]

A few people saw that i had made Shelby a new customised cat bed, and had shown some interest.

As the interest was shown :-D I now intend adding these to my soon-to-opened online shop, but i'll also be taking a few ready made ones to a craftfair i have have a stand at for the Rattery and my natural/healthy treats business.
I hoped you wouldnt mind answering some questions regarding the cat beds so i can produce them efficiently for lovely catty people!

Please reply on here with your answer, or pm me if you'd like it private.

1. What price region would you pay for a well made, long lasting washable and highly decorative/customised cat bed?

2. What materials do you find your cat finds most comfortable, jersey, fleece, etc.

3. Are matching handmade cat toys appealing?

4. If photos or samples of other colours and patterns used in the house were sent to me, would a bed that matched the houses decor be desirable/worth paying an iddy bit extra?

5. Is asking for 2 weeks to complete a customised order acceptable as all beds are made by hand to order?

6. If i ran deals for instance "35% off your 3rd bed in one order" would you feel the attraction?

7. Anything else??

And just a few pics of happy chunky monkey Shelby enjoying her customised bed - this one is very basic, i intend using much 'foofier' stuffing from now on, with chunkier sides and more decorations whereever desired.

http://i111.photobucket.com/albums/n122/Whileywoo/sarahs038.jpg

http://i111.photobucket.com/albums/n122/Whileywoo/sarahs035.jpg
Hehe lookit the smiley.

http://i111.photobucket.com/albums/n122/Whileywoo/catbed1.jpg

[tilly]

1. What price region would you pay for a well made, long lasting washable and highly decorative/customised cat bed?
I would usually pay about £15-£25 for a bed
2. What materials do you find your cat finds most comfortable, jersey, fleece, etc.
I like beds which are made from fleece or a furry material not real fur of course though
3. Are matching handmade cat toys appealing?
I probably wouldn't buy matching toys but might do
4. If photos or samples of other colours and patterns used in the house were sent to me, would a bed that matched the houses decor be desirable/worth paying an iddy bit extra?
Wouldn't matter to me if they matched the house
5. Is asking for 2 weeks to complete a customised order acceptable as all beds are made by hand to order?
Two week would be fine as a waiting period for me
6. If i ran deals for instance "35% off your 3rd bed in one order" would you feel the attraction?
I am always partial to deals
7. Anything else??
best of luck and I hope it work for you:-D

[stompin_sarah]

i bought a cat bed from home bargains for 10.00 and its a proper 4 poster mini bed! its bright pink too!

[Fran]

1. What price region would you pay for a well made, long lasting washable and highly decorative/customised cat bed?

Difficult to answer that one! I'd be willing to pay whatever for a high quality bed but you need to attract a market for them so need to keep the costs down I think whilst still covering your costs and labour time..

2. What materials do you find your cat finds most comfortable, jersey, fleece, etc.

My personal preference is a fleecy material, I also like velour material

3. Are matching handmade cat toys appealing?

I think they are yes!

4. If photos or samples of other colours and patterns used in the house were sent to me, would a bed that matched the houses decor be desirable/worth paying an iddy bit extra?

Definitely!

5. Is asking for 2 weeks to complete a customised order acceptable as all beds are made by hand to order?

Perfectly acceptable

6. If i ran deals for instance "35% off your 3rd bed in one order" would you feel the attraction?

I think any discount is always an attraction

7. Anything else??

How soon can we order one?? :-D

[Whiley]

I'm glad to see the enthusiasm! It means the world to me!
I'm currently building up stock as i have a stall for Redwall Rattery and Redwall Kitchen [my natural/healthy homemade pet treats business, plus some animal beds and hammocks] at the upcoming town Party in the Park, and its going to be a tad heywire as i'm also running a Pet Welfare talks and cuddles day, so will be leaving my mother in charge of the stall, and running talks and demos with tortoises, rats, guinea pigs and ferrets throughout the day!
I wouldnt want to make any false promises about order times, so let me get that out the way and i'll let you know when i'm all sorted for online customised orders! :D

[charliebubs]

Please reply on here with your answer, or pm me if you'd like it private.

1. What price region would you pay for a well made, long lasting washable and highly decorative/customised cat bed?

£20-£30ish - It depends on how much I love it though!!

2. What materials do you find your cat finds most comfortable, jersey, fleece, etc.

I like fleecy type ones. Removable covers would be good too - easier to wash. ;)

3. Are matching handmade cat toys appealing?

Possibly. I am a sucker for the home made catnip toys, as they always seem to be stronger that the commercial ones (in terms of catnip scent) so if you made those to match I'd be there!!!

4. If photos or samples of other colours and patterns used in the house were sent to me, would a bed that matched the houses decor be desirable/worth paying an iddy bit extra?

Hmmmmm - yes, maybe.

5. Is asking for 2 weeks to complete a customised order acceptable as all beds are made by hand to order?

Yes, I think so.

6. If i ran deals for instance "35% off your 3rd bed in one order" would you feel the attraction?

Yes, with 4 cats to cater for!!!

7. Anything else??

Nope



Best of luck and keep us posted!!!! :D

[dinahsmum]

Mine don't seem to like beds very much but I think you have a potential money-spinner with the idea - particularly the colour co-ordination. Washable covers is a good idea - so is selling one bed/two covers together.

[Moli]

Please reply on here with your answer, or pm me if you'd like it private.

1. What price region would you pay for a well made, long lasting washable and highly decorative/customised cat bed?Having 5 cats price is important to me. think between £15-£20 is all I would spend on each bed.

2. What materials do you find your cat finds most comfortable, jersey, fleece, etc.I Like the fleece ones, nice and cosy.

3. Are matching handmade cat toys appealing?My boys love them, got some at a summer fair and they were a real hit.

4. If photos or samples of other colours and patterns used in the house were sent to me, would a bed that matched the houses decor be desirable/worth paying an iddy bit extra?Not bothered about them matching the house decor.

5. Is asking for 2 weeks to complete a customised order acceptable as all beds are made by hand to order?Would not mind waiting 2 weeks.

6. If i ran deals for instance "35% off your 3rd bed in one order" would you feel the attraction?Definitely...

7. Anything else??Having them made for me means I can have them all the same,....

[random]

1. What price region would you pay for a well made, long lasting washable and highly decorative/customised cat bed?
Probably up to 20-25 quid but bearing in mind I personally have 4 cats and currently living in the house there are 6 cats as full time residents so the cheaper the better. I may not go for something as expensive and designer as someone with just one or 2 cats.

2. What materials do you find your cat finds most comfortable, jersey, fleece, etc.
Fleece is good and washes well, faux fur is nice but doesn't wash as well as fleece.

3. Are matching handmade cat toys appealing?
Depends on prices, they would be even more appealing if you got a discount for buying the matching bed. ;)

4. If photos or samples of other colours and patterns used in the house were sent to me, would a bed that matched the houses decor be desirable/worth paying an iddy bit extra?
Personally I wouldn't be bothered about them matching the house.

5. Is asking for 2 weeks to complete a customised order acceptable as all beds are made by hand to order?
2 weeks is fine.

6. If i ran deals for instance "35% off your 3rd bed in one order" would you feel the attraction?
Yes but i'd probably try and haggle with you for a good price if I were buying a number of beds anyway.

7. Anything else??
They would HAVE to be machine washable for me, that is a must. I will take 3 pink and one blue thanx! :mrgreen:

[Whiley]

An update guys!
I've done a lot of research and spent about an hour in my friendly petshop yesterday flicking through hundreds of company catalogues.
Now heres the thing, i can do ring shaped pet beds, and i can do removable covers for them, but, it would take a lot of material, a loot of time, and i couldnt keep the price particularly low for all those reasons. Its a shame, but baring in mind that i make everything by hand, it simply wouldnt make an huge amount of sense, when i want to keep the price low. If i did do it, a medium sized cat one would work out at about £30 to have made the whole process worthwhile and cover all the costs, and i know you dont want to spend that on a catbed.

I'd love to hear opinions on that.

BUT these are things that i am deffinately introducing to the range i am developing for the shop. I will get photos up in the next few days as i make examples of each.

Cushion style beds in Small, Medium, Large and Extra Large [to Order] all come with one or two removable covers, fancy and practical decoration and customisation.

Cave Style Pouch beds in Small, Medium, Large and Extra Large [to Order] completely washable with fancy and practical decoration and customisation.

Small Animal Hammocks for cages - extremely snuggley and completely washable with many sleeping pockets.

Photo Posing Winners Cushions for Showers - Cushions for cup and ribbons photos customised with animals name/breeders/name/prefix/Rattery/Cattery/etc in a variety of sizes.

How does that sound? I'm happy with what i've produced so far, as they dont look like ANYTHING i've seen in the market so far.

Hopefully will get photos up soon.

Also, for cats, what would you suggest for small, medium and large measurements? Its hard to measure with only a Shelby as a guide! :D

[Emm]

write a very good business plan before starting - it will help you loads!

I've been making pet collars for over 5 years now and belong to a small group of Independant Pet Designers - once you have your website up and running let me know and I'll ask if you can be invited into it.

Are you going to wholesale them as well or just sell retail? Theres pros and cons to doing both - if you would like you can email me any questions and I can help if I can. I have been selling to shops in America and Japan - but be prepared to have people copy what you are doing. I had this happen just recently the person got all my wholesale info and just went ahead and made up my collars and sold them cheaper than me - which I would be able to do if I didn't have to pay tax and vat and import duties :roll:

[Whiley]

Hi Emm,
Thanks for your reply.
I have an agreement with www.etsy.com, they are general protection legally and taxwise.
As hopeful as i am for the success of the shop, and am taking every action to protect myself, working with a business plan, etc, i dont expect to get big. I like doing individual creations, which is the main attraction of my products. There are already so many companys and brands working in the petbed industry.

But then again i cant possibly know whats around the corner! I dont know how popular these may be! People might hate them! :)

Thank you, i would appreciate contact with you, if you wouldnt mind!

[Emm]

I'll send you a pm I know somewhere else you can get help from other female business owners quite a few who sell on etsy as well.

Also let me know your web address when you get it and I'll swap links with you :D

[Whiley]

Just thought i'd post a few photos of whats been made so far to get some opinions!

Firstly the 'Cherry Pie'

http://i111.photobucket.com/albums/n122/Whileywoo/cherrypie.jpg
http://i111.photobucket.com/albums/n122/Whileywoo/cherrypiebedvelcro.jpg
http://i111.photobucket.com/albums/n122/Whileywoo/cherrypiehearts.jpg
The Cherry Pie is a size 'Small', with a washable removeable cover, and completely washable bed inside too.
Yellow gingham bed and detail on the two tone red and cream cover.
All stitching has been covered with fabric paint detail to prevent claw catching!
Hidden but secure velcro fastening.
[please excuse pre-ironed photos! :P]

And here is the second one, almost finished.
Mr. Fishie

http://i111.photobucket.com/albums/n122/Whileywoo/fishiebed.jpg
http://i111.photobucket.com/albums/n122/Whileywoo/fishiecover.jpg
The Mr. Fishie bed is a size medium, a kingfisher green bed with cream removeable cover with kingfisher green and gold fabric painted details, detail also on the bed.
Again all stitching is hidden or paint covered to prevent claw catching and has velcro fastening.
Again completely washable.

Thoughts please...

*bites nails nervously*

[dinahsmum]

They are very nice.
I'm sure there will be a market for them

[Fran]

They are lovely! Think I like the fishy one best :D

[Whiley]

I'm glad you like them!

I am picking up some more fabric later on, i've decided i'd like to make some oritental ones with oriental patterned fabric for oriental breeds!

[Fran]

I'm glad you like them!

I am picking up some more fabric later on, i've decided i'd like to make some oritental ones with oriental patterned fabric for oriental breeds!


Ooooh, lovely!! A nice mid - blue one would be nice!

[Whiley]

I'll be looking out for some! :D