FlyerGoldII

I have seen many TV informercials on Direct Buy, both on Canadian and US TV channels. Yesterday, there was a full-page ad in the Ottawa Citizen on the local Direct Buy warehouse.

Is anyone a member of Direct Buy - what does one think about it? What are the membership fees, and what are the discounts seen at Direct Buy?

Abby

I looked into it a couple of years ago when I bought a new townhouse in YYJ (Victoria) that needed some remodelling.

I decided I didn't like their approach and ran across too many negative reviews/comments about them. However, some people claim they can save significantly on higher-end items. I would do a Google search for Direct Buy reviews/scams/rip-offs, etc. You will see quite a few negative experiences, but a few will be positive. Basically, they charge a few thousand dollars or more (I am not positive of the actual amount and it may actually be less in some areas) for a membership, but then claim to give you access to their wholesale price catalogues. However, many people's experience is that you will only see a sample catalogue at the initial presentation and you supposedly sign up then or not at all. Kind of like a timeshare presentation.

For people that bought in, some said the savings were not significant enough or that you had to buy very pricey items to begin with in order to realize any savings. Some said there were issues with availability and shipping times of items, and I believe people had to arrange their own delivery of items to their homes from the Direct Buy site.

It may be worth your while, I won't rule it out entirely because I never even went to the presentation, but I would make sure that you check it out very carefully before signing up.

So, asking for people's direct experiences is a smart first step!

zoyabean

We've been members for 7 or 8 years now. For us it was totally worth the cost and we've saved thousands of dollars by being members.

That being said, the big savings come from buying things like kitchens, appliances and furniture. When we first joined we were renovating a house and easily save $5000 on the kitchen alone.. plus lots on the furniture, fixtures etc.. There were items on which we could pull a bigger discount because of who we knew and what we do, but for those areas where we didn't have an in there were real savings to be had.

We are starting to build a new house this spring so I imagine we will get back to using our membership a lot more again. I haven't really been watching the prices lately because we haven't bought any big ticket items while saving up for the new house.

Feel free to pm me if you want more info.

gglave

I'm automatically suspicious of any organization that gets potential customers in a room, does a presentation and then strong-arms them into signing something and paying thousands.

I believe it's a free country, and a company is free to do this (the customer can always say 'no' and leave) but any company which has to resort to these tactics automatically gets a black mark in my books.

Tangoer

Visit the reports at http://www.ripoffreport.com

and

http://www.infomercialscams.com/scams/direct_buy_scams

'nuff said.

sharkshooter

Just remember that the complainers complain louder than the praisers praise. That doesn't mean that more than 50% are unhappy.

sharkshooter

I would echo this experience.

You can save a lot of money if:

1. You prefer high-end stuff. e.g. leather furniture; top of the line appliances.
2. You are willing to wait for 6-8 weeks for delivery.
3. You have specific tastes in colors, fabrics, etc. That is, if you are willing to buy end-of-season products in a store, you might be able to match the Direct Buy price.

If, however, you are willing to buy, say, the end of run, whatever is in stock, hardwood floor at Home Depot for $.99/SQFT, or the floor model of the recliner sofa, you might be better off searching the stores for deals.

We paid about $3000 some 8 or 9 years ago, and have made our money back a few times on furniture, window coverings and flooring alone. However, there are many more products available, like sports equipment, clothing, etc.

The best time to sign up would be when you are buying or renovating a house, in my opinion.

FlyerGoldII

We do not plan to renovate for quite some time, if ever.

However, the flyer (that was in last week Ottawa Citizen newspaper) suggests that one can buy smaller furniture (eg lamps), appliances, luggage, giftware, jewelry, stationery, watches, fitness equipment etc.

Can you tell me what are the annual membership fees, to join, and then for the following few years?

I understand that the showroom has a very small percentage of the items they sell; most items must be bought from a catalogue.

I understand that the items are shipped to the central warehouse in that given city; you as the customer have to arrange shipment from the warehouse to your home?

How good is customer service - in person or on the phone?

sharkshooter

1. Yes, there are some 500 manufacturers. You can buy window coverings, lights, kitchen appliances (from toasters to stoves and fridges), tires, furniture, hot tubs sporting goods (I got a TaylorMade driver a couple years ago) and probably any of the categories you listed.

2. We paid $3000, and $175 per year for each of years 4-now.

3. Don't count on buying things from a showroom. You order from the manufacturer.

4. Delivery is to their showroom. You have to make arrangements to pick it up. Access to a van, pickup truck or trailer is handy, but sometimes you can contract with another member to deliver for you. They have a list of "merchant members" who will provide services to members at a good price. But, if you saved $1500 on a sofa/love seat set, paying $100 to arrange delivery is not that bad.

5. Customer service, like anywhere, varies. Service is usually better if you go talk to someone rather than trying to do it on the phone, at least in my experience.

gglave

I would suggest one would need to purchase a lot of lamps and stationery before one would recoup the three-thousand-plus dollars a membership costs.

xray

I hate the way they sell memberships but it's been a great deal for us. As others state, you have to be spending a lot of money before you recoup the membership but for us, one set of appliances paid for the membership ! The best value is on the high end merchandise... We recently saved $3K on a Canadian-made wall unit.

You have to be very self-sufficient to make the membership work i.e. do your own research and know the market. If you're one who likes to talk for hours with salespeople at stores, then this is a no go.

Also, you only have one chance to join so don't bother going to a sales pitch unless you're pretty serious about joining because you can't make up your mind later.

gglave

Not to sound like a broken record, but this sort of thing just raises my hackles.

If someone where to say to me "You can spend $3000 tonight, or never again" I'd say "OK, never again, and walk out."

xray

I totally agree with you... The sales pitch is crazy... but we've saved over $15K so all's well that ends well...

YVR Cockroach

Just wondering if they have brands such as Wolff, Viking, Thermador and the like. I've heard that some people will drop over $100k for appli8ances at this place.

MSY-MSP

I have looked into DirectBuy when we bought our house in Texas and will look at them again when we buy a place in Seattle (Its not fun being transfered twice in under a year). There were several things I didn't like about the sales tactics.

1. I did not like that it was a now or never sales approach with the membership. However, from what I hear the now or never is store specific. Any company that is really worth its value will let you think about it. Even a timeshare company will let you think about it. (though you may have to sit through another presentation)

2. They do not publish the membership fee/joining fee. If you are going to ask people to join on the spot you should at least let them know what the cost is. The quote we got at the store was $7000 to join and $300/year. It would take a lot of purchases with significant savings to make that pay off. We came in with a list of things that we would consider buying for our new house and the savings were there. We would have saved about $10,000 on the items. Retail was about 30-35K and DirectBuy sales pitch quote was about $20K. However when I factored in the joining fee the savings wasn't to the point that I couldn't negotiate at a furniture store to get an equal or better price.

3. When we decided that it wasn't right for us, the sales pitches and attitude got what I would call ruthless. I would have expected better behavior out of a stereotypical used car salesman. They kept harping on what a BIG mistake we were making and how we could never change our mind.

So for us it wasn't the best deal out there. I can see how it might be a great deal for someone who is building a house from scratch or planning on sinking 100K into a home furnishing or remodel, but I think for the average person it is not that good of a deal. The hard sell at the end made me feel better about my decision.