Are THE UPS STORE / MAIL BOXES ETC. Franchise Owners Happy?
Are you familiar with the The UPS Store® franchise opportunity?
Are The UPS Store® or MBE franchise owners happy? Why or why not?
Please share your thoughts and opinions below.
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In 2009, Entrepreneur magazine named The UPS Store/Mail Boxes Etc. franchise opportunity #8 on it’s much-hyped Franchise 500 list.
Previous years The UPS Store/Mail Boxes Etc. was also favorably ranked at #11 (2008); #5 (2007); #4 (2006); and #5 (2005). In it’s listing, it claims “The UPS Store® – the perfect opportunity to be your own boss. We are the top-rated postal & business services franchise. Locations available nationwide. Take control of your business future & benefit from a world-class support system with The UPS Store.”
According to Entrepreneur’s franchise listing:
The first Mail Boxes Etc. store was opened in Carlsbad, California by Gerald Aul, Pat Senn and Robert Diaz, who designed it as an alternative to the U.S. Postal Service. In 2001, Mail Boxes Etc. became a subsidiary of UPS and began re-branding as The UPS Store in 2003. The UPS Store locations provide packaging, shipping, copy and print services, mailbox services, computer time rentals and more. Franchises are located throughout the United States and in over 40 countries.
According to Entrepreneur, The UPS Store/Mail Boxes Etc. has 4,459 U.S. franchises, 332 Canadian franchises, 1,236 foreign franchises and 0 corporately owned locations.
Are The UPS Store/Mail Boxes Etc. Franchise Owners Happy?
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.)
WHAT DO YOU THINK? DO YOU OR HAVE YOU OWNED A THE UPS STORE or MAIL BOXES ETC. FRANCHISE? ARE THE UPS STORE / MAIL BOXES ETC. FRANCHISEES HAPPY? WHY OR WHY NOT?
I hired the BEST CPA in the Land who investigated an existing supposedly successful UPS Store with sales of over $300,000.00. We gave careful Due Dilligence and learned there was money being pumped into the business from the owner’s personal bank account to keep the business afloat. There is NO Money to be made in owning a UPS Store. I Promise you!! Watch out for UPS Store Franchise Owners as they will try to hide in their Quick Books showing they are succesful. Don’t Trust it……… They will tell you there is money to be made in printing and other services and that is all a BIG, HUGE, FAT PIPE DREAM!!! I have been an Executive of Retail Businesses for over 25 years and this is ALARMING!!!! There are large companies out there in every city that do printing and other services. They have sales people that call on businesses too…. So, get rid of the PIPE DREAM….. UPS charges FAT Franchise Fees and other Fees, and Fees, and Fees, and Fees. YOU CAN’T MAKE ANY MONEY WITH A UPS STORE!! That is PURE TRUTH!! You will have some Store Owners tell you that you can make money but they are saying it so they can sell their business and not have any bad info out there on the street. So Remember that……
I am a multi center owner. Began in 2003. Second store in 2004 third store in 2012. Was looking into the possibility of opening a 4th store. I can tell you that The UPS Store is a hard business to turn profitable. What you may have heard about low margins and poor support from corporate is true. When UPS purchased the master franchise in 2003 I thought that we had hit the Jackpot. However it couldnt be further from the truth. We are not even on the same page. UPS has filled our Corporate headquarters with a bunch of Yes Men that know nothing about running a small business. Expansion is terrible. They make you order things you don’t need.. and too much of the stuff you do need. No timeline. ONly excuses. The demand deposits be experesssed to them.. but wont reconcile and send you balance money due to you until they absolutely need to. I am in too deep. If I had it to do over again I would not pic The UPS Store. The number tossed around is $350K in gross to make $35000. That is totally dependent on your store lease and other overhead. You really can’t pay anyone less than $10 per hour…. yet they have to be able to perform in a manner that you should be paying a person $15. Beware of the numbers. Most stores that are marginal should be pruchased for under $100K Most of their store sale numbers are transfer stores where the current owner is taking a beat down to get rid of the hulk. It could be a decent investment if UPS would just get the hell out of the way.
I did own a UPS store for several years and I would highly recommend you avoid this company!!!!
I do not even know where to begin, so I will just make a few major points why UPS is a terrible franchise:
1) Shipping is where you make most of your revenues. When I started my store, I only had about 20 percent drop offs ( these are pre-paid shipments) then in more recent years that numbered had skyrocketed to 80 percent!!!
2)UPS continues to force you to upgrade and buy things all the time and this adds on thousands of dollars every year. Non of the stuff is important to gaining more customers
3) UPS steals your customers and gives them personal private accounts.
Trust me unless you want to shell out several hundred thousand dollars to obtain a super store you will barely get by. Do not invest in this franchise or you will pay a heavy price.
I really appreciate Michael Riggins, Johnathon Paul and Mike for your input. I was about to put my life saving to this investment and a split of second made my decision not to look back to it. I believe you guys are REAL PEOPLE who really care for others. Thank you!
I have been a UPS Store owner for 10 years now. I went from owning 1 store to 3 stores and I am HAPPY, making money and paying my bills. Are there any negatives? Sure. There are negatives in any business. There were more negatives in my JOB that I had as an accountant. In anything, a job or business, you have to work hard. A franchise has a system to follow. If you are not willing to follow the system, then you should not join that franchise. All fees are spelled out. Any franchise system has fees you have to pay.
mary is a corporate p.o.s. that’s another thing these criminals do is lie. they actually had us fooled into thinking the ups store was the go to place for all your pkgs. they left out in the fine print that you get reimbursed a dollar each for those pkgs. complete disgrace and criminal corporation.
We were considering purchasing an existing under-performing The UPS Store located in Canada in 2020 which has been in operation in a Downtown Location for over 6 years before the COVID-19 Pandemic Crisis hit.
As a result of Canada and the United States declaring “States of Emergency” with only “Essential Services” being able to operate, we have decided to put our investment decision in a The UPS Store on hold for the indefinite future. Since The UPS Stores are considered “Essential Services” across Canada and the United States, they remain open but like most businesses, their operations may be financially impacted. We would not be comfortable managing a The UPS Store in this current Pandemic Environment for the safety and health of ourselves and others in the community.
We have come across the “Unhappy Franchisee” site and reviewed some of the Comments which are mostly from The UPS Stores Franchisees in the United States. Most comments also are from several years ago, and many do not reflect positive experiences with owning a The UPS Store.
Are there any The UPS Store Franchisees in Canada and/or the United States who might be able to weigh in with some more recent experiences of whether or not owing a The UPS Store is a good investment at the present time? Any honest advise and/or recommendations from current and/or past The UPS Store Franchisees would be sincerely appreciated. Thank you!