Has anyone ever heard of 1800BunkBeds

[chopnhack]

They were advertising on a postcard that comes in a packet with other woodworking related ads that I am sure some of you get. What an interesting business premise. I looked into it and got to speak with the owner briefly but was promptly put off and mostly left believing that its a marketing scam. Has anyone else heard of this program or has experience with it? If you want to read more on it there at http://www.1800bunkbed.com/ I asked the owner about the territory I was interested in, specifically how long the previous owner held it and what his sales were like and he said that he hadn't the slightest clue. So I asked him how much of his profits were from marketing this program and he actually told me 100% and that he personally hadn't made a bed in years. He said that he manages this and three other companies and simply doesn't have the time to build them anymore! LOL, at that point the red flags were going up! Let me know what the collective knows about this please.

[Uncle Cracker]

I'd be worried about the reference to "bunk"...

[Norm in Fujino]

They apparently have an A+ rating with BBB. One of their local proprietors has this website with photos and prices. You can also google 1800bunkbed and find more sites.

Even if it works as a company, tho, I'd personally get awfully bored making that simple style of bed.

[chopnhack]

Thanks Norm, I hadn't seen that propietors website, but I did read about the BBB report, however, lately I really don't trust them too much

[Norm in Fujino]

Another thing to consider is the fact that although they give you an "exclusive" terrirory via area codes, some of the individual proprietor websites offer to ship nationwide, thus effectively negating any exclusive rights to your "area."

[chopnhack]

Good point, another proprietor in a neighboring area code could deliver and assemble in your "backyard". The nationwide shipping would be less of a concern due to the weight and size therefore the cost involved. Plus, the customer would then have to assemble themselves.

[Ed62]

They apparently have an A+ rating with BBB.

I'm not saying anything at all negative about them, but I'd take the rating with a grain of salt. I personally know of an instance where the owner of a business was offered an A+ rating if he would join the Better Business Bureau, for a $400.00 fee. So great marks don't make an impression on me. I think very low marks might be a more accurate indication on how a business operates.

Ed

[herb fellows]

Exactly what Ed said. A good rating on BBB could simply mean they haven't been caught yet, whereas a bad rating tells you they have been.
If the guy that's marketing the program cant tell you what the sales in that territory are, then he's not marketing, he's fishing.

[L. D. Jeffries]

Guess that offer is like the one I've seen "to build outdoor furniture in your spare time"! Sure looks and sounds like a scam to me.

[Que]

1800bunkbed validity

I jumped on the bandwagon, it is a legal business. And the reason the owner you called and talked to did not know what the sales were in 'that' area....
he has nothing to do with it, its "your" business, he is just supplying you with the plans and know how and other things that are needed to get started in the business. I my self had ALOT of potential customers hitting my website from out of my area. I contacted the office wanting a list of 'employees'(more or less) that were around me, so I could direct inquiries their way. They would not give me such information. Not sure why, but thats the way it was. So now I have to say, if the person in an area is not advertising to be able to be contacted....
I will not turn down a sale. I live in Wayne county, Ohio.... And I drive to Walmart in Medina county?....is that wrong? I put forth ALOT of effort to promote my business, and its advertised as Wayne county....not "I'm in Wayne county and if your not your out of luck!" If I knew who was in a specific area I would give the customer the option to contact them.
But yes it is valid...

[babygirl57]

1-8000Bunkbed.com or .net....

Well-- here's what happened when we inquired. We filled out the form for the county we live in and a couple of surrounding counties. We were told that our home county was "taken" but the one "next door" was available. However-- we live "next" to "Steve Everette" the "most successful" of the 1-800-bunkbed territory holders. The owner, Jim Rees, answered some questions-- but DID get arrogant and nasty when I had, apparently, too many questions for him. I just wanted to understand before I made a commitment. He suggested that we also talk to Steve Everette-- which we did-- and ASSURRED him that we we only interested in the county we were asking for. When we made the decision to "jump in"-- we began to call back Mr. Rees-- REPEATEDLY- but he would not return the calls. This gave us a bad feeling-- so we dropped it. But about six weeks later-- we filled out ANOTHER inquiry for the same county-- and got a reply again that the "territory" WAS available and that we should call. Which-- we did-- TWICE. We then got ANOTHER email telling us to "hurry while the territory was still available" and we called TWO more times. Finally-- after the FIFTH call-- Mr. Rees did email me to tell me that Steve Everette had now taken the county we wanted.... hummmmm maybe this is a company that shouldn't be trusted. I even spoke with a couple of other "territory holders" around the country-- that ONCE had the business-- but no longer did it-- and neither had much positive to say about their experience.
Decided that we could build bunkbeds -- if we wanted-- and market them just as well-- because that was what the one person in Florida said-- that they got most of their business on their own-- and NOT from the website or the 800 number.
BTW-- apparently Mr. Everette is okayed to have his 1-800bunkbed.net site (and it is exclusive to him) when everyone else gets 1-800bunkbed.com. Doesn't really make sense that anyone would be willng to pay for an "exclusive territory"-- when Steve is selling his beds on his website-- and you can be SURE he does not turn down ANY sale-- just becasue it is in someone else's territory.

[1800bunkbed]

Reply from 1800bunkbed Owner

I recently discovered this forum and, as the founder and owner of 1800bunkbed.com, I welcome this opportunity to address and clarify some of the misconceptions put forth in some of these postings.

My company does not offer franchises and, therefore, does not keep detailed sales or call records of people who come on board our program. When you join our program YOU own your business. Our program, however, is based on exclusive, protected territories throughout the United States and Canada. If your territory is available then you are a potential 1800bunkbed business owner. If your territory is unavailable then your only option is to join a waiting list until your particular territory becomes available.

With regard to deliveries, our 1800bunkbed business owners can deliver beds only to their protected territories. No one is allowed to ship beds nationwide. Doing so would be immediate cause for termination. There is no 1800bunkbed business owner who offers nationwide shipping on their website. All of our 1800bunkbed business owners agree to these terms.

Regarding the post by babygirl57, in the course of running a business for 18 years and speaking to tens of thousands of people you're bound to upset someone along the line. Indeed, there was a timing issue in contacting this individual which I personally apologized for.

Lastly, we have had a flawless, A+ record with the Better Business Bureau for 16 years and have never had a single complaint that I know of. If this makes some people suspicious there's simply nothing I can do about that. Admittedly, our program is not for everyone but it is a proven woodworking business opportunity and there are hundreds of people who are prospering as a 1800bunkbed business owner. Thanks again for the opportunity to address these issues. Best regards.–Jim Rees, founder and owner, www.1800bunkbed.com

[Mr Bunkbed]

My 2 cents worth

Hello, I have been on board with 1800BUNKBED for a few years now. I have had a very good and quite profitable experience over the years. The founder of 1800BUNKBED has always been up front and honest with me. I have never had any weird vibrations or thought he was some shoddy business man or anything crazy like that. The economy hasn't slowed me down either, quite frankly it seems to have helped me some! I'm just glad to be a part of a business that's experiencing such growth, and the beds are made here in the USA, by Americans for Americans. This business is enabling me to provide for my family and our future. It's sad to see people belittling legitimate American businesses. I mean seriously! None of these jobs are exported and none of my profits go overseas. If anything, the founder of 1800BUNKBED has and is creating jobs for Americans. This has been a great opportunity for me and I plan to stay on for years to come.

[Black wallnut]

What I see here is 4 unique new members all replying to a year-old thread. Welcome to BT3Central but if your only reason for joining is to make one post to a dead thread why bother? If woodworking is your vocation, avocation, passion, or just an occasional hobby join in the conversation.

[jwoldsr]

1800bunkbeds

I think they are selling an idea and a phone number. A $95 setup fee and $200+ per month for a phone number seems pretty steep. There are a lot ofgood ideas and certainly more than one clever phone numbers available. Still, it is probably profitable for them. They have sereral other business they manage that keep them from actually building and selling any bunk beds. I wonder how much like 1800Bunkbeds the others are. He may have hit on a good way to have people send him money every month.

There is probably no such thing as a truly "exclusive" area. It only means that the 1-800 call from your area will only ring to your phone.

I looked on Craig's List and found quite a few folks advertising and selling bunk beds in my area.

Some good designs coupled with clever local advertising could get you started. Build a good product and earn your referrals, and you will capture your share of the market.