Our pets can be finicky. We buy them gourmet food. They turn their noses and beaks up at it. We buy them the hottest or even the most classic toys. They ignore them. Let’s face it: our pets can be hard to please. So where can you find your best deals to stretch that shrinking dollar furthest? The following list consists of retailers I’ve discovered have the best combination of price, selection, and quality.
General Pet Stores Carrying Multiple Categories
Petco (http://www.petco.com/): One of the nation’s largest pet supply chains, Petco and its website carry some of the highest quality pet supplies of all the mass retailers. You’ll find broad choices and numerous brands at Petco. The website offers even more selection and often better prices-with the caveat of shipping-so it pays use the website when buying larger quantities and for the more expensive supplies like cages and play areas. They carry quality brands like Kaytee, Avian Adventures, Fancy Feast, Pedigree, Blue Buffalo, and Science Diet so you can find everything you need for your pet under one roof. Everyday free shipping is available on purchases $49 and over.
Pet Solutions (http://www.petsolutions.com/): A broad-spectrum online pet store, Pet Solutions offers some of the best prices on the web for pet food, toys, cages, and other accessories for birds, cats, dogs, rodents, reptiles, fish, and more. Available both as a print catalog and online, they run quarterly sales that are truly worth taking advantage of, particularly for pet food where their deals are the best on the web. For example, an everyday price on Kaytee pellets is anywhere between 20 percent and 35 percent less than in-store prices at major pet retailers with even bigger deals during their sales. Like petco.com, everyday free shipping is available on purchases $49 and over.
Tyrone Milling (http://www.shoptyronemilling.com/catalog/index.php): Founded in 1826 as a water-driven flour mill in Tyrone, Pennsylvania, Tyrone Milling is not only one of the oldest feed mills still in operation in the US, it’s also one the largest offering lawn and garden seeds and supplies, wild life foods (including foods for deer, songbirds, and turkeys), farm animal foods (chickens, cows, horses, etc), companion animal foods (dogs, cats, parrots, finches, hamsters, etc.), and so much more! Browsing their online and retail store is an animal-lover’s candy store. And if gardening is your interest, you will find everything and anything you can imagine! Best of all, they sell online and ship across the United States. You don’t have to live in Pennsylvania to take advantage of “Tyrone Feed Mill’s” deals!
Bird and Small Animal Toys, Toy Parts
8Beaks (http://www.8beaks.com): New York based “8 Beaks” offers a broad spectrum of handmade toys for birds and other small animals. But what makes 8Beaks one of those must-shop pet retailers is their selection of mostly all natural toy parts for building your own. Their “rope” section features paper and grass ropes perfect for building your toys on-and perfect for chewing apart on their own.
California Birds & Nerds (http://www.cabirdnerds.com/): If you are looking for a broad spectrum of toys and toy parts at rock-bottom prices, then “California Birds and Nerds” should be on your list. With a bigger selection of toy parts than almost anywhere on the web, you can find everything from beads (sold individually and in quantity) to noise makers to bells to chewables, and beyond. Major retailers cannot compete with their prices-it is truly remarkable how many of any given item you can buy for just $1! Many of these toy parts make great crafts for humans too. Plus there are ready-made toys. The sky is literally the limit what you can create for yourself or your pet.
