Company has checkered past
By Glenn Smith
Be your own boss. Work just a few hours a week. Fill your pockets with cash as profits roll in.
It's an enticing pitch, and one that has kept a California company in business for more than two decades, selling vending-machine ventures to would-be entrepreneurs.
But Planet Antares, which will host a three-day conference in Charleston today through Sunday, also has drawn complaints from dissatisfied customers who claim the company misrepresents the profit potential and the ease of placing vending machines in money-making locations.
In 1996, Antares and a sister company paid $1 million to settle Federal Trade Commission charges of misrepresenting the earning potential of prospective distributors and using "shills" as references. The companies admitted no wrongdoing in the settlement.
The Better Business Bureau has urged consumers to use caution before making investments through the Culver City, Calif., company. Still, the BBB upgraded Planet Antares' status last week from an unsatisfactory "D" rating to a "C-," which is considered "acceptable."
The bureau has received 40 complaints against the company over the past three years, most of which have been resolved, according to the BBB's Web site.
In a submission to the FTC last year, Planet Antares billed itself as the nation's largest seller of opportunities to invest in the business of promoting, placing and operating vending machines.
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Web extra: Q&A with Antares official
The company has done business under a host of names over the years, including Antares Corp., Orion Products Corp., Natural Choice-USA and Financial Freedom. The conference, at the Charleston Marriott on Lockwood Drive, is being promoted by Wealth Builders, another Antares brand.
Planet Antares' literature describes how the company has helped families across America discover the path to "fast and easy cash" through home-based vending machine business opportunities.
"Less than 1 percent of the distributors whom Planet Antares has ever put into business ever write to the company or to outside agencies requesting a refund of their money for any reason," Lisa Printz, Planet Antares' director of presentations, said in an e-mail to The Post and Courier.
Planet Antares would not provide Watchdog with any references for successful distributors who could talk about their experience with the company. Printz said the company wanted to protect the privacy and safety of those involved in this all-cash business.
Leslee Mays of West Ashley remains skeptical. She contacted Watchdog after receiving a glossy invitation to the Charleston presentation, complete with a picture of hundred-dollar bills and testimonials about the "amazing money-making opportunity" vending machines represent.
"Leslee, you CAN have it all ... The time, the freedom and the lifestyle you have always dreamed of!" the invitation stated, adding that "collecting your cash is just about all you do!"
Mays said she was suspicious from the start, and grew more so after reading up on Antares' past problems. Brian Allen, senior director of government affairs for the Chicago-based National Automatic Merchandising Association, said "get-rich-quick schemes" involving vending machines have been around for decades.
While vending can be a lucrative enterprise for large, established companies, it is a highly competitive industry that can be tough to break into for newcomers, he said. Total operating profits generally run around 4 percent, before taxes are figured in, he said.
"People are led to believe that they can make a lot of money quickly without doing much work, and that's just not the case in the vending industry," Allen said. "It's not an easy industry to find a profitable place in."
In the 1996 cases, the FTC accused Antares Corp. and Venice, Calif.-based Orion Products of misrepresenting the potential profitability of their vending machine distributorships and success of their program to help vendors find locations for the machines.
The companies, which had the same president, were operating as Natural Choice USA, the FTC said.
Some distributors paid over $60,000 for the companies' vending machine opportunities, relying on claims that they would gross as much as $2,800 a year per snack machine, and $5,000 a year per beverage machine, the FTC said.
The FTC said the companies also told prospective distributors that they would find locations for their vending machines quickly and easily, sometimes in less than two months.
Under the settlement agreement with the FTC, the companies were barred from making false statements about the machines' earning potential. The FTC also required that people giving testimonials to prospective buyers be actual distributors.
Printz said Planet Antares openly discusses the settlement at each of its business presentations. She said the company has operated successfully for the past 12 years without further complaints from the FTC. The federal agency confirmed that.
Printz said the company makes no claims to consumers about potential revenues or profits. "An individual's earnings is based largely on their short-term goals and the amount of time they have to invest in the business," she stated.
Still, the company's literature and Web sites suggest there is "ample" cash to be made through "these amazing money machines."
"Literally thousands of people just like you are already making money as fast as they can count it through this $40 billion-dollar industry," a company Web site states.
Reach Glenn Smith at 937-5556 or gsmith@postandcourier.com.
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Comments
To_live_and_die_in_Dixie (anonymous) says...
If it sounds too good to be true...
January 16, 2009 at 8:58 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
UrGatorbait (anonymous) says...
To good to be true? Not work and get rich? Yeah baby the American dream!!!
January 16, 2009 at 9:03 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
dawhetsell (anonymous) says...
If its too good to be true, then a fool and their money will part company quick. I sold used vending machines years ago. Most people that bought them were for their shops. They let their clients or employees use them as a convinence. They did not make a lot of profit. The few who put them out worked hard,made a little money and gave the shop owners part of their sales. You can go to Cobe, Pepsi or other companies and they will put machines in high volume areas and give you 5 cents of every dollar they make.Most of the machines that Planet Antares sells are cheap ,small and low volume machines. With the economy going down, drinks and snacks are the first thing people quit buying.
January 16, 2009 at 9:35 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
ashleyatwork (anonymous) says...
Somebody is making a profit somewhere. If you pay .65 for a can of soda, that would be $7.80 for a 12 pack which you can buy in the grocery store for 2.99. Thats over 100% markup.
January 16, 2009 at 11:46 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
stephansdad (anonymous) says...
Just remember when billions of dollars are lost. Someone, somewhere has made billions of dollars. The same is true with a dollar and $60,000.
January 16, 2009 at 11:57 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
postman01 (anonymous) says...
Wrong, People. It's the stupidity and laziness of BUSINESS OWNERS that is the reason the potential of this company's products are not realized, in all probability
I am absolutely serious. I worked in this business for a company called Vending Machine Services locally in the late 80s. Our sales pitch was that someone in a high volume location could lease to buy BRAND NEW vending machines of the highest quality available and make a high profit if they were willing to stock the machines themselves and also count the money (including a lot of change). I went to several high volume places at that time and simply asked my prospects to tell me the volume of products they were selling. Low volume locations were best advised NOT to use this approach. The high volume locations could make a lot of money. My calculations, which were simply and accurate math, showed these types of locations could realize $20,000 to $100,000 per year from vending if they 1) owned the vending machines, 2) bought the stock for the machines themselves wholesale and stocked the machines themselves and 3) emptied the money from the machines themselves, counted it themselves, and deposited it in their bank. That was all.
It was NOT too good to be true. It was the laziness, ignorance, and OUTRIGHT stupidity of prospects that caused this business not to work. I heard all kind of utterly stupid objections, such as "it's just a convenience", "it's not worth it", and even "the mafia will come after me"!!!
So the real truth is that MISTAKEN BELIEFS, stupid thinking, and LAZINESS is the reason this is "too good to be true". It's not. It's idiotic human behavior that MAKES it too good to be true and hands companies like Coca Cola, Pepsi, Lance, and others ENORMOUS vending profits while the business owner that is stupidly allowing him or herself to be used by companies ranging from small to large that DO THE WORK to make enormous profits while paying the people that OWN the location where the machines are located a relative pittance.
Think, people!!!!!!!!!!! Why do a lot of people not make a lot more money?!!! It's precisely because of their flawed beliefs and absurd attitudes that this doesn't work as it should. How can it possibly be "just a convenience" or "too much trouble" given the accurate and true numbers I preented above. How can it possibly be "too much trouble" to go to Sams Club or Costco to get stock, put it in the machine yourself, and them COUNT the money (something for which automatic coin and currency counters are available)?!!!!!!!!!!
There's a reason why the little guy remains "little". It's the lcak of mental clairity about making money and unfounded, stupid, confused, and ignorant fears that, in many cases, keep the "little guy" exactly that--little.
January 16, 2009 at 12:01 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
postman01 (anonymous) says...
(continued from previous post)
I have seen this shortcoming in other fields. The "little" guy doesn't process information correctly. Then, the little guy makes a stupid decision based on absurd beliefs and the idea that someone else should do it. Then, the little guy gets JEALOUS or others and gets suspicious without logical and factual ground to be suspicious. Then we hear nonsense about "too good to be true" when HUMAN STUPIDITY is making it "too good to be true".
It might be that this Antares company is shady. But the concept is mathematically and actuarially valid in addition to being completely legal. In fact, there's actually no need for their to be a company selling the lease to own concept. Such a company, run honestly, would in fact make money only from leasing the machine and from repairs while the lessee makes a LOT MORE MONEY than he or she ever would by letting another entity DO ALL THE WORK and keep the lion's share of the profits. A truly highly intelligent and MOTIVATED business owner who is in a high volume location would do the math him or herself and then cease doing business with traditional vending companies ASAP because of the tremendously increased profits he or she would realize. But, like most little guys, the sadly limited extent of their reasoning is "it's just a convenience" and "it's too much trouble"--eeks, "the Mafia will come after me"
Pathetic.
January 16, 2009 at 12:03 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
captivated (anonymous) says...
postman01 - Why do you always have to write a book to state your opinion? It took darn near half my lunch break just to read that thing. I agree with your reasoning, though. Hard work and dedication are the keys to success in any endeavor.
January 16, 2009 at 12:52 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
theronce (anonymous) says...
Few want to put in the work that it takes to make real money.
January 16, 2009 at 1 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
pnutsaunty (anonymous) says...
Glad I looked up the name Wealth Builders before I called to reserve. I am in the Seattle area and they are having a presentation on 1/23, 1/24, and 1/25 at Embassy Suites Seattle-Bellevue, Bellevue, WA. Have been looking for something to do since my job was ousted in June, 2008. Appears that this is just another scam. The brochure says, leave your checkbook at home there is nothing to buy. If you are interested in the presentations outside your area, I would be more than happy to go and provide The Post and Courier with the materials obtained and a summary of the presentation. and/or contact the local news and see if they are interested in looking into. Please post comment and let me know. You have my email address from when I registered. I look forward to hearing from you.
Thank you for the article and your time.
Truly, J. Anderson
January 16, 2009 at 3:49 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
postman01 (anonymous) says...
Captivated, some things do not lend themselves to being thoroughly and clearly explained in a sentence or two. Remember, the reasoning and assumptions behind many of these "news" articles is frequently laughable. Thus, you get to see the article itself thrown into serious question, which is a good thing.
January 16, 2009 at 3:57 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
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