Home Services
1-800-GOT-JUNK? Franchise
A junk-removal franchise operating branded trucks that pick up unwanted items for recycling, donation, or disposal, sold in "subterritory" units rather than a single fixed location. Founded by Brian Scudamore in October 1998 (building on his Rubbish Boys business, started in 1989) and franchising in the U.S. since November 1999, under the same parent, O2E Brands, as sibling home-service franchises like WOW 1 DAY PAINTING and Shack Shine. Franchised unit count fell every year of the FDD's three-year window, while company-owned units, held by an affiliate, grew sharply.
Every franchisor has to file a document called an FDD before they can legally sell you a franchise. Buried in it are the two things a sales rep won't volunteer: what you'll actually spend to open, and whether existing locations are opening or closing. That's what's below, pulled straight from 1-800-GOT-JUNK?'s own filing.
What it costs to open
From the filing's investment breakdown -- not a "starting at" number a sales rep quoted you.
Franchise fee
$65,000
Total to open
$182,300–$303,500
Ongoing royalty
8% of gross sales
What you'd actually spend, over time
The upfront cost is only part of it. Plug in what you expect a location to bring in, and see the real total once royalties over a few years are added on top.
Defaulted to a rough home services industry average, not a figure from 1-800-GOT-JUNK?'s own FDD -- change it to your own estimate.
Total cost of ownership over 5 years
$422,300 – $543,500
Startup investment
$182,300–$303,500
Royalty per year (8%)
$48,000
Total royalty, 5yr
$240,000
When would you break even?
Revenue alone doesn't tell you this -- it depends on what's left after rent, labor, and everything else. 1-800-GOT-JUNK?'s FDD doesn't disclose a reliable profit figure (most franchisors don't), so this starts from a typical home services profit margin (~15%) and applies it to the revenue you entered above -- adjust the percentage to your own realistic estimate.
Defaulted to a general home services industry benchmark, not a figure from 1-800-GOT-JUNK?'s own filing -- this is a starting point to adjust, not a promise about what franchisees actually make.
At that profit, you'd break even in about
2.0–3.4 years
Weigh that payback period against what you already know: 1-800-GOT-JUNK? is currently losing locations. A long payback period on a shrinking brand is a very different bet than the same payback period on a growing one.
Is 1-800-GOT-JUNK? actually growing?
Franchisors have to report, every year, how many locations opened, closed, or changed hands. Most franchise sites never show you this. Here it is:
Locations opened vs. closed, by year
ShrinkingFrom Item 20 of 1-800-GOT-JUNK?'s FDD, the section franchisors use to disclose real openings and closings.
| Year | Franchised units, start | Franchised units, end | Net change |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2023 | 133 | 133 | +0 |
| 2024 | 133 | 104 | -29 |
| 2025 | 104 | 92 | -12 |
Most recent year (2025): lost 12 franchised units, ending the year at 92 total.
What you're actually signing up for
The cost and growth numbers above are only part of the picture. These three FDD items are the ones a prospective franchisee tends to weigh most heavily once they're past the sticker price.
Training & ongoing support (Item 11)
1-800-GOT-JUNK? centralizes lead generation and customer calls through its own Sales Center and CRM system rather than running a conventional in-store training program -- Item 6's Sales, Marketing and Technology Fee (8% of Gross Revenue) funds that Sales Center, the CRM, and national advertising, PR, and social-media management, on top of the 8% royalty.
Territory protection (Item 12)
Rather than a single protected location, you're granted rights to a defined number of "subterritories" (a minimum of 8, up to 12) that make up your Territory, with the Minimum Royalty obligation assessed separately for each subterritory. The company reserves the right to authorize a regional Branding Cooperative, funded by up to a 5% fee, that franchisees in an area can be required to join if 65% of them (by revenue) consent.
Renewal & termination terms (Item 17)
5-year initial term, notably short next to most peers in this dataset, but with up to 3 additional 5-year renewal terms available (and further discretionary renewals possible), so a franchisee can stay in the system 20+ years. Disputes go through mediation in Vancouver, British Columbia (the company's home base) or arbitration administered by the AAA in King County, Washington -- both real out-of-state venues for a U.S. franchisee outside the Pacific Northwest.
How 1-800-GOT-JUNK? compares to other Home Services franchises
Across the 5 home services franchises we've hand-verified so far, the typical range to open runs $157,694–$276,561, with royalties averaging around 8.3% of gross sales (based on the 4 of them that charge a flat %-of-revenue royalty).
Keep going
- 1-800-GOT-JUNK? and 1-800 Water Damage are both home services franchises; 1-800 Water Damage's total investment starts about $39,397 lower than 1-800-GOT-JUNK?'s. 1-800 Water Damage Franchise
- 1-800-GOT-JUNK? and PuroClean are both home services franchises; PuroClean's total investment starts about $73,797 lower than 1-800-GOT-JUNK?'s. PuroClean Franchise
Where this came from: California DFPI Registration Application (Initial/Late Renewal), App ID APP00005762, filed 5/21/2026, effective 8/11/2026. FDD issued April 30, 2026. Item 5: $8,125 per subterritory; a minimum purchase of 8 subterritories brings the initial franchise fee to $65,000 (up to 12 subterritories = $97,500). Item 6: 8% royalty on Gross Revenue, with a per-subterritory Minimum Royalty floor of $1,200-$4,000/year if actual royalties fall short; a separate Sales, Marketing and Technology Fee is also 8% of Gross Revenue, plus an optional Branding Cooperative fee of up to 5% if one forms regionally. Item 7: $182,300-$303,500 total initial investment for the 8-12 subterritory range. Item 20 Table 1 franchised outlets; company-owned outlets, all held by affiliate 604816 LLC, grew from 8 to 46 over the same three years. You can pull the same filing yourself from the California DFPI's public franchise search. Filed 2026-05-21. None of this is investment advice -- get the franchisor's current FDD and talk to a real attorney or accountant before you sign anything.
If you see a different unit count elsewhere: franchisors only have to refile their FDD annually, so the numbers here can run 6–18 months behind a franchisor's own real-time marketing claims -- which often aren't independently verified, and sometimes count signed-but-not-yet-open locations. A gap isn't necessarily an error on either side; it's two different snapshots in time from two different sources.