Direct Buy

[adam42381]

http://www.directbuy.com/ Has anybody ever heard of this website? I was told it was a good way to save money but I immediately thought SCAM. Any thoughts? I usually come here first to read (lurk) when I hear something that sounds a bit fishy. Thanks for any information.

[borisf96]

I think Direct Buy was discussed here before.

1)Reports of unscrupulous recruiting practices. You will be invited to a information session where they will force you to make a decision: Either you sign up right there or you will be bared from Direct Buy for 3-5 years. And they do not ask this question nicely.

2)You will have choice of the products, but that choice will be limited to what they have at warehouse. So even if you are promised at info(recruiting) session that you can buy that make/model/manufacturer, that does not mean that it will be there.

3)A lot of people complained that their prices are not that good. I guess Direct Buy compare their prices to Manufacturer Suggested Price list prices. But if you shop around, you can find similar price/model in other stores.

4)They have nonrefundable entrance fee of about $5000. So you better buy a lot($25-$30K) to recoup entrance fee.

[adam42381]

I've done a bit of research on Google and haven't read the greatest things. Anybody else?

[BARBARA396]

Remember, You Usually Only Hear From Disgruntlled People, Not The Masses That Are Satisfied.

I Have Been A Member Of Direct Buy Since 1994. I Will Continue To Be A Member. We Built A Home Recently And Ended Up With Over 35% Equity Due To Only The Savings We Received Through Direct Buy. Our Cabinets Retailed At $70,000, Maybe On Sale Would Be $50,000, And We Paid $20,000. Plasma Tvs Cost Us $2,000 To $3,000 Less Than Retail. Our Entire House Is Furnished With Furniture, Flooring, Plumbing Fixtures, Lighting Fixtures, And Even Paintings, Wall Hangings, And Accessories From Direct Buy.

What A Person Needs To Understand Is That Most Appliances And Electronics Have A Very Small Markup. Many Stores Actually Will Sell Those Items At A Loss To Get You Into Their Stores, And Then Sell You Something Else At A Higher Cost.

ALSO, THEY DO NOT STOCK MERCHANDISE. EVERYTHING IS ORDERED DIRECTLY WITH THE MANUFACTURERS. IF MERCHANDISE IS OFFERRED FROM THE WAREHOUSE, IT IS MERCHANDISE THAT WAS RECEIVED IN ERROR, OR RECEIVED DAMAGED AND SHOULD BE OFFERRED AT AN ADDITIONAL DISCOUNT. NOT WAREHOUSING IS HOW THEY CAN HELP MEMBERS SAVE MONEY.

Bottom Line Is That You Should Not Count On Buying Everything From Direct Buy. Also, Not Everyone Should Become A Member. If You Need Only A Few Items, It's Not Worth It. Be A Good, Informed Shopper And Buy Where The Price Is Right. I Did And Still Do. But My Membership, And Many Of My Personal Friends' Memberships Have Allowed Us To Buy Many Things That We Probably Wouldn't Been Able To Afford Otherwise.

We Were Never Pressured To Buy A Membership. We Did Have To Make A Decision That Night But Had The Ability, As Stated On The Contract, To Cancell Within 3 Business Days. (we Have Done That With Other Offers). I Never Sign A Contract Without Reading It.

[nothingface]

Remember, You Usually Only Hear From Disgruntlled People, Not The Masses That Are Satisfied.

I Have Been A Member Of Direct Buy Since 1994. I Will Continue To Be A Member. We Built A Home Recently And Ended Up With Over 35% Equity Due To Only The Savings We Received Through Direct Buy. Our Cabinets Retailed At $70,000, Maybe On Sale Would Be $50,000, And We Paid $20,000. Plasma Tvs Cost Us $2,000 To $3,000 Less Than Retail. Our Entire House Is Furnished With Furniture, Flooring, Plumbing Fixtures, Lighting Fixtures, And Even Paintings, Wall Hangings, And Accessories From Direct Buy.

What A Person Needs To Understand Is That Most Appliances And Electronics Have A Very Small Markup. Many Stores Actually Will Sell Those Items At A Loss To Get You Into Their Stores, And Then Sell You Something Else At A Higher Cost.

ALSO, THEY DO NOT STOCK MERCHANDISE. EVERYTHING IS ORDERED DIRECTLY WITH THE MANUFACTURERS. IF MERCHANDISE IS OFFERRED FROM THE WAREHOUSE, IT IS MERCHANDISE THAT WAS RECEIVED IN ERROR, OR RECEIVED DAMAGED AND SHOULD BE OFFERRED AT AN ADDITIONAL DISCOUNT. NOT WAREHOUSING IS HOW THEY CAN HELP MEMBERS SAVE MONEY.

Bottom Line Is That You Should Not Count On Buying Everything From Direct Buy. Also, Not Everyone Should Become A Member. If You Need Only A Few Items, It's Not Worth It. Be A Good, Informed Shopper And Buy Where The Price Is Right. I Did And Still Do. But My Membership, And Many Of My Personal Friends' Memberships Have Allowed Us To Buy Many Things That We Probably Wouldn't Been Able To Afford Otherwise.

We Were Never Pressured To Buy A Membership. We Did Have To Make A Decision That Night But Had The Ability, As Stated On The Contract, To Cancell Within 3 Business Days. (we Have Done That With Other Offers). I Never Sign A Contract Without Reading It.

This sounds like a member who may have a part in the covering of this scandal. What a crock of crap that you were never under pressure to get a membership. When I was interviewed by Direct Buy to purchase a membership for close to $5000 + (for 10 years) they wanted to know the answer immediately, no discussing overnight and coming in the next day, they gave us about 5 minutes to make up our minds. Obviously I said NO, but they would not let up. They gave us scenario after scenario, then after they finally took NO for an answer, they were very rude, and even humiliated us in front of other customers waiting to speak to them. Not only that, they will not let you see the prices, the items, nothing until you are a member. Remind you of another scam artist?? (Amway??) Also, we were WARNED not to mention Direct Buy to any other store. They also track and monitor your purchases to make sure that you are not buying in bulk to "take advantage" of their amazing prices. Gee, that is not a scam, right? (Can you detect the sarcasm in that last statement?)

You are so full of bull****, it is not even funny. Today, I am going to the media about theses idiots, and I am NOT going to let up until they are out of business. Face it, you have been brainwashed into this, now you are justifying your own stupidity by saying that it is all ok, when there are many people obviously upset over this company. What the hell is wrong with you? I would gladly go to a normal store and pay the markup for an item than go through that crap again. At least the markup money will go to a legitimate salesperson, and there are no ties to the company after you make the purchase. These people count on the fact that you will get the membership, then make a couple of small purchases, then kind-of forget about it.

No matter what you may say, this Direct Buy is a total and complete scam. Plain and simple. There is nothing that you can say to me to convince me otherwise, because I have seen this with my own eyes, so don't even try to justify their existence.

[nothingface]

Also, if you are thinking that I am just ranting, do a search in Google.com for Direct Buy, and you will see no shortage of websites with complaints about these scam artists. Here is a small example of the HUNDREDS of sites that I have found so far:


http://infomercialratings.com/produc...buy/startNum/0

http://www.ripoffreport.com/reports/ripoff175914.htm

http://thesqueakywheel.com/complaint...plaint8282.cfm

http://www.martinsquest.com/personal..._Directbuy.htm

Should I go on? I have plenty more that I can post if you all want to read more about it. I know that I am going to warn every person I see that is thinking about getting a membership. Someone has to start protecting the masses from these sorts of people.

[JerseyGirl69]

I just went on Sunday to learn about Direct Buy. I am so glad I didn't cave.

I went with the intent that this could be a great opportunity for me as I flip houses and this would help me make more profit.

But my rule of thumb has always been, anyone who asks for your business and won't let you think about it is trying to scam you. They wanted $5,150, it was for membership for 3 years, $150/year thereafter, and I'd have access to 20-50% off building materials, household items etc.

I stayed through the 2 hours sales pitch, but was wary. They showed me a kitchen that cost 40K and could be done for 20K, well, I'm an excellent shopper and got mine done for <10K. I immediately started thinking I could do better than what they could for me.

There's a part of me that thought, maybe this isn't a scam, after all they have a showroom in a nice business park, there are many members in there shopping.

But it came down to this, why the heck would I allow myself to be pressured? And the concept that if I said no, I couldn't "get in" for another 7 years! Please. Don't piss on my leg and tell me it's raining.

[rodtucker@alpine.k12.ut.u]

I just returned from Direct Buy. First you have to sign up for an orientation. You are not allowed to go in and look at their prices. They stick you in a room and have you observe a 1 hour presentation similar to an infomercial. Upon completion they tell you that it cost $6,000 for a membership and you have to decide right now. If you come back tomorrow you will not be allowed to sign up. Very high pressure situation. It wasn't just this store it was part of the infomercial that this is a company requirement. They say the manufacturers don't want the retail stores to get upset by you comparing prices.

[SmartShopper]

DIRECT SCAM, Lets decide.

I was interested in Direct Buy to furnish property that I rent to others. I am also thinking of building a house and the potential for savings could add up. A few days ago I signed up to visit the closest showroom that was 90 minutes away.

From the moment I walked into the door I felt as if I were stepping into a Time-Share sales office. I almost walked out after speaking to the REP for a few minutes because they were only interested in "was I ready to make a DECISION today". I had no idea what I was being asked to decide about and yet they did not want me to see there pitch without agreeing that I will make a decision today. After some opinionated banter, I went to the pitch room.

The pitch is convincing, and for a week mind, a potential trap. Once they dropped the bomb about the $5800.00 cost of membership I realized where this was going. After the pitch, they send you back to your REP. I must admit they are well trained because I threw many questions at her and she always had a good response.

I read the contract in great detail, what little there was, and determined that this IS A SCAM for the average person. The contract had a line at the very bottom of the page, not even in the body of the contract, that basically said that the dealer I was signing with has the sole responsibility to fulfill the contract. In other words, if he closes his business your contract is no longer valid. They claim that your membership is "HONORED" at all the Direct Buy locations, but that’s not what the contract says. They told me that if I did not signup today then I would be banned for 7 years. That clearly makes this a SCAM. "If it's a good deal today then it's a good deal tomorrow".

There was also no guarantee that certain factories would be available. I asked about a few factories and they said they dropped them because they were difficult to work with. Sounds like a excuse to me. They also claimed that I would not be allowed to purchase items for my rental properties. This is difficult to enforce except when I buy 10 stoves at once. They made many claims that are not actually in the contract. There was no way to cancel the service if you did not like it. Also, I was a purchasing manager for furniture and lighting items many years ago. There is often an additional discount from the so called "Sheet" price that they show you. Where does that money go, I wonder.

The bottom line, unless you are about to spend over $40,000 dollars and you are willing pay a $5,000 fee for the privilege of looking at their catalogs, don't sign up! I also smelled many hidden fees that they were very hesitant to disclose. Fees that you can often negotiate with a retail store, they will shove down your throat at every opportunity. There may be a small perceived savings with them on items they want to sell, but it comes at a great cost. BUYER BEWARE!!!

[Iscream]

http://www.directbuy.com/ Has anybody ever heard of this website? I was told it was a good way to save money but I immediately thought SCAM. Any thoughts? I usually come here first to read (lurk) when I hear something that sounds a bit fishy. Thanks for any information.

I'm a former employee of the company, so I feel I can offer some insight. First of all, here is what you need to know. In order to visit their showroom, if you're a non-member, you will need to book what is called an open house, which is basically a presentation that lasts about 90 minutes about how the concept works, your chance to look around and ask questions, and there will be a DVD presentation. After the presentation is over, you will be asked to make a decision on whether to join. If you decline, you won't be eligible to come back for 7 years, or that's what they say. It's hard to say whether or not it will be worth your while, unless you do some price comparison shopping first. Here's what I recommend. First go to all the other places you plan to
consider buying from first, and jot down all their prices. Then book your open
house before you come to your scheduled open house. At least when you come to the open house, you will have some idea, if DirectBuy is for you or not. If you're not going to be spending a significant amount of money over
time, i.e. at least $5,000-$15,000 in a period of 3-5 years, it probably won't
be worth it in terms of membership fees. The membership fee, depends on the
franchise owner, but it will probably run you at least $4,000 or more in the first 3 years I'm guessing. Then you have yearly options from years 4-10 at discounted rates, which was something like 15% of the average cost of the
first 3 years. I'm not saying they're necessarily a scam, but they are unethical, since they don't necessarily tell you up front that a membership
decision is required before you leave the open house. I say do your homework. I will say this...they are liars when it comes to their advertising for their call center positions for Marketing Associate, which basically books
appointments, verifies mailing information, answers general questions, and offers to mail free information. Don't fully trust DirectBuy. To be fair, a lot of DirectBuy's problems aren't totally their fault, with regards to the local franchise owner. The corporate office is inept, as is their computer system.
However, not all of the blame lies with DirectBuy itself. They have inept
manufacturers who can send orders damaged or to the wrong place. I don't think the freight companies are to blame if they are given the wrong information, but they may to blame at times. DirectBuy isn't a scam in my opinion, but it's not a company I would likely do business with in my lifetime, based on my personal experience. However, you should judge it for yourself,
or talk to people who have worked for the company. Some of the people that
are hired are absolute scum when it comes to social skills.

[HighYieldConsultant]

This company is one of those that changes its name frequently and was formerly known as UCCTotalHome...there are many online reports of both companies poor consumer record you are paying for a 'buying club' that gives almost no service, has prices that can be beat by almost any discount retailer. They hide behind a clever contract that gives you no rights to contest anything. AVOID! If they let this in an excellent thread exists at ripoffreport.

[Facts are facts]

After seeing informercials on TV as well as advertisements on the internet, my curiosity got the better of me. I signed up for an open house visit.

When I arrived at the building, which was hidden behind some other stores, I immediately felt that something was odd. Wanting to give DB a chance, I walked into the building and was met by a receptionist. I signed in and then waited to be escorted in to the showroom. As I was escorted into the showroom, I was shocked to see nothing but tables, chairs and wall mounted diplay racks full of manufacturers catalogs.

The person that escorted me into the showroom asked me several personal questions and then asked me to review a form. On the form was a list of potential products that I could purchase. After reviewing the entire list, I only chose two items. Since there were only two items that I was interested in, I decided that DB would not be beneficial for me. I then departed the building and went home.

When I returned home, I went on the internet and typed in "Direct Buy Scams". Holy Toledo, what I saw scared me. There were many disgruntled people.

What I did not realize was that DB was a membership club like Costco and Sams Club. Even if I did know that DB was a membership club, I would have guessed that the annual membership fee would be approximately $50. What the internet sites told me was that the upfront membership fee was $4990! There is no way that I would ever join a membership club to buy household products for $4990. $50 yes but not $4990.

After reviewing the DB sites, I immediately thought of Pathfinder Business Strategies LLC (PFBS) and United Pro Media (UPM). I had foolishly gotten involved with those two organizations and ended up losing a lot of money. One expensive lesson that I learned from PFBS and UPM is to always check the internet before purchasing any service or product that is not sold in regular stores. Specifically, I type in the name of the company or product followed by the word "scams".

[Iscream]

http://www.directbuy.com/ Has anybody ever heard of this website? I was told it was a good way to save money but I immediately thought SCAM. Any thoughts? I usually come here first to read (lurk) when I hear something that sounds a bit fishy. Thanks for any information.

http://abclocal.go.com/kfsn/story?se...mer&id=5993402
proves they're not what they're cracked up to be. The people who work at the head office are inept from personal experience. They have a computer system that crashes during peak business hours, meaning they don't have enough servers to keep up with the demand of their franchise owners, which is cheap. They lie about what is expected in their job advertisements, by saying for certain positions it's not a sales job. I would not only recommend not to purchase a membership, but I would recommend telling peple as many as you know, and telling them to tell everyone they know and so on, to never buy a membership from them, and tell those who already have bought in, to get out as soon as possible, and let their membership lapse.

[MURPHYJUNK]

one of the testomonials I read on http://www.infomercialscams.com/scams/direct_buy_scams

in favor of directbuy said they ad saved over $1100 on a washer dryer combo.

I looked up the item the mentioned on google and saw it was sold at bestbuy for $949

maybe they were ligit members of direct buy and were duped into thinking they saved money, but more likely b.s. from direct buy workers writing the reviews

[MURPHYJUNK]

form the same site

" In a couple of minutes, the representative attending to a customer next table barges in and says the other customer is signing-up and needs help. Our Salesrep goes off to help them and after they come back and thank us profusely. All this perhaps is staged. "

"As we were ushered into the catalog room, a deal was being closed with handshakes, thanks and a personal check being handed to the agent in full view?


this mite be the reason they want you to sign on the spot, and if not can not come back for 7? years.

if you came back the following week you would see the same act with same actors

very well orchertrated scam

too bad someone does not plant a hidden camera in the place and see all the joking and high fives at the end of the day while they joke about all the suckers the took in.

[marky123]

i am a vet. a young couple joined direct buy and then he got orders to go to iraq. he contacted them and told them what had happened and they couldnt afford the monthly dues.direct buy refused to let them out of their contract and they were the only company that refused to work with this couple. shame on direct buy,and i urge any vet or loyal american not to do business with this two bit unamerican scam machine please pass this to any loyal american:madgo: