The Dark Side of Matco Tools Franchise
HTML-код
- Опубликовано: 8 июл 2024
- Is Matco Tools a Good Franchise? Cost, Earnings and Lawsuits! We get asked a lot about Matco Tools Franchise. Is it a good business to own?
Matco is one of those franchises where many buyers make decisions on emotion rather than data. How great would it be driving around in your own truck, being your own boss, selling tools to businesses and making a six figure income. Matco tools has some big earnings numbers on their website with total revenue up to 2 million a year, this looks like a great opportunity. Or is it?
To get started you'll need to invest between $76,819 to $309,133 . As far as earnings here are the numbers from Matco's website as of today January 10, 2023. Matco earnings are divided by top middle and bottom 1/3 of distributors. Top 1/3 median revenue is $644,369, middle 1/3 is $447,053 and bottom 1/3 of Matco distributors earn $303,025. Looks like their top earner is just under 2 million and their bottom is at zero.
Matco doesnt list what your net earnings would be after expenses. This number will vary depending on your location and situation but it will be a whole lot less than the gross number and you have to wonder if Matco distributors are making a livable income. More on that in a moment but perhaps relevant to that point look at this:
Matco includes this on their page: "During the 2021 calendar year, 189 Distributors closed or ceased operations. Of these, 15 were open for less than 12 months" I looked at their FDD and their growth numbers showed even with closures they had sold almost 150 franchises since 2019.
Online complaints are a dime a dozen, you never know if they can be trusted. There are dozens of complaints about the Matco franchise all over the net. Complaints of fraud, no freedom for owners, exaggerated earnings claims, territories being taken away and more. A simple search for Matco complaints brings up dozens. In fact Unhappy Franchisee website states they had more complaints on Matco than on any other franchise. But how can we validate if these are legitimate?
One of the benefits of buying a franchise is the companies are legally obligated to list lawsuits over a certain period of time in their disclosure documents. I looked at their most recently filed documents and many of these online allegations also show up as legal cases against Matco.
There is currently a class-action lawsuit alleging that due to the level of control exerted over Matco franchisees, one of the primary complaints, that they are not independent, franchised distributors but should be considered employees of Matco. Other lawsuits include fraud and civil conspiracy based on fraudulent and deceptive financial projections. (2x) Unjust enrichment, fraud, deceit and negligent misrepresentation, (2xx) and a few more pages of people suing Matco and Matco suing its distributors. Now lawsuits aren't the end of the world most larger franchises will have them, but these type are definitely a red flag. I would want to speak with many existing franchisees to determine their sentiment.
So is Matco a good business? It is likely the distributor making almost 2 million is happy as are many others but there are quite a few red flags including the complaints and lawsuits. One of the comments I saw when researching this piece really sums up my sentiment. "I have seen a lot of Snap-on, Matco, mac and Cornwell dealers fail and succeed. I can only speak for Snap-on however. If you do your homework when you get in. Get the right training and support and get a good route you can make money. Understand though if worked properly You just bought a 6 day a week JOB working 12 hours a day. At the end of the year if all went well you made 60 - 70 grand. To me thats a job"
So this comment was for Snap On - a similar business, and today that figure is probably higher, but it speaks to the crux of the issue and something we always speak about on the channel. Do you want a business, or do you want to buy a job. There are many businesses that are suited to ultimately step away from the operations and allow you to become a passive owner. Are you comfortable running a business in an executive capacity or prefer working in the business? If you love the tool industry, love talking to people and driving Matco could be a good business. If your goals are to build a franchise empire it might not be. As we always say there is no perfect franchise for everyone, it depends on you!
Want to compare multiple franchises and get insider data direct from a broker? www.franchise.city/our-services
www.matcotools.com/franchise/...
As a professional diesel mechanic, I tend to stick with whoever gives me the best service, it's not really the brand. But now I see how matco actually is I see truly why my matco dealer isn't great. I don't have 1 matco tool majority of it is mac tools and cornwell tools
Same here with the service.
I personally think Snap On makes a slightly higher quality ratchet and tools in general. But my Matco dealer has treated me exponentially better than Snap On, so I stick with Matco.
I have tools from Snap On, Matco, Cornwell and Mac, but my Matco guy also tends to have a wider variety of tools on his truck than the other dealers , further making me buy from him.
We have a Matco and Snap On truck at my work. Snap on shows every week. Matco every two weeks. All of us go to the Matco truck who typically stays an hour. Snap On...10 minutes. Matco guy always has stock for just about everything. Ive bought my Milwaukee Insider battery ratchet kit and M18 1/2" and 3/8" kit from him. Make your payments...dealer stays happy. Nobody wants to work for free.
I was a manager for a major tool Company for 21 years and I"m glad you mentionned that you don't take complaints at face value. Believe me most tool dealers (Snap On, Mac Matco) that
don't make it is their own fault because of poor working habits. Most that fail have never been their own boss and this is the cause of their failure. Because they're their own bosses they
feel they can work whenever they want. The ones who get up early and call on their customers consistently from eight to five generally do quite well. I occasionally meet some former tool
dealers who I used tto work with and I know why they failed but the excuses they still give for their failures are incredible.
Great info. You should do videos on the other 3 main tool trucks companies.
Thanks!
I love my Matco tools. I do not care about the extra price i'm paying for the service.
Why would you love matco they don't make a fucking thing lol they are a rebrand company everything they sell you can buy online.
@@edwardkramer8738 They only make the tool boxes.
@@gncc600 what do you think the other brands do?? Most out made out of the same factory with a different name. Snap-on doubles the price
@@nickperkins1444 What are you talking about? I only said that Matco only makes tool boxes themselves. Try reading first before commenting dumbass.
They make more than just toolboxes... if you do the research you’ll find that all brands of tool trucks rebrand a very large amount of their products snap on charging the most for their stuff.
Another great breakdown! Any chance you could do one for Critter Control at some point in the near future?
Thanks! Will add them to the list. If you are actively looking you can always get customized reports free in 48 hours! ruclips.net/video/HDrFegUMSZI/видео.html
It is a Business it is all what you make of it. Like any business it takes personal responsibility, drive and determination. When my business is doing good it is because of me. When it is doing bad it is definitely because of me. And yes I am a matco distributor/ franchise owner.
How much are you grossing per week?
I'm in the process of starting my matco truck, currently. What is your margin, your monthly operating costs, and your *net* revenue per month *after* all your costs are paid?
Why did you make your previous video private? ☹
Great information. Thank you for sharing
Thanks for watching! 🙂
I work with an exmatco person who had is own truck, route etc lot's of bullcrap that goes on selling matco tools. It's a franchise you have to play by there rules or get booted.
Yeah but you know what those rules are when you agree to to them!
I been a mechanic for 20 years I deal with mactools snap-on and matco matco is the worst one
All tool trucks seem more like pyramid schemes than franchises, when selling high end tools to a limited market, seems like your customers would eventually not need new tools, you know because they last so long, reminds me of the Kirby salesman
Matco Bob St Pete Florida
There is a lot more to this than just negative comments
you can kick ass as a tool dealer if you know what you are doing and if you’re good at it same as a good tech
also if you have solid inventory and you show up every week it makes a big difference real techs are not going to waste their time driving around looking for what’s the cheapest tool in town
cheapskates are gonna have a bad experience no matter where they shop I have been a professional tech as well as a tool dealer I’ve seen both sides of the coin
if you’re too cheap to spend on quality product then go to Harbor freight otherwise support your local tool dealer
As far as The franchise part of it yes the big four will suck you dry if you allow it
Do Utz route (IO)
Who knew they had a dark side? You might become suicidal if you did a video on the dark side of snap on.
Lol I saw some of that while researching Matco
Would you make a video about Molly Maid Franchise?
Can you make some video on bubble tea shop
Thank you. Now Snap-on please :)
Haha same product twice the price.
Snap on is Matco products
Went straight to the comment section...definitely aint interested
Your terminology kills me, you say that the franchisee makes upwards of 2 million dollars.. and you also say that expenses have to be taken out of that and you list those expenses. But that is a bad representation.
If someone “makes 2 million “ it should be explained like this
This franchisee sold 2 million dollars in product, of that they first had to pay for the product. Which was X,XXX,XX.XX dollars… once your cost of goods were paid for you have to pay your expenses. After all your expenses are paid you can make XX,XXX.XX - XXX,XXX.XX
You give people the wrong idea when you say you make that much, most people are employed and “make a wage” don’t confuse them
I look forward to watching your "new and improved" videos! And for the record, when we first started years ago we used terms like "owner discretionary income" "adjusted earnings" and EBITDA and were continually asked to explain what they mean. So we switched to mostly using a generic term like "make". This is the first complaint on that one 🙂 But thanks for the input!
I only buy snap on
Same. Haven’t seen my Matco guy in months. Snap-On guy is here every Monday I know if I move shops, I’ll still have a Snap-On guy.
@Rob same snap on guy or dealer has always been reliable and replaced or warranty any issues I've had and my payment plan has always been reasonable so I'm happy with snap on
Still over priced