DirectBuy Worse than useless for most consumers Greenville South Carolina

I can say that yes SOME of their manufacuturer books have a fee, most of them don't. The ones that do are usually higher end products from overseas, but the savings on the product itself can't be beat. You have to learn how to use their system to place an order. If you wanted your membership cancelled that badly you should have showed up in person or wrote a letter and sent it certified - you can't really expect to legally cancel something verbally it should always be in writing. I am a new customer to DirectBuy but we're already saving tons on furniture and other items - plus with the money we're saving by not shopping retail for all our "stuff" we get elsewhere that we now get through DB we hope to be debt free within the year!! 

I wish I had read this before we went to the Direct Buy Open House.  We were asked to come to the Open House and were in fact read and shown all the money saving prices Direct Buy promises they have.  The owner did our Open House and was quite convincing.  Based on the numbers we saw there we thought it was a great deal.  After talking about it, my fiance and I signed up. 

The next day we received our login information for online purchases.  We excitedly began looking through and realized that we had been taken advantage of.  Like the author of this report we found out that many of the things we had bought recently ended up being cheaper than Directbuy was once they included the tax, 8% handling fee, etc.  We immediately began calling directbuy in order to get out of our contract in the 3 day period.  The owner promised to call us back with an answer and it's been a week since he promised to call.  We have left three more messages and our calls have not been returned.  We are extremely frustrated. 

 I would strongly advise people to not even go to the Open House.  The cost of the membership will take you forever to recoup (if ever).  Shop the internet, look for coupons and sale prices and you'll be better off!!!  Do not join DirectBuy and do not support the Greenville location by even attending the Open House.  It's a ripoff.  I wish I had read this report before we ever attended.  It would have saved us time, money, and frustration.

Every word in my original report is accurate. The word 'force' was enclosed in quotes to set off the word and identify humorous or colloquial usage. This is standard English practice. Or perhaps you failed English 101? Obviously, the doors were not locked and nobody held a pistol to my head. But, as I made abundantly clear in the text of my report, your options are to sit through the high-pressure, scripted sales presentation - or leave. There is no other way to gather information to allow you to make an informed choice. That is what I meant by 'force'. In written and voice communications prior to your "Open House" visit, DirectBuy is very careful NOT to give you any real information. When you arrive on location and ask questions, the answer is always something like, "Wait for the presentation. If you still have questions, you will have an opportunity to ask them after the presentation." At the presentation, we were asked to hold all questions until the presentation was complete - and then we were hustled out of the room before anyone had a chance to ask any embarrassing questions in front of the entire group. Any questions were handled in private, where the questions - or the lack of straight answers - might sway other prospective suckers. Uh, I mean members.

To me, the real indicator that DirectBuy is a deliberate scam, is their policy that you either sign up on the spot - or you will never get another chance. I can understand that DirectBuy may have signed agreements with suppliers not to publish their prices or allow non-members unlimited access to the prices in-house. But no actual pricing was disclosed in the prepared presentation. I can see no valid reason for DirectBuy to insist that, once you have entered their store and heard the presentation, you sign up now or never. Such a policy is simply a high pressure sales tactic.

If DirectBuy truly offered consumers an attractive purchase opportunity, they would find a way to allow consumers to make some informed cost comparisons, confident that the customers would choose DirectBuy. Perhpas they could allow each prospective member to see the actual prices of 10 items, lifetime, and detail the full fees, delivery costs and sales taxes that apply to the purchases. And make a written quote. But DirectBuy goes out of their way to PREVENT prospective members from doing any real comparison shopping, and they will put nothing in writing that might protect the member. That was another thing that disturbed me. The salesman they assigned to me kept making statements like, "The 8% fee doesn't apply to major appliances." But he would NOT put that in writing and he could not or would not show me any written document where this policy was stated in writing.

I was told explicitly that the contract I was being asked to sign was irrevocable over the full period of the contract, to include the yearly fees. Perhaps that is not the policy at your California location. I can't say. But I can say without any doubt or chance of error, that was the policy stated to me at the Greenville store.

As a final thought, consider the difference between the business model used by DirectBuy and the business model of a local or Internet retailer. DirectBuy makes their money by selling you a membership. They get most of their money up front, and have a contract (that may or may not be enforceable) requiring you to pay them a fixed amount of money over a fixed period of time, whether or not you ever buy a single item through their store. DirectBuy doesn't lose a penny if you never come back in the door. In fact, they are ahead of the game if you never come back, because they won't have to process your orders or deliveries. If you find other, more attractive prices for the items you want to buy, they still have made their money. If you are unhappy with the service or have problems with damaged or defective goods, they still have made their money. They are in business to sell you a membership, NOT to sell you products. Oh sure, you can hurt their business through word of mouth if you are unhappy. Or publish your discontent on websites like Ripoff Report. But a retailer has the same concerns and, in addition, is dependent upon your repeat business for his continued success. Where do you think you will get better service? And from my limited experience with the major appliances I was shopping for, that's where you will get prices that are as good or better as well.

Every word in my original report is accurate. The word 'force' was enclosed in quotes to set off the word and identify humorous or colloquial usage. This is standard English practice. Or perhaps you failed English 101? Obviously, the doors were not locked and nobody held a pistol to my head. But, as I made abundantly clear in the text of my report, your options are to sit through the high-pressure, scripted sales presentation - or leave. There is no other way to gather information to allow you to make an informed choice. That is what I meant by 'force'. In written and voice communications prior to your "Open House" visit, DirectBuy is very careful NOT to give you any real information. When you arrive on location and ask questions, the answer is always something like, "Wait for the presentation. If you still have questions, you will have an opportunity to ask them after the presentation." At the presentation, we were asked to hold all questions until the presentation was complete - and then we were hustled out of the room before anyone had a chance to ask any embarrassing questions in front of the entire group. Any questions were handled in private, where the questions - or the lack of straight answers - might sway other prospective suckers. Uh, I mean members.

To me, the real indicator that DirectBuy is a deliberate scam, is their policy that you either sign up on the spot - or you will never get another chance. I can understand that DirectBuy may have signed agreements with suppliers not to publish their prices or allow non-members unlimited access to the prices in-house. But no actual pricing was disclosed in the prepared presentation. I can see no valid reason for DirectBuy to insist that, once you have entered their store and heard the presentation, you sign up now or never. Such a policy is simply a high pressure sales tactic.

If DirectBuy truly offered consumers an attractive purchase opportunity, they would find a way to allow consumers to make some informed cost comparisons, confident that the customers would choose DirectBuy. Perhpas they could allow each prospective member to see the actual prices of 10 items, lifetime, and detail the full fees, delivery costs and sales taxes that apply to the purchases. And make a written quote. But DirectBuy goes out of their way to PREVENT prospective members from doing any real comparison shopping, and they will put nothing in writing that might protect the member. That was another thing that disturbed me. The salesman they assigned to me kept making statements like, "The 8% fee doesn't apply to major appliances." But he would NOT put that in writing and he could not or would not show me any written document where this policy was stated in writing.

I was told explicitly that the contract I was being asked to sign was irrevocable over the full period of the contract, to include the yearly fees. Perhaps that is not the policy at your California location. I can't say. But I can say without any doubt or chance of error, that was the policy stated to me at the Greenville store.

As a final thought, consider the difference between the business model used by DirectBuy and the business model of a local or Internet retailer. DirectBuy makes their money by selling you a membership. They get most of their money up front, and have a contract (that may or may not be enforceable) requiring you to pay them a fixed amount of money over a fixed period of time, whether or not you ever buy a single item through their store. DirectBuy doesn't lose a penny if you never come back in the door. In fact, they are ahead of the game if you never come back, because they won't have to process your orders or deliveries. If you find other, more attractive prices for the items you want to buy, they still have made their money. If you are unhappy with the service or have problems with damaged or defective goods, they still have made their money. They are in business to sell you a membership, NOT to sell you products. Oh sure, you can hurt their business through word of mouth if you are unhappy. Or publish your discontent on websites like Ripoff Report. But a retailer has the same concerns and, in addition, is dependent upon your repeat business for his continued success. Where do you think you will get better service? And from my limited experience with the major appliances I was shopping for, that's where you will get prices that are as good or better as well.

Since you will pay so much for "joining" DirectBuy you will then feel 'forced' to concentrate your purchases there... which means DirectBuy does not have to 'earn' your business each and every day with reasonable prices and attractive service. They can adopt more of a take-it-or-leave attitude because they already have their profit. The 8% service charges and shipping charges are just more icing on their cake.

I enjoy the "hunt" for finding my best overall deal, and as a key part of that "hunt" I can avail myself of a far greater selection than any one company can ever offer.

The first "rebuttal" is rather long without seeming to contribute much, but this seems normal for people who wish to justify DirectBuy, MLM's, and so forth.

First of all, DirectBuy does not "force" anyone to listen to their so-called hype! Visitors are not held hostage and are free to leave any time they wish. The reason perspective members are asked to sign the first day they visit is because the participating manufacturers stipulated this rule as part of their association with DirectBuy. They do not want perspective members to write down a bunch of prices, not join, and then go out to the retail world and try to use this information to bargain with the retailers. These manufacturers still sell to retail establishments and do not want to lose their business. This is why only the members have access to the wholesale pricing and are held to very strict guidelines under their membership. They have no problem giving you a price or two but are not going to let you sit there and scan through tons of books.

You can't tell me that in a ten year period of time you won't spend at least $6,000 on household items for remodeling, gifts, appliances... etc. You will spend at least that much in retail markup. I can give you many testimonials from very satisfied members who saved their membership fee and more in their first purchase. Kitchen cabinets which were quoted at $27,000 in retail were quoted for $13,000 at DirectBuy for the exact same cabinets. Just yesterday I rang up a furniture purchase and the member showed me her pricing from the retail store. She saved over $2,500 on this purchase of living room furniture and couldn't be happier.

Last week a guy was raving about how he saved 60% on his hardwood flooring compared to the quote he received from his neighborhood retailer. A member recently came in with a retailer's carpet quote of $5.85 per sq ft and we had the exact same carpet for $2.49 per sq ft. Of course the larger the purchase the faster you will recoup your membership fee and realize the big savings. You're right, this membership is not for everyone. If they've never spent any money on their home and never plan to than obviously they should not join. It's not for everyone and this is clearly explained at the open house. It would be stupid to join if the only thing you plan to buy in the next ten years is a washer. But be honest, most people over a ten year period spend a considerable amount of money on household related items and would easily benefit from this membership.

Once you sign up you ARE NOT committed for the whole ten years. You have the option to pay the yearly renewal. A recent survey revealed that 98% of our customers are very happy with their membership. The 2% that aren't happy are usually not comparing apples to apples when they come to us and say that they can find everything cheaper somewhere else. There are crappy products and there are products of exceptional quality. Unfortunately, some people fail to see the difference. If you weren't allowed to look at any prices how did you come to the conclusion that there are no savings! What are you basing your comment on?

Yes, you can find some products at or even below the wholesale price in other venues, however, this is also clearly stated in the open house and on all of the catalogs which may fall into this category. Also, some products do not harbor a large markup and therefore the savings we are able to pass on will obviously be at a lesser margin. We merely offer these products as a convenience to the members so they can order things they need all under one roof. When retailers buy closeouts, discontinueds and order in mass quantities they are from time to time able to offer these items at a significant savings. But keep in mind these are "loss leaders" and are used to bait the customer into the store so they can steer them to more costlier items where the retailer stands to make a large profit.

The 8% handling fee (not club fee) is mentioned and discussed at three separate and distinct intervals throughout the open house tour. This fee is solely for the protection of the member. The fee goes toward time and effort expended to inspect each and every order when they arrive at the warehouse for pickup. If there are any issues such as damaged product or incorrect orders, DirectBuy handles all of them for the member so their involvement is kept to an absolute minimum. This fee also goes toward any issues which need to be resolved such as damaged items where both the shipper and manufacturer refuse to take responsibility and DirectBuy is left holding the bag. In cases such as this, DirectBuy uses this money to do whatever is necessary to provide a quick and satisfactory resolution for the member.

Large home appliances are not subject to this fee and on most occasions appliances have a very minimal shipping charge if any. Appliances are shipped right to the member's front door and brought into their home, uncrated for inspection and set in place. Oh, and on the subject of shipping charges...........are you not aware that consumers who buy retail always pay these shipping charges too? Retail stores are not eating the freight charges they pay to have the products shipped to them from the manufacturers. These freight charges are added into their markup. Consumers just don't think about this because all they itemize out on your invoice is the furniture price and the tax. DirectBuy itemizes out all charges incurred so you can see exactly what you are paying for. Even with the 8% handling fee and freight you are still saving in most cases, especially on furniture where retail markups are many times up to 70%, a very impressive amount! Most stores charge for delivery so there is not much of an argument there.

The location in which you take possession of the item determines what sales tax you will pay. If you pick up an item at the South Carolina warehouse you will pay their tax. If you have the item shipped to another state and possession is taken there, the local taxes in that state will apply. That is law. It is not based on where you live.

When you purchase an item on the internet, what recourse do you have when the item arrives damaged? I have heard horror stories where people who purchased on the internet received no customer service and were left to fend for themselves. A member can always rely on DirectBuy to help them resolve any issues. Can you go directly to the manufacturer on the internet and order anything you want, in any color, style, pattern or fabric? In retail stores you are limited to what the retailer offers on their floor in the colors and styles they want you to have. Sure, you can place a special order, but just watch how much the price skyrockets! At DirectBuy you can order anything that the manufacturer has in their catalog just the way you want it. No more having to search and search for the right wood finish or patterns. And this is all at wholesale prices. I've seen the savings and satisfaction on member's faces many many times.

The sales representative was right. The retail markup on appliances is quite a bit smaller than that on furniture and cabinetry. That is why the savings are smaller. There have been many times when associates have recommended that our customers might want to consider going elsewhere to purchase certain items when it benefits them. We are not there to rip anyone off. We want them to get the best deal, no matter where it is. I could not sleep at night knowing that I take advantage of hard working families. I take pride in knowing that these families can afford to upgrade to nicer things than they could normally afford and don't have to settle. You do not have to order items sight unseen. You can go to retail stores to see them we just ask that you don't monopolize commissioned salespeoples time knowing that you will not be buying from them.

All in all, from what I have experienced as an employee, DirectBuy provides an incredible opportunity for those who plan to make small or large changes to their homes and over a ten year period. Recouping your membership fee is a breeze and everything purchased after that is cake. For those who "get it" this is a no-brainer. Those narrow minded individuals who won't take time to see the big picture are the real losers.