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9/2/2007 - EJ writes:
We made the mistake of purchasing a membership to Direct Buy approximately 2 years ago. In retrospect we should have been tipped off to problems when we were told that if we didn't join the very evening we would NEVER be able to join. They did allow us to view a few catalogues in a specific area of interest before signing up, but were somewhat secretive abaout their "deals." Unfortunately we did join to the tune of $3999, anticipating that we would save more that through our purchases. What we have found is that products are difficult to find in the catalogues, particularly if the product has multiple parts necessary for installation such as plumbing. In addition to the listed Direct Buy price, a shipping and handling fee is charged that, at least in some cases, brings the price above the MSRP. The most recent experience we had was a toilet we ordered on 3/30/07 with an initial delivery date of 7/18/07, which was then changed to 7/24/07. By the middle of August when we still had not received the product we began to investigate. We were told that the toilet came in and was damaged. About a week and a half later they reordered it and it AGAIN came in damaged. At that point (which was past the time our plumbers had been to our home to install the new bathroom fixtures), we cancelled our order and asked for an immediate, full refund. After a couple of days of talking to various people and attempting to talk to the branch owner, we did get a check for the full amount which they had collected on the date of our initial order. I went online and found another company with the very same toilet and the price, including shipping, ended up to be a mere $18.20 more than Direct Buy said they were going to be charging. They also delivered the product in less than 7 days with no damage. The other day I got a bill from Direct Buy for an additional $80.28 for shipping on the same toilet which we never received from DB. When I called they did say to ignore this bill. However, if I compare the price that we would have paid if we had received the toilet through Direct Buy to the price I DID pay to the online store, Direct Buy would have been $62.08 MORE EXPENSIVE than I found online with very little effort. We have also purchased lighting fixtures that have had problems which we have put up with since returning products after signing for delivery there appears to be little recourse on defects. My husband and I have decided that we just chalk this membership up to a very expensive lesson, but if a class-action suit against Direct Buy ever comes up, we would be right there! We have found it to be a complete waste of money!

9/1/2007 - Jan writes:
Please run and hide! Don't buy into this scam as my husband and I did. Direct Buy stopped sending me their catalogs and I called and asked why TWICE! They said both times they would begin sending them again and guess what? They didn't. They got their money from us and they have dropped us.

8/29/2007 - Anonymous writes:
I joined meaning to do a complete remodel on a BR,B apartment. The initiaion fee was steep to be sure but I figure I saved the money. The time and effort is completely another matter. They sucked my brains about call back, less than up and above board suppliers, the web site for shopping is a complete bust, the pix are so small you can't even see what it is they're offing and to try to use it is totally time consuming and frustrating. In addition, no one ever mentioned the 6% handling fee. Which means, that for most things bought, Direct Buy tacks on an additional fee. You could do as well surfing the web for what you want in merchandise without the hassle of going there, putting in a requisition and sometimes being sent to the ass end of nowhere to pick up the stuff you ordered when there is no direct shipping to your home. The experience was a wash. I won't renew.

8/29/2007 - Bob writes:
As a licensed contractor in California and a person who has been around consumers who have purchased memberships and consumers who have not, the misrepresentation of certain aspects like getting cabinets, countertops, flooring etc. WHO IS GOING TO INSTALL THEM once purchased? Direct Buy DOES NOT hold a contractor's license. So THEY can do the install. In the State of CA it is against the law and the business and professions codes to even refer a contractor to do the work. Most average consumers don't know this but in order to even sub work out still must be licensed in that category or hold a (B)GENERAL CONTRATORS licensed. Because how do you know if they know if the sub is doing the job right? It's like going to the Dentist to have them do a colonoscapy. NOT! But still as advertised they even do labor? WHAT? In order to do work or sub the work the contractor MUST be LICENSED in that category. Say doing a backsplash or a tile floor they must possess a C54 license or a B (General Contractor) license. That C54 contractor is NOT allowed to do linolium or wood floors a (C15) and vice versa. YES that goes for even if you own a "retail" store or "selling private memberships". YOU MUST be licensed in that category. So if they are doing this it is illegal. AND the consumer has NO recourse. As a licensed C54 and owner of a retail tile store, not only do I give my customers the same so called "discount" as Direct Buy I sometimes get a better price from my distributor just to beat out Direct Buy and give my customers a better price I can guarantee my labor will be less and that Direct Buy "makes it up" in the labor even if they do get better pricing from distributors them me. And still after giving hundreds of quotes to consumers with and without memberships I get comments of what a rip off and scam Direct Buy is. So buyer beware, and I feel it is my obligation to report my experiences with this so consumers may make a more educated decision.

8/27/2007 - Sharon writes:
After persistent calls to my home and cell phone from Ella, I finally broke down and came in for the tour in Hunt Valley, MD. It sounds like this is the main center with a larger selection than some of the other locations but other than that I was NOT impressed. After the presentation (which I couldn't keep awake through), Courtney the sales guy who greeted me upon arrival looked utterly disgusted when I told him it wasn't worth $5grand considering my new home was almost perfect. Told him IF (BIG IF) I did anything it would be a cabinet and counter job and that I didn't want to do it right now anyway. He asked me why I came and I said to just look. After a while he basically TOLD me that he wouldn't waste anyone's time like that just looking and he didn't just look; he shopped! Said that window shopping is a waste of time... we got waaaay off subject and I got up to leave, upon which he said "well, if $150 or so a month is going to take food out of your mouth I guess you can leave because we wouldn't want to do that." Bastard!

8/27/2007 - Rita writes:
My appointment with the new DirectBuy of Burbank, CA was last Friday. I'm only sorry I didn't think to check the Web first - it would have saved me 3 hours. Those who have ever sat through a timeshare presentation will be familiar with this type of "sales process." The terms I was quoted were $6000 (plus $495 in sales tax) for a 2 year membership, with an option to renew for another 8 years for $300 per year. Having completed most of the major remodeling of my home several years ago, I had real doubts as to whether my savings over the next 10 years would more than offset a nearly $9000 investment. As a test, I insisted on looking at the catalogs for two major items that I was certain I would be purchasing in the next 1-2 years. That's when I discovered what others have reported: the choices among manufacturers was very limited and, among the handful I reviewed, two had handling fees of 8% - which on large purchases is not insignificant. Add to this the inconvenience of having to pay extra for having large items moved from the DirectBuy warehouse to my home and the inability to deal directly with the vendor in case of problems, and I realized why they did not want you to go home and "sleep on it." As the old saying goes, "If it sounds too good to be true,..."

8/26/2007 - Donna writes:
Much to my dismay, my husband and I were taken in by Direct Buy. I was in shock when I was told that our fee to join was $4200.00. I was in shock. We were told that the fee to join was the only income for the company to operate on. Of course, this was on a Sunday and only the sales representative and few other future customers were there. When I went in to look at some catalogues I was in shock how many employees they had. I realized that, no matter how high the intial fees were to join, there was no way they could pay wages for all of the employees I saw working there and knew something was not right with this company. I haven't found anything that is less money there. I even had a friend check a wholesale price for me on a piece of furniture, since we were told that everything was sold for wholesale prices, and it was not near the wholesale price. They lied about that also. They also charge so much for shipping and handling that I think they may be making a profit from that also. Whatever you do, don't join this company. It is a hugh ripoff. If anyone starts a class action suit I will definitely join in on it. Something needs to be done to these people. What they are doing isn't right. They truly misrepresented everything to my husband and I.

8/24/2007 - Laurel writes:
My husband and I went to the Direct Buy warehouse last night. We had building our own home, and wanted to hear abou the great savings we all hear so much about on the TV and radio. The warehouse in North Seattle is in an office park (which I thought was an odd place for a "showroom"). As we went in, an elderly couple were finishing up and trying their key--big surprise--it didn't work! The gentleman just laughed and told his wife they were better off not winning than having to deal with "these people" anyway. THAT was a bit of a red flag, just walking in the door. We were introduced to our "director," Colleen, and sat chatting with her for at least ten minutes. I asked her about the schedule for the evening--just to get a sense of what to expect, and she was vague. The presentation was unbelievably bad: a video of a facially challenged woman and a retired newscaster, punctuated by an over-rehearsed young man in a shiny shirt. We knew we were walking out the door when we heard that we had to make our decision then and there. My husband refered to it as walking the plank. You either decide now--or never--argh! The dues they quoted us were $5,390.00 for three years, but if we paid the full amount we would get a fourth year for free. After that, if we wanted to renew our membership, it would be $200.00 a year. I asked Colleen to explain the pricing gap. 200 x 3 years = 600.00 NOT 5,000.00. What is the reason for that?? She hemmed and hawed (in fact that seemed to be her standard answer for everything) and told us that their market analysis showed that we would realize our greatest savings in the first three years. Now we know how much it costs to save all that money---$5,390.00!! Also--I think I remember hearing Jim Gagin's name connected to some criminal indictment. When I asked Colleen about that, she siad he was never prosecuted! Nice!! Just say NO to Direct Buy!

8/23/2007 - Linda writes:
I saw the product service on tv and thought this would not be for me as it has to be very limited in it's ability to service people like myself who like unusual and higher end products. But since I am remodeling kitchens and bathrooms and adding an additon, I thought I should find out. The sign up process made it feel like one was getting into fort nox, I'm single and although I do not have a spouse, I'm not sure what difference it would make, like a man is needed to make the final decision, give me a break. I asked if my mother could come who is is involved with the remodel, they said no. They said no children, I got a sitter and when I arrived three younger children were milling around. They said three days in a row, it will take two hours, show up 10 minutes early. I got there, the place was empty besides one guy and one couple all doing remodeling of kithchens. I knew when I walked in the place was not for me. It was very limited in the kinds of companies they represented, only two kitchen cabinet manufacturers (not of the best quality) one tile manufacurer and floor product company. Most of the products were not displayed but there were hundreds of books\. We were ushered into the presentation that was delivered in the style of being presented to morons. The last step was it's defense of why and how they are charging their fees, which was 5 grand. I thought it would be more like 1 grand but was taken aback at that. I then thought it was funny how they arrived at it by showing some stupid demagraphics of how much people earn, how they spend, and how much expendible income they have. Luckily I had spent a good 15 minutes discussing my project, the selected products, finishes etc and the fact that I usually shop and get discounts do to my involvement as a designer or buy on sales which most stores have now. Most kitchen and tile stores have far more selections on how they advertise themselves as having all the major brands even after questioned by phone. Afterwards we were not allowed to look at any of the books but ushered to tables to make up our minds about joining. I thought it was really in bad taste that one had to decide then or else you could not come back, and all based on some stupid notion that you would tell the retail stores about the discounts that you were never allowed to actually see and compare until you wrote the check. Lucky for me I shop and know the prices. I was taken to a seprate table and asked to give a list of what I needed in appliances, cabinets, windows, floors, which I did. None of the products I wanted were on their lists and in fact some of them are even available in the larger specialty commercial design stores like []. The sales person had not even heard of some of the appliances I was interested in. So I easily was not pressured into the membership which I would not have paid. if one is a consumer of the major brands, has more mainstream tastes and buys things like standard sets of ugly furniture, sets of china, watches and rooms of TV's and plans to over a long period of time then I guess this place if for them but the false pretense leaves little to applaud and the presentation smells of a scam.

8/23/2007 - Marion writes:
DB is a scam. It's a plain & simple RIP-OFF. I feel horrible for falling for the pressure. There is NO TRUE SAVINGS. Their products are even more expensive esp. kitchen, bathroom and lighting fixtures. I had to cancel most of my orders because I was able to purchase same items on line for less price.The high hidden cost shipping and handling are ridiculous. We paid $6000 for membership fee (Pleasanton CA branch)and I can relate to most stories here. Put me down for a class action suit against this company

8/23/2007 - Sheryl writes:
I have a friend who joined Directbuy. THey told me of all the savings available. My husband and I made an appointment to check it out. I called to set up the appointment and was initally handled by a very pusy person asking how soon I was going to come in and tour. Then they asked me questions pertaining to my income, etc. I finally made the appointment at the Houston East center on a saturday. When my husband and I gotthere there was no one in the front to greet us, we looked around and started to walk into the back where we were abruptly stopped by a short heavy set woman asking us if wewere members. We were told that was the private area and were directed back up front to fil out a survey. We were then greeted by a gentleman named Don Harper. Wewent thru the sales presentation and then came down to the car sales tactics, Don was very pushy in his talking explaining that if we didn't join today we could not come back when we asked him how much the fee was he said $5400.00. We got up and walked out. When I jot home I did some research and found out that there all types of fees that are not disclosed to one. There is a 8% handling fee, which goes back in to that center's account to pay for their "outings". Once a year they close and head somewhere to have a company wide retreat if you will. That is what part of the 8% handling fee covers. BUYER BEWARE! Direct buy is a scam!

8/22/2007 - Keziah writes:
My husband and i went to a direct buy presention a couple of months ago. In the presention it talks about all the benefits,savings and at hand products. They even say, they have in house financing for people whose trying to buy a house, so it wont be on your credit. We thought about and we said we would wait until a later time. They told us, if we dont join now, we could never join. They said we had to do it right now. We didnt want to miss out on all the saving, so we joined. The next week we went into the warehouse to purchase somethings and to find out, you have to go through these books and order. It takes up to two weeks to recieve them. Also you have taxes and shipping on everything. We tried to order some cabanits and they said we have to talk to a specialist first and they were booked up for three weeks to even talk to them. Thats just to TALK! Not to mention to order and recieve them. After that we said forget it. A month had past and we didnt get a bill from direct buy. Two months had past and no bill.One day i opened a letter from a company who had been sending me something and to find out,Direct Buy sold our loan to another company after they said they wouldnt. I normally throw mail away that i think is junk mail. If i hadnt open this letter up, I wouldve been way pastdue.I am not happy with direct buy. I want my money back and nothing to do with them. They lied to us.

8/22/2007 - Kim writes:
I filled out the form to get a catalog adn free tour.Thought it was strange they needed my husbands name too. Got a call tonight and they said in less my husband comes we can not tour the facility. I kept telling the guy on the phone my husband isn't available and I do all the home improvements. It didn't matter. Why do they need both spouses? I told them forget it and don't call me again. He was very noisy and rude. Strange way to do business.

8/21/2007 - Valerie writes:
I never got past the on the phone sales representative. He told me that if I was only planning on spending $40,000 to buy things for my home that they would not be interested in giving me a membership. He became very annoyed when I asked him how much the membership was and he then said we decide after you join. This is a bad business deal. Avoid this company.

8/20/2007 - John writes:
I was able to talk the phone rep into making an appointment without my spouse attending. It was difficult, but she agreed and processed my appointment. When I entered the show room, I was immediately haggled as to why my spouse was not present. I explained the situation and gave the name of the rep I spoke to on the phone who gave permission. They reluctantly sat me at a table with a sales rep. While waiting for the presentation to begin with my sales rep, an old unhappy man sat next to me. He started asking me questions about myself and my wife. Questions I did not feel where appropriate, finally I said is there a problem? He asked me my intentions and what I knew about their business, I explained to him the concept. He then told me that if I did not make a decision to join today while I was present that I would not be allowed to reenter their showroom for 7 years. I asked him how much it is to join? He told me to guess, so I said one thousand dollars, he looked at me and said I was way off and he didn't think the program would work for me, he said so in a real nasty tone. He then asked me to leave, as I was anxious to get out the door by now, so I gladly hurried out the door. I had a very bad feeling about this company and am not at all surprised by all the complaints I am reading. Something really needs to be done to stop these people, and unfortunately I don't think the media is going to do anything about it. Every time I turn on the radio or television I see a direct buy ad, even endorsements. They are paying big dollars for advertising, and the media is not going to bite the hand that feeds them. Hopefully, if they upset enough people, word will get out, this is why I am writing my testimony.

8/20/2007 - Rene writes:
My wife and I too were scanned into purchasing Direct Buy's membership to save hundreds of dollars. Only that after purchasing this membership we soon realized what a scan this is. There are no true savings. You are charged for every service offered including delivery, taxes, measurement fees and more. Buyers beware. Do not buy into this scam. After getting several quotes from local kitchen installers we soon realized just what a mistake we had made. The sole purpose of us purchasing their product was because we were redoing our kitchen and they promised us substantial savings. In order for us to get the kitchen that we wanted through Direct Buy we would have to upgrade to their "premium" cabinets costing us 3 times the amount we will soon pay to have them custom made and locally installed. At this time we are requesting to rescind our membership based on false advertising. We too would be interested in a Class Action suit.

8/19/2007 - Anonymous writes:
My wife and I attended the DirectBuy presentaiton in Bothell, WA yesterday. Like many people, I had seen the late night infomercials and my interest had been piqued. We arrived at the DirectBuy office thinking that we were going to sign up for a [] or [] type membership and then be assisted in purchasing some items we had researched online. Gosh, were we wrong. After being introduced to a representative who gave us a "scripted introduction" about the benefits of direct buying, we were ushured into a presentation room with half a dozen other couples. Neither my wife or I had ever been given any indication that we would be required to sit through a 45 minute sales talk. The video presentation was slick, including "endorsements" from a previous CNN anchor and some "vice-presidents" of 2 large manufacturers expousing the virtues of DirectBuy. The $5000+ fee for joining was a shock. Not so much because of the actual amount, but because it was "buy it now or leave!". We weren;t prepared for this in any way. What kind of legitimate company would demand a large upfront investment without allowing potential customers to do their homework? What were they afraid of? Their reasoning about not allowing potential customers to come back later to sign up for membership - as a way to protect the manufacturers - would be laughable if it wasn't so deceitful - and was the absolute indication to me that this was a scam. Interestingly my wife who is usually quite savvy and frugal bought into this insanity and signed up. She just wouldn't hear reason. I guess she could just see the "savings". While she was signing up, I had a chance to look through the catalogs and prices. Small selection, confusing catalogs and no real assistance from the staff made it a nightmare. My wife tried to order a dishwasher she had researched online. The saving was less than $10 and the "nervous" rep told us that often the prices increase after an item is ordered! Only after we got home and researched the company (DirectBuy) online could I convince my wife to go back and cancel her subscription. Of course the representative seemed "hurt and confused". Fortunately my wife returned immediately to the office and took all the original paperwork with her. Since there were many other new couples coming in for a new presentation,they quietly reversed the credit card payment. I am uncertain if there is a "cooling off period" under Washington State law that would have allowed us to cancel our membership later. My advice: stay away at all costs.

8/18/2007 - Ashley writes:
My husband and I drove 2 hours to the Corona, CA Direct Buy showroom (closest location to us) to see what it was all about since they would not release any information over the phone to us. Once we got there I found out that they were opening up a location within 20 days in Palm Springs which is only 10 miles from our house. I was furious that they had not told us this over the phone because I had to get a babysitter for 6 hours in order to go. Apparently each Direct Buy location is individually owned and operated (they don't tell you this)...so they obviously misled us so that we would join at the Corona location. This must be why all the membership fees are different as well. The presentation was and HOUR AND HALF and the fee was $5990 to join. I threw a tantrum towards the end because I had not eaten lunch and had to get back to our babysitter and they kept pressuring us to join saying how much money we would save on our remodel. I asked if we could walk around and look at some of the products and the guy said sure but under no circumstances could I open up any of the binders with the prices! I asked if we could be allowed to attend the presentation again in Palm Springs and they said no way. They even asked me to sign the paperwork and leave my credit card and I could call them on the way home on my 2 hour drive if I changed my mind. They made us feel like we were making the worst decision of our lives if we didn't join. I know that that if it seems too good to be true then something is not right and we left without joining. We decided that we would rather pay a little extra to get personal customer service near our home than have to shop out of a catalog. The worst part was driving home and knowing that every other couple was signing up (yes...every other couple was signing paper work when we left!!) and how many people would regret it. There was one couple that was like 80 years old and the woman was in a wheelchair with oxygen and a pee bag....I could not believe that the Direct Buy people were going to take $5990 from them....and most of these people were going to charge it to a credit card and pay 17% financing fee on top of that!!! Made me sick to my stomach. I hope all of these people get their money back somehow. Direct Buy is a predator. If I didn't have a 6 month old baby I would print off all of these negative testimonials and go and hand them out to people entering the Direct Buy presentation. I wish someone had done that when I was walking in. It would have made my decision to walk out a lot easier.

8/18/2007 - Raj writes:
I joined Direct Buy in 2007. It is a scam. 1. Which kind of company says that if you do not join rightaway you will not be allowed to join or revisit. 2. They do not disclose their fees on the telephone. They told me that it would cost a few hundred dollars per year whereas the fee is 5000 dollars for 2 years. 3. They do not allow any cancellation either. 4. Their claims of selling things cheaper is a lie. I tried to buy a washer and dryer and found it to cost 200 dollars cheaper on sears website with free home delivery. We feel very foolish everyday. There should definitely be a lawsuit filed against these people maybe with better business bureau. I would be very interested in a class action. High pressure sales tactics bordering on coercion, not giving members the choice to terminate the contract and failure to come through with the promises of cheaper rates should be grounds enough for a lawsuit. The number of people writing the same thing is enormous. Somebody please contact an attorney friend!!!

8/16/2007 - Kristin writes:
My husband and I was invited by a "friend" a couple years ago. She had just started working there and thought it was a great deal. So, we went to the presentation... thinking we could save money on the remodel of our home. Needless to say, we purchased the membership and still was able to find better deals locally. There were a few instances where they did not even carry what we were looking for. Doors, windows, siding, flooring... we found all locally for a less than Direct Buy AND we didn't have to wait for a call back. Two years later and we still have not purchased a single thing. If you are reading this, I hope it's not too late for you. DO NOT BUY INTO DIRECT BUY!!! If anyone is interested in taking some action, we are more than willing to join!

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