DirectBuy.com Discount Home Products Review

Overall 1.50 of 5 view all 2 reviews

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me1000
San Jose, CA

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If it smells like a scam, it is a scam!

Homeowner, Mr. Fix-it

Pros

nice looking products made by ????

Cons

Initial membership lasts only 1 year., Sketchy details up front, Limited or no savings, possible loss., Thousands of dollars required to join., Very high pressure sales pitch

FEB

2008

My wife and I received an invitation to attend the DirectBuy sales presentation (though they don't call it that) in the mail. Then we got another. Since we are rebuilding our entire home, we decided to check it out. They have a great sales pitch, but it is what they don't mention that is alarming. Things like: You are limited in what you purchase, to the brands that they carry.

And yes, you are required to pay on the spot, THOUSANDS of dollars. I don't recall the exact amount now, but I think it was in the neighborhood of $10,000. That buys a 1-year membership, which can then be extended for a much lower price of only about $1000 or possibly even less, per year. These numbers are not exact, since I've put it out of my mind for the most part. what I do remember clearly is thinking they must be nuts, or crooks (probably the latter) asking for that much money for a 1-year membership.

Later when we got home and ran some rough numbers based on the prices we saw in the showroom, we found that we would not have saved that much, if any on our entire new home-project (home size is about 2000 square feet). And with DirectBuy we would have limited choices about what manufacturers we could choose, which means we may not buy some things through them anyway. (i.e. the whirlpool tub we chose).

I Definitely and passionately urge just about everyone to stay away from this scam. It is very hard to make up the membership cost, with savings. There are additional gotchas that I don't recall now, that add complexity to the whole thing too. Note, that I will say it is "possible" to save enough to make up the membership cost, but as stated by another reviewer, do ALL of your comparison shopping first, before setting foot in their showroom, and don't forget that you are limited to the brands that they sell, to get any discounts offered.

And don't worry about cancelling an appointment (sales presentation), because they will always reschedule the opportunity to take your money from you.

Last edited on Feb 27, 2008