# direct buy worth it or not?



## gail (May 1, 2008)

Hi 
does anyone have a membership in direct buy who lives in staten island, or any where for that matter. I want to know is the membership worth the very high cost?. 
I am doing some home renovations and will be needing many products. Please Help!


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## perpetual98 (Nov 2, 2007)

We briefly looked into it and were going to go to one of their sales pitches, but when I was digging around online I thought that I read that the "membership" is around $8,000 to $10,000. Maybe if you were doing HUGE purchases it would pay off, but not for us.


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## angus242 (May 1, 2008)

I cannot speak for all members of DirectBuy. However, my cousin paid for the membership to remodel 1 condo. He had so much trouble actually getting the materials from them in certain cases, he ended up going elsewhere to purchase big-dollar items.
Even though I'm a contractor and can get special pricing at most supply houses, I would say if you're diligent enough, you can get very similar pricing (to DirectBuy) on your own without paying into a membership. I can tell you most of the supply houses I deal with will sell to the general public and may even give you a discount too.
While I don't have experience with DirectBuy myself, I can tell you customers of mine have not had such good luck. Just Google "directbuy issues" and see for yourself.


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## AtlanticWBConst. (May 12, 2006)

http://www.contractortalk.com/showthread.php?p=391695

http://www.contractortalk.com/showthread.php?t=36573&highlight=DirectBuy

http://www.infomercialscams.com/scams/direct_buy_scams/start/0


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## Termite (Apr 13, 2008)

Those type of outfits are a joke. Don't waste your money. 

A friend of mine bought into their sales pitch. He found that he wasn't saving any money on a lot of the things he was purchasing, and never even came close to recuperating his membership costs. 

Simple economics. They're a middleman. Cut out as many middlemen as you can and you'll save more money. You just have to find wholesalers that will sell retail for cash (many will), and hit the big box stores for commodity-type items that they buy in bulk and sell cheaper than others can.


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## Docfletcher (Aug 1, 2007)

Well, Direct buy had a different name some time ago. Back then they became involved in a lawsuit. When the dust settled they closed up shop. About a year latter they resurfaced as direct buy. Sorry I can't remember their old name. :no:


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## BCALI (Jul 12, 2008)

*Directbuy Is A Scam*

DIRECTBUY is a total "SCAM", DO NOT JOIN. If you still want to experience their tactics of scamming people, then I would suggest to you to go and see it yourself but be very very careful when you get there.

Best of Luck,
BCALI


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## Faulknertw (Jun 28, 2008)

*Was a Direct Buy Member*

We joined Direct Buy when we were building a new house. $40 a sq. ft. for granite was what sealed the deal (later we found that the GC could get granite for the same or cheaper). The pitch makes it seem very easy to get what you want and the prices are very near cost. You have to use binders with manafacturers catalogs with separate price lists (not terribly easy to use). But, when we actully went to buy appliances, the ones we spent time researching at home and decided to buy, they were either not available any longer or were supposed to be shipped out of the same warehouse in Atlanta that all appliance stores got their stuff from. This made the Direct Buy people unable to guarantee we could get what we wanted. They then asked us to choose alternative appliances. This of course did not work as we had not researched the others. Long story short, we are no longer members. But, the prices are extremely good if you have the patience to deal with the process. The cost to get in is not 8K like advised above. More like half that.


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## sharron (Jul 13, 2008)

*direct buy*

I wish I had never joined it costs here in Canada $3,200.00 for 3 years MEMBERSHIP GUARANTEED FOR 10 YEARS AFTER THE 3 YEARS ABOUT $200.00 per year after that, I can't tell how much of a pain in the butt it was to do research at home find what you want then they can't get it or say they can quote you a price on it and they 3 weeks later say they can but it is much more, We had $100 thousands of dollar in renos we were doing and I thought hook me up to this place, BIGGEST SCAM AROUND, took too long to get a measly shower door (that I saved $20.00) on that I could have bought and walked out of one of the big box stores with that day, when I unboxed it it had a scratch on it, try to return something and see the grief you get. 
The person that wrote earlier is absolutely right everything is in catalogues name brand Jenn Air Maytag, all the big boys hundreds of catalogues, but the kicker is they say they can save you hundreds off Mfg suggested price, of course no one ever pays the Mfg suggested price, so that is where they lead off their sales pitch, you are better off saving the membership fee whatever it might be now and going to wholesalers and buying it yourself, believe me just getting the product you are interested is can be a long wait. But on the off chance you are still interested in buying a membership be prepared to say no from the get go since they are high pressured, go in with items you are interested in that you have pricing on and get a quote right down to the delivery to their warehouse, because you do have to pick it up there, or ask how much delivery charges will be to your home but go in with at least 10 big ticket items you have pricing on first, and see what kind of bargain you get and you can make your own mind up once you go home and think about it, they will be there tomorrow so give it some considerable thought. As you can see from my comments it was not worth it, and I spent tons of money on renos (new roof furnace, a/c all new appliances 2 new bathrooms, new gutters and the list goes on).
PS also check to see how you have to pay for it mostly cash, where as if you are planing a reno you can get 6-12 months interest free from the big box boys providing you pay it completely down to the last penny or all interest will be added on the last day so be wise and pay it a week before the final do date all account in full. some wholesalers do it as well, just get it in writing. Good Luck with your renos...


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## statman (Mar 17, 2008)

Me and my wife went to one of their " open houses" about 12 - 15 years ago and were getting caught up in thier hype, but thank god our minds caught a wind of reality and we did not succumb to the high pressure sales tactics. They told us that if we did not sign up that same day, we would be removed from their list and not be invited back to join for more than 8 years. Of course, I would rather not be a part of an organization that uses these tactics so I told them to stick it. What really made me laugh is that we got another invite to join them less than 2 years later and have recieved an annual invite almost every year since. SAVE YER MONEY......good businesses will allow you time and piece of mind before you decide to deal with them. Slow and reliable will always beat quick and hasty anytime. (Thank god..cuz I`m slow..lol)​


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## bofusmosby (Apr 30, 2007)

They have commercials on the local TV, and these people are bragging about the "low" prices they are paying. They show a table and chairs set they say they the regular price is about $3,000, but they only paid about $1,500 for. In my opinion, I wouldn't have paid $500 for them. IMO, they just mark the retail prices way up, to give the illusion of a great price.


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## RippySkippy (Feb 9, 2007)

This is interesting...and has been kicked around a lot of forums. I get intrigued buy the responses. Generally they're the same, posts with nothing more than links to those that feel they've been wronged. Or, everyone screaming "Don't do it!" I've never seen anyone one laying it out there with real numbers, so here it goes. Below are samples of items we have bought via our membership over the past 2 years.



 Kitchen Aid architect II kitchen appliances (DW, Slide in range, MW, Fridge). Net savings $1200
 Whirlpool W/D with bases net savings $400
 Hickory Hardware cabinet pulls best prices on pulls $4.46 ea., I paid $2.05 net savings $200 in the house.
 Anderson Pacific white oak hardwood flooring 3/4" x2.25" prefinished $4.35 per sqft. 1300 SqFt. If I figure conservatively $2 per sqft savings, that's $2600
 Hunter Douglas blinds, net savings $1850 on 2" wood blinds.
 Kohler fixtures over $1000 (bubble tub, stools, faucets, towel rods etc.
 Blanco Kitchen sink - net savings $180
 Full suite of Million Dollar baby furniture, over $600 savings. (The prices we paid for the top of the line baby items were like what you'd pay for rack items @ any discount store.)
 It doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure out that with the above items, we have a a net savings over $7,000. By the way, this isn't taking DB pricing compared to full list, who really pays that anyway? This is comparing the best price I could find locally or in the case of the pulls, via the internet.

The DB membership isn't for everyone. I'm guessing there are a lot out there that have never put the pencil to their savings and expected expenditures. Many think DB is like Sams Club and spend the membership fee to purchase a ping pong table, then complain that they got ripped off. If they were feeling SO pressured into the membership...why didn't they exercise their 3 day right of refusal? I went to the open house with 8 items that I price shopped EXTENSIVELY before going, compared the EXACT items @ our open house and immediately had half of the membership fee covered. 

Again, the membership is not for everyone. A quick internet search turning up naysayers feeling cheated, isn't the best way to make your decision. When we purchased the items from DB, we had a budget of "X", DB allowed us to stay within "X" but we were able to purchase higher quality items for the budgeted amount. If we were not building a new house by ourselves, I don't think I would of bit, we have no regrets whatsoever. I will fully enjoy the quality of items we have put into the house as long as I'm alive.


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