Unbiased Truth about DirectBuy...
Complaint
DirectBuy Employee
Country: United States
I worked at Directbuy in California for 6 months, if you want the absolute truth here it is. DirectBuy is the worst company on earth to be employed by, associated with, or have a membership with!
Directbuy is a corporation that is franchised, which means that someone owns each center, so they are all run differently. The one I worked for was Directbuy of Burbank California owned by Greg and Gail Ruetz. They are absolute blood suckers! They promised each employee a 401k when the center opened in 2007, not one employee has seen a 401k, any type of retirement plan, or even a christmas bonus!!!! All they care about is YOUR MONEY. They know nothing, not one thing about the products they sell, but you can be assured one of them will greet you with a fake smile as soon as you walk in the door.
From the moment you walk in the door, you will be preyed upon. Its costs $6500 to join this garbage corp for 2 years. They say they dont mark anything up, but there is a 8% handling charge on everything, isnt that a markup? None of the employees are actually trained, I was thrown onto the floor and forced to learn about 800 manufacturers on my own. Then, two weeks later, 75% of our staff was laid off. Wow. All the owners want is more money and more members! To give you an example of the service you will get, our center has 1500 members and 3, yes 3 people that work in the service department!! Unbelievable.
When you walk in the door, everything is set up. From the way the greasy salesman shakes your hand to the "hows your day going so far" questions, its all script. Then you hear the stupid story about Directbuy and they act like your friend with small talk. Then, you watch 3 horrific movies about DB in a presentation that is much like a timeshare presentation. After the ordeal, where they lie to you about many many things, then you are sent off to a high pressure salesman who will tell you to join or never comeback. If you are not smart enough to smell scam at this point, you are simply weak.
Once they have your money, they couldnt care less about you or what you need. The fake smiles go away, and the truth comes out. You will wait from 4 weeks to 16 weeks for your merchandise, and if it comes in damaged, you will wait that long again. Shipping is expensive and in most cases will bring the cost of the merchandise well above what you could have gotten it in the store for.
You will not save money at Directbuy unless you are remodeling a kitchen with $100,000 budget, and even then its not worth the hassle, problems, and the wait!!
I despise this company. They are immoral, they treat their employees like garbage, and they lie about everything.
Bottom line, run away from Directbuy! Thank god I no longer work there. Now I can sleep at night.
Directbuy is a corporation that is franchised, which means that someone owns each center, so they are all run differently. The one I worked for was Directbuy of Burbank California owned by Greg and Gail Ruetz. They are absolute blood suckers! They promised each employee a 401k when the center opened in 2007, not one employee has seen a 401k, any type of retirement plan, or even a christmas bonus!!!! All they care about is YOUR MONEY. They know nothing, not one thing about the products they sell, but you can be assured one of them will greet you with a fake smile as soon as you walk in the door.
From the moment you walk in the door, you will be preyed upon. Its costs $6500 to join this garbage corp for 2 years. They say they dont mark anything up, but there is a 8% handling charge on everything, isnt that a markup? None of the employees are actually trained, I was thrown onto the floor and forced to learn about 800 manufacturers on my own. Then, two weeks later, 75% of our staff was laid off. Wow. All the owners want is more money and more members! To give you an example of the service you will get, our center has 1500 members and 3, yes 3 people that work in the service department!! Unbelievable.
When you walk in the door, everything is set up. From the way the greasy salesman shakes your hand to the "hows your day going so far" questions, its all script. Then you hear the stupid story about Directbuy and they act like your friend with small talk. Then, you watch 3 horrific movies about DB in a presentation that is much like a timeshare presentation. After the ordeal, where they lie to you about many many things, then you are sent off to a high pressure salesman who will tell you to join or never comeback. If you are not smart enough to smell scam at this point, you are simply weak.
Once they have your money, they couldnt care less about you or what you need. The fake smiles go away, and the truth comes out. You will wait from 4 weeks to 16 weeks for your merchandise, and if it comes in damaged, you will wait that long again. Shipping is expensive and in most cases will bring the cost of the merchandise well above what you could have gotten it in the store for.
You will not save money at Directbuy unless you are remodeling a kitchen with $100,000 budget, and even then its not worth the hassle, problems, and the wait!!
I despise this company. They are immoral, they treat their employees like garbage, and they lie about everything.
Bottom line, run away from Directbuy! Thank god I no longer work there. Now I can sleep at night.
Comments
To be fair I believe if you're remodeling and furnishing your whole house and you CAN WORK ON YOUR OWN, can be a good thing. I mean you have to do the search through hundreds of file (there, in the center, not in the internet), place your own order and everything. The sales person are there to sell the membership not to help you. I know because I question about some stuff I was looking for and the sales lady did know where to start, the owner came and the same thing happen. I did the smart thing run towards the door holding my pocketbook. And hold it well because membership is $6,500.00 and they are running a special for $5,000.00 if you pay upfront (that also means that you have no way to recuperate your money in case you come home and realize that the deal is not such a good thing). My advise is "BE AWARE".
Phil Ganezer et al. v. DirectBuy, Inc et al
Case No. CV-08-8666 GAF
UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE CENTRAL DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA
Ponzi et al v. DirectBuy Inc et al
Case Number: 3:2008cv01274
Court: Connecticut District Court
Randall et al v. DirectBuy, Inc. et al
Case Number: 4:2009cv00243
Missouri Eastern District Court
Wilson et al v. DirectBuy Inc et al
Case Number 3:2009cv00590
Connecticut District Court
In an article
http://www.thebostonchannel.com/news/18151130/detail.html
"It was appealing," said Rhonda Lisio, who paid nearly $4,200 for a membership in 2006. "The thought of saving money and buying directly from the manufacturer."
But she said she found that the club's so-called factory prices weren't the bargain she expected.
"It really didn't add up to a great savings because they were jacking up the first price that they were showing," Lisio said.
Lisio's complaint isn't isolated. Team 5 Investigates obtained a copy of a recently filed class action lawsuit that claims DirectBuy members actually paid more than the wholesale prices they were promised.
In the suit filed in federal court in Connecticut, DirectBuy is accused of making "false" and "misleading" representations about consumer savings because "unbeknownst to Class Members, Defendants receive tens of millions of dollars in 'kickbacks' from manufacturers and suppliers out of the purchase prices paid for products by DirectBuy members, thereby resulting in Class Members paying more than the direct price."
The suit claims there are thousands of dissatisfied DirectBuy members.
DirectBuy told Team 5 Investigates the suit is "misguided." They denied all accusations, saying the company never "received any illegal or improper 'kickback' of any kind."
Yet it is undeniable that Directbuy does receive rebates, discounts and other price reductions from their suppliers (there' just not illegal):
A May 11 Watchdog column on DirectBuy disclosed the rebates, which are kept secret from its members and from those it entices to join through high pressure sales techniques.
http://blogs.courant.com/george_gombossy/2008 ... -eyes-wide.html
"More disturbing to me is that DirectBuy attempts to hide the fact that not all savings it sees from manufacturers are passed on directly to members.
By reviewing the 260-plus page agreement with its franchise owners, I learned that DirectBuy reserves "the right to keep rebates, discounts and other payments from manufacturers and suppliers."
It also keeps early-pay discounts, and all DirectBuy purchases are paid by the member at the time of ordering.
The agreement also reveals that DirectBuy owns the finance company (Beta Finance) that provides the 17.5 percent loans to pay for the bulk of the membership fees. It also owns the shipping company UCC Distribution Inc., which transports some of the merchandise from the manufacturer to the franchise centers."
So if the Directbuy keeps some or all of the the discounts and rebates from the manufacturer/supplier/distributor or whatever, how is it that the members get any savings?
Maybe some of these lawsuits have caused Direct Buy to change its practices, but as a new member, I have to say I'm pretty happy with my membership so far. In about 6 months, I have already saved almost double the cost of membership. I read all the complaints before I went in, but I knew a member who had save a fortune on his renovations. I had to at least check it out, and I'm very glad I did.
The problem with Direct Buy is that their sales and marketing tactics are abhorrent, and they will sell a membership to anyone even if they can't afford it and won't get any benefit from it. It shocks me that not all consumers would do their homework before dropping thousands of dollars on a membership, but it's true. Unfortunately, Direct Buy preys on those people.
Who Direct Buy membership can benefit:
- consumers with a major renovation project planned using high end, quality products (custom cabinets and solid wood flooring have some of the highest savings in the showroom, and I have compared apples to apples ... same brands at DB vs local retailers. DB wins BIG on price even when there is a local sale.)
- consumers planning to purchase high end furniture
Who Direct Buy does not benefit:
- consumers planning renovations using the cheapest materials they can find (yes, you can find low end, and maybe even mid-range, cabinets cheaper than anything Direct Buy sells)
- consumer not planning renovations (this is my biggest complaint about Direct Buy ... that they insist the membership is good for everyone, and over 10 years you will save more than the membership. It's ridiculous.)
My name is Michael Mclellan and I am an attorney with Finkelstein Thompson LLP. My law firm represents consumers who have been harmed by large corporations’ unfair business practices. We are investigating allegations similar to those discussed here -- that is, allegations (made in filed cases) that DirectBuy, Inc. may have made misrepresentations to its customers regarding the prices those customers paid for products purchased through DirectBuy. If you have been affected by such activities, you may contact me to discuss your experience and your rights. I can be reached at (877) 337-1050 (toll free) or by email at contact@finkelsteinthompson.com.
Responding to this advertisement does not, by itself, create an attorney-client relationship between you and Finkelstein Thompson LLP.
I have yet to order anything from DB. I have researched several items, I found that after adding the 8% handling and shipping, buying retail was actually a better deal. or at least equal and didn't have to wait weeks or pick up myself or pay in full upfront.(got 12 mo same as cash on a frig!)
This memberships works well for people who are looking to make major purchases for their home, in a short period of time or over the course of many years.
If DirectBuy was a scam - I should be rolling in it! I am not. If it was scam, they wouldn't still be in business after over 30 years. If it was a scam I wouldn't be talking to many people on a daily basis who cpntinue to save thousands of dollars.
This membership doesn't work for the people who aren't going to use it.
Compare it to a membership at a gym. It works similarly. You don't lose weight if you don't go. If you are planning on purchasing only a mattress in the next 3 or 4 years - the DB membership might not be for you. There is a qualification process that is performed before the open house presentation even begins - whether it be over the phone or in the club.
Many members realize after the fact that DirectBuy carries more manufactures and items than they initially thought. So they come to DB to purchase wedding invitations, luggage, log cabin homes, hot tubs, tires, saunas etc, etc.
There are many operating costs involved in running a DB club. Therefore there membership fee is rather high but you can make that fee back and the renewal fees in your first few purchases. People typically don't realize how much retail markup they are paying. If you like paying retail markup, and a lot people do, then don't join DB. My mother is one of these people. She will pay for the luxury of going into a store and picking out what she wants and taking it home on the same day. If paying twice the price for such a luxury is what you like, then DB is not for you.
They have no products in their showroom!! Only catalogs! Who needs to see catalogs to buy expensive products?
Their free 30-day membership is a scam. They want you to first sign for the full membership before giving your 30 day free. And when pressed they might agree to the 30 day free after putting conditions like what they told me "you can buy only silver merchandise and that too only for a maximum amount of $1000!"
Don't bother visiting the place, unless you were about to perhaps build a new home. Doubtful, even then whether it would be worth the bad attitude, the shipping charges, hassles of having to talk directly to manufacturers about your tiny shipping stuff and all...
Stay away, my recommendation. And if you do otherwise, please do me a favor and post an apology after you find out the real truth