Real Consumer Reviews and Ratings
Direct Buy Reviews and Ratings
Consumer Ratings - Page 8 of 24
Saxve your money
9/3/2007 - Anonymous of Washington, USA writes:
I am a builder and became a member to see what the deal was about. What an error in judgment! The whole thing is a bad joke. It is difficult to order, difficult to get to, not user friendly in any manner and over hyped. Save your money...I sure wish I did.
Out the door Quick !!!
9/1/2007 - David of Arizona, USA writes:
I went to their seminar but I never made it in the door. They check you out before you ever get to the sales pitch. after filling out the survey the salesman pulled me aside from the rest of the group and said that the membership was a only for those who are serious about joining and that it was an big investment. Hmmm why did he say that because I thought they were asking for way to much information when you walk in the door and I had wrote down occupations that were not great paying jobs...its all about the money if they think you don't have any they don't want you in the store for the pitch.
Go with your gut!
9/1/2007 - Pam of Arizona, USA writes:
When my husband and I signed up for the open house, we were curious about what they had to offer and asked lots of quesions such as how the concept works, fees, etc. We were told they couldn't give us that information...I felt like it was a covert operation! At the open house, we weren't even give the opportunity to attend the presentation. The salesman was very rude and told us that they expected us to purchase the membership after the presentation or we would lose our 'opportunity'. It truly is a scam, because everything is so secretive. It's almost like your expected to know all the information before you attend, and then when have the info, they act like 'why didn't you know this before'. Horrbile experience...Stay Away
Caveat Emptor
8/31/2007 - Mark of Manitoba, Canada writes:
Let the buyer beware. My wife set up an appointment with DB to attend one of their recruitment seminars. The sales rep was quite friendly and the savings they presented seemed very good as it was explained they included the freight and the "handling" fees. At the end of the presentation we were told the fee was $4590 for the first 3yrs and $195yr for the next 7yrs. This would be offset by the HUGE savings I was assured by all the video testimony. "We saved $22000 in only 3 years" "We saved over $100,000 since 1980" Does anyone know how much money they spent at [] or anywhere in the last 25yrs? Nevermind how much they saved! But we had to decide tonight. WHAT? WHY? I have never made a major purchase on furniture, cars, homes anything where the salesman said. If you leave now forget it. You can never come back if you don't buy it now! Think about that. Is that the company you want to do business with? I would suggest if you join you will save money if you are spending ALOT of money and agree to seriously limit your available choices of product selections. You will have to deal directly with the manufacturer for warranty. Mail it back to them, wait and wonder. Not taking it to the retailer and exchanging it. You also lose the satisfaction of the instant gratification you get when you buy your new power tool, tv, camera, etc. In closing we compared pricing on exact make and models of 3 of our latest major purchases (stove, granite counters, espresso machine) We purchased each at 20% lower than DB book prices and no freight or handling. In fairness our stove was a floor model.
Use your head...
8/23/2007 - Connie of Arkansas, USA writes:
My husband and I just returned from the "open house," and though we decided not to join, I just wanted to see if our opinion was shared by others. Apparently, we are not alone in our assessment. First, we felt like we were at a time share presentation, especially near the end, when we were told we needed to make our final decision on the spot. To me, if you have a great product or service, you don't need to apply undue pressure on someone to make a decision that involves thousands of dollars. You'd be happy to let someone go home, think about it, and realize that the deal is that good. But, I don't think the deal is that good. The presentation comparisons seemed impressive, though I would not have bought any of the items (I never heard of the brands on the display table). We had open minds, though, and spent more time going through the order books than the other couples present. We finally decided that the price mark-downs were not that good, esp. when compared to some products I recently bought (and I didn't even have to wait for delivery (3-5 weeks, for example)), nor pay for shipping on some of them. We are also in need of a lot of furniture items, and we just didn't like not being able to sit down and try out or examine the products. I would merely suggest that you go to the open house armed with prices and brands (don't forget model numbers!) of things you would purchase there, and have recently purchased. Then, do your own comparisons. List at least a dozen or more items, as they might not have all your brands. Then, use your head. I think you'll be able to arrive at an INFORMED decision that is right for you, whether you join, or not.
Not for everyone, but great for me.
8/22/2007 - Evan of Washington, USA writes:
I'll say right up front that I hated the sales pitch. It was long, redundant, and pretty condescending. And I hated the high pressure. But, I'd done a fair amount of research, pretty well knew what to expect, and knew that I would probably join before I walked in the door. I'm building a house, so I have the kind of large purchases that are a great match for this concept. I won't say that everything has been perfect, but I saved enough on the cabinets to pay for the membership over four times. Thus far, I've saved in the neighborhood of $40,000 on the house. I've had a couple of snags along the way, but the staff at my particular center has always been helpful and the owner has taken a personal interest in resolving any problems. If you're looking to purchase a couple of items here and there, DB may not be worth the initial investment, or the extra time it takes to know what you're ordering. But if you have a major project or need some high end goods and are willing to do some legwork, DB can save you money. It's not perfect, it's not for everyone, but it works for me and I would join again in a heartbeat.
Beware! Did not work for us! Cancel Immediately!
8/21/2007 - Kimberly of New Jersey, USA writes:
Please be aware that you can try to cancel this contract if you act immediately (even though the contract language says otherwise). If you leave Direct Buy feeling uneasy about your contract, than this may not be for you! We were successful! Consider calling them (local franchise) immediately and telling them that you want a refund of your dues. Also consider calling the corporate offices at 18008276400 and sending a certified letter. Our story - My husband and I were invited to attend a best buy open house. We were very skeptical but prepared to compare some cabinet prices when given the opportunity. The sales presentation was VERY long and exageratted. We compared the price of one individual base cabinet to our estimate from a local cabinet store. For the one cabinet, there was a substantial savings. Anyway, after 2.5 hours of sales presentations and being followed by one of the managers, we were very tired and worn down. We signed an agreement and left feeling uneasy. I had difficulty sleeping that night and the next day I had an opportunity to read all of the reviews/information available on the net. My impression is that you need to be a very savy customer to be able to use this club. You also need to have a lot of time to do a lot of big project planning and servicing yourself. I also subsequently found out that there would have been $0 savings on the built in refrigerator and high end dishwasher we were considering. Be careful but if you read this after you've signed, ACT QUICKLY!
Don`t go
8/21/2007 - Paul of Ontario, Canada writes:
Attended the open house and can only pass on that you better be ready for high pressure tactics and totally unsupported findings. Be fair to yourself and investigate your planned purchases before you go. I did not see anything above the 5 to 10% savings potential. (And I mean potential) Compare a brand name LCD TV was looking at 2%. Compared brand name engineered flooring product 5%. Granite counter top same price exactly. And last but not least kitchen cupboards-- first off I would not know where to start to design my own kitchen, would never attempt to put it in myself and would never consider paying $250 for the privilige of someone to do this that will have nothing to do with the instal. I did compare a bathroom vanity cabinet in solid Cherry and admit it looked like I had the potential for just under 10% savings. Next time the commercial comes on just turn the station and you will be truly saving money.
I intend to
8/19/2007 - Edward of Florida, USA writes:
I intend to devote some Saturdays to stand at the door of their outlet and let would be customers know the truth about this "club". Don't ask them to show you the catalogs, to allow you to speak to existing members, or about the claims they are making in their pressure sales speech because they will kick you out like they did me. They'll claim they don't want you as a member because of your attitude. I saw two members in the catalog room...didn't seem very happy. In fact the sales hound dog asked them while we were running through the center "Have you found anything yet" Wow what a question. The members kind of mumbled an answer.
Rip Off/Pyramid ?
8/18/2007 - Bruce of Texas, USA writes:
We singed up for Direct Buy open house. They called again and again to remind us. I tried to call 3 times to reschedule, and no one answered or ever called back. Finally I got them on the phone and they said "all appointments are full". I told the guy either I am coming in Sat at Noon or never intend to purchase a membership. His attitude changed to "Ok Sat at Noon then". I asked him for the prices. He said they do not give them out until after the "presentation" and "tour of the showroom open house" Red Flag We went in rather skeptical. After milling about for a few, they greeted us nicely. Gave us name tags like some high school reunion-ridiculous! We sat at a table and the man tryed to launch into his sales pitch. We insisted unless they told us the price of a membership right NOW, we were leaving right NOW. He said "it is an investment of several thousand dollars". We said "you are crazy" got up and left. End of story. If you buy this you are stupid.
A narrow escape
8/13/2007 - Alice of California, USA writes:
My husband and I signed up for a visit to one of their locations. Now, let me establish the fact that we are both highly qualified professionals, but we nearly fell for this one. We went in for the presentation and were greeted by the "Marketing Director" who I would not hire even as a clerk. Dressed all dapper, but I knew from the get go that this was going to be a high pressure sales pitch. We were not allowed to ask any questions during the presentation, or even look into my purse when the phone vibrated! After the presentation when we were attacked by individual sales reps, I asked them to show me solid examples of how their prices were better than the retailers. They let me peep into a catalog which was some ordinary wicker furniture which was actually more expensive than what I saw in stores and if you add shipping, it's just plain stupid! We eventually signed up (mind you - they dont let you read the contract while you sign up which says you can go back in a full refund within 3 business days)thinking we could use this opportunity to do some major remodeling on our new home. I know - totally stupid. That evening, when I got home, I read every letter in fine print on the catalog and it was stated clearly that you can get a refund within 3 days. We went back the next day and boy - were they disappointed to see us! We got our full money back and some great lessons learned. Guys - this is a bogus scam directed at milking the consumers. Please use your best judgement and know that retailers do have the best prices ( unless you are shopping online because they dont have the overhead of a store), and because retailers purchase products in mass quantities from manufacturers, they will almost inavriably have the best prices. Paying $6000 for membership to sit in a swanky room surrounded by catalogs, picking furniture out of a catalog is a lazy man's route. Be real, get out there, have fun exploring your retail options and stay clear of Direct Buy. There are other ways to spend money wisely. Good luck.
Timeshare sales tactics
8/12/2007 - Anonymous of Florida, USA writes:
After seeing the ads on TV for weeks, we signed up for the open house. We were greeted by one of the family members who own the local store. She was very nice. She showed us around to different areas of the showroon (furnishings, flooring, cabinets, etc) It all looked professional and normal. Although, looking back, i did not notice anyone "shopping", just being shown around. There appeared to be thousands of product catalogs that would be available to us if we joined, she said they were from all the manufactures with their entire line of products (I have no reason to not believe this). At the end, we sat for several professional infomercial type videos. I now felt like I was in a timeshare presentation. She then gave us "examples" from newspaper sale flyers on what is advertised and the savings if we bought that item from DB. Then the deal breaker. You have to decide to pay us $5,000 for a 2 year membership BEFORE YOU LEAVE, or never have the opportunity to join again. When I questioned her on this, she became visibly annoyed and she could not understand why I would not give her $5,000 without leaving to discuss it and comeing back tomorrow to sign up. What type of business model will refuse your $5,000 membership fee two days later after you thought about it???? She explained the reason is that we would use the information we gained to hurt the retail industry and that is not fair to the manufacturers! What clandestine information did we recieve??? It will also take 5-6 weeks to recieve what we buy. The saying is simple, "Buyer Beware". It may be good for you. For $5,000 and no time to think about it (other than in the store) I was not willing to take that chance. I have had softer sale tactics from car dealers.
Direct Buy- Beware-Carefully crafted scam
8/9/2007 - Kyu of Florida, USA writes:
I am remodeling our newly purchased home and thought we should take a look at DirectBuy based on the ads. I was called by the store rep who scheduled an appointment for me and followed up to confirm the appointment.. never had so many follow ups and emails which I thought was good to begin with. The storefront was quite nice what we would have expected, we were treated in the professional manner and introduced to the sales rep. Although I did not realize at that time, retrospectively I admired how carefully the entire meeting(scam) was staged and acted out... almost to perfection. These guys immediately gain control over you with thier set up so that you will soon be begging to be thier member. They enforce the rules quickly to put you in your place such as making sure they will not wait for you if you are late, forcing both my wife and myself to come together for the appointment, carefully checking our ID to see we are who we say we are. We sat down with another family and viewed a nice presentation by the "marketing manager" who gave a well practised speech with no information expect to say how they will save you money and how everybody else is screwing us. He explained he had 900,000 customers...but surprisingly we saw no "normal" members in the store!!Only potential new clients. And ofcourse there we these good natured good looking "members" who were contractors who "happen" to walk back and forth and vouched for Direct buy. Best part of this came at the end. The Marketing manager came to us and acted pretty dis-interested in our membership but was willing to do us a "favor" by taking our 5000 dollars for our membership and we were stunned to hear we had to sign the contract right then and there or dont comebacK!!!! I have to admit they never lied...only hid information such as how much shipping would be and the logisitics, 8% service charge, sales tax info, lack of warranty etc. I admit that it is stretch to call this scam but thier carefully staged show at "open house" and high pressure sales tactics of getting you sign the contract on your first visit and hiding the neccessary info borders on scam. They make themselves sound like some kind of amazon store...but they are not once you pay the membership you have basically have access to a website in which you will get access to what manufacturer is trying to get rid of in the first place. It is best to go with traditional American way of shopping- shop around and look for sales and buy when the price is right. Do yourselves a favor stay away from these guys.
Terrible!
8/7/2007 - Martin of New York, USA writes:
Do not sign up! Do not allow their pressure sales work on you! Their customer service is terrible and you have no way of elevating a complaint!
For Most....A Waste of Money
8/6/2007 - Greg of Washington, USA writes:
The quote from "Investor's Daily" used by Direct Buy on their web site says it all; Though the membership fee is steep... "If you're building a house or furnishing a whole house, you easily save money," she said. If you're buying a few pieces of furniture here and a few appliances there, forget it...you're better off internet or retail shopping. The shipping charges are usually gargantuan, you have to go get the products, and there's little to no service should something go wrong. I keep trying to use my membership to make up some of that membership cost, but usually to no avail; I can usually come close somewhere else. Unless you're completely outfitting a home, I don't see how you can save money. They're trying to sell this to the general public, when it really only makes sense for a limited population. It is a scam!!
"Under Pressure"
8/6/2007 - Zak of Ontario, Canada writes:
The one thing that prevented me from letting myself commit to purchasing a membership was that they wouldn't let me think about it and come back the next day. They used the following rationale for such a policy: "If we let you leave without buying a membership you could go to the retailers and tell them you know how markup works and demand the manufacturers price. Then the retailers would complain to the manufacturers that they are allowing DirectBuy to give out the prices that retailers pay. blah, blah, blah..." Gimme a break. Any organization that won't give you a reasonable amount of time to think things over is hiding something. I felt tremendous pressure and had trouble saying no. But I thank God I did.
ever directbuy different
8/5/2007 - Anonymous of California, USA writes:
I read some of the other reviews and i was shocked at some of the things that were mentioned. When my husband and i joined we were asked to attend the open house together, and when i asked for the reson they said (implied) that it was better we make these decisions together since its suff for the home that we both live in... we joined and have had exceptional service and have saved about six time my membership in just a couple of months!! I suppose ever centers service is different, but the savings would be the same. TRUST ME THIS IS A GOOD THING IF YOU ARE RIGHT FOR IT!
Cabinet savings made it worth the cost
8/1/2007 - Peggy of Arizona, USA writes:
It is a heafty charge that will only be worth it if you purchase cabinets. I got bids prior to buying them through Direct Buy. We have a large kitchen and a separate bar area. Our quote was $45,000 for cabinets from []. They were not nearly as nice as the ones we eventually got through Direct Buy for $14,000. Would I continue my subscription? Well, I did for another year because we need to do more cabinet work. The granite was also quite a bit less. But, for just everyday purchases, you can shop around and get better pricing. If you have the time and patience to shop around, do it. We didn't get our appliances through them because we would only have saved about $100 per item. Not worth the hassle or the wait. It seems that people in various parts of the country have different experiences with Direct Buy. I was very impressed with the carpet selection and pricing, for example. But, we haven't actually gotten that far with our remodel.
Appointment Rules All You Need to KNow
7/30/2007 - Brian of California, USA writes:
I called the 800 number to get a catalogue. I indicated that it was all I wanted--no phone calls or other contact. When the person kept asking for my phone number--"It's just one of the required fields"--and then my wife's name (another "required field"), I knew that this was just another "timeshare" style, "get you in the room and squeeze" gig. Sure enough, within 24 hours of my request to receive a catalogue, the phone call came. When I said that I specifically stated to the phone rep that I did not want a call, the person said, "Sorry," then sent the catalogue. The catalogue has lots of words and pictures, but it just keeps repeating general statements, without telling you anything specific. Don't waste you time unless you expect to spend tens of thousands of dollars on furniture and a remodel. In most cases, a good shopper who compares prices and does their homework will do as well or better without the huge membership fee.
5 years of review...
7/26/2007 - Bill of Michigan, USA writes:
I signed up for UCC Total Home (now called Direct Buy) back in 2002, which is now Direct Buy. I paid $2900 at that time for my membership and just came across this blog for Direct Buy. I wanted to lend my experiences. I now pay $159.00 a year (after years 1-3 being covered under the larger $2900 I paid in '02. The initial sign up fee was a stretch back in '02, but my wife and I had to buy quite a bit of stuff over the next few years and wanted to see how long it would take to break even and save from then on. NO BS tally from 2002. I bought carpet, furniture, TV's, electronics, and other misc. items. Total spent $19,000, the retail on all items was $25,600. So we've saved our membership and more. Granted we've not spent as much as most, but it does work. Now, I will advise that you don't save a ton on some items, (electronics, smaller items) but for furniture/larger items, you're getting it 30-50% under retail or right at the retail lowest price. Now, for purchases over $250 I shop it thru DirectBuy and retailers based on how fast I need it. But, the common thread of this review is that you do save, and it seems to me that those upset are the ones unhappy with paying the initial membership, which increases every year. Let's face it, the savings wouldn't be there with this private club. Direct Buy couldn't demand the same wholesale pricing if anyone could pay a small amount of money, say as much as a [] membership. Do your research, Direct Buy has no competition, so they can command the hefty inital membership startup. They're in the money making business which all companies are. Why wouldn't they charge a large signup to bank when creating the sales relationships with every manufacturer they sign up? All you need to do to see if this wholesale purchasing is right for you is try to look at larger purchases for the next 10-20 years, do your math on how much you'll spend and honestly take an average of 20-30% off and you can determine if it's right for you. The program haters seem to be obsessed about signup fees, that if you're a conscious consumer understand are piddly if over the next 20 years will consume say a minimum of $50,000+ in home needs. In all I am glad that I don't have to pay new startup membership fees, b/c I've heard it $5400 now. That being said If I had to signup now, I would still break even in 2-3 years many more years of normal purchasing to keep more in my pocket.
