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5/11/2008 - Jim writes:
Just finished going through the Direct Buy presentation yesterday in Houston. Got hit with the "you must make a decision now" I did it was see you later. Price for membership was 5,400 plus an on going yearly fee of a couple of hundred dollars. Then everything you ordered cost an additional 8% handling fee. Products were all delivered to their showroom. Then you had to make arrangements to get them to your home. I did some quick math at the presentation and figure it would take at least 50,000 or so in purchases to break even. That's a lot. But even bigger issue is always after the sale customer service. Example recently bought a refrigerator. It was delivered, installed and the old refrigerator moved downstairs to the basement as a backup all for 50 dollars. Now the company is there to call if service is needed. Don't ever forget that service after the sale is a huge part of buying something. The truth is there are a lot of hidden additional costs at Direct Buy and when added up, saving money is possible but only with large amounts of purchases and with less customer service after the fact. Anyway I agree with most others if it had real value they you wouldn't have to make that decision right away. So understand what you getting or walk away!

5/10/2008 - trudy writes:
Unfortunatley, I did not go to google.ca before I got scammed, just type in "direct buy complaints" there are over 260,000 complaints. After reading several complaints they are shockingly accurate. You do have some recourse to cancel, but be very careful, make sure that your first attempt to cancel is within one year after joining. Your first letter must be by REGISTERED MAIL. Very helpful is to find the successful money back law suit in British Columbia, Provincial Court. www.provincialcourt.bc.ca you will have to find the Provincial court section and I believe it is under the section judgments - you will find "year 2002" The case is "Fernando Roa ... Vs. Bonanza Ventures Ltd. + UCC Total Home. Trust me, PLEASE PRINT A COPY of the case (6 pages) The reason it will not look relevant is because "UCC" is Ucc of Canada Inc. is the corporate ofc. for Direct Buy in Canada Check this at 1-800-827-6400 But they are in Merrillville, IN. See the court case decision,likely your contract has the same illegal clauses that they are enforcing. It violates the Consumer Protection Act,2002,(partIII) the Trades Practice Act and the Sales of Good Act. Tell them by reg'd mail that you would like to rescind the contract due to the fact that it violates the Consumer Protection Act, and that you would like a refund in full. Just the fact alone that there are no refunds under circumstances violates the law. consumer supposed to know without this legal information. Good luck WILL FOLLOW UP WITH MORE INFO. RAN OUT OF TIME

5/9/2008 - Tommie writes:
I am writing to complain about one of the phone representatives. I recently registered myself and my fiance' to take part in one of the open houses. We are interested in re-furnishing our home, and were looking forward to see what they had to offer. The phone representative called me to confirm our reservation and to provide us with a confirmation number for our appointment the next morning. First of all, he made the mistake of calling my fiance' Mrs. when I answered the phone. Ok! It was an honest mistake. I accepted that. We proceeded and he gave me a confirmation number, which I had written down as he called it out. He then asked me to state the number back to him. However, during the process we were cut off, because my cell phone battery drained. I was not at home at the time and had no charger available. I simply figured that the representative would either call back and leave a voice mail or just simply let it be, since I he had already given me not only the confirmation number, but his cell phone number as well. I later returned home and checked my messages only to find an insulting message from him telling us not to bother to attend, that we were not confirmed, and simply " . . don't bother coming out. We only accept serious inquiries from serious customers

5/8/2008 - Mary writes:
The Scam of it all. I went to Best Buy by Bucks Co, PA with the in-laws who joined and raved about it. They thought we could use some new furniture and other stuff for our house and said that it was a deal. They spent over $5k on their "membership" and while looking through the "catalogs" we wrote down several things of interest... we went home to check the prices for retail of the equal item and BOOM the prices were identical. The staff was nice while we where there, but they watched us like a hawk. Their prices are no better than anywhere else for the same stuff, you are just paying for the privalge to be treated differently.

5/7/2008 - Roxanne writes:
Our good friends are members of Direct Buy. I thought I would see how it went for them before we would try it. ONE WARNING from someone who who has heard it all from her friend, almost anything thats "popular" is on backorder. They have had to change orders for living room furniture 3 times before they got some almost 6 months later, and now the baby is due is guess what? NO CRIB!! on backorder and was told only one month before. This place does so not seem worth it unless you have a lot of time and are maybe building a house, but it won't save you on everyday items.

5/7/2008 - Larry writes:
Has anyone disputed the charges to your credit card company? I paid the $4995 fee with my credit card and want to have the charge removed from my account. Please let us know how to dispute.

5/7/2008 - Steven writes:
My wife and I unfortunately bought into DBs scam when we lived in OK. Right after we joined, we went to the showroom to shop...the showroom was closed! Weeks later, we found their new location (accidentally), but it was closed for the day...every day that we went to check...then it moved again. We were never able to find a shop open (when we could find one at all), so my wife called their home office, and the man on the line told her we could shop out of the catalog...what catalog? The one in the store that was never open? We sure never got any in the mail! I sent an e-mail about my problem, but all I got back was a free pass to the showroom nearest me! What a (not funny)joke!

5/7/2008 - Steve writes:
I work at Direct Buy. Basically, the owners have no integrity toward their employees and it's such a popularity contest that how you do the job matters little. So, here I am. Direct Buy is not wholesale, it's cost. Wholesale means you're buying at bulk. Big box stores buying 10,000 of one type of washer for all of their retail outlets buy at wholesale. Our bosses actually tell us to tell people that, after they become members, of course. You realistically have to spend about $27,000 to break even. Why? Well, for one, most of the products are only about 40-45% off to begin with. Next, you pay shipping and an 8% handling fee. Now you're getting your stuff for about 28.5-34.5% off. Next, you have to wait for your stuff, and if something gets sent broken and you end up having to wait 6 weeks for a replacement, the attitude is "oh well." This causes construction delays, and that costs money. I have more than two valued members that I serve who are eating every meal out because they don't have a kitchen. Then, there's the fact that many items have almost no savings. If you're looking for an appliance or a television, you might save 20% to begin with, and then you pay shipping and handling. There are so many delays and so many items become discontinued after the fact it's just disgusting. Direct Buy uses this computer system from the 70s to manage it's inner workings. If a supplier discontinues an item, it can take 3-4 weeks for that to reflect in the catalog. If you order during that time, you're SOL. Finally, you have to do everything yourself. The membership buys you access to the catalogs, and while there is some help there, people in my position are pretty much helping you to help yourself. You have to spend hours looking at the catalogs. Doesn't that time equal money? If you save $150 on something, but you spent 7 hours getting the order done, what's your real savings? Finally, there's no service. The people who work my position (service) have little background and mostly (except for me) no education. They don't know anything. During the sales video, Direct Buy acts like people are going to help you plan your remodel, and that's just not the case. To do that, Direct Buy would actually have to spend money on people with the background to do that sort of thing. Not to mention, at least half of us actually do something. If there's a problem with your order, it can sit in limbo for two weeks if an idiot took your order. I take care of problems in 48 hours. Some product specialists take two weeks because they couldn't manage the workload of a second grader. Finally, there are dunce suppliers. Some suppliers are great. The Whirlpool companies will ship your major appliance to your home for $15, and it will take about a week. Kohler ships any size order for $45. But many suppliers charge more than the 15% standard freight, have bad prices, treat their relationship with Direct Buy like crap and give zero service. It breaks down like this. If you're about to do a major remodel of a whole house or a big portion of it, or if you're building a new house, you can save a lot. If you're going to be spending upward of $50,000 dollars or the membership is probably for you. I have about 5-6 valued members who are saving so much that they could care less about the headaches. But that's only because they're spending so much to begin with.

5/7/2008 - Margaret writes:
I'm so thankful I found your website. It confirms what our gut feelings were trying to tell us from the beginning. Before viewing this website, I saw the infomercial on TV for DB and called to get more information. The man that called me back INSISTED that my husband would have to join me at the presentation. I told him my husband worked long hours and it would be nearly impossible, that I was perfectly capable of listening for both of us. So, the conversation ended with me telling the guy that we would not be able to attend at all. A week after that, we begun receiving numerous phone calls at various times of the day/weekend, however, no one ever left a message - we have Caller ID, and when I saw it was DB I didn't answer. Last week, we received a solicitation in the mail which contained a key. Supposedly, if our key turned the lock, we could win a Home Makeover of $50,000. or other prizes. I thought, oh, what the heck, and called the Burbank number on this flyer. NO RESPONSE...I called again and NO RESPONSE. I thought, that's funny, they sent me a flyer to get me to call and make an appointment, but they won't call me back? My husband and I actually drove over to the DB Burbank store on Sunday to get more info. and ask why someone hadn't at least called us back. We asked a lady at the front desk if we could talk to someone right there and then. She picked up the phone and was told that everyone was busy and we had to have the presentation first. We asked why no one had called us back and she explained that we should have called another location to make an appointment for the presentation. (So, why did you send us a flyer with the Burbank number?) I asked if their store answered phone messages, and she said yes, but couldn't tell me why someone, just out of courtesy, hadn't called and directed us to that other location. We then asked for a Manager, but none were available. We left our name and phone number with her and she assured us that someone would call us back. To date, no one has called back. Fortunately for us, we did not even get to the "presentation stage" and after reading all the negative comments on this website, we won't do business there at all. We were lucky to not get suckered into a scam. Real businesses answer all your questions and don't charge you an excessive up-front fee for the privilege of buying from them. These folks are slight-of-hand flakes.

5/6/2008 - James writes:
And for the people that are defending them. They either have more money than brains and never have left the house or they work for direct buy.

5/6/2008 - James writes:
At the time I tried them I was younger and didn't know that buying directly from the company is more expensive than buying through a retailer. Since they buy in bulk. They are taking advantage of people that doesn't know that. And the way they go about it is harsh to. They sat me in a room after the main presentation and kept pressuring me that this was the greatest thing and that I would miss out. Little did I know that all I was buying was time in a room full of out dated catalogs.I thought I would get at least personal attention to help me find the best deals. They had absolutely no time for me. Then I saw the prices!!!!! I could go to [] and [] and get things for 1/3 the price. BIG RIP OFF.

5/6/2008 - Cheryl writes:
I unfortunately fell for this scam. At the time I joined I had planned to remodel the kitchen of a condominium I had inherited. Life happens while your making other plans and I ended up selling the condominium without remodeling, but because I bought a house I wasn't too concerned. My first purchase with DB ended up costing me more because of shipping than if I had bought the item at a store. What they don't tell you at the pressurized intro is that virtually everything takes 4 to 6 weeks to ship (so if your refrigerator dies don't expect to get one the next day). They also don't tell you that if you actually want to see an item and check its quality you essentially have to shop twice, go find a retail store (if you can find one that carries the same merchandise) to look at it and then go to their showroom and spend the next 2-3 hours ordering it. Their website is not set up efficiently and also takes about 2-3 hours of your time and then most items you have to go to the showroom to find out what it costs. If you want any high ticket items, plasma TVs etc. the only way to get the price is to go to the showroom, of course that is after you've gone to a retail store to talk to a sales person to help you figure out which model, size, etc. that you want. DB's sales people can help you place an order, but they do not know anything about the products themselves. In my state, Massachusetts, Channel 5 news did a report on what a rip off they are and the pressure tactics they use to get you to sign up. I throughly disgusted with them. Don't waste your time or more importantly your money on them.

5/4/2008 - Warren writes:
WOW! We joined a few months back never used it because I lost my job! I explained this to the owner and he gave me my money back. Maybe you all should just try that!

5/4/2008 - Raj writes:
Dierctbuy is awesome they are just simply awesome, they steal your money right under your nose and by the time you realize it you are all done. So if you are a better genius than them, then go ahead and become a member, otherwise run as far as you can and SPIT high and hard at their door and inside the showeroom before leaving because they will insult you and make you feel like a piece of shit. Thats what I did and and I loved every minute of it. I even went bto the point of telling them I will pay them 250.00 for 3 years memebership and thats all and went on with the salesperson for over and hr, thats when he got irritated and asked me to leave. Hehehe.

5/4/2008 - chriscrocker writes:
direct buy is such a scam it is a cult in the business world ypu think that they would let you walk out the door after you went through the tour but they just keep on tryng to take your money the workers their are like dogs their on you like if you were a bone. They never leave you alone to talk with you wife/husband or etc. and ever time you turn around their right behind you! Direct Buy is a total SCAM don't do it and if you did i hope you live in california so you can but that three day policy to use to cancel your contract.DIRECT BUY IS A MONEY TRAP AND SCAM!!

5/4/2008 - Tony writes:
I AM A MEMBER, and just like everyone else I want the best deals. Yeah they have a good sales pitch like "lets cut out the middle man". Anyways I heard their presentation and paid 4890 up front. The savings are there during the presentation, but then they dissappear when you checkout. Tack on 8% of the sales price for handling, then add shipping. I can understand shipping but not the handling. Here I am in the hole 5 grand I was hoping I could at least break even. I ordered alot of stuff which was frustrating having to look through books find what you want then look through another book to see how much it cost. Then flip back and forth through both books and fill out a form to order the stuff. Try comparing two couches using four books at one time. You dont even get to sit on them or see the actual thing. I ordered a house full of furniture which was $14,600. When I checked out it jumped to $19,800. That was from handling and shipping cost. I googled everything I bought afterward. If I had went somewhere and picked it out I would have spent $17,450. I GOT BURNT. My stuff took 8 weeks to get and chairs are being sent back(defected) torn sofa, nice scratch on the dresser(which my neighbor kindly re stained and buffed). I havent received an entire collection yet after ten weeks. Read this before you decide. I AM A MEMBER.

5/3/2008 - Peter writes:
I had heard an AM Radio advertisement about Direct Buy and I was very happy to hear of a place that would save me money on stuff for the house. We have just bought a house, but our zero down loan offer expired because the house was not yet complete. Instead, because of the housing crisis or whatever people are calling the banks' mess, we were now diverted to an FHA loan which requires from us a minimum of 3% down...WHICH, wipes out nearly all of our savings leaving none for furniture/appliances. Does this scenario sound somewhat familiar to anyone out there? Anyway, Direct Buy was going to rescue us...so I went online and was dazzled even more so by there straight forward website. I then requested for the free passes so that my wife and I could take a look at what we could now afford. Immediately afterwards I researched the company and found no less than 500 complaints on just one website. Wow. I read as many as I dared to read and realized three things: 1) This was just another place looking to make money like a retail store. 2) We cannot afford the membership fee and even if we could we weren't really looking to spend more than $5,500 worth of furniture/appliances...and the fee was more than this! 3) This is a GOLDEN DEAL for a household that brings in over $150,000 a year or someone that owns multiple residences and plans to buy a lot of furniture/appliances, because only then will you really take advantage of this membership. Now, people mentioned that they were pressured to BUY BUY BUY NOWWW!!! Or else be gone! I believe those people because I once attended a timeshare presentation and received similar treatment. They treat you like this because they want to bring in as much revenue as possible and they really don't care if you will actually benefit from the membership (can you actually afford to buy enought to offset the membership fee and eventually see the savings). Just beware, and make sure you make good money.

5/3/2008 - Mark Gates writes:
I called Direct Buy out of curiosity. A few days later I received a pass in the mail to attend an opened house. I received three phone calls from a customer service representative who wanted to make certain that I would attend the opened house. I felt a pressured. On the day of the opened house, I got stuck in traffic. I called the service representative and told her that I would not be able to attend. She said I could attend once I got out of traffic. I just read how many people have gotten scamed. I think my intuition save me from the scam. I am not easily pressured into doing anything, but I am glad for once that I was caught in traffic.

5/3/2008 - Janice writes:
Run, don't walk, as fast as you can, away from Direct Buy! It is a scam! I attended a presentation with my husband who was in the process of remodeling our home. I was not familiar with the pricing of many of the articles we needed to accomplish the task. We were brow beaten and made to feel like deadbeats and coerced into joining. I wanted to leave and price shop and was told that if we left we would never have the "opportunity" to visit or join. Seduced by the lure of deep discounts, my husband decided that he wanted the membership and signed up. Luckily he decided to finance instead of plunking down cash. The membership fee was $5800 and they wanted 10% down. He gave them a check for the down payment and signed a note. Later when we accessed the website, we found that they did not offer much, if any, discount. They did not have the products they claimed. What furnitur they did have was just bits and pieces. For example, you might find half of an armoire, the hutch but not the base, or a partial set such as a table and three chairs. In searching for flooring, they referred to retailers in the city but the discounts were no different that the retailer would have offered John Doe. After a couple of hours of "shopping" on their web and then omparatively shopping both online and at home improvement centers we realized that we were correct in our initial doubts and should have walked away. We never made a single payment to the creditor and when their collector called she told me it was my lucky day and offered to settle the account with a one time payment of 50% of the balance. I told her that it was in deed my lucky day as I had become a lot wiser and was going to save that 50% and put it toward a T Bill and wished her a nice day.

5/3/2008 - Bill writes:
DB is a scam! I cannot believe that so many innocent consumers are tricked by these sharks. When DB sales sharks give their pitch for an hour, they disguise the saving numbers and do not compare apple-to-apple comparison but rather they present it to their advantage. Worst of all, there was staging with fake patronage during our tour acting as if they were shopping. We caught this scam since we heard some of the hired folks talking to the peripheral DB sales sharks and also giving insider looks amongst them. Don¡¯t get scammed by this DB thieves. Also note that their savings is not unique, you can get equal or better offers from elsewhere. If you want to see the professional scam artists at work, please go visit for your amusement.

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