directbuy warning..

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frhrwa
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directbuy warning..

Post by frhrwa »

just a bit of warning about the deals that DirectBuy is advertising!... first off, you HAVE to attend their 1 1/2 hr. pressure sales seminar, then your shown a bunch of pre-picked items that they can save you mega bucks on.. which most likely you wouldn't be purchasing anyway, then you told its $4900 NOW for the first 3 years and $200 a year there after.. IF you want to walk and think about it, your CAST from the DirectBuy program! never to be allowed to return!... so, your not allowed to go sleep on this $4900 investment, just plop it down and walk out wondering what just happened?... not me, in fact the guy just about got rude when I said I don't make snap decisions with regards to spending that kind of money... I explained the rationale of this and he didn't want to hear it, so I said, "if your truly on the up and up, people should be able to go and think about it or do research on what you've just presented me with... he showed me the door!... so... everyone beware of these folks and hold your wallet tight! you can put directbuy in google and see the long lists of complaints..
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haklesup
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Post by haklesup »

I was quite uncomfortable with their deal as well but to be fair, they have virtually no unresolved BBB complaints and they are a growing company. There must be customers who fit their mold better than us. It is not for a DIY'er IMO. I cancelled my appt siting it did not match my buying style.

I think you have to be planning very significant upgrades to your house not just a room a year and you also have to be the type to buy expensive stuff without thorough research I am known for. If I were building and furnishing a new home from scratch, it may well be worth it.

On my kitchen for example, I expect I beat them by buying my appliances from a sears outlet store for big discounts on open box stuff. I had some problems but sears warranty service stood behind it quite well. Can't say that for direct buy, once you take delivery, it's you and the manufacturers warranty, they don't want it back ever. For the cabnets I waited for a combination of manufacturer and store incentives to get the best deal.

If someone is serious about evaluating them, go the sales pitch with a complete list of appliances and other big ticket stuff you plan to buy (no labor) in the next year and if they cannot show you a savings 1.5x the membership on these exact products (not comperables you can't get anywhere else) then you should walk. Your list should have realistic sale prices not MSRP.

I bet if you walked in a week after the pitch saying you changed your mind waving $5K at them, they will sign you up. I think there are some limited exits from the contract as well. Even though they don't let you take an unsigned contract home to read, I have seen some on the net if you look around.
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frhrwa
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Post by frhrwa »

I agree.. take a complete list with you at the sales meeting.. but before that, check with manufacturers and see what their comments are.. might get a surprise.. Direct Buy doesn't offer you the chance to do this once you enter their domain, its buy in now, or walk and don't come back.. I am building at present and really looked forward to the savings, but the idea of not being able to research a company that I would have to plop down $5000 and walk out the door not knowing what to expect, not for me!.. I want to talk to someone that's been in the organization long enough to experience them, talk to manufacturers, research the web for blogs, good and bad.. etc.. they just don't want you doing that.. so adios to them for me... I'll do it your way... thanks..
ian
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Post by ian »

There's a lot of bitch sites dedicated to trashing DirectBuy but I'm a satisfied member and I'll tell you why.

You have to be in the target zone for Directbuy to be useful to you.
You need to be buying higher end stuff and you need to be
comfortable buying out of a catalogue.

Directbuy isn't a discount place, you won't find deals on cheap stuff.
There's no margin on something like a dishwasher for their concept
to work. I'm a thrifty guy but sometimes I do get some things done
nicely, that's when I go to directbuy.

Here's my experience so far though...........

DISHWASHER
I priced good dishwashers at direcbuy then went to the sears outlet
store. I found a good dishwasher discounted about $500 for no
apparent reason. No way directbuy could top that so I bought it.

HOT TUB
I was planning to buy a hot tub. I priced them at directbuy and they
were in the 5,000 - 8,000 dollar range. I priced them at home depot
and they were in the 5,000 - 8,000 dollar range. I went to the
manufacturer of the directbuy models and they were far superior
to the home depot models. The manufacturer had a showroom
but it ws not for the public; they provided me with the location
of one of their distributers. The distributer was having a "blowout"
sale. The prices ranged from 8,000 to 12,000 dollars.

WINDOWS
I had all the windows upgraded in my house. I got 2 quotes from
reputable places we had dealt with before then went to directbuy.
They set up an apointment with their wholesaler. Eugene was a
great guy, he showed us around his manufacturing facility. He said
he only sells to contractors but he did have a few installers he
could hire to install the windows. They came and quoted about
$1,000 less than our lowest quote. We had it done and were very
satisfied.

WATER SOFTENER
I needed a water softener as our had broken down. Home depot
had their GE model for about $900 CDN. Directbuy had one for
about $700, but with shipping and their bogus "inspection cost"
it ended up being about $950. But the directbuy unit was from the
largest manufacturer of water softeners in the U.S., it had a better
flow rate, and a better warranty. I can't tell you it was actually
a better unit but is seemed like the GE unit was a cheap consumer
thing while the unit I bought was more of an industrial quality.

BATHROOM
High end stuff is where you really score at directbuy. I'll be having
my bathroom redone and I'm sure I'll do well with the high cost of
ceramic tiles and such.

ONE MORE UNEXPECTED BENEFIT
The one thing I like at directbuy that nobody talks about is the selection.
They have books from all kinds of manufacturers with all kinds of
selection in one place. If you can find what you're looking for out of
a book then you'll do OK. Some people need to see what they're
buying.

I haven't broken even yet but I consider directbuy to be a good
resource available to me, I do expect to do well in the long term
though.
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frhrwa
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Post by frhrwa »

good.. its always good to hear a positive outlook... someone has to be doing well for these guys to stay around, I just couldn't drop nearly $5000 in someones lap, not know anything about them, not be given the opportunity to check them out a little bit farther, and be told; "if you walk out you cannot return"... seemed kind of scary.. I hate being ripped off, but on the other hand, I'm building my house at present and really looked forward to buying all the items, cabinets, appliances, furnishings, etc.. they just don't give you breathing room, and I don't do well with high pressure 1second sales pitches.. oh well, glad there are those of you that will take risks..
ian
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Post by ian »

Well I haven't shopped for the high end stuff but I think you'd save a
fortune there if you're building a house. Or if you didn't save money you'd
certainly be trading up. But again, it depends on your taste. You will not
save on discount crap at directbuy. Research it more on the net, but be
careful to ignore the rants of people who shop at walmart and forked
over 5,000 at directbuy looking for a deal.
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frhrwa
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Post by frhrwa »

well, I'm definately not a Wally-World or third world country shopper.. I don't buy cheaper items to save money.. I like the best in the crop, I also like to NOT pay retail.. but, I also like to know where I'm headed when I plop down $5000 .. they just don't lend that opportunity, and that sounds pretty fishy to me.. at any rate, I walked and they uninvited me to reattend, so, I'll shop for the best price on the quality items elsewhere I guess..
Dean Huster
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Post by Dean Huster »

One or two month's income just for the opportunity to shop in a store? That's two or three year's worth of electricity. I don't spend that kind of money on tools in three years and I'm in the building trades industry. Ten house payments. 15 or 20 car payments. Heck, that's a third of what I paid for my new Dodge 1500 in 2001.

I'd be willing to bet that they have a member incentive program where a member gets some kind of a kickback for enticing their friends to join.

No, I don't see the mobile home set taking "advantage" of this opportunity. I think that the "opportunity" would be taking advantage of them. Sounds to me like DirectBuy is the "Nuts" part of Nuts & Volts.

Dean
Dean Huster, Electronics Curmudgeon
Contributing Editor emeritus, "Q & A", of the former "Poptronics" magazine (formerly "Popular Electronics" and "Electronics Now" magazines).

R.I.P.
amelecsol2000

Directbuy & BBB

Post by amelecsol2000 »

Directbuy, Circuitcity & the BBB are all a very sad joke!
The BBB should stand for "Big Business Bureau" because that is who they protect.
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