Franchise Facts Report → brands → Cartridge World
Cartridge World franchise — is it worth it?
Medium risk Shrinking network
Cartridge World is a retail franchise in the printer cartridge refill and sales sector, requiring an initial investment between $75,150 and $106,800.
Everything below is free, read straight off Cartridge World's registered filing, with where the numbers land against retail peers. Weighing Cartridge World against other options? Get a free shortlist of franchises that fit your budget.
Figures above are as disclosed in Cartridge World's most recent FDD (registered 2024). Source: Minnesota Dept. of Commerce — CARDS franchise registrations · filing 31504-202404-11 — check it yourself. See every other Minnesota-registered franchise.
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Tell us your budget and the industries you're open to. We'll match you with 5–10 franchises whose own FDDs fit — ranked by earnings disclosure, growth and closure rate — and email you the list. Cartridge World will be on it if it fits.
Cartridge World franchise profit — what the FDD discloses
Plainly: Cartridge World does not disclose franchise profit or revenue. Its most recent FDD makes no Item 19 financial performance representation, so there is no franchisor-backed earnings figure for Cartridge World — any number quoted elsewhere is an estimate, not a disclosure. The absence is itself worth weighing (65% of retail franchisors in our corpus do disclose); the fees, litigation and outlet churn Cartridge World's FDD does contain are on this page. For brands that put earnings on paper, see Retail franchises with disclosed Item 19 earnings.
Cartridge World lawsuits & legal history (FDD Item 3)
Cartridge World's most recently filed Franchise Disclosure Document (2024) discloses no litigation in Item 3. That is a real signal rather than a gap: the FTC Franchise Rule requires a franchisor to disclose material litigation involving itself, its predecessors, parents, affiliates and management, so an empty Item 3 in a current filing means there was nothing it was required to report. It is worth reading alongside the churn numbers — a system can have a clean Item 3 and still be losing franchisees, which is what Item 20 shows.
Cartridge World closures & failure rate
Before you sign, Cartridge World will hand you a list of current owners to call as references — and they choose who's on that list. It won't include the owners who quit, got bought out, or were forced out last year. The FDD does report that number, even though the reference list leaves those people off. Below is what Cartridge World's most recent filing shows, and whether it's normal for a retail of this kind.
The closest thing an FDD has to a failure rate is Item 20 — outlet openings, closures, terminations and non-renewals, reported by the franchisor. Cartridge World's latest tables show a shrinking franchised network — more units left than opened. Its franchised-outlet closure rate — closures, terminations and non-renewals against outlets — is 7.4%, against a retail median of 4.3% — worse than the category. Net franchised outlets moved -28 to 107 in the latest reported year.
Who owns Cartridge World?
Cartridge World's franchise is offered by CWE America, LLC — the franchisor named on the cover of its most recently filed Franchise Disclosure Document (2024), and the entity a franchisee actually signs with. That name comes straight off the filing at MN CARDS; it identifies the franchisor, not necessarily the ultimate parent company behind it.
Compare Cartridge World head-to-head
Retail franchises at a similar investment level
Anyone weighing Cartridge World is really weighing it against the other brands their money could go into. These are the closest by total initial investment (FDD Item 7), each with its own FDD-based page.
Cartridge World franchise — frequently asked
Who owns Cartridge World — who is the franchisor?
Cartridge World's most recently filed FDD (2024) names CWE America, LLC as the franchisor — the entity you would actually sign the franchise agreement with, as stated on the disclosure document itself. A registry filing names the franchisor, not necessarily its ultimate parent company.
How much does a Cartridge World franchise cost?
Cartridge World's most recently filed FDD (Item 7) puts the total estimated initial investment at $75,150 – $106,800, with an initial franchise fee of $50,000 and a 8% royalty. That price is the franchisor's own estimate of what it takes to open, not a quote. Against retail peers it sits in the top quartile (median $319,750).
How much profit does a Cartridge World franchise make?
Cartridge World makes no Item 19 financial performance representation, so there is no franchisor-disclosed revenue or profit figure for Cartridge World at all — and profit would never be disclosed even where earnings are, because it depends on your rent, labor and how you operate. Any profit figure quoted elsewhere is an estimate, not a disclosure.
Does Cartridge World disclose financial performance (Item 19)?
No — Cartridge World's most recent FDD makes no Item 19 financial performance representation. Its absence is worth weighing: 65% of retail franchisors in our corpus do disclose.
Are there lawsuits against Cartridge World?
No — Cartridge World's most recently filed FDD (2024) discloses no litigation in Item 3. Franchisors must disclose material litigation involving themselves, their predecessors, parents, affiliates and management, so an empty Item 3 is a genuine signal rather than an omission.
Is Cartridge World a good franchise to buy?
Nobody can answer that from Cartridge World's numbers alone — it comes down to how its investment, earnings, litigation and franchisee churn stack up against retail peers and against your own budget. Our read on this filing is medium risk. Every figure behind that read is on this page for free. If you're comparing options, the free shortlist on this page matches you with 5–10 franchises that fit your budget and industry.
Get a free email when something changes on Cartridge World or retail: a new FDD registration, a new lawsuit, an outlet count that shifts, or Item 19 earnings going from undisclosed to disclosed. Pulled straight from the same state registries this page is built on.