Selling Dye Sublimation Created Pet Products

Conde Systems offers several really neat products for pets. Included is a pet bowl, mats to place under the pet bowl, leashes, collars, dog bandanas and of course, pet tags. Before I proceed, let me clue you in to something: I once walked through a trade show held just for owners of pet stores. It was huge! They had everything you could name and more. What they didn’t have was a single booth – not one – that offered personalized products for pets!

Now I know there are a couple of sublimators who now display at these shows but they are few and far between. I’m a dog owner. I have a seven year old box-head lab, named Topaz. He is a great dog and I know there are thousands of products out there with pictures of labs on them but none of them look exactly like Topaz and none of the items has his name on it. Given a choice between a food dish with the picture of a generic lab on it and one with a picture of my lab and his name, which would I be most likely to buy?

Now that you have answered that, you should be in-tune with the huge potential market for pet products in the United States. Americans spend billions (yes, billions) of dollars on pets. Why shouldn’t we sublimators get a piece of that? We should and we can! Here’s a way to start: Remember that groomer that charges you through the nose to give your dog a haircut? Or that vet that doesn’t even flinch when he or she tells you what it will cost to have your pet’s tooth cleaned, or other care given?

That’s your starting place. One, you already know each other. Two, they are in the perfect retail store for selling pet products, and three, no matter how much these people charge for their care, they are always interested in making more profit – especially the kind they don’t have to work for.

Since you are sold on the value of the product, let’s get down to tacks and talk about what this marketing scheme is going to cost. The best way in my opinion is to provide a sample set for each shop you are going to provide product to. That means one of everything, bowl, leash, collar, scarf – whatever you hope to sell – plus a memorial plaque for pets who have passed on.

These items need to be attached to something so they don’t “walk away”. A large sublimated plaque works well. You probably won’t be able to attach the food dish but it is so heavy, it shouldn’t go far anyway. Use the plaque to tell about pricing, the durability, the fact you will use their photographs, etc. Next, print up an order form so your customer can place the order and provide you with the necessary information.

Let the receptionist take the orders for you. All they have to do is paperclip any pictures to the order form and make sure there is a phone number in case you have any questions. She also collects the money. Once you make the product, return it to the store and collect your portion of the cash.

There are certainly other ways to go about this and you will find the one that works best for you. The point here is to convince you this is a market worth the effort and to get you out of the office and in the face of your local groomer, vet, animal hospital or privately owned pet supply store.