Home & Garden blog readers debate DirectBuy
Since mid-September, readers of the Home & Garden blog have been engaged in a heated debate about DirectBuy, specifically this buying club’s sales tactics, membership fees, and product prices.
The folks commenting—some of them DirectBuy members, many people who went to a DirectBuy open house, others who are just interested in the club—have flooded the blog with tales of their own experiences with and opinions of the direct-buying service with the ubiquitous TV and print ads.
Some commenters are fans of DirectBuy and view it favorably. Many have expressed adverse opinions about the club. Still others have taken a measured view and revealed their reasons for not joining or their experiences after paying the membership fee.
If you’re looking for more telling anecdotes about and user-generated analyses of buying clubs like DirectBuy and other retailers as well as general shopping tips, check out our Home Shopping forum.—Gian Trotta
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Posted by: Sally Mitchell | May 24, 2008 4:03:07 PM
I just went to a seminar for Directbuy. the sales pitch is intense. You are in a room with other COUPLES and they close the door so you get real hot. And they don't tell you the price until the end. I being very naive thought it would be about $100.00 per year. I thought the salesman said $490.00 , I remarked that is not bad. my husband said $4990.00 I had to shut my mouth. As soon as it was over we hightailed it out of there and did not look back. My husband is in retail and thought a lot of his message was suspect from the very beginning. All it cost us was a couple of gallons of gas to be a smart consumer ot know that you don't spend $5,000.00 to save money!!!
Posted by: Jeffery Cummings | Jun 3, 2008 10:55:00 PM
I just bought two Honda high pressure washers engine 161cc GCV 160 the first one started on the first try but when I terned on the water the brass fitting that connects to the garden hose fell off. I then returned it to Sam's club for another one. The second one wont start at all and the brass fitting that connects to the garden hose is spraying water where the brass fittings connects. I tried to talk to a technician and all I get is a run around. I then returned it for a full return of my money. I was disappointed with the products that I just recently bought. But I still like my motorcycles from Honda. I hope that you will improve on your quality control. Thanks.
Jeff Cummings.
Posted by: Marie | Sep 13, 2008 9:04:32 AM
I signed up with Directbuy after being in their showroom for nearly 4 hours. I was really having a hard time making the decision to join or not to join. I was trying to determine if I would really save money given my buying needs. Knowing that I could not come back, I bit the bullet and signed up. During my drive home, I really regretted what I had done and called the company that evening to try to get out of it. Not only was I treated rudely by their representative, but I was informed that during the four hours of my visit, EVERY WORD I SAID WAS BEING RECORDED. This was without my knowledge or my consent. They must anticipate unhappy customers and law suits.
Posted by: terri betts | Nov 30, 2008 2:30:41 PM
Joined direct buy in 2003-- I built a new home and tried to use direct but but it seemed like every purchase I ever wanted to make was no longer available or the prices needed majorly updated or their was no real warranty and they do not return things easily. VERY VERY HARD to return things or get things fixed if they come in not working right. I spent about $4200 for the membership and have yet to save anything. Most items I could have gotten cheaper on internet sites and they provided a warranty and had a return policy- PLEASE SAVE YOUR MONEY. My husband had been against it and I convinced him to sign because I didn't want to never have the opportunity again. I wish I would have listened to him!!!
Posted by: P Francen | Dec 23, 2008 8:49:47 PM
I have been a member for about a year. I would really not recommend joining. It is such a hassel and the customer service is very poor (at least at the Hoffman Estates store)I have not saved anything once you add your membership fee. I could have gone to the store and purchased the same thing and if you were not happy with the product you could return it.I really regret joining. I hope one way or the other this is helpful.
Posted by: Dee | Jan 8, 2009 3:14:58 PM
My husband and I attended a Buy Direct presentation today. We sat like everyone else through a long intense sales pitch with others in a closed room and at the end told the program costs $5250. Then we were brought out with a sales person for questions and answers, then to try to close the deal. My husband asked to see a price on a Beauty Rest mattress we had just purchased a few months ago. My husband knew all about the mattress, but we were told that he couldn't look up the price without the madel#. When they used how purchasing a mattress through Buy Direct would save big dollars. The sales agent avoided showing us the prices. I asked about some jewelry that I had been pricing,the salemen said he wasn't familiar with the product and tried to distract me with some other jewelry that we had no interest in at all. We asked about seeing a price on a tv we just purchased, the salesman avoided showing or even looking up a price. So with all the evation my husband said to the salesman that he could not see spending that much money on something we weren't sure would save us anything. At this point the salesman got arrogent and we said no thanks, "buyer beware if it sounds to good to be true, it is."
Thank you to everyone who wrote in before us, you confirmed our decision not to buy and we are very happy.
Posted by: David | Jan 11, 2009 9:25:40 AM
My wife and I just went to a DirectBuy open house and came out with the same impression as most people. We don't agree with spending $5K to save. They handed a magazine to everybody to show price comparison. We saw the crib we bought for our grandkid at the same price we bought it on retail and we saw the Flatscreen we've been eyeing for over $600 more than what we saw it on sale in retail. We just bought a house newly built and we're buying new furniture, but they still did not convince us.
Posted by: marilyn | Jan 21, 2009 3:59:17 PM
Thanks.....Now I will not waste a trip or cash.. thanks for all the truthful comments.......
Posted by: Paul Yersin | Mar 8, 2009 4:40:58 PM
My wife and I just went to the DirectBuy location in Eatontown, NJ yesterday and we got a very similar experience(bad) as the other posts. We heard about DirectBuy for awhile so I decided to sign-up on their website for more information, we got repeated calls from DirectBuy (4-5 times a day). Finally I took one of their calls, the rep was reading from a script that I thought was funny but frankly I missed the way she was somewhat treating me like a 2 year old now that I think about it.
After the open house pitch in a closed room with other couples I actually had some interest and wanted to learn more. The sales person (who introduced herself as a part owner of this franchise location) again was so scripted it was comical and she only wanted to know if I was ready to become a member. I mentioned that the rep on the phone informed me to bring any model numbers of recent items we purchased (which we did, GE Profile Dishwasher and GE Microwave) to compare prices. When provided to the sales rep she asked me the prices we paid, and then cautioned me that the savings on these items may be somewhat small. The Dishwasher we bought was over $1000, so I expected to see somewhat of a 10-20% savings at the very least. However, she quickly changed the subject that she can look these up but wanted a commitment from us that we will join. During that conversation she commented on my wife's jewelery multiple times, somewhat looking for a reply from my wife about her own jewelry which my wife did (the sales person was wearing a lot of jewelery, actually all the sales people were wearing a lot of jewelery), only to to see her take off a ring and show my wife and then tell us about the savings she got because she is a member too (Kind of interesting now that I read the other posts regarding the jewerly, it is clearly a sales tactic to boast the savings of DirectBuy.
After reviewing the memberships available and informing her we would only be interested in the 3 year commitment (for ~ $5000) and asking to see their website, and the prices on the model numbers I provided I got the same we can do that and again asking if we are ready to become members. I then wanted to confirm that if we don't choose to become members today that we would not have another opportunity, she rudely commented well what did you hear in the presentation, being surprised regarding her comment she confirmed that was the case. I informed her I do not conduct business that way (purchase without investigating) and was not aware we had to make a decision at the open house visit. She quickly informed me oh yes you were informed, I said the woman on the phone did not say that. The sales rep said it was in the mailing sent to your house. I informed her that the mailing just came today (around 1-2 PM, our appointment was at 3:45PM) and we have been out all day. She rudely said that it was not her fault that I did not read the information. This is when my wife informed her that this statement was rude and I got up and walked out.
Unfortunately I had a busy week and was unable to do any research prior to my visit such on websites like this. However, I have looked at other forums/websites since and saw some positive reviews, but frankly I don't really know how credible they are. Consumer Reports is where I saw negative comments which made me feel a bit better that what I did by walking out and not signing up was definitely the right thing. The funny thing is that if their sales tactics were not so harsh and people were not rude and tried to talk down to you they may have gotten me as a member, if they could have showed me some of the things I was asking for.
Sorry for the long post, however I wanted others to be aware of the sales tactics and to be informed of my experience that may help them if they decide to visit DirectBuy.
Buyer beware, if they can not stand behind their products and treat you correctly prior to being a member then I would not expect them to do so after they get your money.
Hope this helps others.
Posted by: Paul | Mar 10, 2009 8:20:17 PM
My wife and I just went to the DirectBuy location in Eatontown, NJ yesterday and we got a very similar experience(bad) as the other posts. We heard about DirectBuy for awhile so I decided to sign-up on their website for more information, we got repeated calls from DirectBuy (4-5 times a day). Finally I took one of their calls, the rep was reading from a script that I thought was funny but frankly I missed the way she was somewhat treating me like a 2 year old now that I think about it.
After the open house pitch in a closed room with other couples I actually had some interest and wanted to learn more. The sales person (who introduced herself as a part owner of this franchise location) again was so scripted it was comical and she only wanted to know if I was ready to become a member. I mentioned that the rep on the phone informed me to bring any model numbers of recent items we purchased (which we did, GE Profile Dishwasher and GE Microwave) to compare prices. When provided to the sales rep she asked me the prices we paid, and then cautioned me that the savings on these items may be somewhat small. The Dishwasher we bought was over $1000, so I expected to see somewhat of a 10-20% savings at the very least. However, she quickly changed the subject that she can look these up but wanted a commitment from us that we will join. During that conversation she commented on my wife's jewelery multiple times, somewhat looking for a reply from my wife about her own jewelry which my wife did (the sales person was wearing a lot of jewelery, actually all the sales people were wearing a lot of jewelery), only to to see her take off a ring and show my wife and then tell us about the savings she got because she is a member too (Kind of interesting now that I read the other posts regarding the jewerly, it is clearly a sales tactic to boast the savings of DirectBuy.
After reviewing the memberships available and informing her we would only be interested in the 3 year commitment (for ~ $5000) and asking to see their website, and the prices on the model numbers I provided I got the same we can do that and again asking if we are ready to become members. I then wanted to confirm that if we don't choose to become members today that we would not have another opportunity, she rudely commented well what did you hear in the presentation, being surprised regarding her comment she confirmed that was the case. I informed her I do not conduct business that way (purchase without investigating) and was not aware we had to make a decision at the open house visit. She quickly informed me oh yes you were informed, I said the woman on the phone did not say that. The sales rep said it was in the mailing sent to your house. I informed her that the mailing just came today (around 1-2 PM, our appointment was at 3:45PM) and we have been out all day. She rudely said that it was not her fault that I did not read the information. This is when my wife informed her that this statement was rude and I got up and walked out.
Unfortunately I had a busy week and was unable to do any research prior to my visit such on websites like this. However, I have looked at other forums/websites since and saw some positive reviews, but frankly I don't really know how credible they are. Consumer Reports is where I saw negative comments which made me feel a bit better that what I did by walking out and not signing up was definitely the right thing. The funny thing is that if their sales tactics were not so harsh and people were not rude and tried to talk down to you they may have gotten me as a member, if they could have showed me some of the things I was asking for.
Sorry for the long post, however I wanted others to be aware of the sales tactics and to be informed of my experience that may help them if they decide to visit DirectBuy.
Buyer beware, if they can not stand behind their products and treat you correctly prior to being a member then I would not expect them to do so after they get your money.
Posted by: Drew Dwyer | Mar 13, 2009 12:14:35 PM
Thank goodness I have a Consumer Reports subscription and thanks for the truthful comments. Sounds like a bunch of ripoff artists. Reminds me of the pressure pitches my wife and I sat through in the eighties after being enticed by a free radio, night in one of their condos or small television ... but with much more rude and arrogant salespeople.
We didn't buy then and we won't succumb to this type of gimmick anymore.
Thanks again,
Drew
Posted by: Jim | Jun 12, 2009 9:22:34 AM
NEWS FLASH
DIRECT BUY IS NOTHING MORE THEN A RIP OFF WITH AN UPFRONT FEE AND 5 YEARS OF ANNUAL DUES THAT CAN CHOKE A HORSE... WHY NOT TELL THE PUBLIC THE WHOLE STORY OF WHAT IT COSTS TO JOIN AND THE ONLY BUSINESS DIRECT BUY IS IN IS SELLING MEMBERSHIPS!
Posted by: phreejax | Jun 23, 2009 6:48:10 AM
Our home burned to the ground 2 years ago (6/24/07). We lost everything we ever owned, except for what we had chosen to wear that day.
The negotiations with the insurance company have been lengthy, despite having paid for "the best coverage available" for over 15 years. The "best coverage available" ended up paying us about 29-cents on the dollar for everything we lost ("personal property," e.g., furnishings and clothes), and about 61% of the construction cost to re-build our home.
We paid DirectBuy $6,400 for our membership, and recouped that on our first order, which was for flooring, plumbing, and cabinets. Yes, we shopped and compared, and we agree that on an item-by-item basis, you can match or beat DirectBuy prices through the Internet, or through a good relationship with local suppliers. But if you're building a home, or doing a major remodel (i.e., stuck with spending a lot of money), you won't beat DirectBuy overall, even if you nit-pick every wall switch and plumbing valve. Believe me, I tried.
Are they a scam? Yes, they probably are for most members. This is NOT a good investment for the average consumer, unless you know FOR SURE that you will be spending at least $30,000 in the next 2 years for items that: (1) you absolutely must have; and, (2) you know are steeply discounted at DirectBuy. Otherwise, check out the many great Internet sites for the stuff you want (and skip attending the hard sell at your local DirectBuy ... the coffee sucks, and so do the cookies).
Oh, as to the rebuild of my burned-up home? Esp. given the inadequate insurance payments? Hey, we're almost done -- and it would have been impossible without DirectBuy. But we have spent over $150,000 at DirectBuy. It worked for us because our home burned down ... but if all you want is a plasma TV, or a new bedroom set, DirectBuy is not for you.
Posted by: Charlie | Nov 6, 2009 1:27:45 AM
My husband and I are a direct buy members. We paid $5,800 in membership fee and
very UPSET!
1. Their on-line web site is very hard to find items, and not user-friendly and Very Slow!
2. Their "so-call" "Show Rooms" have horrible customer service!
3. You will have to sit there at least 2 hours to find exactly what you are looking for because
they keep their catalogs in three ring binders. The price book is also kept in a different place, so you will have to run around, going crazy trying to figure out the price!
4. Once you found the price for that one item: You will then realized you will have to Add:
Manufacture Service Charge, Handling, Freight, and Tax! On top of that
5. 99% of items ordered will only be shipped to their warehouse so then you have to figure out how to pick up the heavy/ or small items! That's like spending some extra bucks to rent a UHAUL truck!
At the End, you are spending more, Not saving!!!! Please do not join!