Don't make our mistake
Complaint
Polly Globe
Country: United States
We attended their presentation and after some calculation decided to pay for the membership which was $4990. We wanted to update our kitchen and bathroom cabinets, as well as bedroom furniture. We put down about $1000, and the rest was financed through their lender Beta Finance.
A month later we started planning our purchases and realized we were about to pay more by buying through them than we would otherwise. What the don't tell you on their presentation is that while you save about 10% on furniture they add 8 % handling charge in addition to 7% tax, and that doesn't include shipping.
I am now trying to get our membership money back. Do not become a member! Buy from other stores.
A month later we started planning our purchases and realized we were about to pay more by buying through them than we would otherwise. What the don't tell you on their presentation is that while you save about 10% on furniture they add 8 % handling charge in addition to 7% tax, and that doesn't include shipping.
I am now trying to get our membership money back. Do not become a member! Buy from other stores.
Comments
However we were planning on getting our first house in a years time and we were in a small basement apartment, so we knew we were going to need damn near everything for the house, so the hope was we could recoup our money in savings. And we did the first order we made with them. We ordered furniture, washer and dryer and all kitchen appliances and totally recoup our initial expense. But the trick is you have to do your homework. They are counting on you to get blinded by brands in their catalogues and not read all the fine print, Handling fees, freight costs, additional charges are all there in the books, usually at the front. You need to read them throughly. They are not going to point out to you the companies that don't charge freight, or companies that offer discounts on multiple purchases - you need to sift through the catalogues and find them.
Its not a quicker way to shop for goods, you still need to do alot of homework on the items themselves, and do your best to find the items in other stores and go check them out. Make sure its what you really want. Check out reviews online on the particular models you are after. And for sure - don't be in a hurry to make purchases. Take your time and make sure its what you really want, because the return policies are, for the most part non-existant. And price check everything before you buy. Sometimes the pricing and all the extra add up to little or no savings, and sometimes so can and will save a bundle.
My DB is in Hamilton, Ontario. All the staff are knowledgable, friendly and help you out as much as they can. I agree with other posts - that this is a franchise business and that has a lot to do with the attitudes of the workers. If the owner is a dick, expect the workers to be as well. But the same can be said for any franchisee store. You might have a wonderful experience one and a horrid experience at another. Its all about who runs the show and how they run it.
Bottom line - if you have a lot of big ticket items for the house, or renovations you are doing on the house. Chances are really good you are going to recoup that big upfront cost and save money in the long run IF IF IF you do your homework on the things you buy there.
If your house is already full and in great shape and reno's or big ticket purchases aren't really in your mind. Save your money and don't bother.
How many pages are in the DB contract?
We have a business, and whenever sales persons show up we ask to see their id,
( we copy their drivers license ) and inform them if we decide to deal with them or the company they represent , and find out we are not pleased with the deal we will come after them personally, be it court, or show up at their residence ( only fair, since they know where we are at our business)
one guy left so fast his car grazed out dumpster, and left his side view glass spinning on the pavement.
Direct Buy has a MINIMAL VARIETY because they are only allowed to sell the items they have just like a dollar general might get a shipment of items but once they are gone they are gone. It is close out stuff because no one WANTED IT AND IT DIDNT SELL ELSEWHERE FIRST. This happens even on Brand new merchandise and the entire run becomes useless to the manufacturer but instead of destroying the load, they deep discount up to 98% to stores like DIRECT BUY who in turn can announce LEGALLY these GREAT DEALS like $5000 dining room table set for $1000. big deal, they could sell for $100 and make money.
The problem isnt that they have a good or not good deal. The problem is the QUALITY of the merchandise was never good enough to sell at the high price to begin with. Sure just because 2 people in the whole country thought the table was worth it and paid the $5000 each, doesnt make them worth $5000 and thats why it is called a SRP or SUGGESTED Retail Price. Not a GAURANTEED by anyone PRICE. So Direct Buy Scoops up a bunch of random merchandise just like many other discount stores (tjmaxx, BIG LOTS) and EXACTLY like Big lots you go in to shop and you only have to pick from what they have, not talking specialty order custom made stuff that will cost extra anywhere. But you cannot get any ENTIRE line of products, say even a single line of televisions from the same Manufacturer.
SO those of you that claim you love shopping there because you get a "great price" you have no idea what you're talking about. in reality you are overpaying for merchandise that nobody wanted in the first place and has no value. You will figure that out when you go to sell it and it is worthless in everybodys eyes but your own. Even if you make the mistake and think the value of $5000 towards the membership will be easily saved on your 1st purchase(like I thought, completely WRONG) after you get pressured illegally saying you have no choice now that they have pulled back the curtain and shown you so if you dont sign right then and there you can NEVER become a member because you were offered and said not at this time. (no pressure there) You are now commited and FORCED TO BUY ONLY THE GARBAGE THEY CAN GET THEIR GRUBBY HANDS ON THAT NO ONE ELSE WANTED.
One persons trash is another mans treasure so to sum it up, if you dont mind sloppy seconds, or you think the EDSEL was the BOMB. You will fit right in with the super savings on curtains and rods which is half of their inventory. Yeah you all saved $50000 on curtains, you are idiots. And the kitchen cabinet thing as well. They will continue to prey on new people and get away with it as long as there are people who dont understand value and the actual true value of stuff, and they are known by driving a Red Fiero and believing they have the same thing as a Red Ferrari because hell its only a few letters whats the difference?
Stay away...save your money and STAY AWAY. IF you need a deal on stuff, you would be better served by all of us for FREE who got SCREWED by Direct Buy and we can alll point you in the direction you need to find the best value on whatever it is you need.
I've been way more gratified buying what I need for 'this old house' locally or on internet - no shipping fees. We tried a couple of barely high-end items and were not impressed one iota..
It's a painful lesson learning not to be so gullible. As time passes the lost membership fee ($5,500) is gone and over.. So it is has been absorbed and we move on..
Hopefully their next victims will see this site before attending a presentation and "Don't Make our Mistake" "Buyers Beware: $$$$$$$$$$$$$$$ - it's not worth it..
" What can we do to put you into this car?"
Notice the similarities, they rarely give you the actual price up front unless there is a no haggle policy enforced, and the sales person usually initializes the deal process by summarily asking... "How much can you afford to pay each month?"
My experience started and ended the night of our presentation when we were greeted by none other than the same care salesperson who treated us so badly a few years earlier during a new car purchase. The person was caught by management and our bank manager trying to inflate costs and tax liability as well.
Never thought I would ever see this person again but to my surprise...
In summary, if you are hit with a sudden feeling of deja vu, listen to that feeling, protect yourself, get up and walk away!
try and be somewhere he is in public, and humiliate verbally .
IF YOU ARE NEW TO THIS SITE AND SEEKING HELP IN GETTING YOUR MEMBERSHIP MONEY BACK, PLEASE VIEW PAGES 100-180. LOOK FOR ALL POSTS BY THE MEMBER CALLED "TRUDY" SHE SPENT YEARS HELPING PEOPLE LIKE YOU AND HAD LAID OUT GUIDELINES THAT COULD BE VERY BENEFICIAL TO YOUR NEEDS.
SHE HAS DISAPPEARED.
I CANNOT SAY MUCH MORE BUT I HAVE COME HERE FOR MANY YEARS AND I CAN TELL YOU THAT YOUR ANSWERS LIE WITHIN TRUDY'S RESPONSES.
GOOD LUCK, GOD BLESS.
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Thanks