Our History
In 1994, Amazon was just a river and two enterprising young guys were making their mark in e-commerce. Scott Sanfilippo and Joe Palko had a plan -- create an on-line pet store that shipped product directly to consumers, a concept unheard of more than a decade ago. Once they lined up vendors, they cleaned out a closet in Scott's apartment to make way for inventory and TheFerretStore.com was open selling ferret and pet supplies.
The Ferretstore.com was the very representation of e-commerce pioneering. Amazon.com hadn’t been invented yet. In fact, in those early days you couldn’t even charge by credit card over the internet! The Ferretstore.com struggled along in those early days, withstanding the challenges of much larger competitors like Pets.com. While Pets.com was spending a million dollars on a Superbowl ad, the Ferretstore.com was slow and steady. Who won the race? When Pets.com went broke within a couple of years the Ferretstore.com bought out their inventory for pennies on the dollar. Who would have ever thought that ferret supplies would have started it all.
While TheFerretStore.com continued to grow, the company launched additional pet supply websites, such as ActiveK9, Rabbit Central, The Kitty Store, The Critter Store, and Pet Care Central - and formed an advertising and design firm called Solid Cactus.On May 1, 2007, TheFerretStore.com and the other pet supply
websites were sold to the largest pet supply catalog company in the country,
Drs. Foster and Smith. Neeps Inc, our sister company continues to run other e-commerce websites, such as Neeps Lawn and Garden.
"Your Partner in eCommerce Success." It's more than a slogan, it's our way of doing business and it's what sets us apart. We like to say we're "non-traditional" in the sense that when you sign on with Solid Cactus you're not just another client in a portfolio, you're a partner in whom we take a vested interest to do whatever we can to make you successful. After all, Solid Cactus grew out of one of the most successful e-businesses on the internet, we have first hand knowledge of what works and what doesn't and we're in the unique position to guide you down that same path of success. We've assembled a team of world-class creative and programming talent from around the world that takes each project personally and makes recommendations during the implementation process based on years of experience. That's something that can only come from a company that has your goals and vision in sight, and it's what we mean when we say Solid Cactus is your partner in success!
Solid Cactus is a multi-faceted creative agency with a flair for the unique. We know you know that to set yourselves apart from the competition, to stand out from the crowd, you need to be memorable and professional. We provide that uniqueness to every client on every project we complete.
In 2001 we created Solid Cactus by spinning off The Ferret Store’s print and web departments. We now do for others what we did for The Ferret Store: we design Yahoo! Stores, we do consulting, we help with marketing. And yes, because we’ve operated a large and successful e-commerce site for more than a decade, we help you avoid making the same mistakes we made.
We’re a privately held corporation, so we don’t answer to a corporate office. We’re accountable to only one person—YOU. When you partner with Solid Cactus, you’re teamed with a company that wants to know every aspect of your company. We want to see you the way you see you, so that your internet vision becomes a reality.
Each project is a personal experience for everyone involved. We’ll communicate with you on a daily basis and involve you in the decisions every step of the way. When we’re done there will be no surprises. There will be a state of the art e-commerce web site, just like you wanted. And Solid Cactus will be your partner in success, just like we promised.
Let's face it; the Internet is complex and confusing. Let us take what we learned over the years and apply it to your business. Our hands-on expertise in e-commerce is an advantage few design firms have. We've been there, we know what works and doesn't. Tap into our experience and let our success at on-line retailing guide you when it's time to choose a design firm.
About Wilkes-Barre, PA - Our Hometown...
We're located in Wilkes-Barre, PA. Our area, often referred to as "The Wyoming Valley" sports a population of 650,000 in our metropolitan area. We are conveniently located two hours from New York City, and two hours from Philadelphia, PA - and only minutes from the beautiful Pocono Mountain region.
Wilkes-Barre, PA is also conveniently located to several interstates, the main arteries for transportation within the East Coast, making our area a great place for distribution centers. Routes 80, 81, 84, 380, and 476 all intersect here.
A few of our local friends are Baby Age and Vintage Tub. BabyAge.com: Born in 1999, BabyAge has grown up to become a leader in the infant and juvenile retail market. In 2005, BabyAge relocated to its new home in Wilkes-Barre, PA and enjoyed a warm reception in Northeastern Pennsylvania. BabyAge distinguishes itself from other e-tailers by stocking a large selection of Baby bedding, car seats and Baby Strollers from leading manufacturers such as Britax, Evenflo and Bugaboo. Our motto is "order today and we’ll ship today". For the latest dish on celebrity babies, please read our celebrity baby blog.
Vintage Tub & Bath, tubbing since 1993, is America's largest family-owned retailer of clawfoot tubs and reproduction bathroom fixtures. Vintage Tub & Bath is the premier source for antique cast iron and acrylic clawfoot tubs. They also carry kitchen sinks, toilets, towel warmers, medicine cabinets, and a full range of reproduction bath accessories. All items include free shipping.
Learn more about our area, and find out why the Wilkes Barre/Scranton Pennsylvania Metropolitan Area is such a great area to do business, raise a family, or just plain live here.
