Hi Scott,

I don't know about starting a mail box store but I can certainly address buying an existing store. I have sold both independently owned mailbox stores and Pak Mails. Location, demographics, and proximity to competitors appear to be significant factors in each store's success.

The U.S. Postal system, in many cases, is overcrowded and simply does not cater to folks as these private mail box stores can. Convenience is key. If you find a location in an area with higher income demographics, customers are more than willing to pay for the time and effort saved.

Owner operators also appear to do better - a friendly and accomodating owner tend to cultivate loyalty among customers. Please feel free to visit my blog: http://www.AustinBusinessesForSaleBlog.com for more advice on how to buy or sell a business (the advice is not targeted to Austin Businesses only).

Thanks and Good Luck!
Julie A. Barnes, President
SBX, Inc.

Web reference: http://www.SmallBusinessExchange.net

I personally am a partner in a mailbox store and I can tell you that you will be competing against your vendor (FedEx or UPS). FedEx started it when they bought Kinko's and renamed it Fedex Office and added FedEx counter service as a major selling point.

Our store's revenue quickly dropped (independant). The UPS store is not what it used to be. You have to be royalties to UPS and it pales in comparison to the FedEx Office locations. The other problem with the UPS store is that they've increased their pricing on things that they require you to purchase from them. For example a box we buy at our independant store costs us 25cents will cost $1+ with The UPS Store. That may not sound like a big deal, but when you are shipping tons of packages it quickly adds up. That's just one example.

Another industry that took a big hit with individual retailers is the cellphone business. ATT, T-Mobile, Sprint, and Verizon all started opening corporate stores. Soon after their distributors starting going under.

It is never a good idea to enter a business that you compete against your vendor unless you are an expert in your field and know exactly what you're doing.

If you do decide to enter the business I highly recommend you go independant and sell both UPS and FedEX. Customers appreciate the choice. By the way FedEx is much faster and higher profit than UPS.

If you don't decide to open a store and want something passive we have a passive investment that requires no management and have investors globally. We do invoice factoring. We loan money against accounts receivables of growing companies. Our investors get paid quarterly. This is a very consistent investment that can guarantee 12-15% annual returns.

Dax Desai
DNA Investments
214-810-1502
dax.desai@gmail.com

Scott,

The UPS stores do well, but depends on the location and how much the owner is involved in the business. They really cater to small businesses, especially home based businesses and provide shipping, faxing, coping and mail box rentals.

Web reference: www.franchiseadvisorygroup.net

Typically bulk mail box stores also have some other business service such as packaging and mailing, lottery, etc.

just a general observation that these "mail box" stores are disappearing.

What attracts you to opening this type of business??