Velotaxi and Velotaxi Japan question

[prayingmantisjoe]

Hi, I am new to this forum, and have a few questions for you the forum since you know way more than I do.

Anyway, to make a long story short, I am planing on starting a Pedicab business in Japan and, since they are so popular here, figured I would buy from VeloTaxi. Seemed like an obvious choice to me. I contacted Veloform, who directed me to VeloTaxi Japan, their exclusive partner in Japan. But I am confused by some of the rules they are trying to enforce which, as far as I can tell, only seem to be applicable here in Japan. And seeing as they have an exclusive contract with Veloform, the appropriate Japanese expression seems to be "やりたい放題" or "yaritai houdai", meaning they are doing whatever the hell they want and no one can do anything about it.

So what VeloTaxi Japan is telling me is this:
1. If I want to buy a VeloTaxi, I MUST buy it from them and only them or I wil not be allowed to use it in Japan.
2. I have to pay a licensing fee directly to them of 192,000 yen/year/vehicle ($2,465 or 1,714 Euros). This is not a government fee, which according to the police and city hall, is 0 yen/year.
3. In case I go out of business, I am not allowed to privately sell my vehicles, though they would try to help me find a buyer amongst other VeloTaxi Japan partners. If I were to find someone who wanted to buy them from me, the sale has to be approved by VeloTaxi Japan, and the new owner has to agree to keep paying the licensing fee.
4. If I were to go out of business, I would not be able to use the vehicle for my own private use without paying the licensing fee.
5. I am not allowed to buy a used VeloTaxi from a private individual in another country and ship it to Japan myself, but if I were to do this, I STILL have to pay the licensing fee (this is totally beyond my understanding how they could enforce this).

Am I being too sensitive? I feel like this NPO is trying to scam me.

Thanks for any advice or opinions you guys have.

[prayingmantisjoe]

"Hi, I am new to this forum, and have a few questions for you the forum since you know way more than I do."Sorry guys, I tried to correct my grammer here, but the system isn't letting me.....

[Trixi.com]

Hi and welcome to this forum. I am working with Velotaxi since more then 10 years now and I can confirm: 100 % serious company. No scam. They have, depending of the country, individual models of co-operation...you may like them or not. You may acept them or not.... It's just a way of biz...to maintain territorial exclusivity as done by a lot of multi-national companies....territorial protection....

[prayingmantisjoe]

I guess I can understand it more if that is the way it is done everywhere. But I just have not found any other references to this sort of thing outside of Japan. Perhaps I am just looking in the wrong areas? What other areas are paying such private licensing fees? Oh and I did not think VeloTaxi was trying to scam me. I feel like their Japanese partner is. Although every time I asked either VeloTaxi or VeloTaxi Japan to explain these rules to me, all they ever said was "that's just the way VeloTaxi Japan does business, and that is just the way it is". You are the first person to even hint that it is not an uncommon practice. Had they told me that in the first place, I may have felt better about buying their product. Instead, I will probably go with someone like Cyclopolitian since I kind of already told VeloTaxi off.... lol.

[cycle_pathic_maniac]

Licence fee to a company you have bought an auto pedicab from? WTF? Sounds like a load of bollocks to me. Why would you need there permission to sell whats yours? Screw em. Why not get a Main Street or a Maximus, a real one and not a made in China knock off.

[prayingmantisjoe]

I thought about the Made in China knock off, but after reading this forum (thank goodness it came back up in time!!) I decided against it. I have been looking at Main Street, Maximus and Cyclopolitian. I am thinking about going with Cyclopolitian, but have not found much of any information about them on this forum. Anyone have any experience with them? I really wanted the old bubble style Cyclopolitians but they said they stopped making them = /

[Trixi.com]

I guess I can understand it more if that is the way it is done everywhere. But I just have not found any other references to this sort of thing outside of Japan. Perhaps I am just looking in the wrong areas? What other areas are paying such private licensing fees? Oh and I did not think VeloTaxi was trying to scam me. I feel like their Japanese partner is. Although every time I asked either VeloTaxi or VeloTaxi Japan to explain these rules to me, all they ever said was "that's just the way VeloTaxi Japan does business, and that is just the way it is". You are the first person to even hint that it is not an uncommon practice. Had they told me that in the first place, I may have felt better about buying their product. Instead, I will probably go with someone like Cyclopolitian since I kind of already told VeloTaxi off.... lol.

Starbucks, McDonalds, Burger King...their biz works this way....territorial protection. Maybe in the pedicab biz is not as common. You are right. But it is a little industry.

When Velotaxi / Veloform started 10 years ago with the CityCruiser I there was also the option of Cooperation-Contract or buying...for Japan it seems to be different as they have a exclusive partner for the country....

For me the question is not only the contract etc...but: Will I do money with it. Will I recover my money? Will I have benefits? etc...

Have in mind that this model has also its positive aspects...with a licence fee you are not just owning the right to use the pedicabs, but you are also in a kind of network with know how, advertismente partners etc...

I am not going to sell you nothing...but please have in mind that every coin has two sides.

Spare parts? Strategy? Networking? Campaigns together etc...There are also pros, not just contras....

Feel free to buy Cyclopolitian, Steve's and Ruth's Mainstreet's, or Maximus or Guido's Velocabs...Buy whatever you want.

The important is: Make money with it and be happy. Or better: Be happy and make money.


Do the deal you feel good with...I understand, that you would prefer to buy the Velotaxis and to have "100 % control". Of course I understand it.

But control and price / monthly or yearly fees are just a little aspect of the whole biz.

It's like a symphony of Beethoven. Every aspect, note, musican in the orchestre is important...Even if the drums are the loudest.

Licence fee is just one aspect of a lot.

Hey - once again: I am not going to sell you "Velotaxi Japan". But this guys are the leaders. Well established. And they make money as far as I can see here from Spain.

You can buy a pedicab or you can buy a strategy.

Good luck, whatever your decicion will be.

Best Regards

Gerald
www.Trixi.com
www.Bicicleta.es
www.Patinete.com

[Trixi.com]

I thought about the Made in China knock off, but after reading this forum (thank goodness it came back up in time!!) I decided against it. I have been looking at Main Street, Maximus and Cyclopolitian. I am thinking about going with Cyclopolitian, but have not found much of any information about them on this forum. Anyone have any experience with them? I really wanted the old bubble style Cyclopolitians but they said they stopped making them = /

Not buying knock offs? Good decicion. This means that this forum is fullfiling one of it's missions

Cyclopolitian: I don't like to talk negative about "competitors". I do not really now this company...so I can not value the product, but: If they are stopping manufacturing them: You could get in trouble with spare parts and maybe you would never get innovated products in the future....Not a good signal...that they stopped making them...would you please tell us, where you got this information?

Personally, if it would be allowed to say: There was no real innovation with the Cyclopolitian...They looked like "French Knock Off's" of Velotaxi. They haven't be as successfull as Velotaxi, Velocab, Maximus or Mainstreet.

[prayingmantisjoe]

I think the difference is that if you buy a McDonalds, you pay the fee directly to McDonalds and not some middle company. If the fee were to be paid directly to VeloTaxi, then that is a different animal all together. My problem is that there is an NPO that is not VeloTaxi charging me to use a product that was not made by them, just imported by them. Also, when I tried to ask them to explain the fees, they just told me that I had to pay them, and then stopped responding to my emails. I guess for me, it was less a money issue and more of a principle issue. If every owner is treated fair then it just is what it is. But when one owner is treated differently from another owner just because of where he lives, then the system needs to be reexamined. And about Cyclopolitian, they only stopped making the bubble version, and changed it to a more square design, so parts wouldn't be a problem. If I went with them, I would buy the new square design.

[prayingmantisjoe]

I will admit, though, they do kind of look like "French Knock Off's" of VeloTaxi.