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4/25/2008 - T.W. writes:
My husband and I were hit up to attend a presentation. There was the lure of a possible $50,000 makeover. Even though we were beat, we decided to go check it out. The sales person was relentless, telling us we needed the membership, and worse telling us we would save on comparable stuff we already buy. We tried to compare apples to apples, but the subject continued to become "frayed" and "unclear." She kept at it, and we were getting so very tired, we finally relented. We signed the paperwork and paid the membership fee. I awoke at 1:30 a.m., having a panic attack. It was then that I realized: the "discounted" stuff they were offering would be more expensive than we could afford, even with the "discounts." We have two kids with chronic illness and other disabilities we are trying to put through college. My husband was injured in a terrible accident, which started this mess, as we wanted to have someone else do all the work we needed done because he couldn't anymore. I felt like I'd been hypnotized. And I was, only worse, we were both coerced and lied to to get us to agree to something we normally wouldn't have even fallen for. We then contacted our local BBB, who stated we had "buyer's remorse!" What??? We've been swindled. It's funny how different BBBs have responded differently to this particular business. Are they on the take in my state?

4/25/2008 - Lisa writes:
I purchased solid cherry kitchen cabnets from Brookwood Cabnetry ordered through Direct Buy in mid December. The shipping on the item was to be 1/23/08. I received the cabnets on 4/8/08. Every box I opened had a problem with the cabnets. The stain was not properly applied. There are cracks in the wood. The corners of two of the doors were poorly cut, then patched and stained over the patch. There are dents and scratches in the wood panels as well. I made it very clear to everyone the quality issues I noted with the merchandise. I still do not have resolution to the cabnets and they have had $10,000.00 since December. They handeling fee was waived due to the long wait. The sad thing is that Brookwood only sells cabnets to DB members. You would think they would be more involved in making this right. I have lost my installer twice to other jobs while waiting for a resolution. I wish I had never become a DB member. You can save money if all goes well. If it does not, you are left hanging. Become a member at your own risk. I still am waiting for a resolution. The head of DB in Cincinnati will not return my calls or meet with me. I have made multiple attempts to communicate with Tony without any response. I have learned many lessons from this experience. I will see this through. I hope this helps others make an informed decision. If you are already a member, keep all paperwork and samples of items. It helps in resolving situations like the above experience I am having.

4/24/2008 - Lynann writes:
Warning to anyone in Jacksonville Florida who is a member of Direct Buy or contemplating buying into this scam; the owner has recently closed 5 other businesses in the area and rumor has it that Direct Buy of Jacksonville is about to go bankrupt and close.

4/23/2008 - Bruce writes:
My wife and I attended a Direct Buy open house tonight. Our adventure was pretty much the same as others. They wanted $4,800 for the first year, nothing the 2nd and $160 for the following eight years. I expected a fee, but not that much, and not right then. They did offer two payment plans at 17% APR over a two year period. But they wanted money and a contract signed now. We would have to spend at least $10,000 more to break even. We could just buy a little at a time over the two years, and spend the $4,800 without that unreasonable APR. When I said the APR was too much, the sales guy retorted "beggars can't be chosers". I beg for nothing from no one. On the drive home, we got to wondering how do they stay in business? The membership fee might cover two months salary for one salesman, but what about the rest of the year and employees? What about the building, utilities, etc? That has to be a hidden markup to cover all that. And they insisted their price is the manufacture's direct price. I smell something fishy.

4/22/2008 - nadia writes:
4/22/08--Nadia First of all I want to say Thank you to all of you. I was ones pressured by DirectBuy through the phone. I went online and registered for a free pass and they started calling me after that. I never visited their show room because they said, "Kids are not a lowed." There was no way to go without our three year old. The sales people are not polite, they are very rude people. They used bad language on the phone and were laughing at me when I was questioning their company. The question I asked was about the membership. How much I have to pay and the lady could not stop laughing at me, and you know what I did, I hung up on her. And that was the end. This company should go out of business. I hope someone does something about that. Please be careful don't do anything stupid, don't let them ketch you. They want easy money, they should try to earn it the harder way, then they'll know if they would spend it on something stupid.

4/21/2008 - James Jones writes:
I did work for a DB office and did the purchasing for them. Sometimes, they can really help people who want to spend exhorbiant amounts of money. Usually, the best bet is in the Flooring and Cabinets department. But, most things otherwise can turn into a nightmare. Their catalog department is soo bad, that almost everything is either discontinued or prices have gone up as nothing is updated. Thus, most time is spent calling back customers to ask them for another $50 to $300 per purchase. This happens around 30-50% of all purchases. Then, everything has to go through corporate and basically by the time the customer gets the product, 8-12 weeks may pass. Time is money to me folks, so I would rather get what I want in a reasonable time. If you only save $100 on a purchase and have to wait 3-6 months to get it, is it really worth it. As far as the people running the franchise, they are decent hard working people. But, when I mentioned to the GM that I saved a customer who was threatening to sue, he mumbled something to the extent of "We don't make money of of customers purchases". They really only make money off of the customers memberships.

4/21/2008 - Sonia writes:
Glad to see I was spared the pain of dealing with them...I just now understood why, after reading some of the other complaints. There is a DB showroom right by my office, so one day I just walked in and the girl at the front desk asked me if I had a membership. I said no and she told me to wait, that someone will be with me shortly. I'm very impatient by nature, so in my one minute "waiting" I asked her how this works. I was very perturbed when her answer was: "Please sit down and someone will be with you, I can't tell you how this works" (she was very rude in the way she said it). So my reply was "If you can't give me a 30 second explanation of how this works, I think I don't want anything to do with buying anything here" and I walked out. NO WONDER! they can't tell you in the first few seconds that your membershit (this one's on purpose) alone costs thousands of $$$. Nobody would last any longer than I did. Thank God now that my experience was only 2 minutes long!

4/20/2008 - blanca writes:
My husband and I have plans to remodel our kitchen, so when I saw all of the informacials on tv I called, made an appointment and attended an open house. When the sales person mentioned the $4990.00 membership fee I said to my husband that's a lot of money this is not for us, but then they go on and on about how much you would save over time by being a member. They ended up convincing my husband and I and we signed our membership on May 2007. We have not used it at all because they want you to pay up front for things that you want to order. Also if you want to shop online they don't have the prices for a lot of items, you would have to go to the showroom which is over an hour from our home and the shipping costs and all other fees, it's just ridiculous. If anybody has beign able to cancel their membership please let me know how you did it, because I seriously want to cancel mine.

4/19/2008 - Mike writes:
A complete "scam". You can look around when you are "invited" to the presentation, and see "shills", (hired actors), in action. The one lady actually "winked" at me when we were walking through. Her "daughter" never even flipped the pages of the book she was reading. Where are the Attorney Generals of the States when you need them. A complete shell game, plus they are associated with U Build It, where we have had bad experiences as well. I was waiting for Robert Redford and Paul Newman to appear as the "Sting 3". Run, don't walk away from Direct Buy. No way the membership fee of $5990.00 pays off. This is a shell game, flim-flam deal of epic proportions.

4/19/2008 - Bob writes:
This company is nationwide. As far as I can tell you do not sign up in a van , in some dark alley. IT HAS TO BE LEGIT! But the people who hate it- must not UNDERSTAND how it works. So be afriad of what you don't understand!?! Maybe DirectBuy should start a idiot program. You know??, have a contract with pop-ups, and have the potential members sign with crayons. Because you would have to be an idiot- to not WANT to save money! You would have to be an idiot to NOT GET what DirectBuy is about, and how it works. So Sorry-I hope the money you save by not joining, can buy you some common sense.

4/18/2008 - Carol writes:
Curiosity made me go to a DB "open house." DB also sweetened the deal by sending me a postcard with a key to open a lock & possibly win I think it was $10,000 & I was guaranteed to "win" at least 2 of the prizes listed, which were things like an Outback Steakhouse gift certificate, laptop, $50 or a trip. Okay, so it was curiosity & greed that made me call. I should have known something was up from the first phone call to make my appointment. My husband is ill & unable to travel - boy did I get grilled about him not being able to attend. Then I got grilled again about him not being there when I actually went to the showroom for the open house. I was told the presentation would take about an hour. I was there for almost 2 hours! I did research DB on the internet before I made the appointment, but never found this site. Had I known it was going to cost $5000 up front, then $200/year after 3 years I never would have wasted my time. I respectfully stayed & listened to the whole presentation. I immediately told our salesman I wasn't interested. He was fine with that & moved on. I stopped by the reception desk to show them my postcard/key for the prizes. I was told I'd have to wait for a salesperson. Talk about frosty! He took my key & said it didn't open the lock & started to walk away. I told him the postcard said I was guaranteed to win something. He handed me a brochure for a "free" trip. He was such a jerk I didn't want to hassle with telling him I was supposed to get 2 prizes. Anyway, the "trip" was actually only for 3 days & 2 nights in a hotel - getting there is on you. It's through a company called []. I found websites where a bunch of people complained they never received their "free" trips even after fulfilling all of their many requirements. It really speaks to DB's reputation that they would use this company. DB is a joke. It's all handled like it's a secret society or something. If it's really all that great, why not be totally up front about everything??

4/17/2008 - Lisa writes:
I believe that Direct Buy ONLY works if you are buying things in bulk...like if you were building a house or re-doing your whole house so think about it before you join.

4/17/2008 - David writes:
I actually used Direct Buy under their old name back in 1995 (forgot the original name but it has changed). I actually paid the $1300 for membership back then plus $120 a month for 12 months. I did not think much of it at the time and thought that they would save me money. It took getting married and having my wife actually compare prices to find out you get no savings at all. I stopped paying for the membership in 2000 as their is still an anual fee each year. My biggest question is why they changed the name to Direct Buy.

4/17/2008 - Karen writes:
My husband and I had seen the infomercial on TV and called. As we would be in the town where their showroom near us we thought we would take the time to check out what they had to offer. We were considering purchasing a small house to remodel within a short period of time. We also were greeted in a very friendly manner and sat in a large room to hear the presentation. My husband is a computer software salesman and very quickly new something was not right. I am an accountant and I began asking questions related to the cost and was asked to wait and not interrupt as that would be addressed later. As soon as they started with telling us it was a one time offer and could not return when we were ready to move forward we laughed and asked to leave. They followed us out and kept telling us what a mistake we were making. I can assure you that anything legitimate would not have a time limit for a decision to be made about spending that much money for an unknown benefit is rediculous. It is not something you want to listen to. Do not be intimidated with the talk of "our suppliers will not allow us to let us give you prices until you are a member". This is all a big scam, just get up and leave!!!

4/16/2008 - brenda writes:
DON'T TRUST THEM!!!!! I did the worst mistake by calling them a month ago to gather some info about this busies. First of all they didn't stop calling me over and over to schedule an appointment for an "open house", they even called me 20 times one day, finally my fiancé and I decided to go last Saturday, because you MUST go with your significant other or you can't get the open house free pass. They asked us to be there 15 minutes before the presentation, we got there 20 minutes before and nobody was in there, after waiting they finally opened the door, we waited for almost another 20 minutes for a "couple" that was coming to the presentation. As we waited a sales representative started talking to us about our things, it seemed that we had so many things in common, kind of weir. We started the presentation movie without the other couple, then after 15 minutes they showed, the look very similar to us, same age, dressing very casual like us and they were also engaged. As soon as they arrived the guy told my fiancé "I’m not buying this stuff" but by miracle 5 minutes after he was 100% in to this business. Later a "member" of direct buy showed us newspaper ads of furniture’s and appliances with prices and he compared how much money we will be saving with DB. Suddenly the "lecture" became a game between both couples to guess how much money we will be saving, this other couple of course new every single penny of how much we will save... again, "too weird". After one hour of suffering the presentation ended and they directed us to our sales representatives, the other couple disappears in action and at the same time the show room was full of people, looking the manuals and placing orders. This happened in less than one hour, from having nobody to open the door to having more than 20 people or as they call "members". The deal is that you have to pay $4,500 for the first year and then $610 for the rest of your life. It's taking or leave it; you can't go home and "think about it" you have to pay in the act or leave. We felt that they push us to make the deal the entire time we were around. We just told them that DB wasn't for us but they kept pushing and pushing until we "run" away. Please don't go, run away be smarter than us, it's a waste of time, money and can ever lead to a "divorce"

4/16/2008 - brenda writes:
DON'T TRUST THEM!!!!! I did the worst mistake by calling them a month ago to gather some info about this busies. First of all they didn't stop calling me over and over to schedule an appointment for an "open house", they even called me 20 times one day, finally my fiancé and I decided to go last Saturday, because you MUST go with your significant other or you can't get the open house free pass. They asked us to be there 15 minutes before the presentation, we got there 20 minutes before and nobody was in there, after waiting they finally opened the door, we waited for almost another 20 minutes for a "couple" that was coming to the presentation. As we waited a sales representative started talking to us about our things, it seemed that we had so many things in common, kind of weir. We started the presentation movie without the other couple, then after 15 minutes they showed, the look very similar to us, same age, dressing very casual like us and they were also engaged. As soon as they arrived the guy told my fiancé "I’m not buying this stuff" but by miracle 5 minutes after he was 100% in to this business. Later a "member" of direct buy showed us newspaper ads of furniture’s and appliances with prices and he compared how much money we will be saving with DB. Suddenly the "lecture" became a game between both couples to guess how much money we will be saving, this other couple of course new every single penny of how much we will save... again, "too weird". After one hour of suffering the presentation ended and they directed us to our sales representatives, the other couple disappears in action and at the same time the show room was full of people, looking the manuals and placing orders. This happened in less than one hour, from having nobody to open the door to having more than 20 people or as they call "members". The deal is that you have to pay $4,500 for the first year and then $610 for the rest of your life. It's taking or leave it; you can't go home and "think about it" you have to pay in the act or leave. We felt that they push us to make the deal the entire time we were around. We just told them that DB wasn't for us but they kept pushing and pushing until we "run" away. Please don't go, run away be smarter than us, it's a waste of time, money and can ever lead to a "divorce"

4/14/2008 - Karen writes:
My husband and I went to a DirectBuy open house yesterday afternoon and thank goodness all we lost was an hour of our time. What is so perplexing about this is that if it's such a great deal, then why do they wait (and wait, and wait) before divulging the cost of the membership? Our salesman was a nice guy, but as soon as he wrote the cost of the membership - $4999 - on the blackboard, we knew we were outta there! There was one other couple attending and they got up and left, too. Here's the deal (and what most people don't even know) is that manufacturer's prices are still not the final cost for retailers...we used to be in the furniture business and negotiated with manufacturers all the time....so DirectBuy is not only making money from the outrageous membership fees, they're making money on the stuff they sell, not to mention the 17.5% interest rate on the membership fee!! Just do the math. So yes - run - don't walk away from DirectBuy!!!

4/14/2008 - Pam writes:
Hey guys, I too was tempted to go to Direct Buy, but decided to check on-line first. Thank God that I found this site. For all who have been taken in by the scam, you need to file a complaint with the Better Business Bureau. It's easy, all you do is go to the BBB site and fill out a complaint. Direct Buy is a member of the BBB, I checked them out and can you believe they actually have good ratings? But they would'nt if everyone who has been taken in by them would file a complaint.

4/14/2008 - Joy Zwicker writes:
They made it sound like you would get a great buy on everything you purchsed. That's a lie because if you do find something that is a reasonable bargin you have to pay to get it to their showroom not to where I live. Then they say you ave to pick it up there or pay for delivery again. The charge is on every item unless it happens to be from the same manufacturer. They also pressured me into making a committment right away without any time to think about it. They also led me to believe that there would be lots of help and all kinds people with helpful information. That has not happened yet. Because I live so far away from ther showroom they said buying over the internet would be so easy, that was another lie.

4/13/2008 - ConcernedViewer writes:
Christopher Lowell is now endorsing Direct Buy. If you were scammed by Direct Buy, let him know.

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