DirectBuy

A few years late, but couldn't resist...
As far as the money and business end of getting into pockets, I had an idea that was how it worked. My view of Direct Buy is focused directly on the owner's.
It wasn't only the people who didn't buy into the club that was 'talked' about. The member's themselves were talk of the day, taking turns as they called to check on their order, or called to ask if the parts to repair their merchandise had come in, or called to check the status of the repair work, and so on, and so on.
Members would be dealing with these people, sometimes for months, and years trying to get satisfaction if their was an issue such as damaged or defective. Two examples stand out, a young couple had not been satisfied with their bedroom set so the procedure to communicate with corporate offices and the manufacturer begins.
A conversation is started, responses and instructions were given, then nothing...for months. The parts to repair their product had been delivered, and stuffed in a closet, oh, this closet had it's own phone and it was Direct Buy's 'furniture repair business.'
This repair business was simply one of the employees...who submitted an official estimate, and invoice for the cost of repairs, reimbursed by the manufacturer if defective. This money went into their pockets.
This closet was full, full, of members repair parts or replacement product which is why they were calling-satisfaction. This young couple would contact the owner's atleast once a month...they became the 'problem', not the club. They were 9 months getting the finials for the bed posts, the finials were delivered 6 weeks after they were ordered from the manufacturer.
Another member had to deal with issues for 3 years, 3 years, for the correct front piece to the bottom drawer of an oak file cabinet. The drawer piece was in the 'furniture repair' man's closet. The UPS label was dated 4 weeks after he received, and complained about the defect. This member, however, was wealthy and ordered often, so as long as he keeps placing orders, he's not considered a 'problem.'
Another gentleman kept coming or calling to check on the repairs to his leather sofa. Each time he came to look at it, he was looking at the same thing as the last time, . No repairs were ever made, yet each time the member and the 'repair man' agreed to send it back for 'repairs', the 'repairman' was lining the owner's pockets.
Members were one level above employees, whom were treated as though they were the ### on the bottom of the owner's shoe.
This mention of being a 'private' business must have meant they had their own 'employee rights' policy book. If a member called in sick, they demanded a doctors note the next day. No insurance, no sick days, didn't dare think of coming in late, and needing time off for personal reasons, well...prepare for a long lecture about how you need to take better care of your employment.
They were you're bread and butter, they paid your bills, you work for them, you have no time for family, they 'OWN' you. The only issue with this is: when it's payday, and they are on the lake- in the new houseboat...they're not driving all the way to Springfield to hand out paychecks. And they didn't.
Everyday, there would be an employee who didn't dress right, their hair was not right, the shoes weren't right, lipstick too bright, walk too slow, talk to fast, if it wasn't this one today, it was that one. There was not another human being alive that was or ever would be as good as the owner's. They all drove Cadillac Escalade's or Mustang convertibles, lived in big brick homes with 3-4 car garages. Some employees done well if their car got them to work that morning.
Some employees, who were friends of the family, done nothing. Others had to work their ### off just to keep from getting a reprimand. A supervisor would consult with an employee about whether or not some one should be fired, whether or not they're doing their job, are they doing it properly?
When a shipment would come in, it took 3-5 employees to process and recieve it. This was because the tiny warehouse was stuffed floor to rafter with merchandise that had one of two dispositions: donate or destroy. If it was a nice peice, it stayed right there until the owner's could have a gigantic yard sale in their neighborhood. The damaged junk, was donated to various charities and the owners were given blank donation receipts.
The manufacturers were always satisfied receiving those donation reciepts, it was the correct item listed. But the actual item was sitting in the warehouse, waiting to be sold, to profit the owners and line their pockets...again.
To put it simply, in terms most folks can understand: these people were getting away with alot of stuff us common folks wouldn't, they were high class, way above any pee-on who worked for them, they were wealthy-because the pay was pathetic, they were greedy-because there are numerous ways to haul in the profits, without uncle sam knowing anymore than needed.

We have been members for several years and use our membership several times a year. We just recently ordered kitchen cabinets and saved $12, 000 over the next closest bid on the same identical cabinets at one of the big box stores! We have found the on large purchase items you can save thousands of dollars, on smaller items, sometimes it is not worth the savings. Also the the selection of items is so much greater because you are ordering direct from the catalogs, not just what a retail store has in stock. Yes there is a time delay to order, but overall my wife and I feel it was a great investment. Bob and Becke

I joined Direct Buy recently in Springfield, MO and wish I hadn't. I won't even get into the "savings" part of the whole thing. Basically, I have "saved" about a thousand dollars so far but gee, that's not worth spending $4500 to do it. My main complaint is the general feel of the whole thing. I sold real estate for seven years, and never once held someone to a contract they didn't want. But the way it works here is they will stick it to you. And once friendly Brent Fesperman has your money, or an agreement to finance your membership, you'll probably never see him again. I haven't and I've been there multiple times. Don't get taken in by the whole 'nice guy who's going to save you money' thing. I didn't get my login information to be able to check the web site out until well after the 3-Day cooloing off period. That's probably how it works for everyone. After all, once you see the much-anticipated site with your 'insider costs' and realize that it's pretty much designed for those in the top 10-20% income bracket, not for the average Lowe's shopper, well you want out. But they won't let you out. I had quite a few family members that were interested and were waiting to see how things went for me and what my husband and I would recommend. Wish it would have worked out because we could have shopped together and picked up orders together, etc. But I am telling them all, run away, don't ever even think about it. My contact person was Brent Fesperman. If you can give me any information, I would be very grateful.

The amazing part of this is that this person is now working for another DirectBuy. Can't be all that bad...

WOW! I always thought they were a scam. Can't believe people would buy into it, but there's always stupid people in this world. Also heard the management there is really bad. Heard employees were filing suit against them for discrimination because they provide insurance benefits to some employees but not others. I worked in insurance for years and it is true that you don't have to provide insurance benefits, but you can't offer to some and not others working for the same company. What ### they must be.