Stewardship

Big Shrimpy Cost Analysis

Why do Big Shrimpy replacement covers make our beds such a great value? Below is a cost comparison that explains why.

This cost comparison is based on information we gathered from a PetCo and a PetSmart in Seattle, WA. We asked employees there about the life expectancy of the xxx-brand beds they were selling. We also asked people who bought Big Shrimpy beds long ago questions about how their beds were holding up.

The analysis shows that the customer will save money by making the investment in a Big Shrimpy bed. The environment wins, too, because the customer does not have to throw away a Big Shrimpy bed, only replace the cover. And we can recycle the old cover if you send it back to us!

1. We have seen Big Shrimpy beds 5 to 7 years old that show almost no signs of wear except for dirt. We’ve been in business for only 8 years, but from what we’ve seen, we think it is reasonable that the interior of our beds would easily last for 15 years with occasional washing and re-fluffing. We felt that a conservative cover replacement rate would be once every 5 years.
2. A PetCo employee told us that we could expect the bed to last 6-7 months or “longer if the dog is gentle”. When we tried to get a second opinion, another PetCo employee couldn’t tell us how long we could expect the bed to last. We went to look for a third employee to ask and couldn’t find one.
3. At PetSmart, “Bryan” told us their rectangular bed would last only three to four months. Another employee, “Andrew”, said that it might last six months if our dog was gentle. A woman standing by Andrew, not in employee garb, offered that she has a bed like the one we were holding and said we could get about eighteen months out of it. So we took a generous average and said one year.