How should a pet business store bulk dog chews? Keep them sealed, dry and at room temperature, up off the floor and out of direct sun, and sell the oldest stock first. Label every case with the date it arrived, check your shelves and bins each week, and buy pack sizes you can sell through at a steady pace so stock doesn't sit for months.
Buying chews in bulk lowers your cost per piece, but only if the product leaves your back room in the same shape it arrived. This guide covers where to keep bulk chews, how to rotate them, what to check each week, and how to match your pack size to how fast you sell, so a bigger order saves you money instead of tying it up.
Where should you keep bulk chews in your store?
Our product pages give the same simple storage note for natural chews: store in a dry place at room temperature. In a store or back room, that means:
- Off the floor. Put cases on a shelf or pallet, not straight on concrete, where they can pick up moisture or get splashed when the floor is mopped.
- Away from heat and sun. Skip spots next to a window, a heater, a dryer at a grooming table, or the top of a fridge.
- Away from water and cleaning supplies. Keep chews out of the bathing area, the mop closet and anywhere that gets damp.
- Closed between uses. Reseal the bag or keep chews in a lidded, food-safe bin once a case is open. Air and humidity are what you are trying to keep out.
Staff should wash their hands after handling chews or treats, which is also on our product labels. A hand sink near your bagging table makes that easy.
How do you rotate chew inventory?
Use first in, first out (FIFO): the oldest stock goes on the shelf first. A few habits make it automatic:
- Date every case when it arrives. A marker or a date sticker on the outside of the box is enough.
- Load new stock behind old stock. On the shelf, in the bin and in the back room, new goes to the back and old moves to the front.
- Open one case per chew type at a time. Finish it before you open the next, so you don't have three half-used bags of the same chew.
- Keep a simple log. Note the chew, pack size, date received and date opened. It also shows you how fast each chew sells, which you will need for reordering.
If you bag chews into smaller packs for resale, put a date or lot code on each bag too, so you can rotate bagged stock the same way.
What should you check each week?
A quick walk-through once a week catches problems early:
- Moisture. Look for damp spots on boxes, condensation inside bins or bags, or soft spots on chews that should be dry and firm.
- Mold or an off smell. If chews show mold or smell wrong, pull them from sale and set them aside. Don't sell them.
- Damaged packaging. Torn bags and crushed cases let air and moisture in. Rebag or move those chews to the front to sell first.
- Slow movers. If a chew has barely moved in a month, put it near the register, bundle it with a best seller, or order a smaller pack next time.
Natural chews vary in color and size from piece to piece, so a darker or lighter stick on its own is normal. Moisture, mold and smell are what to watch for.
How big a pack should you buy?
Bigger packs cost less per piece, but the chews spend longer on your shelf. Here are ValueBull Medium 12 inch bully sticks at today's prices on ValuePetSupplies.com, with weeks of stock based on a store selling 15 sticks a week. That sales rate is an example number to show the math; use your own.
| Pack | Price | Cost per stick | Weeks of stock at 15 sold per week |
|---|---|---|---|
| 25 count | $127.98 | $5.12 | About 1.7 |
| 50 count | $235.98 | $4.72 | About 3.3 |
| 100 count | $449.98 | $4.50 | About 6.7 |
Cost per stick is the pack price divided by the count, rounded to the cent. Weeks of stock is the count divided by weekly sales.
A simple rule: pick the largest pack you can sell through in roughly the time between your regular orders, plus a small cushion. If you order every four weeks and sell 15 sticks a week, the 100 count gives you that cycle with room to spare at the lowest cost per stick. If you sell five a week, the same 100 count would sit for about 20 weeks, so a 25 or 50 count is the better buy. Most in-stock orders ship the same business day and typically arrive in 2 to 7 business days, so you can reorder on a regular rhythm instead of buying months ahead.
You can compare every size and thickness in our bully sticks collection, along with collagen chews and yak cheese chews.
Should you bag chews yourself or buy them pre-bagged?
Bagging loose bulk chews into smaller packs lowers your cost, but every opened case is more product exposed to air, and it adds bags, labels and labor. If you would rather skip that step, ready-to-sell resale packs arrive already bagged, so you just date them and shelve them. They come in bully sticks, collagen chews and yak cheese.
If you do bag your own, work in small batches, use bags that seal, and only open as much bulk stock as you can bag that day.
Frequently asked questions
What is the best way to store bulk dog chews?
Keep them sealed in a dry place at room temperature, up off the floor and away from heat, sun and water. Date each case when it arrives, sell the oldest stock first, and check for moisture, mold or an off smell once a week.
Is it better to buy a bigger pack to get a lower price per chew?
Only if you can sell through it at a steady pace. Divide the pack count by how many you sell each week to see how many weeks it will last. Pick the largest pack that fits the time between your regular orders, plus a small cushion.
Do I need a wholesale account to buy chews in bulk?
No. Anyone can buy bulk packs directly on ValuePetSupplies.com with no account, and shipping is free to US48 street addresses. If you resell in volume, approved resellers get wholesale pricing and 400-count wholesale packs, with a $500 minimum order.
Ready to stock up?
- Buy bulk direct, no account needed. Start with Medium 12 inch bully sticks or browse the full bully sticks collection, with free shipping to US48 street addresses. Use code VPS15 for 15% off sitewide, excludes wholesale.
- Reselling in volume? Shop pre-bagged resale packs, or apply for a wholesale account for wholesale pricing and 400-count wholesale packs ($500 minimum order).
- Want your name on the bag? We offer custom printed labels or bags, palletized shipments and FBA direct shipping. Tell us about your private label plans.
Our take
We store a lot of chews here in our 64,000 square foot warehouse in Livingston, and the basics don't change with size: keep it dry, keep it sealed, keep it off the floor, and move the oldest stock first. For a store, the bigger lever is ordering. Buy the pack size you can sell through between orders, track how fast each chew moves, and your back room stays fresh and your cost per chew stays low.
— The ValuePetSupplies family, Livingston, TN
Questions?
Call our Tennessee team at 800-825-8373 or email support@valuepetsupplies.com. We've been helping pet businesses stock natural chews since 2004.