DirectBuy
Reviews and Complaints

You bet your ###, they say to you.. "If you leave now, you will never be able to join again" And give us a list of names (Victims) so we can call them too. So many red flags we missed. Just call me a dumb ###.

On June 13, 2014 we signed a $5, 690 dollar contract with Carl Miller at DirectBuy in Farmers Branch after 6 PM. The next day we went back to the store and found that things didn't work as we had understood. We canceled in person with Carl Miller our contract on June 14, 2014 at 4PM. We were given a credit card receipt and the 72 Hour "Notice of Cancellation" signed receipted from Carl Miller and he told us that it would be in our credit card account within 5 days. . We have sent messages and calls and as of June 27 we have still not received our credit on our credit card account and have had to start a complaint with our Credit Card company against DirectBuy on Midway in Farmers Branch for refusing to process our credit. Beware, they are bad. .

They schedule sales visit for Saturday and are closed Sunday and Monday. They do not cover it but there is an option to cancel the contract within in 3 days of signing - so very hard to do and is very specific on how you deliver the cancellation. I made the deadline to cancel with certified and receipt signature, . Contract says they have 10 days to refund the 5500. They are several weeks late doing that to date. Phone calls do not work. I will be getting in their face personally this week. This is much worse than a timeshare scam. I am going to try to get the local investigative news people on this scam.

Lisa Hart is a spokesperson. And maybe a little robot like. So be it. So is Larry King, except uglier. :-)
Different centers have different dues, and different programs. They are franchised. You had a bad experience with a lousy salesman sounds like, and seemingly you had no need or upcoming purchases.

Confidentiality is real. And 800+ manufacturers would not participate in a scam. Especially giving DB cost pricing. Unfortunately, DB is restricted from publishing or allowing pricing outside the Centers. Common sense says the mfg'ers require that. It is a difficult part of the process, but understand too, DB cant be a public library of confidential prices. People would abuse that and use it against the stores. Margins of savings vary on products and it depends upon level of quality you desire. Entry level products come with marginal savings. Moderate to high end products realize greater mark ups and greater savings.
A unique program, for sure, and really for those who have some purchases that they are needing to make.

I work for DirectBuy, Cool Springs Tn. We do things right. With Integrity, we honor our guests - we dont beat them up.
This is why we are successful. What goes around comes around. Check local BBB for the center near you and understand your need before going in. Leave if it isnt right for you.
Merry Christmas.

My husband and I called DirectBuy over the weekend to add my name to his membership as his wife. We planned to shop yesterday as one household-husband & wife. "I have all the necessary documentation"-I said to them. They told us that there was no way to add me to his membership unless we paid another $4000.00 for a new membership. Why is that?

I though a husband and wife were "one" under government... the law. How can they separate us. They said that I would not be permitted to go into the showroom floor with him, I had to sit in a "guestroom". Is this a business in the United States operating like this. DirectBuy's practices are well beyond money, membership, and secrecy. This seems to be unconstitutional. How dare them to stern the nerve to tell a man or woman that they would have to leave their wife or, husband in a "guestroom" to shop. That is down right insulting. Our feelings were hurt. We refuse to be subjected to this. I am asking the Attorney General of Maryland to investigate. I made a formal complaint yesterday, after ending a very vanquished call with Directbuy in Hunt Valley, MD.

My wife and I signed up and paid $5000.00 after submitting to the high pressure "pay now or never." I have been kicking myself ever since. I planned on doing my shopping online more than 90% of the time and inquired about that before signing up. I was told everything I wanted to hear. I was also told that we would have access to every product that each manufacturer made. Not so. The majority of the manufacturers were very high end and had products that were too high priced. The ones that we were familiar with had very limited selections.

The website was extremely poorly put together and it was hard to see or know what you were buying. On one link there was one picture for fifteen different items and the short, vague description only let you that it was an item you didn't want.

I spent hours and hours online and spent just as much time traveling to their showroom and looking thru their catalogs and came away frustrated and pissed. The minuscule savings are not worth the extreme time and effort and does not justify the high membership fees. Shopping with Directbuy is very time consuming and very, very inconvenient.

Those members who criticize us disgruntled members are either retired old *** with crazy time on their hands, or they are Directbuy employees who have infiltrated the complaint sites to try and balance the comment. They are liars and scammers. I wish there was a class action lawsuit in Florida so I could sign up. I am so pissed, I am contemplating picketing in front of there warehouse to warn off as much people as possible. I have contacted one of my local news stations in the hopes they will run a segment exposing the scam. I am so pissed.

We were about to start major renovations of our home including new furniture. The pitch they gave us would save us thousands of dollars for an initial investment of $2000.00. As we began rennovations, we went to the showroom and used their catalogs to locate materials and furniture we wanted. In every case, we could get it for the same price in a local store. We did not have to wait 6 weeks and then pay a delivery charge from their showroom. We did not have to pay their additional service fee. We did not risk accepting damaged goods or a lemon and then accoprding to the agreement we had to sign with each purchase, the problemwas ours once the item left the showroom. The final straw was we anted 2 very expensive recliners. We got them at Macy's for less than Besy But could get them for us with no 6 week wait. This is the biggest rip off you can imagine. Don't even go there to hear the lies they will tell you. Avoid them whatever you do. They also tell you that you have to join that night or you can not join. What a scam.

I was an interior designer for thirty years. I bought direct from the manufacturers because I had stores and inventory. Direct buy does give you the wholesale pricing, unlike the design centers that mark up retail 20% and call it show room list. They then give the designers 40%off plus freight and delivery.
That cost you more than most retail stores! Direct buy is truly a manufactures pricing.
You could not do better as a consumer!

I wish I had seen this complaint site when we were considering joining. Sadly, we were charged twice what rightthewrong paid, but were planning a major Kitchen remodel thinking we would save. We spent twice as much because only high end products are available. I bought a Wusthof knife set through Dircetbuy and found the same 12-pc classic block set at a cooking store today for half as much - where are the savings? Help is non-exsistent at the showroom, you go find catalogs, and good luck if you are not a professional. The law suit gives members two free months - whoopie. Please do not be scammed by DirectBuy's lies and empty promises.

Hi Michael and rightthewrong,

We are sorry that you felt the expectations you have for your memberships were not met. We understand, and we assure you that we aim to provide the best-quality items at the best price possible. We go to great lengths to conduct price comparisons with other retail stores to assure we can offer you the better savings. And more often than not, you will find a better savings with DirectBuy. We can’t guarantee that we’ll have the lowest price every time as retail stores may have sudden decreases in prices for a number of reasons. However, if you ever find an identical item for a lower price at another retail store, you can provide documentation of the price to your local club and we’ll work to get the best possible price ASAP.

Also, don’t forget, you can always visit the member site to find more information and contact Member Services. They will help you resolve any questions or concerns you may have.

Please let us know if there is anything else we can address or help you resolve.

Have a great day!

I agree wholeheartedly - DirectBuy is a rip off and scam. In hind sight, it was after my husband and I spent $3, 600 for membership we realized: 1. We could get many of the items we wanted at a lesser price; 2. We would not have to wait 2-6 weeks for delivery only to pick up the item at a most inconvenient location and the cost of gas to and from the inconvenient location; 3. Whatever we would purchase (every single item) the price would be increased by their "handling charge"; 4. We would be "stuck" with the item once we looked the item over at the warehouse; 5. If we were to have a problem with any item there is no one to turn to; and 6. Their selection is limited although they claim it's like shopping in a hugh department store - a lot of their items how "no more in stock" items. Just to mention a few cons, the list goes on and on. We tried getting our money back - they allow 3 days to return the contract to which we did not timely cancel in spite of trying to talk to them with what we felt to be good reason. They appear concerned when they are trying to woo you over but they show their true colors showing you how unconcerned they are when you want to get out of the program. All in all we say STAY AWAY IT IS NOT WORTH IT! Purchase from stores you know you can go back to with a concern or complaint like Sears, Walmart, Macy's, JC Pennys - get the picture? Husband & Wife - Philadelphia, PA

Nicky-
My wife & I share your experience & frustrations. We were also taken in by DirectBuy's lies. If you're interested in joining a national class action lawsuit to recoup your membership fees + time / travel reimbursements, please see information on the website:

www.complaintwire.org

I can't believe you joined! how is paying thousands of dollars for a membership to save money a good idea? you can always do better locally. Look on the internet, there are so many complaints about Direct Buy it's staggering. They also buy or set up websites to display supposed satisfied customers. This company is very unethical and their business practices are deceptive, if you really want results a class action lawsuit needs to filed. Believe me, they have tons of ready made excuses for you regarding your complaint, according to them anyone who has a grievance with them is just "mistaken" @ Direct Buy the customer is never right, it's only about making money on memberships they care about.

Wow. All I can say is that I have never been subjected to such nefarious sales tactics as this. You are essentially given an ultimatim, pay now or stay away. Very smooth operation initially, where you are assigned a "salesperson", in our case a herpetic saleslady, who was well trained and very cordial. No questions during the sales presentation which is essentially 3 year old video testimonials. The owner, Mark, was also very smooth and with a full house must have expected a full haul. The price, as of November 22, 2008, was a staggering $6390. They did not mention it during the presentation, albiet minimally, they also tack on an additional 8%. One would have to be building a new house to "enjoy any kind of savings. My advice, stay very, very far away. This is such a rip off of people it is amazing to me that the BBB has not shut they down.

Once again, I reiterate, it costs $6390 to join and they charge 8% on every purchase.

Franchises have different memberships and pricing structures. And some are better than others. Big Cities like LA and NY have higher pricing than others - just like anything. 30 day trial program is to allow a non member access to pricing for 30 days - from multiple manufacturers. Up to 1000 bucks is pretty nice. Why should they service anyone at all for free. Because there is no profit on product and you dont pay for a membership. This is generous. Limiting amounts you can purchase and from whom you can purchase is realisitc. Unlimited purchasing from any manufacturer is not reality.

Memberships support the business and then you get the ability to purchase at cost.

Weigh the benefit. If you cant save dont join, if you can, then do. Check pricing yourself and come prepared. Walk away if it isnt right.
High pressure sales tactics, exist when you have a lousy salesperson, who utilizes ithat in order to make up for inability to consult you properly. Happens in businesses everywhere everyday and makes me sick.

It is a difficult process, due to manufaturers rules regarding confidentiality. We have to honor the mfg'ers in order to keep them on our shelves. But our guests should be honored as well. 7yr rule is not ours, it is manufacturers agreement with DB. Our commitment to them, that makes them comfortable being on our shelves. We cannot become a public library of confidential pricing. Our members love it because it protects our mfg'ers from leaving us, but it certainly difficult to understand as a guest.
Check local BBB and local center before going in. Not all are the same.
Merry Christmas

ps. I do work for DirectBuy in Cool Springs Tn. We are different than the rest. A+ BBB with around 43, 000 orders placed in 7 seven years.

Yep, DirectBuy got us, too. Go onto this website & tell your story:

http://complaintwire.org/Complaint.aspx/eUMle3o6UwCQIwjJgiKf_Q#p1OYuJzsd8wBXcgjLiBXLAw

There's a lady named Trudy who has been helping people get their money back. She is successful and knows the strategy to help you. She also knows what to write in your letters & can help you site specific laws they are breaking.

Don't give up hope and allow DB to rip you off! Good luck!

My husband and I are did a stupid thing and gave our credit card to the salesman. What a mistake. Did not realize until we arrived home that we did not sign the credit transaction. Got curious and began reading reviews of Direct Buy, did not like what we read and felt uncomfortable about not being asked to sign our credit card transaction so we sent a certified letter and ask to cancel the membership. However the CEO called and said we can not cancel cause South Carolina does not honor the 3 business day law. My husband said we already notified our credit card company to dispute the charge. The CEO said that they will send it back through. My husband asked him that you want to have unhappy customers. He could not comment. We are doing all we can to get out of this contract. We have a son in college and really can not afford this huge amount of money that would take away from our son's college. We done all we can and now we are putting it in the HANDS of GOD. This people are DEVILS. Devil get out of our lives in the NAME of JESUS.

I totally agree Direct Buy is a scam. My fiance and I signed up about 2 weeks ago. The website is full of (bleep), the reps face to face or via emails are not helpful or willing to help nor very friendly. In my contract, there is a clause that says Direct Buy has the right to terminate your contract if you are disruptive, so you know what, we plan on going to their office. And will be very disruptive if they reject rescinding this bull (bleep) contract. I will stand there and every single prospective direct buy candidate I will tell them exactly how it is. They CANT deny my access as I am a Direct Buy Member. I will ruin them! They chose the right one!

Direct Buy purposely lied to us during our presentation. My husband is a contractor, they told us that we could bring our clients in with us to also get their discount. After signing the contract which mentions their are not responsible for oral conversation "NO Oral Clause", they than give you the Our Vision Booklet that tells you different unformation than that which was given at the presentation. I live in Louisiana, so I wrote them a letter to cancel my contract 6 days later, stating that I was within my writes to cancel this contract in my state. They said they have never heard of a seven day right to cancel. I am getting ready to write another letter stating that I will contact the BBB and the Attorney General. I have already informed my credit card company and am in the process of disputing. I'm sure they will try to hurt my credit since they have sent the payment booklet due for the first payment on May 1st, which I have no intentions of paying. I will picket and pass out flyers in front of Direct Buy if they don't respond. I have not used their product and have no intentions of doing so. Please let me know if you can find a law in Louisiana about canceling a contract within 7 days.

Thank You, Pam Orgeron

I am in the same situation with Direct Buy. I did not know what I was getting myself into when I signed that contract. I paid them $449 up front with the balance to be paid in April. I have been trying to get ahold of them since them with no success. I don't know what to do and I am making myself sick over this. I am a widow and every penny I have I need. I thought this place was going to save me money on things I need to do in my home but the more and more I am hearing and reading scare the daylights out of me. Please advise me on how to get out of this contract. I want to put a stop on my credit card and dispute the original charge to them mainly because I feel as if I have been scammed and no one answers their phones, nor do they return any calls. This all has happened within the past month but I feel as if it has been forever. Please help

I just went to a Open House at Direct Buy store here in Puget Sound WA. I feel for their sell tactics. The take-away tactic got me even though i knew what it was i still fell for it. Well on the drive home i decided i was gonna cancel it. Well i left the store on a Saterday after closing hours then they are closed Sunday and Monday so had to wait till Tuesday. An after a weekend of reading all the bad reviews of Direct buy service got me worried how difficult it will be to cancel my membership. So on Tuesday i sent them a certified Cancelation letter and went in person to the store to let them know. Then met me and were still friendly when i said i want to cancel my membership. We sat down at a table and i was thinking here we go. But low and be hold he said was sorry I wanted to cancel my membership and will cancel it right now. He credited me back the amount i paid on the spot. I then said i was happy it ended on a good note. I told him of the reviews i read and he said yea some stores are like that but they work on being the best store they can be. I said i appricate it and if i know any body that is building a house i would recommend then. So i had a decent experiance with them

I assist a patient with a Bi-polar 1 mental disability. She was not taking the correct medication for the BP1 when she phoned for a pass and visited a Direct Buy presentation. She lacks the capacity to make good financial decisions, when functioning in a hyper manic state of mind, and did not understand the condition(s) of the contract. After signing, she gave them $185.00 in cash.

I did know, in advance, that she wanted to check them out and I volunteered to attend with her (so she would not sign something). However, Direct Buy said 'she was the only one who could attend, no personal assistants or a mental health associate was allowed to their "top secret" presentation'. What happened? She signed her life away, thinking she might get a good deal on a small freezer. When she had not made a withdrawal motion in the 3-day period to dissolve the contract (because she was not advised that was an option), it was immediately turned over to a collection agency somewhere in the mid-West. A collection agency is harassing her daily. They insist she pay ~$2, 500. Additionally, she receives bills in even larger amounts from Direct Buy! She was too embarrassed to explain the situation to anyone--until the point that it got out of hand for her.

First, how can Direct Buy management, presenters and advertisers be so socially unconscious that they choose to purposely swindle an person who obviously is suffering from a mentally illness? Her current situation is as follows: she resides with a friend, has no living relatives, and has no verifiable income from social security or DSHS. However, she is attempting to attend college full-time utilizing student loans. I hope that the college education, although it has been slow for her, will positively place her in a job within her personal limits.

What can I do to get her out of this mess? She wants me to accompany her to the store tomorrow. After reading other blogs, I am sure we will be asked to leave the premises. After a complaint is made to The Better Bureau, where can she go next? How can she stop the collector from making these phone calls?

Direct Buy must be sued for their fraudulent business practices utilizing a class action suit. If Wal-Mart employees can do it...so, can Direct Buy patrons. I wonder what lawyer(s) handled the Wal-Mart suit. Maybe we should all call him/her and get something started.

Really… Direct Buy...really…you have the Audacity to Swindle the mentally challenged and your fellow American people who simply want to change their mind regarding a business deal. For me, and many other American consumers, you have no moral compass. Since the Audacity to Hope book, written by President Obama, has shown us a new direction to move forward during this tough recession…I wonder how your company’s image with the Audacity to Swindle at its core axis can or will succeed.

I think any one of the many news television reporters across the country, talk radio, and internet reporters just might be interested in exposing the true dealings of Direct Buy. I encourage anyone who would like to see Direct Buy explain their business practices and principals, in front of the nation, should contact the national broadcasting companies, state and your local news agencies. There is definitely a story here that a news agency would be interested in researching, investigating, and then producing. Lawsuits are long and tedious. Nevertheless, by using national and local news reports to communicate that this problem exists wherever Direct Buy operates will paint a dark picture and will either force them to change their refund policy, or simply go out of business. I personally intend on passing this information up to the news reporters, and the National Alliance for the Mentally Ill.

Thanks for reading.

thay got us on [protected] . we call them back . the next day thay dont want to give us our money. we did not wait 24 hr to call it was 10 hr later . we been back out there but thay left befor i got there .

found a photo of him on facebook. love the web!

File a Complaint with The Attorney General's office in your state. The AG keeps a log on complaints, and will begin an investigation if there are too many.

Chicago North has a clown name BRENT GILLIGAN OR LAN. Who is ###. file with the AG

Gunter & Elgie-
Sorry to hear that DirectBuy got you, too. My wife & I are victims also. It's interesting how DB is on you like flies until they get your money into their grubby little hands and then they don't respond...Boy, if I only knew then what I know now! I found out the hard way that unfortunately the BBB can also be a scam. Most of the DirectBuy franchises pay membership & the BBB turns their back if you complain about them.
There is hope on another website. Class action lawsuit (at no cost to plaintiffs) & there's a remarkable lady named Trudy who researches your state's laws & walks people through step-by-step. She's actually been successful in helping people get their membership money refunded in full up to a year after joining. Since you both just joined, you will probably have a better chance at a refund. It will take time and effort (sending certified letters, keeping files, etc.) to get your money back. Good luck. Keep warning people to stay away from DirectBuy!

Here's the link:

http://complaintwire.org/Complaint.aspx/eUMle3o6UwCQIwjJgiKf_Q#p1OYuJzsd8wBXcgjLiBXLAw

Direct buy is a scam

I have heard of many similar things, however, a friend of mine swears by them. I take it all with a grain of salt. Can you afford to lose this money (high financing costs, problems with returning wrong or damaged orders, not remodeling your house to the scale that you have to in order to 'enjoy' the savings they promise, etc.?) I don't think it illegal to work like a used car salesman. It is BUYER BEWARE. You know it. If you have any doubts, don't sign the contract and walk away. As for the deal about your 'free pass' to visit them and look at the catalogs, and if you don't sign up or anything, then they say you can't come back because you've seen the low, low, manufacturer's price. Um, sales gimmick! High pressure.

i was in chicgao. brent gilligan was the spoke person and same stuff. pressure to join. rude. short and fat looking oddly around for the next couple to join jumping from table to table trying...trying to beg for memberships. i saw him take a few 20's from a coulpe and spread the down payment of 390 over 45 days. just to get them to sign a contract. they could not afford the 6500 how are they going to buy anything?
shame on him and the company. he talks very close and had smokers breathe. we watched the whole thing. i wish i had a hidden camera. i would expose that man for the used car salesmen he is.

I and my husband gave the kids their instructions as we eagerly walked out the door to check out this new idea called Direct Buy. We were called several times by their telemarketers and after watching a couple of commercials we finally agree it might be something to check out. We walked in the West Creek Parkway office in Richmond VA. On 10/15/09 and were greeted by a cheerful woman that told us someone would be up soon to talk with us. Max and the owner Dan approach us and expressed how happy they were that we where there. Max took us to a table and within two minutes was asking us about our employment. We answered his questions as vaguely as possible not wanted to give our full financial position to a person we met two minutes ago. He asked about our employment and our answer was my husband was between jobs and I was a full time student; he smile, said please excuse me, I need to go get nametags. His boss came out and sat down with us asking us again about our financial position and employment. My husband and I looked at each other kind of bewilder by their blunt questioning method that made you feel like all they were worried about was your financial worth to them. We told Dan that we were ok and we were here to check out his establishment and tried to continue on with the conversation about Direct Buys Programs. After three sentence he then said “And guys as I was saying if you’re in between jobs and you’re not planning to build for another six months maybe you should wait and come back after you have gotten a job..” Understand we had discussed with Dan that we were remodeling our house to rent out, we were in the middle of buying a house to flip, and we are building another house in six months. Anyone with a Brain and common since would be able to tell just by our projects we are involved in that we are not really hurting for money. My husband works as a welder has a hobby not out of necessity. We are not here to brag or to put anyone down but we have had some good fortune in our life and let’s just say that our great, great grand children will be benefiting from our good fortune. We were profile, rudely treated, and dismissed while being advised that it would be better for us to come back when we have a job and could afford it. Little did Mr. Dan know that my husband was sitting there with ten thousand dollars cash in his pocket t because we knew that there would be membership fees and he was going to buy me a nice dinette set for my birthday. For about five minutes we were pissed then we laughed our butts off at the ignorance of Direct Buy and the money they lost. We went to Value City where we greeted, welcomed, and treat very nicely. Value city defiantly didn’t profile us when we walked in the door. I am eager to go back and pickup My new dining room set, two new bedroom sets, a double recliner wrap around couch, and we are every getting this really cool vibrating/heating recliner.

I'm going to call the better business barrel on direct buy because u don't get ur free gift that they said u get they are a scam thanks Troy Daniels

I like the post by Steve claiming you can save up to 100% on furniture. Would it not be free then? Yeah right.

I am a member and work with DirectBuy and the people on this complaint site are largely malicious and irresponsible. I am an honest, forthright person who has been involved with DirectBuy for 6 years. I have never been involved with, nor witnessed ANYTHING within my Club, (nor in any Company I have been involved with) that even remotely can be defined as a scam. DirectBuy collects membership fees and allows people to shop in the Club or online and purchase items at the cost shown in the MANUFACTURER's catalog and the prices listed for the dealer (not the consumer). Is it a perfect system - no. Is it for everyone - no. Do orders get messed up or have problems - duh! What store doesn't have problems. Go ahead into Ashley furniture or Home Depot or Best Buy and tell me if they do everything right. Also ask them if they'll tell you what they paid for that TV, hammer or couch you are looking at - good luck. Oh and complaints on sites like this about poor service...give me a break. Gone into Lowes Best Buy or nay other retail store lately? Oh yeah what a great experience that is service wise. These comments I read I will challenge most of the people who used fake aliases are from people who have never been in an actual DirectBuy or didn't have the money, brains or guts to try something different that shopping at retail stores and malls. As far as the Free Trial. It is a very legitimate program, gives 30 days free access - no strings - no matter what the goofs on this blog spew out. It allows you to purchase $1000 of stuff at their cost. Of course it would be limited because it is free and DirectBuy makes no money on the purchase. It is no different than a CC Company offering you free 30 day trial on fraud protection then if you don't cancel they bill you card. The difference is DirectBuy doesn't take a deposit or other monies over those 30 days. We only require at the end of those 30 days you decide if it is right for you or not. Yes they have rules about deciding on membership and reselling and others because (again for the uninformed) you have access to catalogs and pricing that are confidential between a dealer and the manufacturer. The prices are printed prices from the manufacturer not DirectBuy. I ask anyone would you like to have a price book from a manufacturer to their dealer with you when you go shopping. Would the store like that? Hence rules get it. Anyway, I am sure people will respond to this post with comments like I am some plant or DirectBuy put me up to this...go ahead think what you want and be biased, uneducated and use a completely 100% unverifiable unreliable social medium like internet blogs to state you opinions but might make sense to really do the homework and learn the facts for yourself not via third parties. One last point if this is a scam why would reputable manufacturers like Sony, Maytag, Ashley, Kohler, Nike and on and on and on want to be affiliated with DirectBuy and sell product through them. Again fill the blog up with whatever you want but I know as someone who has been with DirectBuy for 6 years what they would be a shame to classify as a scam.

Is there anyway for a class action lawsuit. Their promise of incredible savings is often not true. If they do beat the price and you have to fight for it, you might save $20. Whoopee!

Without even considering
The membership fees and shady signup procedures, Direct Buy is an unethical business. They have catalogues of merchandise for you to pick from, but their showroom is a joke. If you are picking out a sofa, for example, you cannot sit on it or try it out. This is true for 99% of what you can order from them. They unofficially send you to other retailers if you want to see product before you buy it. You therefore receive basically no customer service from direct buy. They send you to retailers that you have no intention of buying from. These other retailers are paying overhead to run their own business, while direct buy benefits if you buy from them. Think how mad this would make you if you were a local business owner. Not to mention if this business goes under that means less jobs for the community. So I am sure some will say that they only care about what they personally save. Well if you know what you are doing good for you. For the majority of the population who does not remodel or design frequently, or are not educated in this area I hope that you don't run into any expensive purchasing / design mistakes along the way. There goes the "savings" real quick.

I am itching to try the DB free 30 day trial. However, reality set in. DB (or any other membership retail organization) would NEVER give you 30 days to come in buy what you want and never darken their doorstep again. They cannot make money (or interest) or the thousands of people who would do this. Here's what they do:

Give us 5, 500 -6, 500 and we'll give you the first 30 days FREE before you start your first monthly payment. They release no secrets over the phone or Internet on the "30 day Free Trial".

We don't have to worry about terrorist or others from various destroying us; we as fellow Americans (i.e. DB and simular organizations) detroy from within - destroyed credit ratings, high interest rates, spending money you don't have and the like.

AM I WRONG?!

I wish I'd have seen this site before wasting a few hours of my life last week. I live in a 500 sq ft studio in NY. I am getting ready to remodel my bathroom and have been doing a lot of research online trying to find the best prices. Ads for Direct Buy kept popping up all over the place. "Free 30 Day Membership" ... all you have to do is attend an open house. Well, little did I know that the open house was an hour of telling us basically only a [censor] would choose NOT to be a member of DB. Then after all the song and dance we were told there were 3 types of memberships: buy 1 category, 2 categories or all 5 categories of products. (eg for my bathroom: cabinetry was lumped into one category, tile was in another, lighting was in a 3rd, etc.) So I would have had to purchase the the 5-category membership just to complete one project.

So the deal on the table was: $5500 for a ten year membership plus an additional $200/yr for years 4-10). Take it or leave it and never be permitted back at the club again. Again they pushed only a fool would leave and go back to paying retail. The pitch was hard and heavy and a was shown a lot of testimonials of people saying how much they saved. The showroom was nice and there were tons of products and well known manufacturers. You can look at all the catalogs and products you want, but you can't make an informed decision until you actually start comparing prices yourself for products YOU USE and prices you've seen.

As a group at the open house, DB estimated how much people spend over 10 years and how much typical retail markups are. They used that as a basis for their sales pitch. Since this a considerable investment. It's more than a down payment on a car. It's more than several months of mortgage payments. I don't drop that kind of money without doing my research. But as it turns out, there was no "Free 30 day trial". I was told repeatedly I had to make a decision on the spot and if I left the showroom I would never be invited back. I could not have a day or two to think about it. I inquired about shorter membership options, but was told 10 years was it. They did try to make it more manageable for me by offering a payment plan, but only after much prodding did they tell me there was interest charged on they payment plan (only they couldn't tell me how much the interest was).

I'm not an idiot, I get the idea of direct buy, but I could only think about how much money I would have to spend in order to save the money I invested in the membership. And how much time before I actually broke even and started saving? Savings on products are all different depending on manufacturer and industry. There was no way of knowing if they products I use would be marginal savings or big savings. Why would it matter if savings is savings? Well they charge an 8% handling fee on everything. And if it's big, they charge a delivery fee from their warehouse (they don't ship big items to your house).

So what happened to my "Free 30 day membership"? I never saw it. It's just bait on the internet to get people to attend the open house. I might have actually joined if I had the opportunity to compare and do my own research in something like a 30-day trial. While I can see it might be a good deal for some, it seemed pretty shady that I wasn't allowed to think about it or compare, or crunch my own numbers to see if it would be a smart INVESTMENT for ME at this moment in time.

My advise: buyer beware. Don't waste your time unless you are planning on doing massive remodeling or refurnishing your home with high end furniture.

The usual pattern... Somebody comes along and, for their very first post (a) offers an unblinking defense of DirectBuy, (b) claims to have saved money, and (c) suggests that only happy customers of DirectBuy are in a position to assess its business model.

To start out, you can't "do your research" before you join DirectBuy, because their business model is set up to obstruct that. Every honest and ethical business I have encoutered takes the opposite approach - encouraging consumers to educate themselves and making information easily available so that their services and products can be judged on their merit. Most DirectBuy franchises are reported to take the opposite approach - hear a sales pitch, get presented with a contract, and sign it or never again be allowed to set foot in the store. Perhaps your local franchise is more ethical, or perhaps it has to be due to Canada's having stronger consumer laws than most U.S. states, or perhaps your cousin runs the franchise... but it's more than fair to judge DirectBuy by the general practices of its franchisees, rather than by assuming an exception and then pretending that the exception represents the norm.

I would love to do a thorough investigation of my local DirectBuy to decide if it's right for me. The membership fee, to me, is easily afforded. But they won't let me. Any number of consumer organizations have attempted to investigate DirectBuy, and they have been similarly stonewalled. If the consequence is that people assume DirectBuy is unethical and more interested in collecting membership fees than in providing a bona fide service, the fault lies entirely with DirectBuy and its franchisees.

I joined probably 6-7 years ago. Like anything else you join or purchase, do your research. From all of the purchases I have made or looked at making, I would say %95 have saved me money by going through DB.

If you don't like what they have to offer, don't join. I see most of these comments are from people who are not members. If your looking at saving a couple of bucks on a toaster or a tv don't join. But if your remodeling, have kids that are getting married or building a house like I did, this should definately be a consideration for you. I saved several (like 40) thousand on log home package.

So, I would say my membership paid for itself!

headstonesfan@hotmail.com

And yet DirectBuy's commercials have people talking about the small appliances they've purchased, something that pitches their services not to wealthy people in large houses, but to those consumers you just told us aren't in their market. Why do you suppose they would do that? Or add the laughable line at the end about "No dealers, please."

No business that believes in itself would pull the "buy a membership now, or you can never buy one (or can't buy for years) pressure tactic. It screams, "We don't want you to comparison shop before we have your money."

We could look at the math another way. If the typical person has to spend $30-50K to get his or her money back, DirectBuy could increase its handling fee by a mere 1% and offer memberships for a much lower price - a few hundred dollars. DirectBuy would not only benefit from bringing in the high end buyers, but could also serve the market "Drake Belson" sneers at - students, senior citizens, and the working class. DirectBuy wins, all around. So why does DirectBuy prefer high-pressure sales, huge up-front fees, and preventing comparison shopping before it has cashed your check?

I have been a member for a long time. Just went there today and they were gone. No letters saying that they closed was sent to me explaining any of this Just seen the piece of crap paper on the front of the new site they moved to. Good thing I did not renew my membership for this year. The nearest one is 30 minutes drive away and after reading these posts I think I will be cutting my loses and not renewing and they can pound sand in their ###. Not sure if I can file anything to try to recoup any of my previous paid funds but might try looking into it.

i've had a directbuy membership for 4 years now, and bought it because i was redoing my kitchen. sure the memberships are a little pricey, but i instantly got my money back and then some from the savings with my kitchen. if you are doing any major costly remodelings to your home its a great value. if you're building a house from the ground up GET A MEMBERSHIP. i still buy things now like my new sony 52" tv which i got for 650 less than bestbuy sold it for.

Thanks dear
You saved us by making this mistake we were almost going to do.

My husband and I live in Tuscaloosa, AL and would also like to get involved in a class action suit. Does anyone know how we can begin the process or join a case already in progress?

My husband and I live in Albertville and we are interested in gettting involved as well. We joined in Huntsville and we want our money back. By the time you add tax, shipping, and fees you could have went and bought an item and brought it home that day! Direct buy is a joke! My email is jessicasellers@charter.net. If anyone knows where to begin.

Hey all, "I'm goin in"! But I want to get the illusive contract, I'm on a mission that the CBC took on a while back.

I need all the ammo i can get to pull this off, any info on tactics or abilities to be left alone to "think about it the contract" would be great.

I'll cut them a bogus cheque as there would be no way my account would cover it.

Thanks all!

It's too bad the BBB wasn't able to help you. Until DirectBuy, I always felt the BBB was there to protect innocent consumers from unscrupulous companies like DB.

You might try contacting your state's attorney general's office. I tried in California, however, there's only power in numbers that gets their attention. They did admit they had some complaints, however, not enough to pursue opening a court case. Perhaps you'd like to go the class action route whereby you don't have to put any more financial resources up towards paying legal fees. All of the attorney & court fees are paid through a settlement if we (the consumers) win. If not, no harm, no foul. There are several class action lawsuits currently filed throughout the United States. If you're interested in contact information & joining a lawsuit, let me know & I'll post the information.

Good luck, Rita. I hope we all continue to do what's right in warning other people to stay away from DirectBuy!

Rita-
I totally agree with you. We need to keep the pressure on. The problem with the BBB is that they allow businesses to "buy" memberships, which gives them credibility. If you do a search on the BBB website, you'll find that most of the DirectBuy franchises are members who carry the BBB seal of approval. I think that's just wrong.

Many people who have been ripped off are ashamed to admit it, so they just take their financial loss and consider it a lesson. I wish people would speak up so we can get DirectBuy shut down. They are a scam and sell empty promises and dreams to unsuspecting consumers.

I found out there are actually five class action lawsuits against DirectBuy and spoke to one of the lead attorneys for the case filed in California a couple of days ago. He was hopeful and is really trying to get this case moved through the legal system quickly. Hopefully we will all see some resolution in the not too distant future. Until then, I appreciate people like you who try to warn people to stay away from DirectBuy!

I believe justice will prevail and DirectBuy will be punished in the end.

I agree that DirectBuy definitely plays "mind games" in intimidating and sometimes shaming people into signing-up for memberships. When you actually place an order, you find that the nightmare is only beginning. I am appalled that the BBB allows DB to be members in good standing. I have also noticed that DB is sending out various press releases showing that they are "community minded" in supporting various charities. They are scamming people. I wonder when someone will actually get them shut down. The t.v. stations only want their advertising dollars & the State Attorney General's office is overrun with big piles of cases they are working on...DB is small potatos in their book. I don't know what the solution is but I am going to keep warning as many people as I can to stay away & not respond to DB's advertising & enticing promises.

I am really glad to hear a former employee come forward with the truth about this company. I am very fortunate I listened to my gut and didn't join, the more I learn about Direct Buy the more I can't believe they are still in business. Some people may have saved money with them but I don't see how, people making large purchases on merchandise would be given a bulk discount with a local company without having to pay thousands of dollars for a fake membership. How is this company still allowed to do business? I hope they get shut down, I am doing all I can to get them out of Tucson.

Thanks for doing what is right. It took a lot of courage for you to share your experiences with DirectBuy in hopes of saving others from their slimy grip. I can't imagine getting fired for having a moral backbone.
If you hear of anyone who wants retribution:
Help spread the word...
A Federal Class Action lawsuit against DirectBuy has been filed by Izard Nobel LLP. Contact information is as follows
Lead Attorney - Jeff Nobel
email - jnobel@izardnobel.com
toll free phone# - [protected]
Please contact them so justice may prevail & we can get our hard earned money aka "membership fees" back.

My credit is ruined because of Direct Buy I am a single mom in 2007 I went to a Showroom presentation of Direct Buy at the time I was dealing with a marriage that was falling apart going though a separation. I have 2 kids and I am a full time student and I cant even get a loan for my education. I am paying for my education but I find it very hard to stay afloat. They made it sound so great at the time and I was so uneducated on their sceem. I tried to cancel my contact and I thought I did. But to my surprise I applied for a credit card to help me though school and I was declined, I looked into it and found that they put themselves on my credit report. This is B.S. all my bills are paid in time I have no problems with any other creditors. How do I clear my credit report ? Can someone please help me? email me at sil_saab@hotmail.com

B I G S C A M I MEAN B I G STAY AWAY
I can't believe it! The exact SAME thing happened to us to to the t including the threats from the finaical inst. who asked if we owned our home tnen said they could put a lien on it. It must be in their empoylee manual as your experience is excatly like ours.

My husband and I attended a presentation in Feb 08. We were in a good financial situation at the time and were getting ready to purchase our first home. So we took the opportunity to join because we knew we were going to have a lot of work to do on the property we were buying. Well the seller stalled and the bank that had agreed to a short sale rescinded their acceptance because the seller was stalling. We lost the house to auction. Within a month the house we were renting was sold our from under us as well because the landlord defaulted on the mortgage. Now we were truly homeless. We had to move to another area some distance from work and our children's' school which left us with a hefty commute. On top of everything else the company my husband worked for cut his hours in half. We immediately contacted our center and informed them of the financial hardship we were currently having. After much negotiation they agreed to freeze our membership. Sounds fair right? Well according to the finance company that collects the monthly installments on the membership just because they froze our membership doesn't mean we stop paying for the membership. Now they are calling my house 3 to 6 times a day demanding money from us, money we simply don't have. When I asked the representative if they wanted me to pay them instead of feeding my children and keep them warm they told me "You signed a contract to pay and you shouldn't have if you couldn't afford it". Funny when we joined we could afford it, if I could see into the future then I could still afford it because I would know what the winning loto number are too.

You are so RIGHT! DirectBuy is a scam! WHY do they have to spend MILLION$ on advertising? Did you ever seen an ad for Costco (though not the cheapest everytime)?
Their YOU MUST SIGN NOW or NEVER AGAIN approach sounds like hard up used car salesmen on a bad month.
You gave me an idea! When I have some time to waste I'll give them my MagicJack phone number (another scam) and show up with about 6 of my buddies! I can wait until they call the police!

Every time I hear about another person (people) joining DirectBuy, I cringe. It sounds great in theory, however, when you're able to do the price comparisons, DirectBuy can't beat the prices we either got through Lowes, Home Depot, local retailers or off of the internet. Plus we didn't have to pay tax for out of state retailers. If you want to get your money back:
Help spread the word...DirectBuy is a nightmare & scam.
A Federal Class Action lawsuit against DirectBuy has been filed by Izard Nobel LLP. Contact information is as follows
Lead Attorney - Jeff Nobel
email - jnobel@izardnobel.com
toll free phone# - [protected]
Please contact them so justice may prevail & we can get our hard earned money aka "membership fees" back.

Remember that great scene in Miracle On 34th Street where William Frawley tells the judge what will happen if he proclaims that there is no Santa? Think of that as you read this.

Let us put their sales tactics and fine print to the side and think about some bottom line. As memory serves the DirectBuy pitch eludes to the fact that their operational expenses are pain by the membership fee. In this area it is $5, 000 to join. Even with that figure perhaps it might fun to do a little basic arithmetic.

First, you get to pay the prices that the stores pay. Maybe so, but many manufacturers use different price structures that they use based on a stores volume.

The DirectBuy showrooms are in well appointed and decorated facilities, They can house several room displays, product samples, shelving for the many catalogs, meeting room, children's area, customer service area, kitchen design area, offices for the owners and membership directors, a telephone sales room and a break room. Ever wonder what the rent might be?

There is the cost of the basic utilities and technology such as the computers and telephone systems. Oh, and let us not forget the cleaning service.

Salaried, commission or hourly all of the people who work there get paid.

And, the executives and employees on the corporate side... They get paid too.

Advertising: It is likely that your local "club" pays into that pool.

Infomercials: Writing, Production and post production costs, royalties and residuals
(if any), and the simple fact that they don't get on television for free.
That goes for airtime on radio too.

Print: Newspapers, magazines... Costs for writing copy and layout. The price for
individual publications and ad size and distribution will vary but it is
a needed expense and DirectBuy does allot of it. Even the printed
material and your free visitors pass isn't really free. OOops I almost
forgot the postage.

Computer Ads: While less expensive than more traditional forms it still costs.
So do the web designers. Then there is a matter of the proliferation of all those new websites that are declaring the great benefits of joining
DirectBuy. All so positive... Real or not someone maintains them.

Had enough logistics? OK so here is the mythical math question to consider and think about. How many new "memberships" does it take to maintain all of the above just on the local level.