Tag: UPS

A national alliance of nearly 200 Mail Boxes Etc. stores, under the auspices of a nonprofit support and advocacy group called the Platinum Shield Association, are now locked in two California lawsuits in Los Angeles Superior Court with parent company United Parcel Service-Mail Boxes Etc. The plaintiffs in the current lawsuit are a group of storeowners who refused to convert to UPS stores and contend that UPS used high-pressure and questionable sales tactics on storeowners to sign the Gold Shield Program contract. Plaintiffs also claim that UPS pressured thousands of Mail Boxes Etc. franchisees to become UPS stores under contracts that are in violation of franchise laws, because they lacked appropriate and adequate disclosure information.

With a gleaming new sign out front and more small packages than ever coming through his doors, these should be the best of times for UPS Store owner John Kelley.

But a blizzard of boxes in December — the peak holiday shipping month — masked what Kelley says is a troubling fact for him and some other UPS Store owners: The franchises are less profitable now than when UPS bought their parent company in 2001.

The problem for UPS Store owners, however, is that UPS capped store shipping rates — a boon for consumers who get lower prices but a hardship for store owners accustomed to steep markups.