Real Consumer Reviews and Ratings
Direct Buy Reviews and Ratings
Consumer Ratings - Page 11 of 24
Visit to showroom: Left alone
5/23/2007 - Martin of California, USA writes:
I visited showroom 3 days before appointment to preview what "direct buy" is. I sat in the lobby for 1/2 hour waiting for someone to come out to speak with me. I left and requested to have manager call me. Never received call back therefor I did not visit on the appointed day. I called cooperate office of direct buy to complain. The person was very nice on the phone and said she would follow up by having the owner of this location call to discuss my experience. She would also follow up with a phone call to me the next day. Did not receive any respone therefore I deceided not to attend on the appointed day and time. Received a phone call the day after my scheduled appointment asking why we did not attend. I explained what had happened and this person informed me that he would have someone call me. No one ever called. Suprisingly I received a phone call from Direct Buy two months after my appointmented day to schedule another visit. At this point I declined. Customer service sucks!!!!!!!!!!
Put Your Boots On...
5/22/2007 - Angela of Virginia, USA writes:
Direct Buy is some straight up bovine excrement. My fiancee and I went there to attend a presentation that we had been "invited" to. First, we met with a sales rep who took us on a tour of the showroom and showed on numerous occasions that he had NO IDEA (technical and otherwise) about the things that he was selling but claimed that he and his wife used the service. Then, there was the 45 minute presentation that I sat through.(my fiancee walked out prior to the presentation to sit in the car and catch up on the sports section). During the presentation is when you are told that you will have to decide on obtaining the membership there or never be given the opportunity ever again!!!???!!!??? While I was in the presentation, the sales rep. walked outside and told my fiancee that we would have to make that decision today. (I found out about that after the fact). But here was the mind-blower: the terms of the membership was for 10 years at $5,100 for years 1-3 and $159 for years 4-10 for a total of $6,213. And unless you put down $1,200 at that moment, you would have to FINANCE this membership...And, all of the products are delivered to the back of their showroom/warehouse where they will do an "inspection" and oh, you will have to pick it up yourself and as far as installations...you can use their list of contractors at a "discount" or make your own arrangements. ---LISTEN, I am a truck driver for the entire east coast and I have only seen 1 Direct Buy truck on the road while I have been out which means that they are not doing much bussiness to begin with. After we declined the membership, we saw instantly why their bussiness is so slow...the sales rep became very rude as we were walking out of the door but stopped when my fiancee (who is 6'5" and 300+ lbs.) kindly offered to discuss the matter after I was in the car. Folks, don't waste your time or your gas. My grade for Direct Buy is an F (minus).
AWESOME!!!!!!!!!
5/21/2007 - Wendy of Michigan, USA writes:
All I have to say is WOW!! I called to get an invitation from Direct buy to finish my basement. Yes they wanted to verify all of my info to be SURE that it was right. Who can blame them for wanting to be accurate? Then of coarse the wanted me to bring my husband because in most healthy marriages you usually make buying decissions "together". When I went to the open house first the gentlemen wanted to make sure that DB would be a fit for our needs. That was quite nice I thought. Yes we where asked to make a decission on membership at that point(as was stated in the information that was sent) The gentlemen sat with us for 2 hours helping us to make the choice with no pressure what so ever. We did become members and I thank god I will never have to pay the rediculous markups in the stores again. No grilling sales people. Piece of mind to know that I am getting the best price and ev everything else too much to list. The savings on my basement over the "Home" store we all shop at was $6000. Not to mention I did ALL my christmas shopping through DB last year and saved $2000. All of my shopping aside from food and "I need it now" stuff is done at DB. Oh and don't even think about rating "FAKE" because I have all the recipts to show my purchases. Everyone needs Direct Buy! And that is a fact.
Savings not found
5/16/2007 - Julie of Illinois, USA writes:
Buyer beware. My husband and I went to a DirectBuy open house in Hoffman Estates, IL and were intrigued enough to sign-up (with hefty fee) in May 2007. The next day, we researched DirectBuy and found many negative (and some positive) reviews. Most positive reviews noted that savings were in cabinets, flooring, fixtures, and not in appliances and electronics. We decided we would comparison shop some flooring, appliances, and other goods we were planning to buy. We went back that day to research the model numbers’ retail price vs. DirectBuy’s price and found the savings were negligible. We decided to cancel; and Ted (our salesman) tried to talk to us on how we made the decision. We explained that the negative reviews, our own price comparisons on several items, and the belief that the savings was not sufficient to offset the membership fee led us to the decision. He quickly became irate, agitated, and told us we were "young" and "wrong." Additionally, he stated we were throwing away $25,000 over the next 10 years. He accused us of wasting his time and not trusting them, when we were questioning the value of the membership fee versus true savings for items we wanted to purchase. My husband and I are mid-30s, with comfortable income (an ideal target customer for them we would guess), and we felt it was the best choice to cancel, after our price comparison in the store. It was quite surprising to be treated with such contempt, and if we had any hesitations on making the decision to cancel, it was quickly eradicated after Ted's hostility. Be careful and conduct close research before committing to DirectBuy.
Don't be fooled
5/16/2007 - Kris of Pennsylvania, USA writes:
I came across DB's website while price comparing on the internet. A polite sales rep contacted me, took my info and sent my husband and I an invitation. During our opening orientation, the sales rep was very pleasant, but I became very suspicious during the presentation when they used consumer scare tatics, like "if you choose this is not for you, you will not be invited back ever"! When asked if I could look at catalogs before making my decision, the sales manager said I could only look at three different products. When I declined the one time payment of $5100, the sales managers projected a different personality. Very disappointed! Asking for such a big investment and if they stand behind there services, they should allow as much time as possible. Plus, if you ask the right questions, you will discover a lot of hidden costs that is not communicated in the presentation or explained.
Works great for me but is not for everyone
5/15/2007 - Cynthia of New Hampshire, USA writes:
Direct Buy can work for you and save you big money, but you must learn to be an educated consumer and know what you are buying. My husband and I signed up 7 years ago at a cost of $2000 and afterwards I got a little nervous about if it was worth it. I even checked online to see if it was a big scam. I found mixed reviews just like there are today. SOme people were happy, some weren't. My personal shopping experience has worked out well. We have saved a lot of money and are currently in the process of a whole kitchen renovation and are saving a LOT on the prices of almost everything. However, you must be a self-reliant shopper. The service reps will help you order but are not in a position to help you pick out stuff or go beyond basic guidance of where to look. If you need someone to hold your hand, this is not the method for you. It is strictly catalog shopping and all special order. YOu cannot return special orders at most brick and mortar stores either so this is should not be shocking. What you want to do is go to regular showrooms in your area,or order samples online and then place your order. I know exactly what I am buying before I pay one penny. I was never a catalog/online shopper but now I have become an extremely savvy one. Yes, there are times when I have found a better price online. OFten this is because Direct BUy does charge 8% shipping and handling fees based on the wholesale price. Sometimes I can beat their price because I can get free shipping online or I can get a below cost clearance sale. However, they are never outragously out of the ballpark of the low priced options. You will have to wait 4-8 weeks on average for the goods to come in and often you must pick them up yourself from the warehouse. COnsider these factors into your "real savings" You will not save huge amounts on electronics or appliances. You will find major savings on furniture, cabinets, faucets, sinks, light fixtures, carpet and tile, etc. You will not have the selection of every manufacturer on the market. I have always found a very good selection of a full range of quality ones from average to very high end. Often, I have been able to afford much higher quality ones that are often only sold in big design centers (not the big box stores) You have to weigh the pros and cons for your lifestyle and plans. If you are in need of a lot of furniture for your house or doing major renovations and building, it will be worth it. If you only need a few things, it might take you quite a while to realize your savings if ever. A word about kitchen cabinets, You and your builder are responcible for bringing in ACCURATE measurements. The "kitchen designers" that they have will help you to map it out and use a great computer system to place and order cabinets correctly. However it is NOT Direct Buy's fault if your measurements were off!!!! The same way that if you brought the wrong measurements to any other cabinet place. If you go local or big box store, often they will measure for you (for a fee) so they take responcibility for mistakes. Like I said in the tagline, it has worked for me very well, but you need to do most of the legwork yourself. For me, I have no problem doing my own research and planning because I have saved a lot of money. If you don't want to do the work, you are better off skipping the Direct Buy method and paying the higher prices for the more personal customer service and guidance.
A good deal
5/14/2007 - Anonymous of Washington, USA writes:
I am a DirectBuy customer. We were in the process of building a new house and my wife wanted to see what DirectBuy could offer. Goodness knows, when you build a new house you need to save every dime you can, because the builders sure aren't watching costs! Anyway, I was skeptical but went to keep peace in the family. We listened to the high-pressure sales pitch. Frankly, I don't care how high the pressure is, if I don't believe I will get value for the investment, I won't sign the deal. I've had car salesmen put more pressure on than DirectBuy did. I decided that we would make the investment, which was sizeable. Within our first few purchases, we have saved much more than our original investment. We saved $8,000 on our kitchen cabinets, $1,200 on kitchen appliances, $1,200 on windows, $3,000 on granite countertops, and more. One of the most pleasant surprises was the savings on carpet. We had budgeted around $25/sq yd for carpet, pad, and installation. We found that we could buy carpet that retails for around $33/sq yd and still come in under our original budget. So even though we didn’t save any money on carpets, per se, we were able to buy a better carpet for the same price as a lower quality carpet if we shopped retail. Yes - we did have to arrange for installation on our own. Yes - we did have to pay some for shipping and handling. All of that had been explained to us before we signed up, so it was not a surprise. Yes - those costs ate into our savings somewhat. But even after renting a U-Haul truck to haul the 25 windows and 2 sliding glass doors from DirectBuy to our home, we still saved over $1,000 on our windows. I have read many of the reviews about DirectBuy. I have not had any of the negative experiences that people have described. I can tell you that, if you decide to join DirectBuy, you should not expect to save money on everything. I wanted to put an intercom system in our new house. I priced out all of the components on the Internet and then priced DirectBuy. I found that some of the components were cheaper at DirectBuy and some were more expensive. I ended up buying all of the parts from an outfit on the Internet. We plan to buy our window treatments through DirectBuy and probably our fencing. We have only been members since July of 2007. We are satisfied customers. I don’t know if I would sign-up if I was not building or remodeling, as the initial investment is substantial. However, given our circumstances, it was a good decision for us and has been a good investment.
Direct Buy is devil business and scamming on you
5/13/2007 - Anonymous of Washington DC, USA writes:
I want you guys know that I am deaf guy. My friend told me to try direct buy due I am going to buy new house. I plan to install many new products for kitchen and bath which is very important for me. So I call them thru Relay service. They got me for an appointment. Next day, I went there in person. They notice me first thing was hearing aid. They was like " Are you deaf?". I replied to them as " Yes, I am, Do you guys have problem?". They answered it back as "No" and welcome. I started to sense that it was fake smiling. When the presentation was over. I asked them some questions about products what I was looking for. All they did was asking to pay $9,000 upfront first. My mind was so shocked and say "Nah, it is rip off". They kept pressure on me and asked me if i have credit card or able to pay for it. I decided to tell them as "Forget it and i am leaving". One sale rep gave me nasty gesture like "Oh you deaf dumb". I got pissed off about them. I was angry with their gestures. I went home and arrived. In same night, I told my friend about it. My friend said it was not professional and unfriendly sale reps. I decided to research about direct buy thru internet search and found this information. I glad that I was not only one who went thru it. Also good thing that I didn't pay steep prices like that. It is so greedy and thinking about themselve but forget all customer's needs. I will never go for Direct Buy rest of my life period. I don't care if they banned me for 7 years. I will never go there anyway. My friend and I decide to use [] as better than nothing. Since they don't pressure tactics on us at all. That what I love mostly.
What a SCAM!
5/13/2007 - Jim of Nevada, USA writes:
Since we are doing major remodel on our home (maybe $200K), I saw the DirectBuy commercials on TV and thought that it could be worthwhile to check it out. I called the 800 number and a woman on the phone was asking for information which I gave to her and then she also wanted my wife's name. I told her for privacy reasons I do not give out my family's information so easily and especially when it has no bearing on what I ma looking for at all. She then said ok and stated my local Las Vegas showroom would send me a pass and one for my wife with no name on it. On Sunday, which was Mother's Day, an abrupt and rude man calls my home phone number. I never gave anyone permission to call my home at anytime! I can hear lots of chatter in the background like its a room full of sales operators. He tells me that he needs to simply "verify" my information so he can send me a brochure and passes to the showroom. I said OK as long as it was to be a brief conversation as I did not like the idea of them calling my home on Sunday. After confirming the basic information, he finally asks me my wife's name and I refuse to give it to him. HE IMMEDIATLY HANGS UP ON ME! I immediatly call the number back and get him on the phone. I ask him why he hung up on me? He is rude and tells me if I cant come with my wife than they "are not interested" in me . I immediatly ask for his supervisor. A very timid and obviously inexperienced woman named Melissa gets on the phone and proceeds to spout the company rhetoric as to why they need my wife's name. She even goes so far as to say that DB believes that one spouse can not make a decision without the other one present and therfore they require both present at the "open house". I explained to her that we both have careers and the likelhood is that we both would not be able to come together. She stated then that they would not schedule me until we both could attend. I then asked what if I were a single person. She then stated she would have granted me that appointment. How ludicrous! Even when I told them that my wife probably would not be coming she refused to set up the appointment! I even told her I always do the purchasing myself and that my wife doesn't necessarily need to be there. She stuck to company line and tried to justify their tactics. She told me that when we could come as a couple she would then schedule me. I then told her my next call was to the FTC! ALSO-when I asked both of them what the membership fee was they wouldn't tell me. This whole scam set off alarms to me also. I thought it sounded fishy in the beginning but their tactics proved it even more true than I could have imagined. It was reassuring to find this site on the net so that I could possibly warn others to avoid them.
Direct Buy
5/13/2007 - Lisa of New Jersey, USA writes:
Went to my DB meeting was met by a very rude sales rep I was told to put my name tag on I put it on my hip for I had a new shirt on and did not want to put it on my chest! He told me I was difficult. I went on to the area to review what items I need to cmpare I did not have price lists with me so now I know I needed to do homework. Sales rep was so bad he kept commenting on my watch asking if it was Movado and who gave it to me for I did not have a husband with me. I left before the presentation for I felt I was not ready overall feeling is that if I ma going to spend in the thousands I want customer service I wanted be waited on . I don;t like the overall feeling that they are doing me a favor. I will pay the extra 25% if I have received awesome service. They are forgetting who is the customer!
Got a bad feeling
5/11/2007 - Kim of Vermont, USA writes:
I saw the DirectBuy commercials on tv and thought that could be interesting to check out. I called the number and the woman on the phone was asking for information which I gave to her and she also wanted my husbands name. I asked why she wanted that (because I knew he wouldn't be coming with me) and she said that if he did decide to come to the "open house" he couldn't get in without his name on the list. So I thought ok. After that I received a call from a man telling me that the response to the commercial was so great that they needed to set up appointments for people and right away asked me if he could set up my husband and me for a day the next week. I told him that my husband probably would not be coming and he refused to set up the appointment! I told him I always do the purchasing myself and that he doesn't need to be there and he would absolutely not give me an appointment. He told me t keep his number and if my husband changed his mind to call. I told him he should keep my number and if they change their policy to call me! ALSO-when I asked him what the membership fee was he wouldn't tell me. He said that we didn't need to get into that now. So that set off alarms to me also. I thought it sounded fishy. It was interesting to find this site on the net. Now I am glad we didn't go!
Dont get fooled.
5/11/2007 - Dave of Michigan, USA writes:
If your researching this club before going to your "open house" please take my advice. DONT GO. If you do go, be prepared to deal with an extremely high pressure sales pitch. The salesman for DirectBuy have absolutely no concern for the customer. The worst part, according to the club policy, membership dues are NOT REFUNDABLE!! Gee, I wonder why that is? Is it because they know very few people would stay members? I'm looking into a way for my credit card company to reverse the fees. There has to be something I can do to get my money back. Over $4000 is a lot of money for such a poor quality club. If anyone has been successful in getting their money back PLEASE let me know.
Unbelievable! ! !
5/10/2007 - Irene of California, USA writes:
My husband and I are DB memebers. We are now seeing their true colors. We saved thousands with our kitchen cabinets, but if your not an engineer who has experience in kitchen design, don't join! The specs on the oven (we bought from them)were given to them and still the cabinet is 14 inches too small for the cabinet they built for us. They want us to "trim" the cabinet to make it fit. Their definition of trim is removing an entire drawer that was in our design. They are completely unwilling to fix the mistake they made. Pay extra somewhere else to get your stuff done right and avoid the headache! Plus, good luck in getting adequate help when you have to place order.
Don't do it
5/10/2007 - Kevin of California, USA writes:
I've been a DirectBuy member for 6 months or so. All I can say is that for me it has not been worth it. Comments: 1. Save over retail: Plus - Average savings of 30-50% or so over full retail. This is especially true for case goods and other furniture. Minus - Most stores don't sell at FULL retail. In fact, I've priced some items CHEAPER at retail stores (because volume retailers get volume pricing discounts from the suppliers--but they don't give it to DB). Add on shipping fees, 8% "handling" fee (not sure what this is for--why did I pay $5k?) and it's probably more like 25% savings. If you're a bargain shopper and can use the Internet it's not too tough to get close to that (or beat it). 2. Catalog sales Plus - broad product selection Minus - DB stocks nothing. All products have to be ordered out of a catalog (although they do have some flooring samples, swatches, etc.). You can't sit in the furniture, you can't feel the quality (or cheapness), can't see the exact color of that rug you might want. I don't like that. You also have to wait for weeks or months to receive the things you order. 3. Lots of suppliers Plus - you can select from just about anything in the long list of supplier catalogs Minus - try finding the one thing you want when you have 100 catalogs in front of you. There's no good way to filter through the mass of product, and their staff are not product experts nor are they very helpful in this regard. You simply must page through all of the catalogs hoping you don't miss the item you're looking for. And their website is AWFUL, despite a relaunch late last year! A website should be the perfect way to filter through masses of data but you can't select any key criteria. There's no useful taxonomy, just keyword search (and even that works very poorly). 4. Everything under one roof Plus - one stop shopping Minus - inconvenient hours, inconvenient location, poor service, lack of product expertise (kind of like [], only worse). There are still of lot of high ticket items that I've bought at retail because I can't find what I want through DB, or the cost difference is insignificant or even cheaper through other channels. Everytime I go to order something and they tack on 8% plus shipping, plus fuel surcharges I get a bit of a knot in my stomach. Why did I pay $5k+?!? I know that I have saved on particular items that I've purchased, but to justify the initial investment and the inconvenience you really do need to spend $20k or more (don't forget to adjust for opportunity cost). If you are planning to remodel, want to order cabinetry, or have very specific tastes and are not concerned about ordering out of a catalog then I think it can be a good deal. But don't expect any help in figuring out what you want. Oh, and all of the feedback on their sales tactics you see on this site? It's true. The examples shown in the presentation are deceptive and inaccurate (they show savings of a minimum of 50% after all costs/shipping). Of course, if they told you the truth, that you would save 20-25%, how could they justify the high cost to join?
Great! For contractors like myself!
5/10/2007 - Jay of Utah, USA writes:
Direct Buy is not for the average person. People looking to update their home might never see a return on their investment. But contractors and home flipers can save big with Direct Buy. I own 5 apartment buildings and am remodeling 25 condos total this year. Hardwood floor and carpet is half the price at Direct Buy. I am on target to save over $60,000 on flooring this year alone! By the time I am done with my remodels, I will have saved over $150,000. Like I said, this service is not for everyone! But if you flip homes and are a developer or contractor that can't command the buying power of an Ivory Homes, than Direct Buy is a great solution to getting quality products for your homes and condos.
Unprofessional Sales Tactics
5/10/2007 - Jeff of Washington, USA writes:
I, as an UnFranchise Owner for [] and web service provider anywhere in the U.S. and Canada at [].com, was totally appalled with the Sales Tactics put on by this. The high pressure sneaky way to say to someone you have to make a decision today is sure no way to earn my and my wife’s trust to do business with anyone. Let alone to even consider referring any one I know to consider them. Even if what they say is a true bargain, I was surely skeptical to begin with. If given the time to consider their concept, maybe they have a better chance to earn our business later on. Yet, I also felt sorry for their rep being in the position to do that to people.
Factory Model
5/7/2007 - Terri of California, USA writes:
My husband and I were effusively greeted and taken to the "bistro" for coffee before being herded into a 45 minute "guess what this costs?" presentation which contained very little concrete information. At the very end we found out that it cost $6000 to participate. This was followed by a one minute overview of how to order from the catalogs before being handed off to individual sales reps. Ours walked us over to a table, sat us down and arrogantly informed us that we had to decide today or else be cast out for 7 years! The whole thing set off alarms (DB overhead cost is similar to the stores, no rationale for outrageous fees, refusal to answer any questions until you waste the gas to drive to their showroom). As soon as we mentioned our concerns, our interview was cut short and we were escorted out. Never did see a catalog! What a scam!
Not just RUDE but MEAN!
5/6/2007 - Contessa of Arkansas, USA writes:
DB appt. yesterday(5/5/07). Gave me the creeps. We're alone suddenly 4 couples appear? 45 min. salepitch with slimeball. 2 couples agreed with everything he said? Staged? Of 6 couples, only 3 went with salespeople alone. Others went in groups? Working for DB? Our saleslady didn't want to answer questions or give time to think. Salespitch said take as much time as you need "today" making choice. My husband is CPA and said it would take HUGE purchase to recoop initial $4300! fee, If you find something you like from their limited products. Will DB be in business in 3-10 years? Timeshare= 1 week/year. DB= nothing for fee. Rather see/touch what we buy, have helpful, respectful, curtious staff to work with. 2 of them yelled at us for getting too many books and taking notes! When we left no Thank you, good by or walk us out. Wanted us to leave feeling bad. Never felt better about making good choice of just saying NO!
Support Your Local Merchant
5/5/2007 - Clark of Washington, USA writes:
Meeting Attended 05/05/07; 9:15 AM! If you like time-share presentations, this is the one for you! 3 yr membership fee = $5,400. VERBAL cost savings 30%. In order to recoup your investment; spend $18,000. Additional costs; 8% handling fee. PROJECTED cost savings now 22%. In order to recoup your investment; spend $24,500. Catalog shopping only; no "see-touch-feel" available other than showroom samples. Purchases must be paid for in-advance and are only shipped to the DB warehouse. Consumer must pickup or pay for local transportation. Installation, service, warranty: WHAT? And the "Buy NOW or be banished for 7 years" program; we walked out, drove to Costco, bought the TV, saved $150 over the DB price and brought it home today. Oh yeah, one of the couples featured in the video presentation claims they saved over $100,000 shopping at DB. According to my calculator they spent close to $500,000 at DB. Now that's some serious shopping!
My Analytical Thoughts
5/3/2007 - Vinay of New Jersey, USA writes:
We went to DB yesterday 5-2-07. I was amused by the fact that the sales pitch highlighted that retail stores have showroom space & salesperson expenses. Hello!? The DB showroom is huge & there are at least 15 sales people running around. I bought a Sony TV for $500 less than DB & my Nicoletti couch for $300 less. DB was competitive on Calligaris furniture though. The sales people lied & told me that everyone in the USA pays the same membership fee. They were asking $5,990 (it seems like the Northeast & CA are the most). Also the numbers in the sales presentation were flawed. DB is great for people that don't want to bother shopping around. It seems that you don't get ripped off, but you usually won't get the best deal possible. I have the patience to shop around - so it didn't make sense to me. If the membership was $2g - I would have sucked it up - but $6g is an overkill.
