Uniway I have read all of these complaints and honistly 99% are half truths and plain false hoods. N. CHARLESTON South Carolina

people should really do their own thorough research and not rely solely on what the commentators here say. i'm not saying this isn't a useful place to gather information but it also appears to be a place where people put down other's for not agreeing with their opinions.
some people will complain about and not be happy with anything. so you have to consider where some complaints are coming from.
and always try a BBB search. if you search for Uniway on the BBB site you will see about 20 different Uniways pop up and most are not BBB accredited. the Uniway location closest to where i live even has an "F" rating, while the accredited Uniways have "A" ratings. just because they share the same business name does not mean they share the same owners or are ran the same way.
and you can't always save money on everything. everyone knows that retail prices are marked up, some more then others. such as clothing and furniture have higher markups then electronics.
either way, if you happen to live in the same area as one of the reputable Uniways it might be worth it to join but i would stay away otherwise.

I worked at the Uniway of Charleston, and really I can truly see both sides of these complaints. I mean yes, the company doesn't have very good organization when it comes to ordering and checking on orders or being available for calls. My phone was on the other side of the wall as Michael's office, and I only heard him yell maybe 3 or 4 times I worked there (8 months), and it was usually at an employee for doing something that could compromise the company's integrity. As an outbound calling agent, we were required to send out invitations to people to come in. And really if you are making many large purchases or changes to your home its AWESOME, but if you dont have a lot of flexibility for shipping time its not for you. I mean when you work with a contractor all of this stuff goes on behind the scenes and you don't see it AS much because they will shop around their contacts to get the job done cause time is money. But when you cut the middle man, and deal directly with the manufacturer, you have to deal on their time frames.

Now I read somewhere that all us ex-employees were praising cause we didn't have to pay for our memberships, well Ill tell you what, I ordered from there as an employee without a membership, but when I left the company to seek work with different hours (no other problem that school scheduling), I was told that to continue to be allowed to order there, I would have to purchase a membership, but I was given the option to finance. As far as making a decision right at the time of the tour, as explained in the tour, Uniway is not allowed to compete with local retailers, so it has to be a time limited opportunity. Now I do agree that maybe you should like have 48 hours, but really anybody who knows what its like to shell out 2K at one time or sign a contract for any sum of money, if you go home, you are gonna talk yourself out of it. Its like that with houses, cars, time shares, large TV purchases, furniture, ect....

Also about the orders not being placed cause your money is being used to pay other bills, well thats not true. I never had any issue with my pay other than maybe it being delivered a day late cause Michael forgot what time it was and didnt have time to go to the bank. And about not getting checks while working there, its nobody's fault but the person who wrote all those checks to themselves, its not Michael's fault that no one will cash checks anymore after being burned like that. That's other buiness' decision to minimize their loss even though the problem was taken care of. It was like a 6 month ongoing problem before they could figure out what was going on. I would rather get paid cash anyways, our pay stubs and cashed checks were given to us weekly, and I never had to worry about going to the bank. Anyways, I think overall they were a really good company. But to each their own.

Now THAT guy..."J" from Auburn, Maine...is a shill. The guy's just pasting comments he wrote in another string having to do with Uniway. I'm assuming that the Ed. is taking note of that. Bottom line is, it's a lame thing to do... quit advertising for Uniway.

My experiences have been to do my own homework and having done so I am confident you can reproduce the following findings about normal merchandise mark-ups.

Furniture (sofas, chairs, kitchen, mattresses, etc.) have an extremely high retail mark-up. Not only did I work on a regular basis with manufacturers and distributors on a wholesale level, I'm also acquainted with two former furniture store owners of two different market areas. Often a $300 item ordered, shipped and displayed on a retail floor will have 2.5 multiplier. In some cases a 3x markup.

What this means to you is the $300 item may be listed as a $900.00 retail product on sale for $699.95. The queen sleeper and dual reclining loveseat in my house is from a middle of the road manufacturer. I spent $700.00 at Uniway after a 10% handling fee and freight charges of $150.00. This Catnapper set was on sale for $2200 in the same marketplace.

The common cost of a membership is shown to be $1800 then $75/yr. according to these reports. Purchasing our sofa set, Futon frame and mattress set and King-size mattress set, amongst other smaller items w/ less mark-ups, I received my ROI almost entirely after my first purchase and exceeded it within 3 yrs.

As for other products mentioned on the message board:
Jewelry is at least a 3x markup. (I purchased wedding bands and engagement ring, watches and other jewelry for my wife at a much better than retail cost :)
Appliances are hit or miss. Best to shop around. Most savings are with the very high end appliances.
Electronics are same as above. But, best to at least see if you can utilize your membership.
Automobiles: hit or miss but in my experience, members have saved anywhere from 1500 to 4000 on most mid to high-end vehicles.

If you are young or old and know that you will buy in the near future or immediate future, the buying plan can really work well. If you are just looking for a cheap price on cheap stuff and mainly interested in electronics for your car or home, then you made the wrong decision for your situation. If you have to finance the $1800, you will not feel as great about your buying decision, especially if you opted for financing on the cheap.

A select few a qualified prospects for the program, unfortunately it is human nature to imagine your self in a position to become a qualified prospect in the future. Do your best to make a decision based on your Current situation, current income, current lifestyle. And, answer no if you've been there before. Here's the thing, if you have a membership, try to use it each time you might buy a mid-large ticket item. Give your store a call and have them do the work for you.

I worked at Uniway for a while, and I do believe that it is a rip-off. The only reason these people who work there now are saying that it is a great program is because they did not have to pay to become a member.

You have to pay over a grand to join and the almost 200 bucks a year to stay a member, and they still mark up the merchandise.


I hated those stupid inquiry books they made us keep...you constantly have people tell you they could save more at Home Depot or Lowes on the appliances and at furniture stores on the sofas and stuff, and then whne the Sunday paper came out you could see all of the things they were telling you are true.

You save money on carpet. Everything else is a ripoff. Do not make the mistake of spending that big chunk of cash to join. If you really want to see how it works get a part time job there. You get to see behind the scenes and you become a member for free. Then you can see that it is the biggest load of bull. Sure, they have some satisfied customers, but you have to keep in mind how dumb those people are.

i am a currrent employee of uniway of rock hill...i am also a member....i have no problem with the services provided....if you are a person with half a brain and want to save money you should come to uniway...if you don't take advantage of a good thing it will slip throuhg your hands...it is plainly stated in the cojntract that you have a cancelation period...so we are not strictly binding you...we give you a chance to see if it is something you like....it's your problem if you let it slip by you....if you are stupid enough to say no....then you have issues...that is my reply...i care not what others have to say....i am a happy consumer...no prpoblems....the customer service is great....make your decisions now

thank you

Many companies have survived for much longer than uniway and have been scam companies. The length of a company has no bearing on its honesty. As far as Uniway is concerned I just make sure I tell all my friends and that they tell all theirs that it's a fraud.