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I received an invite to an open house at a Direct Buy company. I am not familiar with the company but my suspicions were aroused when the invitation stated that both husband and wife must attend together. Sounds like an overpriced sales pitch. Anyone know anything about this company?
I have been a member of Direct Buy for years, they started out as Consumers Club. My experinces have been mostly positive, however it is not for everyone. You do pay a fee to become a 'member'. Then you have access to a wide variety of brand name buyer catelogues. Your savings is in having access to buyer rather than retail pricing. Since this is not retail, you typically cannot see or feel the item you want; you nearly always pay shipping, some items also include a surcharge, the time lag can be 4 to 12 weeks, so if you are always in a hurry, you will be disappointed. The various locations are franchises, so rules, etc may differ depending on the owner. My site did not allow credit cards until recently; I can now pay with a credit card, but I do pay an additional fee to cover the cost of the credit card servcie. My site has also begun alliances with local companies to allow for better princing at their site. I purchsed my kitchen appliances through this process and was pleased as I was able to go look at the inventory and the company delivered the items. This process was more a little costly than ordering thru the catalogues, but the turn around time was quicker, they delivered and I could use a credit card w/o paying an additional fee.
If you are or will be in the market for a lot of furniture, appliances, jewelry, flooring, and you can be patient, it can be a great deal.
You would have to buy a heck of a lot of expensive stuff to come out ahead of the membership price. Also, you would have to add shipping to the merchandise which can be very costly on larger items like appliances and furniture. I wouldn't do business with any one who advertises "free" when there is a healthy cost that isn't revealed until later.
My best friend is a member and we considered joining.
After about 4 years they have recovered their initial membership fee in savings (which was only 2,500 for them) and now they're coming out ahead. They purchased windows for half of their house; I think this alone saved them at least 2,500. They haven't redone their kitchen yet, but they priced it out and they can get high end cabinets at a substantial discount. I believe they also used Direct Buy when they had their roof redone and saved a bit of money.
I was considering joining when we started a kitchen remodel, but decided not to. I was able to find good quality (not high end, but still good quality, semi-custom) cabinets for about $5,000 from a local home center, on sale. The Direct Buy cabinets would've been a higher quality, but still would've cost about $5,000. So joining wouldn't have saved me any money, but could've given me a higher end product.
My best friend also said they got some furniture from Direct Buy. The store price was something like $3,000, and they got it for around $1,500 from DB. However, she could've ordered direct from a furniture store in North Carolina and paid $1,800. So at first it seems like she saved $1,500... but really it was just a $300 savings. Still a significant savings, but you'd have to buy a lot of furniture to make up the membership cost.
She said the biggest markups - and in turn, the biggest savings - seem to be on high end stuff. If you're renovating a home and furnishing it, too, then it might be worth considering. But without some really big ticket items in your near future (ie, roof, windows, kitchen) then you might not recover the costs.
this is a setup to push a buss. and nothing more.
doesn't belong here,in my opinion :cool:
I appreciated all the responses. Wondered what they were all about, and expected there was more to the story. Now I know.
Paul
I was disagreeing with Toolaholic. But, I have been wrong before. :D
I have always been curious about the buying clubs and thought there was more to their story. I found the info on them informative and doubt, even with major rehabs, I would spring for the up front money.
There is nothing like the pressure of, you have to make a decision now or it will never be there again, to turn me off.
Paul
give them 4 grand, than spend like a fool to break even
makes sence to me :D
I agree with Toolaholic.
I went to one of these presentations once with the lure of a free car just to show up. Big box of keys pick a key and try your luck.
My impression was it was a slick sell. The only people that would save any $$$ was someone who wanted to spend $30,000.00 or so.
At that time they wanted $1,700.00 to join and the catalogs to pick from were limited. Also no tools.
I wondered if the real car key was in the box full.
when an auto dealer, or other sales person double teams a person or persons, it's time to split. my wife and I had that experiance at a car dealer
for a new ford truck. OH, they were slick. I finally had enough! I looked them both in the eye and said " If you boys want to dance with me, you should get some RED HI-HEELS. " The look on there face was precious. i then got up and left with mom. I've never seen Her laugh so loud :) :D :D
I feel bad for folks that are helpless with these CROOKS
Just to be clear, Toolaholic, I not only agree with your assessment of the buy direct outfits, but also that the thread is questionable.
they are scams and you are gonna get screwed....
you will pay about 1500 on a master card and then
that will give you the "priveldege" to buy from whole sale
companies
why not just go to SAMS CLUB it only costs about $35 bucks to
become a member
Nice to see for once ,they EARNED their money ;)
Be well Tool