AIM Mail Centers vs PODS Franchise Comparison

Below is an in-depth analysis and side-by-side comparison of AIM Mail Centers vs PODS including start-up costs and fees, business experience requirements, training & support and financing options.

Start-Up Costs and Fees

 
AIM Mail Centers Franchise
PODS Franchise
Investment $35,525 - $172,750$2,000,000
Franchise Fee $29,950N/A
Royalty Fee 5%-
Advertising Fee 2%-
Year Founded 19851998
Year Franchised 19891999
Term Of Agreement 15 years-
Term Of Agreement 15 years-
Renewal Fee $5K-


Business Experience Requirements

 
AIM Mail Centers Franchise
PODS Franchise
Experience
  • General business experience
  • Marketing skills
  • -

    Financing Options

     
    AIM Mail Centers Franchise
    PODS Franchise
      In-House/3rd PartyIn-House/3rd Party
    Franchise Fees No/Yes-/-
    Start-up Costs No/Yes-/-
    Equipment No/Yes-/-
    Inventory No/Yes-/-
    Receivables No/No-/-
    Payroll No/No-/-

    Training & Support

     
    AIM Mail Centers Franchise
    PODS Franchise
    Training On-The-Job Training: 32 hours Classroom Training: 80 hours Additional Training: Regional meetings/annual convention -
    Support Newsletter Meetings/Conventions Toll-Free Line Grand Opening Online Support Field Operations Site Selection Proprietary Software Franchisee Intranet Platform -
    Marketing Co-op Advertising Ad Templates National Media Regional Advertising Social media SEO Website development Email marketing Loyalty program/app -
    Operations 10% of all franchisees own more than one unit

    Number of employees needed to run franchised unit: 1 - 2

    Absentee ownership of franchise is NOT allowed.

    -

    Expansion Plans

     
    AIM Mail Centers Franchise
    PODS Franchise
    US Expansion Yes-
    Canada Expansion No-
    International Expansion Yes-

    Company Overviews

    About AIM Mail Centers

    AIM Mail Centers, a 20 year old company based in Irvine, California, has developed a unique and attractive franchise opportunity designed for motivated professionals. AIM Mail Centers are complete business service centers offering a wide array of products and services for large and small businesses plus general consumers. This includes shipping services with UPS, FedEx and the US Postal Service. We provide packaging, stamps, fax service, notary public, mailbox rentals, photocopies, office supplies and much more. AIM Mail Centers' advanced systems, extraordinary training and on-going field support make AIM Mail centers the right choice for entrepreneurs who want to be in business for themselves but not by themselves. The SOHO (small office/home office) based business market is growing at a remarkable rate. From a base of 6 million home offices in 1980, more than one in four U.S. workers in 53 million households is now regularly working at home at least part of the week. For the past five years at a rate of one every 35 seconds, someone has begun a full or part time business in their home. With this, as well as residential customers, the demand for shipping, postal and business services continues to boom.
    • Commercial Center: $99,700 to $172,750
    • Commercial Center-Conversion: $35,525 to $147,975
    Veteran Incentives  20% off franchise fee





    About PODS

    Portable On Demand Storage! PODS utilizes a specially equipped truck and patented hydraulic lift technology to deliver, retrieve, store and even move across the country a container up to 8x8x16 ft.