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| PETCO Star Ratings |
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Pets aren't just animals – they're a part of our family. Some of them listen better to us than our children do! But owning a pet can be expensive. Food, toys and other pet supplies can add up over the course of a year. Where do you go for the best selection of pet supplies at the best deals? That's what Star Reviews wanted to find out so we set out to find the best pet supply stores on the Web. Petco.com (where the pets go) is one of the first sites we checked out. How does the website measure up? Here's the scoop...
What’s New?
- Dog Whisperer products by Cesar Milan now available.
- Petco Foundation pet photo contest.
- Free shipping on orders of $50 or more (some restrictions apply).
Our Favorite Feature:
Our favorite feature at Petco.com had to be the huge selection of super-premium dog food. Those who know that brands like Purina just don't cut it when it comes to premium pet health will appreciate the super-premium lines that Petco carries, including Natural Balance, Royal Canin, Eagle Pack, Blue Buffalo, Solid Gold and Wellness.
The Petco Experience:
If you don't know exactly what you're looking for, the Petco website can be an overwhelming experience. There are thousands of items available for sale. It's just like having your local Petco store put online, and then having even more products added to it. That being said, if you are just going to the site to browse without really knowing what you want, plan on spending at least a few hours here.
The selection is monstrous. From pet food to specialty products, this site has it all. We were very happy to see a lot of super-premium brands in the pet food aisles. Not many mainstream stores offer this level of quality when it comes to pet nutrition, and it was nice to see that Petco is breaking this trend.
We also noticed a new product line available from the famous dog whisperer Cesar Milan. It includes organic dog food, fortified water and vitamin supplements. If you're a fan of Cesar's, this site is definitely a must-see.
In addition to a wide range of products, covering everything from flea control to chewies and toys, the site also offers information about pet adoptions, grooming, training, pet insurance, professional pet photography, DNA breed testing and more. There was even a "Find a Pet Sitter" link that can connect you to pet sitters in your area. Free e-cards and information about the Petco foundation were also readily available.
Petco.com was definitely one of the most comprehensive pet supply websites we visited, and the prices, while not the lowest, were definitely competitive. The only thing we didn't like about the site was the fact that the pages were very slow to load when performing searches – and we have a broadband connection. We can only imagine how slow they'd load on dial-up.
If you love your pets and just don't have the time to go out and shop for supplies, Petco.com is one of the best places to fulfill your pet supply needs.
Petco.com Features:
- Super-premium dog foods.
- Cesar Milan product line.
- Flea and tick medications.
- Pet photo contest.
- A wealth of information on a variety of services including training, grooming, DNA testing and more.
- Free shipping on orders of $50 or more (some restrictions apply).
Petco.com Pricing
We took a sampling of prices for identical products across all of the pet supply websites we researched. The chart below displays the pricing and selection results and where Petco.com ranked in comparison to the competition.
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Petco.com
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PetSmart.com
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Doctors Foster and Smith
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ThatPetPlace.com
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PetSupplies.com
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Wellness Super5Mix Just For Puppy Food (30 lb bag)
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$49.99
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N/A
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N/A
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N/A
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$39.99
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Canidae All Life Stages (20lb bag)
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N/A
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N/A
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N/A
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N/A
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$25.50
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Iams Mini-Chunks Adult Dog Food (40 lb
bag)
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$33.99
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$32.99
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N/A
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N/A
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N/A
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Kong Medium
Stuff-a-Ball
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$11.99
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$9.99
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N/A
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$7.99
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N/A
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Frontline Plus for Dogs (0-22 lbs, 3 mos
supply)
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$43.99
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N/A
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$34.99
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$35.99
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$35.99
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Petco Customer Service:
The site is definitely "top dog" when it comes to customer service. In fact, we get better support on the Petco.com homepage than we do from our local store. The site offers a great selection of online help topics as well as phone and email support.
When browsing the help topics we were able to find information on shipping and returns, pricing policies, the Petco PALS program – there was even a section on building your own aquarium!
Phone and email support were equally impressive. Phone support had no hold time and we were connected to a friendly representative who answered each and every question we had. Email support also provided us with quick answers, getting to us the same business day.
Upside:
Great customer service, competitive pricing, good selection of super-premium dog foods.
Downside:
Pages do load a bit slowly.
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