Is it really all about the money?

A new Petco opened up in my town. They unlike the other petco have birds. They had budgies, a sun, a turquiose gcc, and a nanday. I was utterly shocked when I saw the price of the sun $645!!!!! Now I dont know much about Nandays but since this is the first one Ive seen in person, I assume they are rarer than a sun but their price was $200 cheaper. The turqoise gcc was also $200 less than the sun. I find that weird as it isnt a normal gcc but it is listed that way. I just couldnt wrap my mind around it. At a locally owned petstore the suns are $300 and some odd number of dollars and at petsupermarket they are about the same as the local one. Is it because suns are more popular? Im just wondering, as I dont plan on purchasing one.

Chain pet stores are always much more expensive than other stores or breeders. But they have sales as well. They have up to 30% off sometimes, and we got 30% off our first bird Parry from Pesmart (he was in pretty poor condition and they were happy to get rid of him). I would never buy from a pet store again, and all my other birds are adopted.

The states are certainly cheaper than here. The Petland here sells sun conures for $1200. Pet stores, most especially chains, are always and most definitely for profit, never doubt it. For example, my Petsmart sold pet food that was beyond its expiry date at the till for "cheaper" to "donate" to non-profit dog/cat rescues. Most stores just donate it because it's their policy to get rid of anything beyond its expiry (the one thing Petland does right).

I would assume that the sun is pricier because they are flashier birds and if you don't know their traits (and have never heard their high pitched voices) then you are more likely to buy the flashy, brightly colored birds. If suns were as quiet as GCC then they would probably be more popular in the bird world, too, because people like bright colors. But many people buying birds from pet stores just assume they are mostly quiet and maybe chirp like a canary--they have no idea what they're in for and so why not get the orange and yellow one? As for listing it as a normal GCC... The people working at those stores are usually animal lovers and keep lots of pets, but I've met very few "bird people." In fact on our trip to petsmart THREE employees shoved their hand in my bird's face without asking in an attempt to try and get him to climb onto them. He nipped two of them and bit the living crap out of one of them--he grabbed and held on, which I had never seen him do before. Anyone knowledgable of the nature of parrots would have stayed back and politely asked if they could hold him and understood that an individual's bird (as opposed to a performer's) is probably not well socialized to complete strangers just walking right up and invading their space with no warning. Not to knock the petsmart workers--they just thought my bird was cool and wanted him to sit on their hand--but they obviously weren't knowledgable. Another reason birds at chain pet stores tend to be so poorly socialized. Nobody knows the correct way to handle them and they don't become tame to the hand.

Dinosrawr said:

The states are certainly cheaper than here. The Petland here sells sun conures for $1200. Pet stores, most especially chains, are always and most definitely for profit, never doubt it. For example, my Petsmart sold pet food that was beyond its expiry date at the till for "cheaper" to "donate" to non-profit dog/cat rescues. Most stores just donate it because it's their policy to get rid of anything beyond its expiry (the one thing Petland does right).

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WOW. In the states you can almost get an African Grey or an Amazon for that kind of cash! A $1200 sun conure... That's nuts! It's so funny how birds differ in cost from country to country. (Like how I just paid $1350 for a bird you can get for under a hundred in Australia!)

Yep. The stores make you pay silly prices. They were selling IRN's for 1600, and I got Shiko from an excellent breeder for $750 (higher than most, but for good reason - he's a year old and has yet to ever actually chomp me).

It was crazy. The sun is quieter than the Nanday well at least in that environment. If I were to buy one it would be the sun. He is so playful and affectionate. The noise just scares me away. Maybe later in life lol.

In Sydney, a sun conure costs around $450 from a breeder but from $600-$800 in a shop. Retail is always more expensive! Mind you there are a couple of retailers who take VERY good care of their birds, only hire people who have kept birds for a number of years and whilst the birds are on the pricy side, you get what you pay for - a very well socialised bird that is T-stand trained does a couple of simple tricks like wave hello and often toilet trained as well. In fact there is one store in Sydney that will teach the bird "tricks on command" so long as the buyer has paid a deposit. Also they will not sell the bird until it is fully weaned and fledged so if you're in a hurry to take the bird home, well you just have to wait!

Don't buy a bird from a pet store. Of course, being a bird rescue volunteer, I fully advocate adopting, but if you must buy, do it from a reputable breeder in your area.

I feel like we 'rescued' Braxy from the Pet store. He was a afraid of the workers, who he chomped and drew blood when she reached in his cage. He finally flew out and my son caught him, it was an instant bond. My photo album shows him riding home from the pet store. At 9 months, he really needed love. He's stopped biting hard and loves flying to me, my husband and son. He loves to snuggle and I keep telling my husband he needed us more than we needed him. You could tell no one ever played with him at the store, he was a sad mess when we got him

FYI I was not planning on buying a bird. My next bird will be some sort of a rescue either from an actual rescue or from second/third/fourth/so on owners such as from CL. I was just utterly suprised especially when you comapare its price to other petstores.

My gf bought her conure for $600. That was cage toys, and bird as well. But is the same here, the birds are over priced, like all their animals. I only buy my animals from reputable breeders, or reputable stores if I have to. We got a good deal for her boy, and really wanted to take on a bird that might have bounced around or may have ended up that way. No regrets, he's a great little friend!