ThatPetPlace.com is an online vendor as well as a brick and mortar store located in Lancaster, PA. There’s a lot of reasons to purchase through them, but also some bad parts. Here I will discuss the pros and cons I’ve experienced while using ThatPetPlace.com.

Pros: Prices. The prices are fairly inexpensive compared to your local pet store, and generally a lot cheaper than Petco and Petsmart. The in store prices are a little more money than the online prices. I’ve found that requesting their catalog and using the rewards coupon in it can save you money in the store. This is a great feature for those that live by, or decide to visit.

Sales. Now I love sales, and I know most people do too. ThatPetPlace has some great brick and mortar sales. Every year in the Spring is their anniversary sale. They have incredible pricing for all animals, and the place is jam packed. For the sale in Spring 2007, they had to use overflow parking across the street and they had probably around 100 employees in there to run the place. Depending on what you are looking for, you can find some of the best deals here. Heating elements are generally so much off, as are all the hides for the cages. Sometimes even the reptiles themselves have decent pricing.

Products. I am impressed, they carry most of the items I could want for all my pets. I can make one order, and everything will come together. It’s great to be able to order from one place, rather than selecting a different store for each pet you have.

Shipping. You are given several options for shipping, from the economical, cheapest methods, to overnight. I generally use 2-day shipping, as it is the cheapest method, and because I live only 3 hours away it comes the next day. I’ve ordered well over $1000 of merchandise from them between my fish and reptiles and had never had a problem with a damaged item either.

Cons: For every good thing there is always something bad.

Speed. Some days you can order and it will ship out that night, other days you could order and it could take a few days to ship out. This doesn’t impress me, as I like to have some consistency to ordering. I understand holidays, but on a typical day it shouldn’t take 2-3 days to ship a simple, 2 item order out.

Out-Of-Stock. Some items are labeled out-of-stock, while others are not. They do not notify you if you order an out-of-stock item usually. Instead, you will receive a package without that item, and on the invoice it doesn’t list it. When you check the online page, the item is still there, but it hasn’t been shipped. What gets me is that it still says in-stock. I’ve made calls to them and sent emails, the response: Items are backordered and will ship out as soon as we receive them. I gave them the benefit of the doubt and waited a few weeks for an item once. That was my mistake. It never came in. I ended up having to cancel that part of the order.

Loss of information. This is by far the worst experience I had with ThatPetPlace.com. It isn’t related to reptiles, but is related to their customer service. During their big sale in 2007 I decided to purchase a few saltwater fish for my fish tank. The ones I purchased had a guarantee, which influenced my decision to buy through them, and they were 20% off. I picked up a Six-Line Wrasse that day. After getting him home I noticed a small white fuzz area on his fin, turns out he had some disease. I sent emails and pictures with an employee there during the time I had him. He died a few days later, as did a few snails as well. I was then issued a store credit (as I purchased with cash). I was fine with this, and I was told I’d have to order via the phone rather than online. No big deal, right? Wrong.

I went to place my order in the summer. I had all the papers she had faxed over to confirm my credit and I read the lady the number on it. No record. I argued with her for some time and was told I’d have to wait for a manager. I spent several days on the phone, many hours wasted of my time for a $30 credit. I finally got a manager to issue a giftcard that way I could use it online. At this point I didn’t even want to purchase through them. A month later I received a check in the mail for the amount of the credit. I was happy about that, but still, they lost my credit and proceeded to argue with me even though I had all the emails and proof of it.

~Awesome