Direct Buy scam, higher prices in the long run, toll booth scamming Cincinnati Ohio

My wife and I did a fair amount of research before joining.  The presentation is exactly what you'd expect:  they compare their best deals to the worst full price deals you can get.  Who pays full price for anything, these days?  Anyway it's a pretty annoying presentation that we didn't need.

Depending on your circumstances, it may or may not be a great deal for you.  One of our friends was a member in Clearwater, FL and got a decent return on their buy in.  The Clearwater club closed but fortunately there was one in nearby Tampa that honored their membership.  They had purchased a lot of furniture and felt they hit their break even point.

My neighbor in Ohio joined after getting furniture for most of their house--so after three years they have bought very little.  It was a poor investment for them.  They showed us the catalogs they get and between that info and my FL friends, we decided to join.

We probably had a better idea of the membership costs and the markup than the average consumer.  We don't know why Direct Buy makes these numbers so shadowy.  It's a couple grand to join, depending on the level of service.  The prices you see in the online catalog and in the showroom are wholesale prices.  You typically pay an 8% "handling fee" and freight to the DB warehouse.  Then you add sales tax on top of that.  It may take a few weeks for the warehouse to get your item.  Then, depending on the items, you have to go to the DB warehouse to retrieve or find a delivery service to your house.  With Amazon prime and other online retailers who ship for free and may charge no sales tax, it is beneficial to comparison shop and consider all costs.  DB is not necessarily the best price, my momma told me to shop around.  We've been keeping a spreadsheet of our purchases with what we spent at DB vs the best (final) price online (potential vs actual purchases).  To date, we've been a member for about a year and have only outfitted our finished basement.  We have not yet hit our breakeven point (I am brutally analytical finding deals online) but we joined after purchasing furniture for our diningroom and family room elsewhere.  We have a couple of more rooms to outfit so I'm confident we'll exceed our break even point.

The website is kinda slow but it's improving.  Not everything is on the website so you'll have to go to the club if you really want to get the full experience.  Review of the Cincy club itself:  The club itself is a pleasant environment and laid out like a library, with bookshelves, tables and computers for making notes and ordering.  The staff at DB are super friendly and helpful.  Not pushy at all, I really feel they go above and beyond.  For example, there was product we had seen at another retailer from a vendor they did not do business with.  I had mentioned it to Leslie.  A week later, they were retailers for that product.  My only complaint about the club itself is the hours:  it's closed Sunday, Monday and Friday.  My wife and I would love to go there today and pick out our bedroom furniture but that's not happening---part of the reason we haven't broke even yet.

Disclaimer, although not a principle in the club, I have paid for a membership so I have an interest in it continuing to be operational.  The Direct Buy is not a ripoff at all.  It's good if you are interested in spending a lot on products in the next few years.  It could take spending $20,000 before you hit your breakeven point.  Look down the road:  if you're going to spend at least that in the next three years, you will be happy at DB.  IF not, then it's not for you.

My wife and I have already saved more than our 3 year membership fee within our first year of membership. No, this may not be the best idea for someone who just wants to buy a television or smaller appliances, but for those who are remodeling or renovating, DirectBuy is a great option.

I too had Rich Koshner as a guide.
During the video presentation in the room I was taken aback by the total vagueness of the video. The information they gave was almost the same as the information in the TV spots. but no REAL information on the items that you can purchase through them.

there was just alot of Direct Buy is So great because we save money! Save Money! Save Money!

And a lot of emphasis on consumer goods like TVs and Electronics. Trying to convince you to "get the most" out of you $4500 membership fee by buying as much as possible. The thing is you don't SAVE by SPENDING. You save by NOT Spending. So no matter how many wholesale wide-screen TVs you buy, you're not going to save anything if you're spending money.

And I don't buy consumer goods like that. And I don't buy high-end electronics, jewelry, sporting goods or other things as gifts. So, again, no savings there. I do have an old house and could probably save on building materials but, when you factor in the fees, not so much.

Anyway, iI said no and walked away. I'm glad I did. Luckily Rich did not start in with the trailer park story because, if he had, I probably would have laughed in his face. Again, you don't save by spending. And if you're struggling in a trailer park, nice furniture isn't going to make your life better.

Direct Buy is banking on rampant consumerism. The idea that you NEED to buy all this "high-end" stuff and that you need to buy it often. keeping up with the Joneses. Those are the people the prey on. I'm glad I don't fit the profile.