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Direct Buy: Most Loyal Employees in the Trade?

April 12th, 2007 · 23 Comments

What’s it called when a blogger starts to write about things that happen on his own blog? Most of the time it’s under a headline like, “How I got 100,000 visitors in 30 days,” or “My Google Adsense Figures,” or something like that. Heck, I’ve even done it once.

It’s like the blog takes on a life of its own so that every once in awhile it’s interesting in and of itself. Is there a name for that?

While this probably isn’t something I’d want to do all that often, I thought this comment was interesting:


It came recently in response to a post I wrote about our experience at a Direct Buy presentation . It comes from John, an alert reader who also happens to work for Direct Buy.

He writes (*paragraph breaks inserted by me):

To be more non bias you might try talking to a person who has used the service for something. You come across as a hard to please jerk in your article here.

I work at a Direct Buy and I can tell you that most people are there for about 2 hours. Some centers get people in and out in about 60 - 90 minutes.

It’s funny that with over 1 million products to choose from from over 800 manufacturers and outside suppliers, you had trouble finding something. I guess with nearly 1 million members maybe one or two of them have had trouble finding something, then again they had more then 3 hours to look for it….they’re members…. they get tons of help.

I would love to meet you and show you what you are missing. I’d even give you a membership for free to let you see the benefits. I’d only ask that when you see how it works and that you will save in many areas, you pay your membership like anyone else. What do you say? E-mail me…. (edited).

Let’s see if you really want the truth, or if you survive off knowing what suits your interests.

I thought that was a pretty accurate and fair comment.

I probably am somewhat of a “hard to please jerk” when making a decisions about what are to me (at this time), large sums of money. Sums of money that I don’t currently have in my bank account. Sums of money that I would have to borrow and pay interest on. Sums of money on which I would be very keen on getting a quick and fair return.

And no, it wasn’t really a non-biased post. That’s a lot of work. I was only hoping to accurately communicate my personal experience.

At any rate, I will be emailing this gentleman in the coming days. I mean, who knows, right?

But it’ll have to wait until I iron out a few more glitches with my new web server. I get an email account with my web page now, which is pretty cool, but for some reason, I can only send emails with it. I can’t receive them. Soon as I get that figured out though, I’ll be blogging and emailing like a rock star.

And we’ll all learn what John has in mind.

I’ll keep you posted.

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Tags: Fun Stuff · Home Improvement · Learning · Money · mysteries

23 responses so far ↓

  • 1 Mark // Apr 12, 2007 at 1:48 pm

    Chris,
    Very cool. I an anxious to see how this what your experience will be. Keep us posted!

  • 2 Direct Buy: A Consumer Report // Apr 18, 2007 at 4:45 pm

    [...] Links: Direct Buy: Most Loyal Employees in the Trade? var sc_project=2445718; var sc_invisible=0; var sc_partition=23; var [...]

  • 3 Clyde Hanson // Apr 23, 2007 at 6:30 am

    I am a member of Direct Buy since 2004, and I can tell you from first hand experienc that Direct Buy is a scam. They promise all kinds of savings, but I didn’t find any,and wasted hours of my time and $3500.

  • 4 stephen king // Jul 4, 2007 at 6:45 pm

    Dear Sirs,

    I actually work for the direct buy in the Wyoming, Michigan area. (hence the faux pen name to keep from being fired )Let me tell you this we are a complete scam. Im a Telemarketer, (something our company hates to say and prefers the term marketing rep) We are charged with the soul corrupting task of getting 40 ppl a week (per person… there are 6 “marketing reps” calling anyone that comes into our database from 3pm-9pm mon-fri) to come into our center by way of cold calling them and telling them they are semi-finalists in our 50k dollar home makeover. In fact one person wins this prize once every 6 months in the whole michigan area. We tell you that you’ll be sent a key and if it fits the lock in the showroom you’ll win the make over or the cash if you prefer. And to sweeten the pot we will give you 2 of the 5 bonus gifts (you will always get the $20 gift certificate and vacation package although I never found out where that is to, im assuming a local motel 6) just for trying your key. Afterwords we will ask if you are married (If so you and spouse must come in together theres really no way around it and if your single you must have 5k worth of home projects to be sent a pass) and then you’ll be asked if your between the ages of 25-60 (if you are older or younger you will not be sent a pass because they feel you dont make enough for the membership fee which i’ll get to later) then the final question do you make over or under 40k (only 40k or over will let you through) then my job ends but its hardly over for you. By the way you MUST simply MUST when we call you tell us to put you on the no call list if you dont want to be bothered. If you yell, slam the phone, ignore the phone, pretend to be someone else and say they are not interested, (which alot of ppl do) say they (you) arent home, etc etc then we will call again for the next 10-12 days until our computer filters you out and even then in 3 months later we will call you again and the cycle continues and direct buy gets the last laugh. From there you will be called by a booker who will confirm a date for you to come in (they will lure you with fake testimonials and tell you about the direct buy advantage) and will continue to call until they can do so. After you come in you will be treated to a video (yawn) and will be thrown sales pitches and will be given a tour of the sales room as well. After it is all over you will have to make a choice to either join or decline a membership. The cost for ours is 4,500 for 4 years and im not sure about any recurring fees for we are not told much ourselves. All our showrooms are privately owned so member fees and the like will vary from each center. You can also opt to pay 400 a month for a certain amount of time as well. If you do decline you will be banned from all centers for the next 7 years (a psychological sales approach) and we do keep those records because we all share the same operating system that keeps track of all our calls along with names numbers and addresses. Thats the fat of it and please allow me to beg please dont scream and curse at us who call you. Matter of fact 80% of us hate the place. I loath it and how they operate their center but the owners and the ppl who profit (our owners just bought a hummer) do not take the brunt of your anger we the peons do. So why do we stay…because dear reader this is Michigan unemployment is our only other option and at only $9 per hr for 30hrs its better than nothing. Most of us are just out of college or working 2 jobs and none of us can even dream to afford to even member at our “respective” centers. If you are frustrated and want to see where the money goes ask for the owners. As for savings just Google the manufactures websites and buy directly from them believe me it’ll save you alot of time and misery. Now I must go scan the web for job sites and I wish you all the best of luck.

  • 5 John // Aug 1, 2007 at 4:15 am

    Directbuy might not be a scam, but it’s definitely a disgusting company. I worked there for a month and I just couldn’t take it.

    First of all, the owner treated us marketing reps (DB’s fancy name for Telemarketer) like children, and placed ridiculous expectations. i.e “you must get 15-20 interested parties every night”. In other words, we were to call someone up and be so good on the phone that those people would accept our “free” information. HA!

    Second, DB tries to brainwash its employees. They don’t tell you that their purpose is to sell memberships. They say it’s to help families…. >_>

    charing 3,500-6000 for a concept, which is all DirectBuy is, is NOT helping anybody.

    People need to realize that they’re not selling you cabinets or the appliances. They don’t make any money off that, all their revenue comes from membership sales. Which is why saying they help people is absurd.

    All the showrooms are owned by separate owners and some have better customer service, and sales department, but they all share one thing. That’s the marketing system and sales process. They all use the same scripts to hook people on the phone and the same high pressure sales tactics.

    I had a chance to look through their catalogs and do my own price comparison, and I also went through their “beliefs training sessions” ( basically they tell and show us how good DB is and how much money they save its members)

    They do save you money, specially on things such as kitchen cabinets and countertops, and they also have the top name brands for almost everything.

    The problem is, the “savings” vary from product to product, and even then don’t expect to really save as much as they claim you will.

    I wanted a Sharp Aquos TV, which for the size I wanted cost $2099 at Best Buy. Now, Directbuy’s catalog for Sharp said MSRP $2099, and Member price of $1690. Good deal no? Well, that price of 1690 doesn’t include shipping and handling + the 8% that DB charges for no reason AND the long wait times till you get your merchandise. Through BB I got a special offer of $1950 including tax, and shipping and handling (5 days). Compare that to DB’s 1934 ( tax + DB’s 8% handling fee). I didn’t bother looking up what shipping and handling would be for them to send the item to me.

    Another thing to keep in mind is that after you order your merchandise, you have to wait a long time 4 – 8 weeks if not more, and the manufacturers don’t even ship to your home! They send it to the showroom where it will sit until YOU come pick it up or you pay DB EXTRA money to ship it to your home.

    In conclusion, Directbuy is a great business from a money making point of view. They make a LOT of money and are legit, otherwise they wouldn’t be in business. They do what they claim they do, they let their members buy directly from the manufacturers and save money in the process. However, that amount is ridiculously low and NOT worth it unless you’re buying a lot of stuff for your house and or doing some major remodeling. I know for a fact that kitchen cabinets do come out to be cheaper through DB than regular retailers, even after all the hidden fees they don’t disclose to you until after you’re a member.

    I probably ranted on this but the bottom line is: DirectBuy is not worth your time, don’t even call the infomercial.

  • 6 The Telemarket From The Source. // Aug 30, 2007 at 3:59 am

    I as well am a Telemarketer with DirecBuy. To be exact, I come from the center where these, and most DirectBuy center’s tactics were created!

    The Telemarketing tactics are Exactly as described by ‘Stephen King’, however, I believe that DirectBuy can be beneficial if:

    -You are financially comfortable, and will be making high-end furniture or flooring purchases.
    -You can deal with buying out of a book, which TAKE TIME to learn how to use, much like re-learning how to use the phone book.
    -Your capable of shopping alone and don’t need your hand held.
    -You live within 30-40 miles of your local center

    BY THE WAY: As an employee, I get a 66% discount on the membership fee, so I think it’s great!

    If you were looking for Grills, Siding, and Clothing, I’m afraid that’s not DirectBuy’s focus: It obviously wasn’t for you.

    Yes, I too hate my job, please just be kind to us on the phone. I cant tell you how many thing’s I have thrown against the wall just because you decided to be an a$$ on the phone. Thanks.

  • 7 Marie // Sep 6, 2007 at 5:16 am

    A question for any DirectBuy employees out there…I am wondering what a Membership Director earns in other areas. I am in Florida, and I get $150 for a PIF, $100 for good credit finacing and $50 fr bad credit finacing. Wht they hell do I get shafted if I “help a family” (close the deal), if they have BAD credit??????? Also, do yu feel it just the lucj of the draw on which “family” you help???? Help put things in perspective for me, cause I am begining to wonder, should I really continue to work fr my Franchisee? Help any employee’s wh might be out there reading this. Thanks a million!

  • 8 Marie // Sep 6, 2007 at 5:18 am

    Srry to all, my 0’s are missing and didn’t realize it. Next time I will use 0 (zer0’s) :)

  • 9 Sue Williary // Oct 7, 2007 at 10:21 pm

    Here’s what’s interesting about your “research,” about the policy of not returning to the club within 4 years, (by the way, I thought it is 7 years in most states). Anyone can go online and print another visitors pass, so I don’t know why you’re so proud of yourself for doing that. Your information goes into a corporate database, so will John at the door know you were there a year ago? Probably not, but if you decide to become a member and submit your paperwork, Direct Buy’s corporate office will kick that right back to you. Sorry to burst your bubble…you seem so…proud of your false findings…

  • 10 AnInsider // Oct 12, 2007 at 9:30 pm

    Let’s see if you post this. For starters you say that you visited the DirectBuy site after rejecting the offer at your first Open House. You then scheduled another Open House time. I bet they didn’t call you did they. That’s because the internet site and their in-house software are two different things. You may be able to schedule a time online. Try attending another Open House. You’re right, you show up in the showroom with the cash DirectBuy would be all over it. The major manufacturers they partner with would not. The manufacturers don’t care where you buy. They simply give a chance to get out of the retail cycle if you are decisive enough to act. There are benefits to them in your doing so but the benefits to the manufacturers don’t outweigh the business they currently generate in the stores. So they have outlined that if DirectBuy wants to offer the same cost price, DirectBuy pays, to their customers(ie members), which they only usually offer to retail stores, than those they offer those prices to must not use those prices in retail stores. The only way to assure a manufacturer of this is the “sales” process you described. Try this, walk into a showroom with cash for membership in hand, having not attended an Open House, and see if they don’t require you to follow the same Open House procedure. Then tell me the procedure is only a pitch.
    An insider.

  • 11 Sue Williary // Oct 22, 2007 at 10:00 pm

    Both I and AnInsider have put a challenge to your “research.” Come on, put your money where your mouth is. Print out another pass, make an appointment and try to become a member. Let’s see what happens!!! We’re waiting for more “findings!”

    Sue,

    You’re probably right. Though I haven’t tested it, after reading and hearing from a number of different sources, I believe that DB probably does have my name in a database and would reject my money. So I’m sorry I won’t be taking you up on your challenge.

    If you’re the kind of person as passionate about the truth as it sounds you are, however . . . I encourage you to stick around. I’ve got something in the works that should prove to be very interesting. If I’m lucky, I’ll have a DB update post withing the next couple of weeks.

    Thanks for stopping and sharing your thoughts.

    Chris

  • 12 Anonymous // Nov 30, 2007 at 11:56 pm

    i work for DB, associate/director, for one we are not telemarketers i havent cold called anyone since i have been working there. everyone that i talked to has requested information from us and we are calling them back. i dont agree with everything we do ie calling them 3 to 4 times a day, however i see the benefit in the company. when i sit with a family i tell them we are set up for people who are in the process of making significant purchases for their homes, if not we wouldnt be for you at this time. there isn’t any pressure to join we would like you to but we dont twist your arm. you have a choice yes or no, its that simple. and it is easy to use the cataloges if you have a brain and if you dont use the online services get the make and model number come in and place the order then leave, dont use the books. we do not have quotas to meet at the DB i work at u set a goal at the beginning of the month and try to meet it if you dont then thats fine try harder next month. we dont offer any gifts to you, we dont try to find out how much u make before we invite you in, everyone is welcome just not children under 12 FOR THE FIRST VISIT. each center is privately owned so use this one, the gulfcoast region where everyone needs everything all over!!!! figure it out!

  • 13 Insight // Dec 17, 2007 at 12:31 am

    Sucker or not, I have yet to find out for sure. I can say that the books can be a bit confusing and definatly time consuming. There are a lot of nice products and many of the prices I have seen seam to be significantly lower than retail. I do wonder, we’re cutting out the middle man?? What is DB, then there are also the % fees that are imposed on some of the merchandise, not all though. I am a member, I do think the membership is steap for what you get. Definatly if you are not building right off hand or totally refurnishing your home. There was a posting about electronics previously, my experiance, you can do better shopping around, not alot of savings at DB for these such products. But, keep in mind the closer you are to buying direct through the manufacture the better off you are. Always shop around, no matter where you are thinking of buying. “Homework always makes the student better”!! Overall they do have a legitamate business and they do very well. In WichitaKs. they are very curtious and helpful in the showroom. Buyer beware, this is not an expense to make if you do not seriously plan on purchasing “many” products in the years to come. They do have products of many dif price ranges. I would not advise financing of the membership fee, better to have the cash or pay it off with something of very, very minimal interest. I do not think DB is a scam, this is a very harsh term to use and is thrown around all too often for things that people either don’t really know about or don’t take the time to properly research before they jump and realize it’s too deep. GOOD DAY, research and buy smart!!!

  • 14 Rin // Jan 24, 2008 at 2:34 am

    Maybe the experience differs dramatically from center to center. We went to one on Long Island here in NY and it was AWFUL. We were a young couple at the time and the pitch was very high pressure.

    I was not impressed by the showroom which had the books for the manufactures in all the wrong places, the two items I found in the catalogs that I wanted we found out were discontinued. But, we only found that out after the fact. In all it was just a waste of our time as we were not the target for their services. However, even once that was clear, our guide still kept pushing us to sign. She kept presenting credit options, and when we wanted to leave, she kept saying “One more thing.” I think they hope to get people in who are polite. Because while they don’t lock you in the showroom, they definitely play upon you not being rude enough to just storm off.

    At one point I commented to my husband, I need to call my mom. The woman who was our guide snarked, “Can’t you see this is a good deal, why do you have to call your mommy for permission.
    Now in fact I had to call to ask my mom to make sure my daughter had taken the last of her antibiotics.
    After a rude comment like that before we had even signed and they had gotten our money, I decided that it was not for us.

  • 15 Rick // Feb 3, 2008 at 11:30 pm

    To both Sue and AnInsider, I did exactly what you challenged, and guess what? Cash is King! I was welcomed with open arms. Now, I did not join (for the second time) but I got in nontheless. And I will bet a month’s pay I could have joined without a hitch.

    Here is the rub, all you have to do is this: If you registered as Bob, use Robert. If you initially registered as William, go for Bill. If Williard, use Mitt. etc. You can vary your address too.

    Maybe you see this as slightly dishonest. I don’t. First its not a lie, and second that silly pitch about “our mfgrs require this rule” is really bunk. What the mfgs want is to keep their pricing out of the public eye. This is just DBs way of doing it.

  • 16 Roland // Mar 28, 2008 at 2:00 pm

    Here’s the thing. When I go to purchase something. Anything. I AM IN CONTROL of the sale. NOT YOU! It’s MY money. You want it? You get it on MY terms. I don’t care if your offering me a new car for $50 bucks.

    I know a few DB Members and they have mixed reviews. A few have remodeled their houses with two coming out ahead and one breaking even. That’s neither here nor there. If you try to pressure me or hide facts from me, you are lying about something. Period. Fact.

    And that crap about the MFG dictating terms to you? BS. No MFG give less than two SH**s about your business. They have their own to worry about. They have a price and a minimum for a product. It’s not a secret. Call any MFG you can think of. Tell them you want 100 of something and they will give you a price.

    So basically your business model is flawed in two places. One, those who are to become members are most likly already decided before they come to you so high pressure is useless. Two, using phrases like “helping families” or “MFG Restrictions” is BS and anyone with an IQ over 6 knows it so stop lying!

    I know you have a million members. So good, you have a large pool to get stats from. What’s the average time it takes a member to recoup their cost? If it was 1 month or 1 year I bet you a nickel it would be part of your pitch. Only one reason to leave it out or claim you don’t know…ditto for any real useful information.

    BTW DB really lost my respect when my english language challenged parents were refused a request to bring me in to help with any barriers. I let them go but before they left I physically took their checkbook so they were literally unable to pay for anything right there.

  • 17 Shannon // Jan 22, 2009 at 2:03 am

    My comments as a retailer:
    I would no longer deal with any manufacturer that supplies my goods if they gave Direct Buy the same price they gave me. They would be banned from my store. The real way it works is that my store qualifies as a “preferred supplier” -we put a lot of sweat and risked our money to get that designation. This qualifies us for the manufacturers Price List A - what Direct Buy seems to be getting is Price List C -
    As proof, our customers have compared and we have the lower price. We also provide the installation service, along with the guaranty, but have to refuse to install someone else’s product (can’t guarantee that because we don’t know where it came from).
    Did you know that, in some provinces, you do not pay any Provincial Sales Tax if you buy the product with the installation included?
    Also, how do you know if some of the items are not last years models? Just curious - how can you buy a sofa without sitting on it, or feeling the fabric?
    From a retailers point of view,

  • 18 Mark // Apr 20, 2009 at 3:18 am

    Its funny, earlier posts say that Direct Buy does not have telemarketers that call you. I was solicited by them to come into their “showroom” at a time when I was looking for living room furniture. I ended up not going because they called me numerous times after the initial call, pestering me about keeping my appointment. That was enough for me to know something wasn’t right with this picture. ANYTIME someone uses high pressure tactics to try to sell you something, it is someone trying to part you and your money before you have had enough time to figure out its not what they say it is. I find it hard to believe anyone in their right mind would let themselves be talked into buying a membership for thousands of dollars because they won’t be eligible for “this deal again for 4 years”! I would walk out right then and never come back. These people are like many car salesmen. They have many tactics and methods of convincing you they are helping you get a great deal, when in fact, they are trying to get the most money out of the sale as they can. Whether they get it in the form of club fees or tacked on handling fees, they are making money at your expense. You are better off shopping without “help” from places like this.

  • 19 cindy loo // Jul 12, 2009 at 4:09 pm

    Why does everyone think they are getting scammed? DB is not for everyone. I wish I would’ve known about DB when I was building my home. You don’t know what you are going to want or need over the next ten years. DB will save you all so much time and money. True the mark up on electronics is not as high as items like furniture and flooring but in the end you will save. I don’t think you are educated consumers. Even with the added shipping and tax we couldn’t have gotten our exercise equipment anywhere for the price we got it at DB. Plus there are specials monthly for memebers. You are all essentianlly paying membership fees every day in the retail stores and paying markup too. You don’t think the retail stores are trying to scam you and get the most money out of you as possible? DB tells you what the membership fee is and everyone knows there is tax to pay, everything is up front. And maybe they call at different times of the day because schedules are so hectic in these times we have no idea when we are going to be home. If you’re not interested, just tell them and they will stop calling. Ignore them and the phone will keep ringing, they don’t know if you’re at work, on vacation, etc. See for yourself, be an educated consumer don’t listen to people who have their own agendas.

  • 20 Alfred // Sep 16, 2009 at 2:00 pm

    Good read… appreciated everyone’s points of view. I’m writing as a potential DB member from Windsor Ontario. It seams there is a lot of variance from how each center administers itself and the service it provides. I have friends that recently built a home and belong to the local DB center and are very happy with products they purchased, so I thouoght I’d check it out since I’m in the process of completing a new house myself.
    I’d like to point out something that contradicts a lot of what I’ve read. I went thru the openhouse and did get the comment about having to join, but what they told me I could do, is take 30 days to decide (free trial membership)… enough time for anyone to make an informed decision. I had a list of the items I still need to do on my house. I told them I wasn’t interested unless they had suitable product lines for my needs. I was told I could come back in as often as I like over the 30 days and could shop the products they have. I was told that I could not disclose their pricing to any retialers for quoting purposes. I would be limited to purchasing $1000 in that time and at the end would need to decide on the full membership… I think that is pretty fair, and I am doing so in order to make a really informed decision.
    I was also informed by one of the owners the issues many people have with DB… upfront no less. He did tell me that they were not sales staff pushing product and that it is best if I know what I’m looking for and familiarize myself with the manufacturers books to maximize my effectiveness. Their staff would be there to help look anything up and get product info, but they are not product experts. I was told about all of the fee structure when ordering (handling on some items and shipping) and to expect to wait for deliveries and plan ahead for projects. All of these fees are known before you ever order, and there is never any obligation to buy anything from DB as a member.
    I already have most of the items selected that I need to complete my project and have shopped prices online as well as many stores to make my home finishing selections… and have already bought a lot from the traditional stores. I will need to spend a fair bit of time with their books, but found the display warehouse to be pretty well stocked as well. I believe I can compare the DB material during the 30 day window and know if the membership will be cost effective for me before I part with my money… because like everyone has stated… the dues are a large investment that should be carefully considered.
    Whether I join or not, I don’t have any negative feeling from going thru the process as so many seem to have… perhaps if more DB outlets modify there tactics, especially in these difficult economic time, they would have even more success… my thoughts. I’ll post how I decide in the next few weeks and how I came to it… also will know more about the service and experience by then… going back again tomorrow to look up my hardwood flooring, tile, and bathroom needs.

  • 21 TJ // Oct 22, 2009 at 10:33 pm

    My husband and I were offered the “Free 30 Day Trial Period” from Direct Buy. So we attended the sales presentation and found it to be very high pressure (similar to timeshare sales in Mexico). There was no way that we would make a decision like that without giving it some thought and the hard sell left a bad taste in our mouths. However, we were told that if we did not buy the membership on the day of the sales presentation $5800- the membership would be $6800- at the end of the 30 day period. We went home and made a list of items we needed, we completed some research on the company and during the 30 day period we went to Direct Buy and ‘tried’ to decipher the catalogs to see if the prices were cheaper. In the end we decided we would go ahead and buy the membership - however- we offered the owner the original price rather than the $6800. Ironically, he said he need to think about it for a couple of days! Later the manager turned down our offer.

    Wow! That blows my mind. From where I’m sitting, I just can’t comprehend someone (in this economy) turning down $5,800. Also interesting was that the owner had to think about your offer for a couple of days! This is good stuff. Thank you so much for sharing!

    Chris

  • 22 Angel // Nov 15, 2009 at 8:45 am

    I have read through the whole list of comments today and it seems like those with a grudge or any bad feeling towards DB keep coming back and slandering the company to make themselves feel better for whatever reason. DB is a company that sells a service and the service is not for everyone. If you decide to join you will reap the benefits of DB and be happy and if you have buyers regret you seem to slander in the hopes of scaring off potential buyers that will benefit from the offers. Why not let the educated consumer beside for themselves and get over your grudge or problem and take it as a lesson learned. You don’t have to join, you don’t have to buy. You obviously have lots of time to smear and slander so don’t you think if you turned this around to a positive you might be happier and not waste your life on a mission to deface a very good company Direct Buy. Tis the season to shop, decorate and replace the old so, Happy shopping to all and to all a good night.

  • 23 LoveToShop Consumer // Nov 15, 2009 at 9:26 am

    So happy I found this site today. I agree with Angel on the comment (He or She) made today. If you think about it every Sunday you receive a new sales ad in the news papers. They offer anywhere from 10-80 percent off their original price if you come in this week (or even today @ a certain time) to get the discounted price. So we all jump into the car like puppets, arrive at the store only to find long lines and products that are not there because they neglected to mention they only have 2 of the item you were looking to buy. So you walk around and spend your money on stuff that you could have shopped elsewhere for that had that product for a reasonable price without the sale or you rush out of the store and race to another location in the hopes their other store has that product. Yes ladies and gentlemen stores do mark up their products to offer sales prices. These discounted prices are high but you see it marked as a sale and buy it now price today and think wow I am getting a bargain. In reality you have been manipulated by the store to drop what you are doing, run over to their store during a certain time frame and purchase items you probable never intended to buy because the original product you wanted was not in stock any longer. So after the few items they carried sold out you figure I came all this way why not shop now. So tell me who is the fool now and who was manipulated into thinking the store actually gave them a deal, a once in a life time deal that was not going to be offered again. Sure the store cares for you the consumer buy giving you this oppertunity, lol Hmmm I think a company like Direct Buy (DB) is up front, you know what your getting and the supplies are always there at the advertised price. A no brainier to me but to some it seems to be a problem and they seem to go on and on like the Eveready Bunny making it their life quest to smear a company that for some reason was just not their cup of tea…lol I don’t know about you but I think I will Call DB and set up an appointment to go into the showroom and actually see for myself what this is all about. All this talk about how bad DB is has made me want to see what went wrong with the few here that hold a grudge against them. Either way I am an educated consumer and I will know if I should opt in or not after my first visit. I do have a brand new home in the works right now and I will need everything from flooring to furniture and I hope to have it all done but New Years. I also wanted to comment on the post by TJ, they said the company would not take the offer of 5,800 (they seemed to think this was a good deal now for whatever reason) and the company said no they past the window for that amount and it now was 6,800. Well I have gone into stores for appliance that offered 1,000 off if you bought the appliance between the hours of 9-12 for example. I arrived around 12:30 on the day the offer was valid and guess what the store refused to honor the 1,000 discount because I was 30 minutes late. I did not buy my appliance from them and yes their ad did manipulate me and get me to go to their store. But on the way there was a problem with traffic and I was stuck there for at least 45 minutes and this is why I arrived late and guess what the store did not care why they just said sorry the sale is over why not buy at our regular low prices. I did not buy anything from them and I actually asked the clerk if he worked off commission and he said yes. I said then why would you not take the sale at the 1,000.00 discount and he said why when I can get the commission at full price. I know you want the item or you would not be here now. This store had great Customer Service as you can see and lost a multiple sale on appliances because of their great Customer Service.
    Love to Shop and that is where I am going now.

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