The kind of shops I LM...
1. Shops that sell lives! OMG, lives! I am terribly impatient and it's almost impossible for me to buy kitten boxes because I can't stand waiting fourteen days for the breeding.
So, I tend to frequent shops that I know sell lives and bypass those which are solely boxes. I know boxed kittens are just as great, and as a seller myself I know it's difficult to open a lot of cats you'll be stuck feeding if no one buys, but lives always catch my eye, as do high love cats. I am a huge fan of Noia's shop in TA, it is my go-to place because all or most of the cats are lives which I can snap up and put to work right away.
2. Shops run by well-known people. I'm not well-known under this name but used to breed under my now-alt, so I know of most of the people who've been in KittyCatS! from the beginning. I will always head there first. That does not mean I won't shop at a newbie's store! If I see someone around in the cat community once in a while, going to an auction or shopping, I will usually remember their name and when they advertise something I will check it out. I find that people who are active know more about the cats, breed better cats and are knowledgable about prices, plus I like supporting their passion and interest. Also if anyone chats with me and recommends their shop I will visit it, even if I have never heard of them before and they started kitties last week. I am terrible shy by nature but like the sense of community. Happy, friendly people are fun to support.
3. Shops that circulate and stay stocked. I'm not a fan of empty shops and usually pass them by thinking they have nothing of interest, which is probably a mistake - perhaps they hide a snowshow cream they priced for L$100 in that deserted corner??
I really like to see shops that have a lot of turn-over or who rotate their stock. If I was there last month and the same cats are still out with nothing new or tempting, I will probably keep walking.
4. Shops with clear and honest labels on the cats and market-fair prices. In short, I buy from people I think are going to be good for the cat community and who are going to be around for a long time for me to revisit.
The kinds of shops I do not LM...
1. Shops that are really cluttered and disorganised. I usually glance over the stock before zooming in on some favourites, so if I can't tell what's going on, I can't shop there. I love decor and I realise many sellers may be renting land they can't restart so it isn't their fault if I lag, but some places are too chaotic and I can't load anything, sometimes cannot even see the cats from all the decor.
2. Fire sales, starving cats. It's tempting to buy the L$50 cat but I already know it won't do much good for my cattery, so I don't stop by. I used to buy hungry cats out of pity but really don't do that much anymore. I don't want to feel disappointed about money spent on cats, I want loveable, wonderful, well-loved kitties from good homes that go to a good home with me.
If the place has a few hungry cats I will usually IM the owner and let them know, and if it seems like a mistake (almost always) I'll continue to shop there, but if that's the way they do business it doesn't work for me. Oh yes, and I don't shop at places where the cats are named mean things. I once saw a shop where all the cats names were insults. I'm a bleeding heart.
3. Places where the cats seem to be mis-labelled for the purpose of misleading buyers. We really can't guarantee what a cat has hidden, sometimes you breed your third generation "pure" Ody Rainbow and get Ody Bellini, but if I see a cat being advertised to hold a trait that based on the pedigree it doesn't have a ghost of a chance of hiding, I am not going to buy it. If I see a lot of cats like that, I don't go back to that shop. I'm perfectly fine with someone saying "hidden" when they mean "a decent chance of hiding" but if I don't see any trace of the trait in their pedigree, I am going to be sceptical and expect to see a pedigree to prove it. I also tend to avoid places that label impossible hides like "Ody Bellini hiding Tapestry Harvest!"
What Makes You LM a Store?
