Uptown Cheapskate Franchise Cost, Revenue & Review 2026
Data from FDD filing + SBA 7(a) records
Analysis by FranchiseVerdict Research · Methodology
Uptown Cheapskate is a resale-retail franchise buying and selling gently used, on-trend clothing and accessories for teens and young adults. Franchisees run stores sourcing inventory directly from local sellers, then pricing and reselling.
FranchiseVerdict summary · 2026
A Uptown Cheapskate franchise requires a total initial investment of $328K – $597K, including a $35K franchise fee and an ongoing 5.0% royalty[2]. Per the 2026 FDD, average unit revenue was $1.4M[2]. SBA 7(a) loans show a 3.0% charge-off rate across 100 loans[1]. FranchiseVerdict grade: A (Strongest tier), an editorial assessment, not investment advice. Run a live ROI scan →
Data last verified · figures per the 2026 FDD issuance
Overview
- Investment
- $328K – $597K
- 61st pct Business Serv…
- Avg gross sales
- $1.4M
- 16th pct Business Serv…
- Royalty
- 5.0%
- 5th pct Business Serv…
- Units
- 129
- 51st pct Business Serv…
- SBA charge-off
- 3.0%
- % of SBA 7(a) loans not repaid · median varies by category
Quick verdict · Business Services · color = vs category peers
Green = favorable by >10% vs Business Services avg · No shading = within ±10% · Red = unfavorable by >10% · Source: FDD filings + SBA 7(a)
Data from public FDD filings and SBA records. Not financial advice. Methodology
Bottom line
- COSTTotal investment $328K – $597K including a $35K franchise fee, 5.0% ongoing royalty.
- RETURNSAverage unit revenue of $1.4M/year (median $1.2M), with an estimated 27% cash-on-cash return (based on Net Income (10)).
- RISKVerdict A (Strongest tier), verdict score 79/100 (higher is better). SBA loan charge-off rate of 3.0% across 100 loans (well below the franchise average, based on all SBA 7(a) franchise lending, 2010–2025).
Item 1 · who you're contracting with
The Franchisor
Corporate structure & franchisor financials
- Legal entity
- Uptown Cheapskate Franchise System, LLC
- Parent company
- BaseCamp Franchising, LLC
- Ultimate parent
- BaseCamp Parent, LLC
- Predecessor
- Uptown Cheapskate, LLC
- Prior franchisor entity
- CEO title
- Co-CEO
- Zach Gordon and Tyler Gordon
- Incorporated in
- Delaware
- HQ
- 39 E. Eagle Ridge Drive, #100, North Salt Lake, Utah 84054
- Auditor
- Citrin Cooperman & Company, LLP
- Audited financials
- Franchisor revenue
- $13.6M
- vs $15.5M prior year
Overview
About
- CEO
- Zach Gordon and Tyler Gordon
- Headquarters
- UT
- Founded
- 2009
- FDD year
- 2026
- States available
- 25
Can you afford it, and what does the money buy?
Entry cost runs 66% above the typical business services franchise.
Source: FDD 2026 · Items 5–7
FDD Item 7 · 2026 filing
Initial investment breakdown
| Cost component | Low | High |
|---|---|---|
| Initial franchise fee | $35K | $35K |
| Working capital (3–6 mo) | $40K | $68K |
| Equipment, build-out, other | $253K | $494K |
| Total initial investment | $328K | $597K |
Source: Uptown Cheapskate 2026 FDD, Items 5 and 7[2]. “Equipment, build-out, other” is computed as total minus disclosed line items above.
Item 7 · what it costs to open + operate
The Vitals
- Total investment
- $328K – $597K
- Middle of category vs category
- Liquid capital req'd
- $40K – $68K
- Middle of category vs category
- Franchise fee
- $35K – $35K
- Top 40% of category vs category
- Royalty
- 5.0%
- Gross Sales · typical 6–8%
- Ad fund
- 0.5%
- typical 3–5%
- Total fee load
- 5.5%
- vs 9–13% typical
- Payback period
- 3.7 yrs
- From FDD / Item 19
Ongoing fees · Item 6
| Fee | Amount |
|---|---|
| Royalty | 5.0% of gross sales |
| Marketing / ad fund | 0.5% of gross sales |
| Technology fee | $350 |
| Transfer fee | $25K |
| Renewal fee | $25 |
| Total fee load | 5.5% of rev |
A 5.5% total fee load is unusually lean. More of each revenue dollar stays with the franchisee.
What do units actually make?
Average unit sales land near the business services norm.
Source: FDD 2026 · Item 19
Single-unit · estimated
Returns at a glance
Indicative numbers using FDD Item 7 / Item 19 inputs and category-benchmarked cost ratios. Full single-unit, 25-unit portfolio, and LBO models (with every input editable to stress-test your own scenario) live on the financials page.
Store EBITDA · annual
$246K
17.5% margin
Unlevered ROIC
48%
EBITDA / total invested capital
Payback
25 mo
cash-on-cash, unlevered
ROI & LBO modelsSingle-unit · 25-unit portfolio · editable
FDD-reported earnings vs. model
The FDD reports $227K as Net Income (10). Our model estimates $246K SLEBITDA from the same revenue using category-average cost assumptions. These numbers differ because Net Income (10) deducts different expense categories than our model.
What one unit earns on your invested capital
Model A · Single-Unit Return
Computes unlevered return on invested capital (ROIC) for a single franchise unit. The target band for an attractive franchise is 30–60% ROIC. Below that and a passive index fund likely outperforms; above that and the franchisor has pricing power you're subsidizing.
Note: Item 19 revenue is what the franchisor discloses. It's the top line only. Operating costs below are category estimates. Override them to match your real lease quote, labor market, and build-out budget.
Returns model · single-unit ROIC
What would one Uptown Cheapskate unit return on the cash you put in?
Unlevered ROIC · per unit
Estimated return on your total franchise investment, before any debt financing.
48%
Within the 30–60% "attractive franchise" band
What 25 units return when you use SBA financing
Model B · Return on Equity: Debt-Financed Acquisition
Models a 25-unit portfolio acquisition financed with an SBA 7(a) loan. Shows equity IRR (your return on cash invested), DSCR (how safely the cash flow covers debt service), and the capital stack (SBA + seller + equity breakdown).
This is the “search fund” or “entrepreneurship through acquisition” scenario: you buy an existing multi-unit operator, use leverage to amplify returns, and either operate or hire management. The 25-unit size is the typical minimum for an SBA-backed franchise portfolio acquisition to pencil as a full-time income.
What “return on equity” means here: if you put in $500K of your own cash and the business generates enough EBITDA to pay down debt and grow, your equity IRR is the annual return on that $500K, including the value created when you eventually sell. Target IRR for a search fund is typically 25–35%.
Levered LBO scenario · Yale Crease Capital framing
What would 25 Uptown Cheapskate units return on equity?
Equity IRR · 5-yr
34.6%
4.42× MOIC
Year-1 DSCR
2.35×
EBITDA ÷ debt service
Equity required
$5.3M
on $14.8M purchase
Total debt
$9.4M
SBA $5.0M + senior + seller note
These models are for research and scenario planning only. Not investment advice. Actual results depend on your specific location, management, and market conditions. Consult a franchise attorney and accountant before signing any franchise agreement.
Item 19 · Source: 2026 FDD
Financial Performance
- Avg gross sales
- $1.4M
- Per unit, per year
- Median gross sales
- $1.2M
- Avg net income (10)
- $227K
- Reported as Net Income (10) in FDD Item 19
- Cash-on-cash
- 27.1%
- Based on Net Income (10) / investment midpoint
Gross sales are revenue before expenses — not profit. Actual owner earnings depend on rent, labor, royalties, marketing fees, and debt service.
- Item 19 type
- Annualized Average, Median and Range of Profit and Loss
- Sample size
- 115 outlets
- vs category median 35 · large
- Range (low → high)
- $403K→$3.9M
- Cohort dispersion (min → max)
- Reporting year
- 2025
- Fiscal year the figures cover
- Source filing
- FDD 2026
- Disclosed in the 2026 filing, covering 2025
- Transparency
- 9 / 10
- vs category median 3 / 10 · above
Compared against 296 Business Services brands
Operator outlook
What the numbers say
Data-driven interpretation of this brand's financial disclosures, fee structure, and system trajectory.
Unit economics
Average unit generates $1.4M/year in gross sales. Revenue-to-investment ratio: 3.0x.
Fee burden
Total ongoing fee load of 5.5% — below the Business Services average of 11.9%.
Disclosure
Transparency score 9/10 — this franchisor discloses detailed breakdowns (quartiles, segments, or cohort data). Buyers can model unit economics with higher confidence.
Source: FDD Item 19 financial performance representations and publicly filed FDD data. Past performance is not indicative of future results. Verify all figures with the franchisor and current franchisees before making any investment decision.
vs Business Services averages
How Uptown Cheapskate Compares
Is the system healthy?
Source: FDD 2026 · Item 20
Unit growth
Item 20 · unit dynamics
The Growth Chart
- Total units
- 129
- Opened
- 14
- Last reporting year
- Closed
- 0
- Turnover rate
- 0.0%
- Company-owned
- 14
- Corporate units in the system
- % franchised
- 89%
- vs corporate-owned
3-year detail · Item 20
- Transfers (3yr)
- 4
Last reporting year only, multi-year history not disclosed in this brand's FDD.
Item 20 · 34 states with active franchisees
The Territory Map
Derived from franchisee contact records. Shows states with at least one current operator. Not where the franchisor is registered to sell new units (that data is re-extracting in a future refresh).
States derived from franchisee contact records (FDD Item 20). Shows states with at least one current operator on file. Full state registration data (Item 12) will appear on a future FDD refresh.
SBA loan performance
Government records
SBA Loan Data
Aggregated from SBA 7(a) and 504 loan disclosures, public data unique to FranchiseVerdict.
- Total loans
- 100
- Loan volume
- $42.7M
- Median loan
- $373K
- 50th percentile
- Charge-off rate
- 3.0%
- rates vary by category · see methodology
Historical SBA 7(a) lending data, not predictive of future performance. How SBA charge-off rates are calculated
- Repayment rate (PIF)
- 97.0%
- 5-yr charge-off
- 0.0%
- Loans approved 2021+
- Active lenders
- 23
- Defaults
- 3
- Typical loan rate
- 7.2%
- avg rate to borrowers
- Franchised industry avg
- 5.8%
- brand beats franchise avg ↓
- Jobs supported
- 1,737
- 4.1 per loan
- Lender concentration
- 33%
- top lender's share
Borrower mix: 92% went to startups / new businesses, 8% to established operators
Franchise vs independent — in used merchandise stores, franchised businesses charge off at 5.8% vs 19.5% for independents — franchising is associated with 70% lower SBA default risk in this category.
Vintage analysis
Uptown Cheapskate charge-off rate by loan vintage
Top lenders financing Uptown Cheapskate franchisees
Showing 3 of 23 lenders. The full breakdown — every lender, state distribution, interest rates & risk ratings — is in the SBA Lending Report below.
Explore lender portfolios on Bank Reports or regional data on State Reports.
Premium insight
SBA Lending Report
Deep-dive into Uptown Cheapskate's SBA lending history: lender network, geographic footprint, interest rates, and more.
SBA Lending Report
- Principal loss rate and NAICS industry benchmark
- 10 lenders with concentration factor
- Per-state charge-off rates across 15 states
- Startup risk premium and job creation velocity
- 16-year lending trend
- SBA 504 real estate/equipment data
Instant access. No subscription.
What could kill this investment?
SBA loans charge off at 3.0% — 81% below the 16.0% national norm, i.e. lower lender-observed risk.
Source: SBA 7(a) FOIA · FDD Items 3, 21
Risk analysis
FranchiseVerdict rating + FDD Items 3, 4, 8, 16, 21
Risk & Legal
Healthy parent-level financials (net worth $13.47M, net income $686,504 on $19.27M revenue), no bankruptcy, no going-concern, Item 19 disclosed across a solid 129-unit system. Only concern is one historical predecessor arbitration (2014) over earnings-claim/support allegations that found the franchisee jointly owed $186,750 in rent offset. Matter is concluded.
Audited financials (Item 21)
Yes · Citrin Cooperman & Company, LLP
Franchisor revenue (Item 21)
Franchisor entity revenue (not unit-level)
ⓘ These are the parent company's consolidated financials (the parent guarantees the franchisor), not this brand's standalone results — the figure reflects the whole corporate group, not this brand alone.
Score breakdown · what drove the 79 / 100 verdict
- 01MINOROne concluded predecessor arbitration (2014) re: earnings claims, $186,750 award
- 02MINORStrong parent financials, no going-concern
- 03MEDItem 19 disclosed, 129-unit system
Severity inferred from the FDD text · not a regulatory classification
What are you signing up for?
Ongoing fees run about 5.5% of sales (royalty + ad fund), before rent and labor.
Source: FDD 2026 · Items 11, 12, 17
FDD Items 12, 15, 17 · continued from Risk & Legal
Contract & Territory Detail
| Initial term | 10 years |
|---|---|
| Renewal term | 5 years |
| Allowed renewalsℹ | 1 |
| Territory type | Circular area |
| Protected territory | Yes |
| Online sales rights | Restricted |
| Franchisor can compete | Yes |
| Hire a manager? | Allowed |
| Owner-operator | Required |
| Non-compete (years)ℹ | 2 years |
| Right of first refusalℹ | Yes |
| Termination notice | 30 days |
| Mandatory arbitration | Yes |
| Jury trial waiver | Yes |
| Governing law | Utah |
| Litigation count | 1 |
Items 10, 11
Training & Operations
- Classroom training
- 46 hrs
- On-the-job training
- 55 hrs
- POS system
- Baseline
- Operating tech stack
Items 5 & 11
Franchisor Support
Technology: Baseline
Item 20 · call current owners
Franchisee Contacts
207 owners to call
Name · phone · city · state. Extracted from FDD Item 20
FDD download
Uptown Cheapskate · FDD (2026) PDF
Frequently asked questions
Frequently Asked Questions
How much does it cost to open a Uptown Cheapskate franchise?
The total investment to open a Uptown Cheapskate franchise ranges from $328K – $597K, with an initial franchise fee of $35K. This includes real estate, equipment, inventory, and working capital as disclosed in their Franchise Disclosure Document (FDD).
What do Uptown Cheapskate franchise owners earn?
According to Item 19 of the Uptown Cheapskate FDD, the average gross sales per unit is $1.4M. The median is $1.2M. Note: this is gross revenue, not profit. Actual owner earnings vary based on location, operating costs, and management.
What is Item 19 in the Uptown Cheapskate FDD?
The FDD section where a franchisor may disclose financial performance of its outlets. Disclosure is optional and formats vary; figures are typically gross sales, which is revenue before expenses, not profit. FranchiseVerdict extracts these figures directly from the Uptown Cheapskate FDD and qualifies whose outlets they describe.
What is Uptown Cheapskate's franchise failure rate?
Based on SBA 7(a) loan data, Uptown Cheapskate has a charge-off rate of 3.0% across 100 loans, meaning 3.0% of franchise loans were charged off. Charge-off rates are one proxy for franchise risk, though they do not capture all closures. This data comes from FOIA-sourced SBA lending records.
How many Uptown Cheapskate franchise locations are there?
As of their most recent FDD filing, Uptown Cheapskate has 129 total units in the United States, including 115 franchised units and 14 company-owned units. 14 new units were opened in the latest reporting year.
Is Uptown Cheapskate a good franchise to buy?
FranchiseVerdict rates Uptown Cheapskate as a A-grade franchise with a verdict score of 79 out of 100 (higher is better), based on our analysis of investment costs, revenue data, SBA loan performance, and growth trends. Our rating is based solely on publicly available FDD and government data; we recommend speaking with current franchisees before making any investment decision. This is not investment advice.
Data sourced from public FDD filings and SBA 7(a) FOIA records. Not financial advice.
For franchisors
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Data extracted from public FDD filings and SBA 7(a) loan disclosures (FOIA). This information is provided for research purposes only and does not constitute financial, legal, or investment advice. Verify all figures with the franchisor's current Franchise Disclosure Document before making any investment decision.