Direct Buy has been around for quite awhile, I think. I guess some scams just keep on working. (We looked into it some years back, and decided it didn’t look good.)
“Direct Buy” advertises on many talk shows. You should get the word out to the host. As far as I’ve heard, they advertise most on Bill Bennett’s show.
We looked into Direct Buy when we were going to remodel our kitchen. It didn’t take long to figure out it was a rip off. You don’t save money .... you end up paying more!
If anyone has an internet connection it is a good way to check on companies.
I fell for this in 1985, when it was under a different name.
Membership was “only” about $1100 then.
I kept carefull records of all that I purchased and also of competing prices through other vendors.
I was actually able to get my “membership” money back, by presenting the records to them.
Much easier to shop smartly and buy what you really want, rather than being constrained by their limited selection.
If it sounds to good to be true; people never learn.
With their growing reputation one must ask if the Clintons are involved?
Thank you I have wanted to stop in one for a long time, but you’ve cured me of that.
Being in sales what you are doing will be their death as a company and that’s good. You have told hundreds of people here and like me others will pass this message to thousands. Pretty soon it’s goodbye Charley!
Google is your friend. There’s complaints all over the net about them. Always do a search before joining anything that sounds too good to be true. All the information we need about almost anything is at the tip of our fingers.
Medved says he is a member and they advertise on his program. So I thought about it and checked Google and other sites and there were tons of complaints. I’m glad that I did check.
I just recently had to buy new appliances for a vacation house. I priced appliances at 3 different stores, one a big building warehouse chain, one other local store, and a store called Handy TV and Appliance. Handy beat the other onese by several hundred dollars for the whole package.
Besides the ridiculous membership fee, the buyer pays the cost of shipping...based upon weight.
Try saying money purchasing a regulation pool table with 3 pieces of thick slate. LOL!
The concept is one thing. The reality is another.
Certainly you could buy some items less expensively, if you aren't looking for a quality match, but I like the idea of being able to buy a better brand product for the same price as one of lesser quality. That's especially true with kitchen cabinets. As far as their kitchens are concerned, I've never seen cabinet prices so good.
You DO have to spend time looking at the catalogs, and understand the pricing structure. Some catalogs show on their pages the retail prices, and you have to use the formula given in that particular catalog to determine the Direct Buy price.
I am glad I DIDN’T HAVE TO PROOFREAD THIS.
I have never seen so many spelling errors.
We almost fell for it about a year ago; in Salt Lake City, Utah.
Daddy always said “If it’s a good deal today, it will be a good deal tomorrow”. These are just good rules to live by.
When we were told that if we didn’t pony up $5,000 on the spot; we’d be denied membership for the next 7 years - alarm bells went off in my head.
If memory serves, I believe my response to the Buy Now or Don’t come back for 7 years qualifies as profanity. I’m delighted to hear that my gut instinct was correct. We saved $5,000 by not purchasing a ‘membership’.
My wife talked me into it, so I wrote the check. When I got home I did more research. Put stop payment on the check the same day. This is a very big scam.
We have a FReeper in great standing that does ads for DirectBuy - I’ll ping him into the discussion if he wishes to participate....
Completely off topic consumer FYI
Please forgive..
Direct Buy may very well be a good deal for someone who doesn’t know how to negotiate.
We too looked into the Direct Buy thing and decided that it wasn’t such a good deal for us.
In considering what you would have purchase at their prices to cover your membership it looked like one would have to spend in the neighborhood of $30K. If you’re building a new house, and you want to get the best of what’s available (that does not imply best quality, only highest price) it may very well be better pricing overall.
The furniture is basically crap. As for the rest of it..since I’m not a memeber, it’s hard to say that any of it is a good deal.