Recently I purchased a small amount of merchandise from this company and showed up to pick it up with cash 2 days after the auction had closed and was told that I had already been charged to my credit card. I had emailed and told them when I would pick it up (according to their rules). Yes they did not take the money 2 times but, after the transaction the owner approached me and offered to sell me a franchise. $20,000.00 would get me the franchise for 6 states to handle for this company. As a retired person I started asking questions and was interested. The owner just kept sweetening the pot to entice me into the sell by offering me the commission on 3 upcoming auctions and finally there were about 6 auctions that the commissions would be mine within just a few weeks.
I went and spent 1/2 a day with the owner at Crossville TN to see what it was all about. I was presented with a franchise agreement contract and he offered to finance $10,000 of the payment. After a few hours of watching and learning how business was done I had some major doubts. Who would be offering to sell a franchise for $20,000 and give you about $60,000.00 in commissions to get you to do it? I started asking his employees questions about him and the company to get the facts. I have to admit I was hooked, I even had the funds available to make the transaction. He went to lunch with his employees and returned to go off to the back of the warehouse on the telephone for a while.in a few minutes he sent a clerk that worked for him out to me and said "Russ said that you could go ahead and go, he does not want to business with you." She then said "Let me walk you to the door." I insisted on finding the owner to ask what was going on and all I could get out of him was "after hearing you today I no longer want to do business with you."
Had I asked too many questions, was I getting too close to finding out something I was not suppose to know, or had I personally said something that he just did not like? I do not know, but I have thought over and over the day and something just does not smell right to me. I retired at age 40 after owning several successful businesses so I think I have a good eye for things in business. I was asked several time for the money for the franchise and for me to just go and sign the paperwork. I had been told in the conversations during the day that "we can control the outcome of the auctions." This was after I had asked about purchasing items from my own franchise if I purchased it. I found this very strange, were they controlling the outcome of the auctions regularly? I also heard over and over how they were charging the clients for everything even driving cost to the client to go make the sell, removal of the equipment, percentage of the sell and other things. If this is all true then the client sure does not end up making much off of their auction and the people purchasing are also paying 15% just for the privilege of doing business with this company.
I am left with more questions than answers after these dealings.
NOTE: I AM NOT SAYING THAT ANY OF THIS WAS FRAUD!
But I am saying for everyone to be careful with your dealings with this man and his company. I am just telling my story and the way things transpired. Please take the time to go read the (BBB) Better Business Bureau reports on his company, as of the time of this posting they have an "F" rating with 4 complaints and no responses to the complaints. I hope and pray that this company and man are totally legitimate and if so that they do well in their business but I also hope that if not they will be found out.
I plan on Monday to contact the Federal Trade Commission and see if they are registered to sell franchises, especially since I was told that he had sold 2 already.
As for myself I am glad things ended when they did because my gut feelings were that something just was not right. All I needed at the time was an explanation of why but did not get it.
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