Franchise : Redundant last week. I am thinking of going with "Fastway Couriers."

G

gavt

Guest
hi all,
I have just been made redundant last week.

I am thinking of going into franchise with fastway couriers. I have checked their website and even had a meeting with the general manager and got all the info i needed and was happy with that. But i will need to take out a loan in order to buy the established area in dublin 1 and 3 with 50 established customers and gauranteed income.

Just a couple of questions:

Is it worth taking the risk? Seeing as no jobs are safe anywhere and Fastway doesn't seem to be affected by the recession and when i went to their depot they seemed really busy!

What does anyone know of there business? Is there any money in it to make?

I would appreciate all your comments as i certainly do not want a bad start to a new year especially now that jobs are hard to find..

Thanks
 
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gavt said:
Fastway doesn't seem to be affected by the recession
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I don't know anything specific about Fastway, but every business is affected by the recession in some way or other. If there are less goods being manufactured and sold (the essence of a recession) there is less demand for courier & delivery services. Take extreme care before committing yourself.
 
I agree with above comment. I have a friend who works in a very large well known ( household name ) courrier company, not fastway and not in Dublin. He told me how many boxes they used to shift a day + how many they shift now, and its sobering. Be careful.
 
Make sure you do your costings.A new van will cost you around 500 to 600 a month.Insurance will be 250 a month,then diesel servicing tyres phone could be another 1000 a month.Also you will not get holiday pay and may have to pay someone to do your run.Finally,you will not get paye tax credit.Are they busy because their rates are low?
 
hi van driver i dont know when iwent to their depot they seemed really busy unloading the vans..and was told as an established area for sale with 50 customers there is already a guaranteed income..
 
when iwent to their depot they seemed really busy unloading the vans..
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When did you visit? - before Christmas?
I would at least hold off and visit them in January to see how busy they are.
 
I dont have any experience with Fastway Couriers but I would urge caution before buying into this or indeed any franchise opportunity.Dont rush or be rushed into handing your money over without a thorough investigation of whats involved. I would also be sceptical of any guaranteed income promised.
 
hi leghorn i visited just las tuesday when i was made redundant..

sue ellen for the first 20weeks its 1000euro a week guaranteed then after that if customers happy with you(its an already established area someone already does that area and is selling a portion of his base as he has other areas) you would earn 800euro plus vat a week..think its 1.40 a box something like that..

also i have never been outta work before so im worried of having no job especially with a child....
 
gavt said:
...
sue ellen for the first 20weeks its 1000euro a week guaranteed then after that if customers happy with you(its an already established area someone already does that area and is selling a portion of his base as he has other areas) you would earn 800euro plus vat a week..think its 1.40 a box something like that....
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Did they give you any idea about costs - van repayments, insurance, fuel, maintenance, phone, etc.? Or can you talk to the guy selling?

If he is selling off areas, he will obviously keep the most profitable for himself (that's not a criticism, just good business sense), so just be cautious as previous posters have suggested.
 
hi mathepac, yeah he said a good jumbo van 5 years old would be about 8000euro,il have to check out my insurance but as a previous poster has suggested it would be about 250 a month,il have to provide my own fuel and maintenance..i will ask to speak with the guy selling

i very much appreciate all the info from all the posters..i realise it might be hard but as there is no work anywhere i thougth this would be the best thing to do...

any more info would be greatly appreciated...

thanks
 
gavt said:
hi van driver i dont know when iwent to their depot they seemed really busy unloading the vans..and was told as an established area for sale with 50 customers there is already a guaranteed income..
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How many franchisees are serviced by this depot?

Why is he selling the established area, if it is so profitable?
 
There are couriers coming out of the woodwork at the moment looking for business... I'd take the advice above and hold off 'till the new year. Spend a few days hanging around the depot and see for yourself if it's busy.
 
gavt said:
hi leghorn i visited just las tuesday when i was made redundant..

sue ellen for the first 20weeks its 1000euro a week guaranteed then after that if customers happy with you(its an already established area someone already does that area and is selling a portion of his base as he has other areas) you would earn 800euro plus vat a week..think its 1.40 a box something like that..

also i have never been outta work before so im worried of having no job especially with a child....
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How do you include vat in your earnings? Honestly driving around doing deliveries for 1.40 a box and paying through the nose for the privilege doesn't sound like my idea of fun. I know fastways competition are very busy in the last two weeks but the drivers reckon the company will let go 10 vans in Jan...
 
I use Fastway couriers and I feel sorry for them, two drivers have left the business since I started using them as they said there is no money in it. That is my personal experience and can only relate what they told me.
 
No specific knowledge, but I always got the impression that Fastway were kept busy. We use them and they are among the cheapest so in that respect, assuming that most companies won't ditch the courier aspect of their business completely, they should be competitive in a recessionary market.
 
was speaking to someone yesterday directly involved in the van courier business and he was bemoaning how bad business is (even the lead up to Christmas) - they used to do alot of furniture/household deliveries which are down approx 30% in the last year which has really hurt with the increased cost of fuel/tolls etc.
 
Purple said:
There are couriers coming out of the woodwork at the moment looking for business....
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All too true I'm afraid. If I was to go into the business just now I wouldn't want the extra load of a franchise fee on my back, not right now anyway.

PM me and I'll give you a related business idea that I saw recently in another country, and that isn't here yet. It will have limited value if everyone knows about it, but the first person to tie it up will make money and it might be worth a shot. I'm not looking for payment, I'll pass you the idea for free.

Sorry, I won't give it to anyone else unless Gavt doesn't want it, so no point in asking!
 
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