Anyone out there belong to direct buy?

[Alligirl]

We are about to start planning a kitchen redo and I am thinking about Direct Buy. I am a little cautious though, the commercials really make it look too good to be true! Any advice or info about them would be great thanks!

~Allison

[scoot241]

I don't know a whole lot about it, but I researched it a little and decided it wasn't worth it. You pay a huge upfront membership fee which covers you for a few years. The fee gives you access to all their discounts, but in order to make up your membership fee you really have to be doing something big (a kitchen redo might be worth it).

Their sales tactics, from what I've read, aren't very straightforward either. They invite you to come to their showroom and give you a high-pressure sales pitch and then make you decide on the spot whether you'll join or not. If you decline, you can never come back.

The whole thing actually seems a little shady to me.

[SBETigg]

I belonged to an earlier version of this type of club back in the early nineties and it was a huge mistake. We were very sorry we joined, had nothing but trouble getting our merchandise, picking it up, and found the savings was not that impressive in the end. It was far more hassle and cost than it was worth. We ended up being invited to join a class action lawsuit against the company to refund membership fees, and then it folded.

I have no idea about Direct Buy, but the concept is similar enough to make me steer away from it.

[Fryguy]

I do not have any experience with them personally but one of the ladies that i know has an account with them.

She just built her own log cabin and she said that it paid for itself in no time. She and her husband got everything there - kitchen, bath, lights, etc.

If you have a big project, it may be worth it as the upfront cost is pretty high from what I remember.

[kaerbear178]

I don't belong so I don't know what the fees are. However, the tile company that I work for is one of the company's that they buy through. Basically, how it works from us is that Direct Buy gets a discount, lower than what the contractors would be. I'm not sure what they pass on to you...they might mark it up a bit to make some money off of it.
The problem that I've seen is that they have a high personnel turnover and they often times don't know the procedure on purchasing from the different companies. It can be a real pain for the homeowner when they find out I am not allowed to give them pricing although some new person at Direct Buy said that I can. So the waste a trip to my store and then have to go back to Direct Buy!
OH---I am interning right now with an interior designer and one of the people whose house we are doing is a member. She said that she is there a lot, and on three seperate occasions sales people have asked her to help them close the deal! How unprofessional!

[Spartan_Jeff]

We had talked with Direct Buy a couple years ago when we bought our home. When we told them we had decided we were not interested, thye continued to harass us for almost 6 months. They tried to pressure us into feeling guilty for not joining them and even told my wife we were wrong for not making an appointment because we had verbally committed to them. I have nothing good to say about them and had considered reprting them to the BBB and the State's AG office.

[mickey&missy]

I interviewed for a job at a Direct Buy showroom on Long Island about 10 years ago. The info I got in the process made both me and my DH a little wary. My understanding of it was that their sales tactics where a little more high pressure then my liking. I also understood, someone already said, that the intial investment was very high.

[BronxTigger]

I don't know much about DirectBuy. I've actually learned most of what I know about them from reading this thread!

Anyways, Ikea sells kitchen cabinets and they have many kinds and they look nice. Have you looked at them? I would think they would have reasonable prices.

[garymacd]

DON'T DO IT!!!!

A few weeks ago I started a thread asking if high pressure sales tactics were used by Disney Vacation Club. The reason for it was I had just heard from a friend who went to an "Information Meeting" for Direct Buy.

There was an incredible amount of pressure put on them to join. When one team member failed, a better team member was sent in. When he failed, more pressure was put on to join. Try to leave without joining and with your free gift? Forget it!

The initiation fee was staggering. Almost not worth joining for one kitchen. If you were doing a whole house, it might be worth your while, but I doubt it.

[BronxTigger]

So everybody is mentioning the huge fee.....how much is it?

[robhink]

So everybody is mentioning the huge fee.....how much is it?

I believe the fee is usually around $5,000 to join

[Hull-onian]

I believe the fee is usually around $5,000 to join

I'd rather visit Walt and Mickey :mickey: for sure.