Should you invest in a done-for-you Walmart store? Let’s discuss. The biggest downside to Walmart automation is the cost. Most companies are charging anywhere from $15,000 to $50,000 up front, just to get it going. Not everyone has that kinda money laying around, do they? And even if you did, the second drawback to Walmart automation is that hardly any of these services come with a straightforward money-back guarantee. So this is risky business.
The third con is they want you to have lots of open credit. At least $10,000, but the more the better. Ideally, you’d have $40,000+, which you could split across multiple cards. If you don’t have that much, they’ll use it as an excuse for why it’s taking so long to make so little. Which, to be fair, is kinda true. They can’t sell what they don’t have (in inventory) right? On the flip side, if you do have a ton of credit, great, but it’s even riskier. If something goes wrong, you gotta pay those cards off, don’t ya?
The fourth negative is, regardless of how warm and fuzzy their sales pitch makes you feel, just ask for a copy of the contract you’d have to sign in order to move forward with an automated Walmart store. Read it carefully. If you don’t understand something, highlight it and ask them to clarify on a follow up call. Better yet, have an attorney go through it with you. What you’re gonna find is, these companies have taken great care to leave you holding the bag if anything goes south.
But say you still go through with it. You accept the risk, plop down, let’s say, $40 Gs, get yourself $25k in available credit, sign on the dotted line, and take the plunge. The fifth concern I would have is, you’re not gonna get paid till at least 4–6 weeks after the first item is sold from your store. So again, not to beat a dead horse here, but you’re gonna be buried in debt before any potential profits start making their way back to you. Pretty scary to be $65k in the hole and then wait a couple months just to get a $500 check in return, huh?
Sixth, and this one’s huge, is you could get your Walmart store shut down. There’s pages and pages of fine print (you’ll never read) when you apply for a seller’s account. If the automation company accidentally or intentionally does something that violates Walmart’s terms of service? Poof, there goes your Walmart biz. And if you think the chance of this is pretty low, you might wanna Google it and read some of the horror stories that are out there. Happens way more than you’d imagine.
If you can choke down all those cons, the pros are obvious. In a perfect world, other than maybe registering a new LLC and opening up a business checking account, you really shouldn’t have to do anything else. Maybe call your credit card once in a while if they flag a charge or something, but beyond that, it’s 100% passive, as advertised. So if you’re fortunate enough to have a bunch of extra money you don’t know what to do with, an automated Walmart store is certainly something worth considering.
Freedom is the second advantage. Hands-free income creates time, it gives you options and peace of mind. An opportunity to get more fulfillment out of each day. Third, you’ve got whatever sorta guarantee they offer. This one’s both a pro and a con, right? Because, while it does make moving forward a bit easier, and gives you decent protection, it’s still only as good as the contract reads. Just be careful there’s not itty-bitty details in there that could disqualify you from recouping your investment.
