Real Consumer Reviews and Ratings
Direct Buy Reviews and Ratings
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Direct Buy is a wholesale shoppers' membership club. The Direct Buy program offers discounted furniture, electronics, and other goods. Members must pay a "membership fee" in addition to a recurring annual fee. You also have the option to pay the entire amount up front or have it financed. The membership fees for Direct Buy can vary depending on that state you are in. Some Direct Buy members have reported paying upwards of $5,000 for a membership. Please check below for up-to-date Direct Buy reviews.
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3 Day Recision?
9/30/2008 - Kim of Ohio, USA writes:
Just one question that I think is very important; Isn't there a 3 day recision period they are supposed to offer. Ohio contract law requires that. If that is not offered, are they not holding their end of the contract?
Think twice before signing that contract...
9/30/2008 - christian of ct, usa writes:
Do not make the same mistake we did. This is one of the biggest scams in US. I and my wife recently bought a home. And of course with a new house you need a lot of staff. we decided to go with DB to ''save money''. Like everybody else they show us how you can buy items at a factory price. We where so happy. then we start ordering staff. Our first bedroom showed up after more then two months, damaged. We told them, they were nice saying that they are going to replace it wich they did after another month and half. Then other stuff showed up that we order from them, same story,plus scratchs and other missing parts. Make a long story short we start to wonder and check some other places and internet. Surprise, big surprise we realize that you can get same products cheaper or the same in couple days the most to have em deliver, and in most cases you can go and see the product, touch it, feel it not like DB. All you have to do is search and you will get a very good price. We regret it so much because we tough that we 're going to get so much stuff from this scammers and we end It up remodeling the house from other stores, web sites, etc. Not only that we are paying more and wait more we have to pay the membership to. Some real facts from DB are that you have to pay for handling, shipping and of course tax. if you look closely you can actually see how much they charge for this fees that is better off to go and buy it from a regular store in most cases, plus you will get it a lot more faster. Shame on you Direct Buy!
Not worth the savings !
9/25/2008 - Sam of Alberta, Canada writes:
We have been DB members for 4 years and have regretted it ever since we joined. The service at our location in Calgary is abysmal. The sales people are virtually useless and do nothing except put your order in. All of our custom orders have been screwed up and they don't have the whole line of a manufacturers goods as they supposedly claim to. If you do have a problem, good luck getting it resolved. We have saved money on a few things but it's not worth the cost of putting up with the lousy service.
Direct buy
9/24/2008 - Joseph of Nevada, US writes:
This is one greedy stupid scam. Additionally, reps are pushy and impolite. Would not recommend to anyone. Las Vegas, NV.
Direct Buy, What a scam
9/22/2008 - Robert of rhode island, usa writes:
Direct Buy, What a scam!!! My wife and I are in the process of remodeling our current home and were looking for prices on dishwashers. I came across their website and requested information on what I thought was a simple price on one. However, what I received was a phone call from a sales person asking me for a date and time to check out their facility. Now, I have seen alot of pitches before and this on was no different. They have an infomercial with all the right information in it as well as the atmosphere that they want you to see. So, we sat through this session and listened with 2 other couples. What a joke. A complete waste of my time. After thier little presentation during which they told us it was a $5800.00 investment for the first three years I almost left right then and there. Instead I gave it a little more time and I am glad I did. Because I found out what a scam this is. If you look around they only let you see a little of what they offer. I asked the sales girl who was with us for a price on a dishwasher and they could not beat the price at the local store by any more than a hundred bucks. What happened to 50%?? I don't believe one little bit of it. Not to mention that the sales girl was rude beyond belief to myself and my wife. Actually had the nerve to say to us if you can't afford this then what makes you think that you can afford to build a house. Nice, Real nice. When I told her that I was not joining it was not I see, as promoted in their informercial. But it was why not and tried all she could to pressure me and my wife into joining. No apprantly did not make her happy. Do not fall for it. Seems to me that the only way to save money is not to join.
You have to pay .25 for your own coffee @ DB? scam
9/20/2008 - FMP of illinois, usa writes:
My husband & I went to a Direct Buy in Naperville, ILL. Driving up at 9 am It looked as if it was closed! people were inside we were asked to take a seat in the waiting area watching direct buy commercials & looking at a fake cup of coffee. Which by the way cost .25 a cup. We were the only customers & he claimed he was waiting for another couple who didn't arrive. We went into this room with a bunch of chairs as he did the same pitch that was pitched with you all. I almost fell asleep it was so boring & the sales guy already told us what was on the video. All we really needed was a tankless water heater! They would NOT allow us to look at the show room, I was trying to wonder & he wouldn't let me. almost like the things were props! I must say, I am truely Thankful we didn't fall for it. I found this site after the fact & still saw it didn't make sense! Honestly why do we see these DB commercials on T.V. with ppl saying how much they saved on a Table? add the 5,6000.00 membership fee to that table price & ask yourself if its savings? its B.S. & I saw it when they asked for the $$ then and there or you couldn't return. Why because this is a scam? it just didn't make sense!
Directbuy Sued
8/31/2008 - Nancy of CT, USA writes:
DirectBuy Sued A federal lawsuit has been filed in U.S. District Court in Hartford against the national high-end DirectBuy franchise operation, accusing it of falsely telling prospective clients that they are getting furniture, appliances and other household products at manufacturer prices. In a lawsuit filed by attorney Seth R. Klein of Hartford, DirectBuy is accused of hiding the fact that DirectBuy receives rebates from manufacturers which are not directly passed on to their members, who pay as much as $7,000 to join for two or three years. The lawsuit, which seeks to be certified as a class action representing thousands of present and former members of the more than 100 franchises, was filed earlier this month. It follows a May 11 Watchdog column on DirectBuy that disclosed the rebates, which are kept secret from its members and from those it entices to join through high pressure sales techniques. DirectBuy officials had no comment on the suit but had said earlier that it uses the millions of dollars it received in rebates to the benefit of its members. We will see what a jury has to say about that.
DO NOT BUY
8/28/2008 - of FL, USA writes:
My Wife and I went into the local office in West Palm Beach, and from the get go I thought that these people were too nice. But they showed us the hour presentation and told us that if we did no buy today we could not come back for life ( that’s a bunch of CRAP, PLEASE DO NOT FALL FOR THIS) I told my wife that we can’t afford there $5000 memberships. My wife talked me into signing up with the WORST COMPANY IN HISTORY. What we did was we made a $500 dollar deposit and we would pay it off in the next 2 years (sounds good right) Let me tell you what happens when you sign the contract, These people sold the loan to a bank that I have never heard of the first week. What I found out is that when you sign the contract you are giving these people the right to go out and apply for a loan in your name. This company went out and got a $4500 loan in our name at a 18% interest rate and we tried to cancel the membership and they said that there’s nothing they can do about it, because they already got there money. IF YOU ARE READING THIS PLEASE I BEG YOU STAY AWAY FOR THIS COMPANY THEY ARE CROOKS.
Worst Investment Ever! BEWARE
8/25/2008 - Ankur of PA, Allegheny writes:
My wife and I became DB members in 2006 and have thoroughly regretted the experience. The customer service is absolutely atrocious. After they got our money for signing up on the first visit (WHAT A TOTAL SCAM) they really don't care about your orders, how to save you money, or whether the products are defective or not. We ordered a full dining room set months agon and WE STILL HAVE NOT RECEIVED IT YET!!! It has been 6 months, one failed delivery attempt, and many, many phone calls later now (most of which don't even get returned). Each time we finally get a hold of someone they tell us a different story. The shipper had a problem, or the order had a problem, etc. They finally arranaged the shipment for delivery 6 weeks ago but when they came to the house the China and the Buffet were BROKEN!!! What's the point of paying an 8% Handling Fee along with the totally outrageous shipping charge if they don't even inspect the goods before delivery. We are still waiting for delivery of our furniture. And worst of all, I did some research and the EXACT furniture that we ordered could have been found from one of the North Carolina distributors and we could have ordered with FREE shipping and 5% LESS then the so-called Direct Buy Savings price. Direct Buy is a total SCAM. I can't beleive that they are still in business. Please don't make the mistake that we made. BEWARE!!! In a few weeks, if we don't get our furniture I will definately be calling the better business bureau.
hHuge discounts on Kitchen Cabinets?
8/24/2008 - Ron of Florida, usa writes:
Beware Beware! As a Kitchen Designer/Sales Person and Order Expediter let me inform you about pricing. All kitchen cabinet manufacturers publish a specification/price book which contains a retail price. Cabinets are Never sold at those prices. The retail consumer pays only 40 - 70% of those prices. The price books are what Direct Buy is using to convince clients that they are receiving a special price when in reality it is no different from the prices that anyone can get at [] or any other kitchen cabinet outlet.
Don't Bother its a Scam
8/13/2008 - Pete of Calironnia, USA writes:
My wife and I went to their closest franchise store, a 35 minute drive, this afternoon for their 90 minute tour. It started with a quick introductory meeting with someone who called himself a director followed by three video segments interspersed with pitches from a manager telling us how much retail prices are marked up and comparing their prices on a number of products. The video emphasized that they had rules and that we would not be allowed to shop their prices, also that if we didn't agree to join today for $6982 we would never be allowed to return. We were then taken on a 10 minute walk around the store which consists mainly of catalogs and some fabric and flooring samples. Then the four couples were separated with two couples each meeting together with one director. In our group the main questions were why weren't we told that we had to choose today or never and that if we didn't they would take our name tags and show us the door. I asked to look at the catalogs to see more about what they had and the prices, I was told that they are not a store and that the catalogs would be opened only after we paid the $6,982. The director then showed us the payment options which were in full now or financing over two years through a separate finance company, apparently from this site a subsidiary of Direct Buy, at what he said was a somewhat high rate (17.4% I think). When he asked us to sign up both couples asked for time to talk privately and we were shown to tables in separate rooms; after just a few minutes the man from the other couple found us saying that he was in the security business and could tell from looking at me that I was very suspicious, as was he. While he was talking with us the manager who'd given the presentation noticed, a hard look ensued, and our director quickly hustled over and stood discretely by, but close enough to hear what was being said. Even after the other man left and the director sat down the high pressure tactics continued even after I'd taken off my name tag. When we told him no he showed us to the lobby and said there's the door.
DirectBuy works on the Time-Share concept!
8/11/2008 - Eric of Florida, USA writes:
My wife and I had an appointment to the Open House in Pensacola, Florida on 08/08/08. We drove over an hour to Pensacola and had to call them to let them know we were going to be running a little late. It was then we were informed that we were not suppose to bring our yound son with us since the Open House would be approximately 1.5 hours to 2 hours long! Once I heard that, I cancelled and we went to another furniture store in Pensacola. What can you possibly miss in discounted furniture prices and memebrship if it was explained to you in 20 minutes or less? My wife called the 1-800 number later and wanted a Customer Service number. The telemarketer told my wife that she could not give out the number BUT we could call Customer Service!?! Oh, so know every customer has to be physcic in order to come up with a good number? This is undoubtedly a scam process!
A Fraudulent Business Model
8/8/2008 - Cresence of Virginia, USA writes:
I went to a DirectBuy presentation, checked it out with others, etc. DirectBuy operations make their money by selling very high-priced memberships, not by providing great buys or customer service. Anyone who seriously expects the latter is living in a fantasy world. DirectBuy is a franchise operation. If one closes down or fails to deliver, other DirectBuy operations have no reason to pick up the slack. Why should they? They didn't get the membership fee and there's no other financial reason for them to help out. This situation is tailor-made for franchisees who sell as many memberships as possible and then either close down or short their members. Anyone who seriously thinks this operation is bona fide should go to the U.S. Patent Office website and find out who really owns the DirectBuy trademark. Google on the name. You'll find that this parent company has a widespread reputation for consumer fraud and unscrupulous business practices connected to membership marketing.
Customer Service Non-existant
8/1/2008 - Sandra of Florida, USA writes:
I was in the middle of remodling a home I had inherited from my parents. I went to a Direct Buy Open House. I liked what I saw so I joined. Now I am not complaining about the products and merchandise, it's the customer service I would like to warn you about. I used their measuring service for the cabinets in the kitchen. When the cabinets arrived there was one that didn't even fit through the doors. I called to let them know that I was having problems with the cabinet. They said that the measuring service didn't measure the doorways, that they have never had a problem. I was told (by the rep I was talking to that they would talk to the installers to see if they had any ideas. Never heard from her again. I followed up and left two voice messages for her but it didn't matter, she wasn't calling me back. I then spoke with one of the owners, I let him know what happened with the cabinets and that I was very unhappy about the rep not returning my calls. The owner was very apologetic and said he would look into it. In the meantime this is Florida the cabinet was sitting outside (covered with plastic) and I needed to get it inside out of the weather. I finally gave up and hired a contractor on my own who came in and took out a kitchen window to get it inside. During this process they took out an awning over the kitchen window and tore the cardboard on the backing of the (all wood upgraded) cabinet. I called the owner back and told him what happened. He tells me Let me see what I can do and I'll call you back. Did he return the call? No! Last Wednsday I called another rep to ask about a quote to get cabinets installed, was told it may be Saturday before I call you back, well it's been ten days and I still haven't heard back from anyone about the cost of installing the cabinets. Now I know a lot of people in the construction business are hurting right now so I really don't think that they are having problems getting a quote, they just don't follow up on customer care.
It occurs to me....
7/27/2008 - Pete of TX, USA writes:
As the owner of an older home in need of renovation, I watched the commercials for Direct Buy. I generally assume any SAVE BIG BUCKS NOW! pitch is a scam. Based upon the reviews here, I'd say most agree DB is. It occured to me that the Direct Buy business model is similar to the way health clubs used to operate ([] for example) - a huge upfront fee, with much lower annual fees after the first few years. These smaller payments from older customers might pay the water bill, but it's the new client's chunk of change that made for the same type of high pressure sales tactics that DB and timeshare salesmen use. It also occured to me that DB most likely does not care if you ever order products from them. But if you do, they add 8%; and from what I have read, DB greatly inflates the shipping charges. It's win-win for them. If they get suckers to pay the 5k for membership, it's free money. All they need to do is keep the lights on, and pay the rent on the very spartan showroom. After that they don't care if they ever see you again. You're a liability - getting in the way of ushering new pidgeons around the store. Why do you think DB's customer service is almost uniformly damned on here? Because they don't want customers, they want new membership fees. If they wanted you to purchase products from the catalogs they would make it much more convenient. It sounds like they make it as big of a pain in the ass as possible. Really quite a clever scam. I'd love to get the inside scoop from a former employee. I bet they have some great stories.
I woud not join again
7/27/2008 - Joe of MA, USA writes:
Yes, it is a scam. We joined about a year ago because the promise savings of up to 50% and more off. We just bought [] hardwood flooring at 3.59 Square foot which you can buy for almost the same price at []. Now add 5% tax, Now add 8% charge because they wont deliver to your house but to direct buys warehouse and then delivery charge at 3 dollors a box (62 boxes total 186 dollars delivery ) They nickle & dime you. This is just one thing of many, DONT JOIN
I'll let you know
7/23/2008 - AL of Indiana, USA writes:
I have joined Direct Buy and the upfront cost was $3,339 for the first 2 years and $298 for the next 6. I am fixing up a 100 year old house to sell and building a house in a few years. I am currently in sales for a large office furniture company and sell some of the same products that they do. Some people are right about mid to high end products. Don't look for $100 office chair here. I compaired the discount on some of the furniture that they offer to what I offer. Apples to apples. When it comes to what I compaired, the discount is deep. I think it was worth it at least I hope because of me building a new home. Oh, you can even buy automobiles. I will give this 3 stars from what I have seen so far.
DB: major do-it-yourself high-end custom work
7/23/2008 - Jaimme of CA, USA writes:
I recently went to DB, expecting showroom. Little do I know that I have to spend 2 hrs on the sales pitch for almost $7,000 membership fee, with the requirement of immediate decision making at that session. They offered me few minutes to think over, however. I was also prepared with few sample items to see the price advantage. They did not allow me to see the comparision until I joined. After walking out DB and with a no buying decision, I came to find out a friend who joined DB. I asked my friend to look up the items on-line, and none of them was available. Other items require to visit the showroom in order to get the price. Since the closest showroom is, 45 minutes driving, this is not worth the time. In my opinion, DB is not for the typical consumer. They are geared toward major do-it-yourself high-end custom work, such as home remodeling. If you're not in such category, the other savings are not worth the research and time investment, including having to order at the showroom only which is not available on-line). My friend reference that before doing the research on what to buy, he has to go to the showroom to get the list of manufacturing first, and only research (to buy) for items on that manufacturing. After the major re-modeling at his house, he admitted there is some saving involved if you're willing to do extensive leg work, but still far from recoving the membership investment. This is because the contractor offered at DB do not come to your house, thus they did not want to go through DB for their cabinets. If you decide to join DB, make sure the showroom is local and you don't mind visiting it very often. Come prepared with do-it-yourself home improvement projects in mind. This will give the most value.
Horrible Customer Service
7/22/2008 - Teresa of BC, Canada writes:
We joined Direct Buy when they were called [] 8 yrs ago. The prices seemed unbeatable & we were literally sucked in by their salespeople. Most small items we needed were cheaper at []o or on sale at other retailers. The big items like appliances are definitely cheaper at DB but you can't return the defective product. You also have to find a way to bring these huge items home. No home delivery from the Vancouver DB. Over the years we have bought a few items & we have noticed how horrible the customer service is. When you want to order something, you go to their showroom & they have one book per supplier. You have to wait until other customers are finished using the book. You must walk from table to table to see if someone is using the book. Then you have to wait for a clerk to take your order. They have only one or two clerks who can take your order. It is so annoying & can take over an hour to order one little thing. I think they have bad service on purpose because once they have your membership fee they don't benefit from your orders. They don't care if you ever come back. Today, I called to inquire about some paintings I had ordered 10 weeks ago. 8 weeks ago they had called to say one of the paintings was no longer available so I assumed they were shipping the rest soon. Untrue, I found out they were shipped last week!! So this is a warning for anyone who isn't doing a major remodeling job. If you live in Canada & the order comes from the states, you won't save much money because of the handling fees, freight charges, duty charges & brokerage fees. Ordering from Direct Buy only causes aggravation to your life. They really don't care about you once you have paid the joining fee. There is literally no customer service. Once you receive your item & it's defective, you are on your own. This is the last year we will be renewing our membership. We kept renewing for $200 because we thought our kids would need to buy the big ticket items. But after the few items we ordered for them this year, I think we've had enough of bad customer service.
Advance Fee Savings Scam
7/22/2008 - Josh of Ohio, USA writes:
Yes you are right. It's a scam, a variation of the Advance Fee Fraud scheme, parting people from their money. Here’s how it works: the potential victim is enticed to enquire about more information after watching a compelling infomercial, hearing a radio-add, or seeing any number of slick internet spam adds promising insider savings. An informative letter/packet is sent afterwards inviting them to an open house so they can see for themselves how much others like them have saved and how much they themselves would save, along with some form of an invitation to join, called a Visitors-Pass. The letter and subsequent follow-up telephone calls promise rich rewards of savings by buying direct from the manufacturer, at cost, with no Mark Up, No Middleman, just like many other savy insiders do if only they were members of this so called highly esteemed and long time in business organisation. Typically, the pitch at the open house includes mention the so called fact that tens or hundreds of thousands of other smart and savvy insider consumers have saved along with a slick selection of what they have saved. You, too, can begin saving as soon as you join this elustrous group by signing a membership agreement costing thousands of dollars payable in advance of receiving any benefits - you are told that amount is paltry compared to the savings you will obtain over a 10 year period - and you must sign the contract on a now or never basis. You are even made to feel stupid if you don’t sign - only a fool would not take advantage of the savings and be part of this special and privaleged Insiders club" -- spend a little to save a lot sort of thing. If you’re not saying scam by now, you should be. Should you agree to participate in this Advance Fee savings scam, something will go wrong. Savings evaporate or wrong or defective merchandise will be ordered or order delays or order mishaps and screw-ups. You will not be allowed to cancel your membership and get out of the deal. If you decide to order merchandise, money from you, in advance of receiving the merchandise an insignificant sum, really, in light of the windfall of savings about to land in your lap will be required to order merchandise without any written guarantees of actually saving money. You pay, you wait for the merchandise, and all you’ll get in return are more excuses about why the order is held up and assurances that everything can be straightened out if you’ll just be patient and wait a little while longer or send a bit more to pay for this or that price increase. Once you start making threats, these scammers will threaten to sue you if you don’t make good on your end of paying for the membership contract in full. Beware that the Membership Agreement is in reality nothing more than a legally binding sales contract that may have been glossed over in light of all the savings you are excited about expecting. Carefully look at it - it contains NO GUARANTEES OF SAVINGS - instead there is a NO ORAL PROMISES clause: No oral promises or statements not contained in this Membership Agreement shall bind or obligate the club. It’s like a get out of jail free card - they can tell you anything pie in the sky in the open house tour or over the phone to get you to join, but once you sign the sales or Membership Agreement, you agree to the NO ORAL PROMISES clause! So what happens if it turns out not to be what you expected? Ouch. Too late. You’re stuck. That NO ORAL PROMISES clause comes back and bites you. Want a refund? Beware that the Membership Agreement states: Members understand this program is not sold on a trial basis and that no refund of membership fees will be made. So you only partially paid on your contract and think that you’re just not going to pay the rest of the contracted amount? Beware that the Membership Agreement states further: Members do not have the right to terminate the Membership Agreement without paying the amount remaining for this Membership. And if you think you’re going to get a refund because you never found anything cheaper and therefore didn’t use the club, think again. There’s a clause in the Membership Agreement about this too: The Membership Agreement is not conditioned on the use of this Membership. In a nutshell, the con works by blinding the victim with promises of an unimaginable fortune of what others like them have saved, what they could have saved if only they joined earlier, and what they can expect to save by joining now. Once the sucker is excited and sufficiently glittery-eyed over the prospect of what he or she would do with all the money he will save, he is then squeezed for however much membership fee in full at the time of joining or have the sales contract balance immediately financed by a separate finance company, actually a subsidiary of the parent scam company. The money the victim parts with willingly, thinking What’s $5,000 here when I’m going to end up saving over $50,000 when this is all done? He fails to realize during the sting that he’s never going to actually get the promised savings because all of savings are expressly disclaimed in the fine print of the contracts and merchandise ordering materials. The very sales contract, which the victim was at first eager to sign, now comes back to bite him with all those adverse terms and conditions. All of this messing around is designed to part him/her from their money. Once the scam is explained, it seems so obvious a con that you’d wonder who would fall for it. Yet fall for it people do because they’re mesmerized by the wealth that will soon be theirs in the form of all the savings by not paying any markup or middleman costs - and how smart they are by taking advantage of the join now or never opportunity. They also fail to realize there’s a hook hanging just out of sight; at first all they see is that others are getting savings and they want to join this cadre, thus they’re ill-prepared to mentally shift gears when the con artists turns the tables. Because the premise of saving tons of money is wholeheartedly swallowed early on, it’s not at a later point questioned when things begin to go wrong with the transaction and the dupes who have been targeted find out the hard way that there is a no refund policy on all the money they have paid in advance of receiving these now questionable savings. Beware paying in advance for something for nothing, no written guarantees of promises made should send you running, especially in light of the tactics of Be like me, I’m a member and I’ve saved money.
