Home | Tell a Friend | Donations | Resources | Blog

8/29/2008 - BCinque writes:
What an experience. The sales rep began to lecture me about his time and how he hated indecisive people and how he didnt need my money because this company has plenty of educated customers who knew the difference between cheap and quality. I told him that it was none of his business what my decision was. If he didnt want to waste his time with customers, he should find another field. And I asked him do your educated customers know the difference between rude high pressure asses and a true salesperson who can sell his product without tactics? He became so rude and belligerent at that point he told us to leave as he would not waste his valuable time with people like us. I said you mean columbia grads with decent jobs who are buying a new house? What an ass. If you truly are selling quality furniture at lower prices, you would have waiting lists for sold out furniture. You wouldnt need to coerce insult and manipulate people.

8/29/2008 - Linda writes:
Like others here, regarding Direct Buy, my husband and I went to an Open House they were having - just to satisfy our own curiosity. The REAL kicker was when they told us that if we didn't sign up today - we could NEVER and would NEVER be permitted to join if we wanted to at a later date. Our salesperson went so far as to tell us that once we leave the showroom, if we didn't sign up that date, our names would go into a NATIONAL database and even if we moved to another state, if we wanted to join at that time, our names would come up and we would be denied membership at that time. We would be denied membership FOREVER. Up to the day we died. I think this sales pitch takes the cake. Geezzzz.

8/29/2008 - Debbie writes:
8/27/08 We saw the infomercial and my husband decided to call. He was curious as to how DB worked since we were thinking of redoing our kitchen. We received a card in the mail with an appt. time, then received a telephone call. When I returned the call to set up an alternative time, the salesperson asked if I would be bringing any children with me. I told him no small children but I did have a daughter who is 28, and she would be coming with us. There was dead silence. I asked if that was a problem and he said she could sit in the lobby and wait for us. I explained that she was special needs and would be with us, that she wouldn't be a problem but that I wasn't having her sit in the lobby for 1 1/2 hours. He said he would have to check because he didn't think she could come with us. He was very short with me and I felt quite rude. I am so glad my husband told them to forget it, that it wasn't any way to treat a potential customer. I'm so glad we didn't go after reading the many comments about what a scam this place is.

8/28/2008 - "L" writes:
My Wife and I went into the local office in West Palm Beach, and from the get go I thought that these people were too nice. But they showed us the hour presentation and told us that if we did no buy today we could not come back for life ( that’s a bunch of CRAP, PLEASE DO NOT FALL FOR THIS) I told my wife that we can’t afford there $5000 memberships. My wife talked me into signing up with the WORST COMPANY IN HISTORY. What we did was we made a $500 dollar deposit and we would pay it off in the next 2 years (sounds good right) Let me tell you what happens when you sign the contract, These people sold the loan to a bank that I have never heard of the first week. What I found out is that when you sign the contract you are giving these people the right to go out and apply for a loan in your name. This company went out and got a $4500 loan in our name at a 18% interest rate and we tried to cancel the membership and they said that there’s nothing they can do about it, because they already got there money. IF YOU ARE READING THIS PLEASE I BEG YOU STAY AWAY FOR THIS COMPANY THEY ARE CROOKS.

8/28/2008 - Aften McKinney writes:
I scheduled an appointment at the show room in Kansas City. I was called in the evening, a week ahead, by Scott, a most aggressive salesman who refused to accept that I was on my way out the door & couldn't talk. He was completely offensive; and, as a result, I called & cancelled my appointment.

8/28/2008 - A Curious Contractor writes:
OK, I have been a contractor for 25 years. We generally receive a contractor's discount from suppliers but often find even better prices searching the web. So if DB is so worth joining, how come there are no postings from contractors who buy in volume. Contractors are skilled at catalog shopping etc. Wouldn't it be an even better deal for a contractor? It seems very curious that DB is not popular with contractors.

8/27/2008 - SEB writes:
My wife and i went to the open house today in Kansas City, MO and felt we were entering a cult. They sat you in front of a TV for 45 min, trying to explain you how much money you would be saving, but were lacking answering very precise and simple question. When the price of the membership magically appeared to be $4990.00 for the first 3 years, then it would be $200 a year for the next 7 years. Mmmh sounded like such a great deal we had a good laugh. Of course the salesman explained us what we would be missing if we didn't join. My wife and I are a young family and worked for everything we have. The reason we have a decent net worth and some cash is because we DO NOT FALL for that kind of scam. One of the question was what happened if we paid the membership and you go out of business?. The salesman was unable to answer and kindly showed us the exit door. PEOPLE, DON'T DO IT.

8/27/2008 - James writes:
Around March I saw the ad for DB, seeing all the savings listed, I decided to call the number. After a few months of being called I finally decided to make the appointment I had put off. I went with a friend and they certainly had some personal questions for me and my friend such as how many kids and etc. After looking around the showroom we were taken to a room and presented with a video and told about all the savings. At the end, the price of membership was given. $4850.00 for the first two years and $200.00 for every year after isn’t something I’d even consider to buy a vacuum cleaner. After the presentation, we were shown to our sales rep who told us a bit more about the products and services. I told him, $4850.00 is a bit ridiculous, and he said, We just need a commitment. This apparently costs $500.00 to start and probably some monthly payment. I never sat at a table and the video tells you that you can't ever be a member if you don't join immediately. I told him, I don't think so. Let me check the key you sent me, if it wins the $50,000 I'll join. Needless to say, it didn't but I did get two free gifts. The first is a trip which I haven't checked on the validity of and the second was a gift card for $25.00 to a restaurant across the street so we went and checked it. It didn't work so I went back and told them, this card doesn't work. They handed me another and I went across and check that one, it did. For those that don't understand the pitch and sale. I can't say it's a SCAM because I never joined but to be honest, any company that creates a sense of urgency for you to join stating some BS reason isn't respectful to the customers. This fact alone should make you want to walk out. Anyways, Dinner was good :), and DB paid for it and I'll check on the trip later.

8/26/2008 - GH writes:
Went into the miniscule showroom to consider joining. They would give NO information. I told them it smelled like Am---, and that I didn't plan on sitting through a 90 minute sales pitch unless I culd verify the anticipated savings up front. I also asked why they were so cagy about the fees and was told It's in the thousands of dollars. I laughed out loud, told them they were nuts, and walked out. I strongly suggest you do the same: don't waste your time or money. Surf the internet, just like you always have done, and you will still save money - and not have to fok up half your life savings beforehand.

8/24/2008 - Megan writes:
I joined DB about a year ago while scouting online for ceramic tile. My new husband and I attended the open house and agreed to sign up with the down payment and three year financing; blah, blah, yaddidah, we all know the routine. My husband and I were quite taken back by the membership fee of approximately $5000, but we were looking to remodel our kitchen, bathrooms, and wanted to invest in new home furnishings (to get rid of the garage sale stuff and hand-me-downs we had), and eventually build our dream home. So we handed over the downpayment in cash (gift money from our wedding) and have been making the $150 monthly payments since. The nearest DB center is 50 miles away with odd hours of operation, which make going to the center somewhat inconvenient. I guess I have been lukewarm in my feelings about this whole operation; the things we have purchased: tile, a dinette set, and a leather sofa, we have saved some money (but the membership fees take those savings away). I just have not had a good taste in my mouth since I joined. The website is a joke, it is a pain in the butt to sit for hours looking for what you want (shoot me in the head),and the staff do seem preoccupied and idiotic pertaining to any assistance. I guess I thought that since I was paying all of this money for this exclusive membership I was going to be treated like such and given champagne and caviar while I basked in the glory of convenient, wholesale shopping. Anymore in this capitalist pig society in which we live, the consumer is wrong and really, the BBB is just as crooked as DB (I have previous expiriences with BBB). Just remember that in November when we choose who will run this country: those with interests in big business and the upper class, or those who want to pull our economy out of the toilet; and that goes for all levels of government. This DB could be a good thing with some regulation and consumer friendly practices, but I guess I am stuck in this cluster. Maybe we can be proactive, disgruntled consumers and start an advisory committee.

8/24/2008 - Aaron & Leona writes:
I contacted Direct Buy when I saw there ad online. The next day a sales person called my cell phone and left a message I recieved many messages from the sales person we finally conected and he told me I would need to make a appointment to come see there warehouse. It is so big and they have so much to show us that it will take at least 90 minutes. Well when we got there, there was no warehouse it was a showroom not huge like they made it sound. They had us go into a room and watch videos about how we can buy direct and save by not paying retail but buying directly from the manufacturer. Membership fee amount was not mentioned until the end of the presentation. They wanted 5560.00 today and if you don't pay that up front then you can't join later. You will have to wait 7 years before you can have the chance to join again. They refused to tell you any of the savings amounts on products and refused to let you look at any of the so called catalogs with there products. I asked how much I would save on a certain refrigerator and he avoided my question and then I asked about the price of landscape blocks and once again no answer and just changed the subject, I then asked about the price of gutters and to my suprise once again he didn't answer and changed the subject. He also said that Jewelery is about 1/2 off regular price so I asked to look at one of the books and he said no not until you pay the 5600.00. Thank God my husband and I didn't pay them anything towards the end we started questioning everything so we said no and then all of a sudden his attitude changed and he got mad showed us to the door. When I got home I googled (Direct Buy Complaints) and found 40 pages of complants and people who were ripped off by this company. BEWARE!

8/23/2008 - Jimmy D writes:
My wife set up an appointment to visit the Woodbridge Direct Buy location. I went along because I thought it was going to be something like [] for appliances and cabinets, which we need. From the moment I walked in, I smelled a scam. First of all were the brand-new BMWs and Mercedes in the parking lot, these salespeople are making huge money to sell this schlock. Then you sit through the cheesy video, and, surprise! it's $5,000 to join. We tried to get some specific ideas on how much we could save redoing our kitchen but all we got was smoke and mirrors - no useful information. The one actual price I got was $2,100 for a GE range I bought last year for $2,000. So, we walked. The salesman chased us out the door and tried to tell me how much I could save on shoes and watches! These people should be ashamed of themselves.

8/23/2008 - Barack writes:
HAHA, I'm so glad I found your site, because I was about to go to DirectBuy and potentially save thousands of dollars on my kitchen, bathroom, and living room. Thanks to all the very educated people on this site, I was able to decide outside of an Open House that their membership dues far outweighed my savings and that I could definitely get a better deal haggling with the college dropout at my local [] for a better price, provided I brought cash. Due to everyone's fantastic, unsubstantiated claims, I was able to tell off my local DirectBuy and truely save money. I'd rather brave the slings and arrows of the terrible sales staff of retail than deal with the one-stop convenience of DirectBuy's service group. Thanks again

8/23/2008 - violet writes:
My husband and I got a packet in the mail with a key for DB. It gave us the address and date and time we were supposed to go check it out. It said the key was for the chance to win $50,000 and that we were gaurenteed 2 prizes. First the odds of winning the big prizes were 1:1000 and the chance of winning the 2 cheapy prizes were 4900:5000, so that was the first clue to us that it was a scam, then I decided to read all the fine print telling us we needed to bring in proof of income, a credit card, a check book, and both my husband and I had to be present at the meeting. I figured it was a scam but after reading all of these I am sooo glad I didnt waste my time!!

8/22/2008 - dave writes:
When my wife inquired about the DirectBuy membership, we thought it would be similar to a [] or [] membership. Boy were we wrong. All we wanted to do was buy a single new appliance. A rep from DB called us 4 times in one day (leaving messages) to help arrange our pass, that alone turns me off not to mention the $5000 membership fee, slightly more than our $35 [] fee. I think that is you were building a new house it may be worth it, however, what feels like a scam is that you cannot recover the membership fee and you have to pay it in order to try out the service. Plain and simple, shop the old fashioned way.

8/21/2008 - Susan writes:
My husband and I went to DB last Sunday. We fell for it, as we thought we would save $$$ when we built our new house. We paid $5000 on our credit card. Now, and only now (fourth day) I am doing my research and realize what a fool we were. Does anyone know if I could dispute the membership charge with the credit card company to try to get out of this scam? I'm just sick!

8/18/2008 - nicaury writes:
my husband purchased the membership without me. I try to cancel the membership it was impossible. According to them you can not use it for business but I told them from the start it was for my rental apartment and other property I will be buying to sell. they told me it was ok. my husband told me let's just try it since we can not cancel it. we did total nighmare customer service horriable, shipment late, One never arrived, and it has been one year since one item never arrived, I never got my money back. They told my husband it was to be a 10 year membership. lie-it was 3 years membership. I went to 2 different direct buy. it must be a requirement to be nasty to the customers. who cares we already have your money! please stay away from them it is not worth the so claim savings.

8/18/2008 - E.Q writes:
My sister in law had signed up for the open house event at the DB on Queens Blvd, NY. So my husband and I decided to go with her and her husband just to see if we can get in without a pass. We get to the reception and they don't say anything but they let us in. We were met by a sales person, who also claimed to be one of the owners of DB at this location. That is the first thing that he messed up on. Needless to say, he kind of coerced people in our group to laugh at his not-so-funny jokes. In addition, he made comments about a family who could not stay for the length of the presentation due to lack of time and decided to leave. He said that, wow, that family was very annoying. I have yet to meet a sales person and especially a co-owner make negative comments about potential customers to a group of potential customers. Also, after he explained the membership costs, which was very confusing and not straightforward for some people in the room, an elderly lady asked him about the bottom line of the membership cost. He rudely answered Well, I don't have time to answer you that and he left the room. At that point, I had enough of this guy but I decided to stick to the end because I wanted to tell him a few things. So we sit down at the table with him and he said So we'll get the contract and we'll start the process for your membership. I said, well, just so you know, during your rushed presentation and your rude comments here and there, you have failed to convince me to join DB. First, there is no way you are a co-owner, your presentation skills are horrible and I don't trust you. I know when people lie to me I have been trained professionally to detect lies so this guy fit the perfect profile of a scammer. So going back and forth, asking him questions about his suppliers etc. he was not giving me a straight answer. At the end, I said, that I will not join for the many reasons that I stated and I have to do more research before I invest $6200 (for the first 10 years if you paid upfront) into the unknown and what seems to be a scam! He said that well, you will not be able to join for 7 years after today. I said, well, you forgot to mention that as well from the beggining and you are not being transparent. My husband at the end said to him Listen, you suck as a salesman/co-owner and frankly, with all the potential savings that DB may provide me with, you take them and shove them because I know a thing or two more than you do and you are not able to fool us. I also wanted to say to him at the end that You idiot, you have no way to prove that I came to this open house, why? Because you do not have my information, you only have my first name. Can you imagine to give up $6200 to a stranger and invest it into the unknown, without having full knowledge of the terms and conditions, without seeing a price list, without having time to think whether this is something that might work for you? It is the same thing as signing a sales contract without seeing the house first!

8/17/2008 - Tom writes:
Warning! Warning! Don't step foot into the place!? 2 or 3 years ago, because I was in the middle of renovating and adding to my home, I foolishly joined DB under the same pressure tactics as others have described. Since then I have not purchased a single item from there and it is not for lack of trying. Why? Their customer service is horrible - the staff knows little to nothing about the products they are selling. The catologues are outdated and poorly organized and many of the products offered are older models. I have had to contact door & window suppliers myself - DB just acted as a middleman. The potential savings on products are nowhere near what they claimed they would be. On certain products it has taken days and, in a few instances, weeks just to get a price. And they don't tell you in addition to the discounted product price you will normally also need to pay DB a handling fee and freight charges. Oh, and then you will need to wait 2 - 6 weeks for your product to be delivered. What a concept! I estimate one would need to spend about $100,000 on an expensive kitchen renovation or something similar in order to come anywhere near recouping the membership fee not to mention the cost of your valuable time for the dozens of hours of work required to find the desired products within the DB system of doing business. Direct Buy Membership: $4,500 Lesson Learned: Priceless! Not since that fateful night I have not, nor will I ever, make a significant expenditure without first Googling the name of the product or service accompanied by the word scam.

8/17/2008 - Paula writes:
I want to thank all of you for posting all this information. I was just on the website and first flag to come up was all the downloading they wanted you to do. No real info at all just click visitors pass to arrive. so I decided to check a little further and found this site. Again thank you all for saving me the headache of direct buy I will not be contacting them for any further information, this does sound like a cult and I hope all potential seekers find this first and don't go thru what you have. Again all I can say is Thanks!

Page 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40