Anyone have any experience with DirectBuy?
- Thread starter marcy
- Start date
Hi Marcy,
I recall some discussions over at GardenWeb http://ths.gardenweb.com/forums/ where DirectBuy has a pretty sketchy reputation. Some posters who checked them out have reported very high pressure sales tactics with very little product/price information up front. i.e. "This membership is only good at this price if you buy it RIGHT NOW. It'll go up if you want to think about it for two days. And no, you can't look at the catalog until you buy a membership"
Try doing a search over there. I'm sure you'll be able to find at least a few threads.
IMHO, I wouldn't bother with them. It seems like everybody is having a furniture sale these days.
HTH
I recall some discussions over at GardenWeb http://ths.gardenweb.com/forums/ where DirectBuy has a pretty sketchy reputation. Some posters who checked them out have reported very high pressure sales tactics with very little product/price information up front. i.e. "This membership is only good at this price if you buy it RIGHT NOW. It'll go up if you want to think about it for two days. And no, you can't look at the catalog until you buy a membership"
Try doing a search over there. I'm sure you'll be able to find at least a few threads.
IMHO, I wouldn't bother with them. It seems like everybody is having a furniture sale these days.
HTH
My sister in law and brother in law were HARD SOLD two years ago and haven't used their membership even once. Just about anything you can get from them is "cheaper" than at the stores, but then comes shipping and handling expenses. By then, it's cheaper to buy from a regular big box retailer or store. My advice, and theirs $3900.00 later, is stay away! Don't even go to the presentation. Yes, $3900.00!
Sally
Sally
neicebug
Cathlete
Marcy:
Hello! I will speak from personal experience here...I don't recommend it at all.
x(
First, yes, they are for sure all about high pressure to get your money and get you to sign the contract. They really lead you to believe that you will save more than the membership cost in a few purchases. We both fell for it...more me falling for it than my husband. But, I convinced him that it was a great deal. I have felt badly ever since.
If you do sign the contract, you do have a SMALL window to back out (I think it is like 48 hrs?).
Secondly, the "deals" just are not there, as they promise. Let me tell you that I do my homework on any sort of major purchase we make. I tried to use the service just to ease my conscience, but it was useless. You have to order the item through the store that you bought your membership through. You have to travel to the store to look through all the books, price lists, samples, etc. You can view alot of the items online, but you will not get the same effect as looking at a book or a sample directly.
Then the 2 kickers are that they charge you delivery to the store & YOU have to pick it up there...it is not delivered to your house. AND they charge you a HANDLING FEE! Believe me, by the time you add up all the costs, etc. you are NOT saving any big pile of $$! I think you will be better off to put the $3900 in the bank and let it earn a little interest and just research all your purchases thoroughly (which I am sure you do already ;-) ). Oh, and my experiences, after they took my membership money, was that the customer service was absolutely terrible.
I have only made 1 purchase through them. My membership just expired, and I did not renew it for the little renewal fee either. What a complete waste. I wish I had known! But, it has just been a life lesson for me. :+
Best wishes!
Denise
Hello! I will speak from personal experience here...I don't recommend it at all.
x(
First, yes, they are for sure all about high pressure to get your money and get you to sign the contract. They really lead you to believe that you will save more than the membership cost in a few purchases. We both fell for it...more me falling for it than my husband. But, I convinced him that it was a great deal. I have felt badly ever since.
If you do sign the contract, you do have a SMALL window to back out (I think it is like 48 hrs?).
Secondly, the "deals" just are not there, as they promise. Let me tell you that I do my homework on any sort of major purchase we make. I tried to use the service just to ease my conscience, but it was useless. You have to order the item through the store that you bought your membership through. You have to travel to the store to look through all the books, price lists, samples, etc. You can view alot of the items online, but you will not get the same effect as looking at a book or a sample directly.
Then the 2 kickers are that they charge you delivery to the store & YOU have to pick it up there...it is not delivered to your house. AND they charge you a HANDLING FEE! Believe me, by the time you add up all the costs, etc. you are NOT saving any big pile of $$! I think you will be better off to put the $3900 in the bank and let it earn a little interest and just research all your purchases thoroughly (which I am sure you do already ;-) ). Oh, and my experiences, after they took my membership money, was that the customer service was absolutely terrible.
I have only made 1 purchase through them. My membership just expired, and I did not renew it for the little renewal fee either. What a complete waste. I wish I had known! But, it has just been a life lesson for me. :+
Best wishes!
Denise
neicebug
Cathlete
Marcy:
One more thing...
If you are planning to purchase a large amount of furniture, I would highly recommend taking a trip to High Point, NC. One of my favorite stores is Rose's Furniture. I have dealt with Don Williams ( [email protected] ) and he is sooooo wonderful.
Just figure out what you want, call him & ask him for a quote, send him a deposit, get it delivered to your house! The End!
Rose's carries tons of manufacturers www.rosefurniture.com
I also like Boyles Furniture...they carry Habersham Furniture, Rose's doesn't. www.boyles.com
Check them out, you will not be sorry. I actually compared the prices I could get through the DirectBuy program verses buying from Rose's and I would have actually paid MORE through DirectBuy...and I would have had to picked up the furniture from the DirectBuy store.
Take Care!
Denise:7
One more thing...
If you are planning to purchase a large amount of furniture, I would highly recommend taking a trip to High Point, NC. One of my favorite stores is Rose's Furniture. I have dealt with Don Williams ( [email protected] ) and he is sooooo wonderful.
Just figure out what you want, call him & ask him for a quote, send him a deposit, get it delivered to your house! The End!
Rose's carries tons of manufacturers www.rosefurniture.com
I also like Boyles Furniture...they carry Habersham Furniture, Rose's doesn't. www.boyles.com
Check them out, you will not be sorry. I actually compared the prices I could get through the DirectBuy program verses buying from Rose's and I would have actually paid MORE through DirectBuy...and I would have had to picked up the furniture from the DirectBuy store.
Take Care!
Denise:7
dreamyjeanie
Cathlete
We have been members for years and have really saved alot. From what I understand now though, the initial fee to join has really gone up. Over the years, we have purchased several pieces of furniture and feel it was worth it. Knowing what it cost today to join, we would probably only recommend it to someone who would be building their own home or buying alot of furniture. When we use it, we compare prices at our local stores with the Direct Buy price (including delivery and handling) and see if it's worth the savings and the wait. The down side as someone else mentioned, the furniture is delivered to DB and you have arrange to pick it up. Also, if your shipment is delayed, you really have no choice but to wait. If this happened at a regular furniture store you would probably be allowed to cancel your order. Another downside is you are ordering from a book. This is not a problem if you do your homework and know what brand and model you are interested in.
Jean
edited to add. Before you go to your presentation, go to a local furniture store and pick out some items you might be interested in. take the model names/numbers with you (and prices) and see it Direct Buy will let you look up those items. Have them figure your cost if you bought through them and see if the savings is worth it for you. From what I understand each Directly Buy is indepentently owned and may have different policies as to how much they show you before you become a member.
Jean
edited to add. Before you go to your presentation, go to a local furniture store and pick out some items you might be interested in. take the model names/numbers with you (and prices) and see it Direct Buy will let you look up those items. Have them figure your cost if you bought through them and see if the savings is worth it for you. From what I understand each Directly Buy is indepentently owned and may have different policies as to how much they show you before you become a member.
We went to the presentation in the showroom just like you are going to do, and like someone else said, it felt very fishy to me. They poured on the sales pitch so strong, then topped it off with the "now or never" thing. It made me really uncomfortable, and it seemed like there was more to it than they wanted to explain to us.
That said, my husband has friends at work that have used it and say that it does save them money. I think I'm more of a skeptic than he is though, and the whole thing made me pretty uneasy.
Calee
That said, my husband has friends at work that have used it and say that it does save them money. I think I'm more of a skeptic than he is though, and the whole thing made me pretty uneasy.
Calee
Thanks everyone for your comments. Now I don't know if I even want to go. The woman from DirectBuy had called me this week to make the app't and she talked so fast like she had a million people to call. Their ads have been running non-stop for about a week.
Denise - I was actually planning on looking into NC. I'm moving to GA so we won't be too far away. Thanks for all your suggestions.
Marcy
Denise - I was actually planning on looking into NC. I'm moving to GA so we won't be too far away. Thanks for all your suggestions.
Marcy