THE BIZOP NEWS

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The great thing about the internet is how it makes the past present.  What was previously long forgotten becomes accessible for those doing due diligence.

For example, consider Davis Freeberg's reivew of Vois.

More often then not, companies like talking with bloggers because we give free publicity, but if you give enough interviews, then sooner or later you're bound to step on a land mine. After having spent a great deal of time researching Vois, I had a lot of questions with no answers, so I reached out to Herbert Tabin asking for an interview. Unfortunately, Mr. Tabin wasn't interested, but Vois Co-founder Craig Agranoff was happy to chat in public. ...

He is also the co-founder of Jicka.com, a Craigslist competitor that Agranoff, Schultheis and Tabin are also involved in.

Schultheis and Tabin.  Those names rang a bell.  After a bit of paid reseach, I found two press releases:

BOCA RATON, Fla., Aug. 4 /PRNewswire/ -- Mr. Cigar, Inc. announced the launch of its first cigar humidor vending machine, Mr. Cigar "your personal humidor," which dispenses mass-market and premium cigars. Mr. Cigar's automated humidor holds up to 200 cigars ranging in price from $2 (mass- market) cigars to $25 (premium) and keeps them perfectly humidified until purchased. Mr. Cigar will be placed in cigar-friendly restaurants, country clubs, golf courses, cruise ships and casinos nationwide. The roll out of Mr. Cigar is anticipated in late August. The machines currently accept U.S. currency of all denominations up to $20 and eventually are anticipated to accept all major credit cards.

What sets Mr. Cigar apart from all other cigar vendors and vending machines, is the Mr. Cigar franchise opportunity. This program is designed to keep the franchisees' out-of-pocket costs low, as well as provide quality operational and marketing support.

"Our franchise opportunity is expected to offer prospective entrepreneurs an incredibly attractive income potential with minimal maintenance so we can conveniently provide access to fresh, quality cigars, 24 hours a day, seven days a week," said Gary Schultheis, chairman of the board and president.

The initial start-up cost for a Mr. Cigar humidor is expected to be approximately $2,000 as compared to a $14,500 start-up cost for other competing cigar companies.

The humidor requires only water and restocking every 90 days or as necessary and is equipped with a loading rack to minimize time spent on location.

Cigar consumption in the U.S. continues to increase with some experts estimating supply won't meet demand for the next three to five years. The unit growth in 1996 for premium cigars was 67%; 14% for mass-market cigars. All this translates into a $1.3 billion U.S. market in cigars.

Some analysts believe imports for 1997 will exceed 330 million cigars as compared to 294 million for '96. "These are phenomenal numbers for growth in the premium and mass-market cigar industry," said Herbert Tabin, Mr. Cigar COO. "We plan to capitalize on these growth opportunities, but most importantly we are positioning ourselves to broaden cigar distribution channels through the placement of Mr. Cigar humidors."

Mr. Cigar Inc. is in the business of automated cigar vending through vending machines developed and manufactured for the company. 

Date: January 26, 1998 Publication: PR Newswire

BOCA RATON, Fla., Jan. 26 /PRNewswire/ -- International Industries, Inc. (OTC Bulletin Board: ININ) announced today that it has acquired an 80% interest in Mr. Cigar, Inc., a franchisor of a unique new dispenser for mass- market and premium cigars via a fully-automated vending humidor. Both companies are based here.

As part of the acquisition, Gary Schultheis, co-founder of Mr. Cigar, has been named President and CEO of International Industries. Schultheis brings his extensive Wall Street experience in mergers and acquisitions to the company. "Prior to the recent cigar craze, the cigar market was still a $2 billion market; our vending machine should allow our franchisees to take advantage of the prevailing market and generate substantial profits for themselves, as well as the company." said Schultheis.

Mr. Cigar, Inc. franchises the "Mr. Cigar" fully automated vending humidor, which dispenses mass-market and premium cigars. The automated humidor holds up to 200 cigars ranging in price from $2 (mass-market) cigars to $35 (premium) and keeps them perfectly humidified until purchased.

In November _97, the Mr. Cigar vending humidor made its international debut to a celebrity-filled audience at The Living Room at the Strand in Miami.

Gary Schultheis and Herbert Tabin incorporated Mr. Cigar, in Florida in 1996 and the corporation was dissolved by the state in 2000.

Boca Raton and vending fairly scream out business opportunity fraud!

But during the two FTC Bizop sweeps in 1998, Operation Vend Up Broke, and in 2000, Project Biz-illion$, there was no mention of Mr. Cigar.

There were however 5 other Cigar business opportunities, during 1999-2000, which were prosecuted as frauds by the FTC.

The next time Davis interviews some the principals in Vois, perhaps he can ask what happened to Mr. Cigar, and ask for the business opportunity registration from Florida.