The market for chinchillas - growing/expanding? shrinking? somewhere in between?

[greychins]

Hi. So, a little background. I'm taking a Marketing Management class for my MBA and I have to do a marketing plan. The professor said "do it on what you know..." and my life revolves around the chins and NWI Chins, so....my proposal was to market NWI and the sale of chins and their supplies (we sell food, dust, starter packs, hammocks, make custom shelves, and various other stuff)... and I got the topic approved.

So the one part of of my marketing plan has to talk about the chinchilla market as it currently is (across the US). Is there a demand for chinchillas? Is the demand greater/less than in previous years? What is the general trend? Are specific areas different than others?

I personally have noticed that at least locally (in the NW Indiana area), the demand for chinchillas has risen steadily since I have had chinchillas (the past 8-ish years). I always have several people on my waiting list looking for a chin.... but I don't know if it's just because there's not a lot of places that sell chins in this area, or if this is more of a nation-wide thing. I think I would see even more demand if I did not require adoption forms for the rescues, because so many people refuse to fill those out.

Anyway, any thoughts on the subject, things you've noticed, things other people have said, etc, are greatly appreciated!! Thanks!

 

[TheSurvivor]

I can't speak for the US (being Belgian) but one thing that should give you some objective data is this forum's database. I imagine the admins here can give you stats of people joining by month? pour those into a simple graph and you'll have an idea of popularity trends for chins. Something else you could do is search for websites on chin care and see when they were opened. and of course keep stats of how many chins you have outgoing and compare with other breeders here and maybe pet shops as well. combine those and you'll have a nice scientific background for everything.

(I could give you more options, starting from a proper paradigm but I'd need more time for that)

(I studied sociology/statistics in college and while I never finished due to financial reasons, I was pretty decent at it ;-) )

 

[ticklechin]

Considering most legit rescues I know are full and have a hard time adopting chins out, I would say the pet chinchilla market has peaked and is on the decline for now until the economy improves. Or just look at the classifieds and rescue section here, very few chins get sold and rescued.

 

[Megan]

I have to agree with dawn. I think the pet market is declining. More and more breeders, and less people who just want to be pet owners I think almost everyone wants to be a breeder these days. I have had less kits born the last two years then ever as most of my holes are closed, and notmany buyers.

The pelt market from what I heard is on the rise though. I think we may be seeing more breeders going this route if the pet market stays where it's at.

 

[Encantadora]

The pet market in Tn is very low. Many buyers that do pop up think they want a cheap chin they can "make money breeding."

 

[jags]

I would have to say its on the increase or at least the same. I have more demand right now than I ever have had, be it because so many have left the market recently or what I do not know. It is true a lot of people are not wanting to pay top dollar for what they get but that just means I keep more of my best for my own breeding.

 

[threewingedfury]

I think it really depends on where you live. In NC - I have problems selling chins. I also live in a very rural area and everyone wants their chins delivered to them free. I had to start offering delivery to certain areas in order to move the numbers. I feel like the market has slowed down here a bit, but I would say that the market is somewhat the same, it's more about the economy than anything. I have many customers calling looking for "cheap" chins, I offer my rescues, but they tell me they want an extra dark ebony for $25 and I just can't do that. I hope the pelt market picks back up, I think the industry depends on it.

 

[ErinsChins]

I honestly haven't had a problem selling. I usually don't have enough. However, I don't get many local people. Most come from Chattanooga, Nashville, Va, and Knoxville. I haven't been in the chinchilla industry very long though, so..idk.

 

[bchins]

I recently expanded my herd, and have not had a problem selling my chinchillas. It actually seems like I've sold more chinchillas with the economy how it is now. Although, htere are some times when I get worried that I'm not getting enough buyers and running out of cage space. Hope this helps!

 

[ryjb]

As far as Chinchillas go here in Utah breeders are on the decline more so than people buying/adopting. It is fairly difficult to purchase one here. I had one for sale last week and sold within a few hours.

 

[greychins]

Thanks everyone. I thought that the trends might be more by state or by region, because I know I had heard (as Dawn said) that the California rescues are overflowing... but then other people on here, myself included, don't have a hard time finding homes for chins/rescues, and I have lately had people asking if they could buy my personal chins because they apparently can't find chins locally... so some of it does appear to go by region or locality. But good responses, good to know.

More responses are always welcome, I have a rough draft due tomorrow night, but the entire paper's not due for a few weeks...

 

[Twilight Chinchillas]

I've had people travel 6 hours and sometimes more for one of my chinchillas, and a couple were repeat customers. It varies here. We only have 3 breeders that breed and show, the rest are BYB. Sometimes I can't sell one to save my life, and other times I can't meet demand.

 

[VolunteerChin22]

Varies - I typically don't have a problem selling my chins, although kits are easier to sell than adults. There aren't many legitimate breeders in my area though, so that leads people to me.

 

[Riven]

I have people wanting cheap to free chins, people who don't want to spend much for breeders here.

I have a large handful of pets, retired, breeders, things that didn't make the cut for my program here just waiting for homes...

A lot of my quality sales go out of state either being shipped or to shows. I am expanding though and the wholesale market doesn't seem to be dropping as there are still wholesalers looking for chins to pick up for their contracts.
Unfortunately for pelts in the US, like many things, furs have been "sent overseas" or to Mexican due to cheap labor to care for and pelt then animals. That will continue to hurt the US pelt market because they can produce the same quality or better pelt for less per pelt.