THE UPS STORE: Overview
August 10, 2009
Critics of The UPS Store franchise claim that UPS has turned franchise owners’ locations into glorified “drop boxes” and unfairly compete with them directly.
Many feel that UPS intentionally undercuts franchisees’ business by offering customers the option of printing their own labels, then dropping their packages off at The UPS Store locations. The franchisees do not get a cut of the shipping revenue, provide tape and supplies at their cost, and only get a nominal amount for the drop-off packages.
Other critics of The UPS Store franchise claim that the business model is severely flawed, and few stores will ever turn a profit. Nevertheless, UPS continues to aggressively market its flawed franchise opportunity.
Read posts and comments, positive & negative, on The UPS Store franchise opportunity:
Is The UPS Store a Good Franchise Opportunity? (260 comments)
THE UPS STORE Franchisees: Drop-Offs Can Drop Dead
Franchise Owners Say Opening a UPS Store Franchise is a “Bad Financial Decision”
THE UPS STORE Franchise: Recent Comments
The UPS Store: Fan Mail From Some Flounder(ers)
THE UPS STORE: Overview
The UPS Store Franchise: This Dog Won’t Hunt!
The UPS Store Franchise: Follow the System and Succeed!
UPS Store Franchise Owner Says You’d Succeed If You’d Stop Whining
The UPS Store Franchise Owner’s Lawsuit Certified as Class Action
Franchise Owners Say Opening a UPS Store Franchise is a “Bad Financial Decision”
UPS Store Franchise Dream Ends in a Florida Trailer Park
The UPS Store PLUS The eBay Drop-Off Store Equals…?
Is UPS Cheating its Customers, Franchisees… and YOU?
Owners call the UPS Store Franchise “Indentured Servitude,” and “A Nightmare”
What do you think? Share your experience, viewpoint or other comments about The UPS Store franchise program, below.
I’m a terminated franchisee from another company, but recently met my counterpart from The UPS Store on one of Mr. Kelly’s other websites. I can’t give any other background on her, but I wanted to share a warning from this franchisee victim. I’ll call her Joan of Arc for now.
Joan has essentially the same story that all of us at Unhappy Franchisee share. We were told material lies about the business in question. This means that if we’d just been told the truth, upfront, we never would’ve purchased that franchise. Trust me, if I read the book, The Franchise Fraud, by Robert L. Purvin, Jr., instead of Franchising for Dummies, I would never have gotten involved with any franchisor at all. If you haven’t taken the fatal plunge yet and already signed a contract, please do your due diligence by ordering that book. The title tells the story.
Purvin, an attorney, argues that the entire franchise industry is rife with fraud. He proves his case. What appalled me the most was the fact that the FBI and local law enforcement agencies allow this to continue uninvestigated. But don’t worry, I won’t get on my soap box here.
However, Joan has some astute insights into why franchisors are free to lie, cheat and steal right under the noses of the cops. Hell, you wouldn’t even let used car salesmen get away with that. But franchisors have something like diplomatic immunity. For example, diplomats don’t have to go to jail for DUI. I’ve learned the hard way that franchisors don’t have to go to jail for fraud or racketeering.
Joan told me there are 200 ex-franchisees involved in her law suit against The UPS Store. Fellow ex-franchisees, do the math, here’s two hundred, middle class families, who were smart and successful enough to afford to buy a damn UPS store in the first place, who honestly believe they’ve been defrauded. How many more victims will it take before the FBI takes charge and puts a stop to this blight on the middle class economy?
Purvin explains in his book that the dwindling middle class in America is the primary target for ruthless, franchise racketeers. We had enough money to get involved, but not enough to fight back with civil attorneys. That’s why law enforcement must be pressured to take action. Our taxes pay the FBI investigators and U.S. Attorneys. They don’t charge by the hour. The same goes for local cops and district attorneys.
Purvin warns that many franchisors intentionally “churn” franchisees by taking all their upfront fees, ignoring them until they can’t afford to pay the lease, terminate them for bogus causes, and sell the territory to a new victim. They don’t even try to have a professional product competing in the market place. They make their money by cheating us, not helping us advance their product.
That’s the dirty, not so little, secret of franchising. I think every terminated franchisee should report this fraud to the FBI and local police. You have a civil right to report crime and blow the whistle on fraudulent criminal enterprises. Trust me, you’re crime victims and should be afforded all the rights of any other victim. Look up RICCO or Racketeering on Wikipedia or anywhere else on the internet. This is exactly what the Franchise Fraud amounts to.
The companies I read about at this website, which I want to thank Mr. Sean Kelly for providing, are really counterfeit franchises. They were never real in the first place. They were based on lies and deception by conmen. It doesn’t matter how many times a counterfeit $100 bill gets passed around, it never becomes real. Bogus fraudulent franchises have no intrinsic value in the first place and churning them over and over doesn’t make them legitimate.
Article on The UPS Store franchisees:
THE UPS STORE Franchisees: Drop-Offs Can Drop Dead
[...] THE UPS STORE: Overview [...]
[...] Do The UPS Store franchise owners enjoy control of their business futures? Do they benefit from a world-class support system with The UPS Store? The high ranking bestowed by Entrepreneur magazine and other advertising-driven magazines seems contradictory to the highly publicized franchise lawsuits and the negative comments from The UPS Store Franchise owners we’ve seen (Read THE UPS STORE: Overview.) [...]
[...] http://www.unhappyfranchisee.com/the-ups-store-overview/ [...]
SBA franchise loan failure rate is posted here:
Failure Rates of the 10 Most Popular Franchises
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