Direct Buy, anyone?

[tarabenet]

DH and I have discussed joining Direct Buy, especially when we get a bit closer to building our next house. Have any of you joined? What has been your experience with it? Also, anyone been through a showroom visit and can maybe tell me whether to expect high pressure to join if/when we go check this out?

Thanks!

[kellyotn]

I don't know anything about it, even though there is one in my area.

Here's a previous thread -
http://www.windsorpeak.com/dc/dcboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=37&topic_id=255215&mode=full

So, yes on the high pressure. ;)

I think I'd not like it because you really can't comparison shop (and I love to comparison shop!) They just bank on the fact that since you shelled out the big bucks for the fee, you'll buy there to "make it worth it".

Are you using a buider/general contractor? I thought they got discounts on major stuff, at least that's the way it worked for some friends who built with a large builder/developer in this area. They choose everything (carpet, wallpaper, fixtures, appliances...) from the suppliers that the builder had relationships with. I suppose its different from area to area though, this is a new-construction, subdivision-heavy area.

Good luck!

[buddyleebaby]

No first hand experience, but my local news just did an investigative report on direct buy and did not have good things to say.
The basic message was that when you go to check it out they tell you that you must join then or not at all, and the membership fee is quite high (as in thousands a yaar), and that a muber of things in the catalog are either not discounted at all or overpriced. They interviewed several members who had not only not saved money, but had also been unable to get the item they were looking for.
Again, that was just the station's take on it. I personally have no idea.

[jenjenfirenjen]

Hmmm, I'm really surprised to hear the negative feedback. I do totally agree that the sales pitch is high pressure, and yes, they did say if we didn't join that day, we may not be able to in the future. And yes, the membership for the first 3 years is high but after that, it's super low and we had just bought a house and knew we would be buying lots and lots of stuff in the years to come. It has been worth every penny for us. I cannot even begin to tell you how much we have bought through Direct Buy and saved a ton. And there's no reason you can't comparison shop. I do most of my Direct Buy shopping via their website. I get prices emailed to me and then I can compare to other B&M stores or websites. Most of the time Direct Buy is cheaper but sometimes not (especially of loss leader items like electronics.) Oh, and you may not be aware, but there is a ton of baby and kids items available through Direct Buy (we got our Baby Jogger City Series double for about 50% off the retail price.)

[ChunkyNicksChunkyMom]

Hey Jen could you share with us specifics of what you bought that had big savings. Thanks!
Susan

#1 Nick 11-18-04
#2 Kate 04-26-06

[megs4413]

we also have direct buy. and like the pp said the first couple years IS very expensive..i don't think i'll get in trouble for telling you it IS several thousand dollars.....it decreases after the first few years....I think if you are going to do a LOT of things it is worth it, but if you are just wanting to redo say...one bathroom...it might not be the way to go...we just bought a house and need to furnish the ENTIRE thing and remodel several rooms....it will pay off for us. I think the biggest savings area IMO is furniture....and the selection is ENORMOUS.....we shop for furniture online and see what we like and then see if it is available from direct buy. In response to one of the earlier posts, it doesn't really benefit direct buy when you purchase things through them...they don't actually sell them as you are basically just purcahsing it directly from the manufacturer. They make their money with the membership fees. We didn't experience TOO much pressure when we went for our first visit except that we were told that if we didn't purchase it then we could not come back later and purchase it....the whole demonstration was long and boring and all everyone wanted to do was here "what does it cost!"..they don't tell you until the VERY end....If I were you, i would total up all the stuff you want to buy and see what it will cost you as of now....if it's not a big enough number to make spending several thousand dollars now in order to save several thousand or more later...than it's probably not worth it for you....

They do have tons of baby stuff and I will probably be purchasing some things for our next one through them....

[jerseygirl07067]

DH and I checked them out about a year ago. We went to the showroom and listened to the presentation. If I remember, the cost to be a member was around $2500-3000 per year for three years, then you have to pay a certain amount after that to continue your membership.

Their prices were good, and they had a decent selection. At the time, we were looking at a certain brand of furniture, and we asked them for their prices just to get an idea. The prices were pretty good, but not that much better than what we were able to find on our own. (We were able to find a local retailer to match the prices we found at rosefurniture.com, a North Carolina furniture showroom, saving us about $3500 on our bedroom set, for example)

Personally, if you're a good shopper and know where to find really good prices on big ticket items, the membership is not worth it. Also, you have to figure out what you plan on buying over the next few years and figure out how much it would save you. For us, it wasn't going to save us much at all, if anything. Then you have to consider the membership costs, which aren't cheap.

Good luck with your decision. If it were me, I'd check out furniture from some of the North Carolina showrooms and sites, and find where the builders/contractors in your area buy their cabinets, tile, granite, appliances, etc. Sometimes it's a matter of pinning down the tile manufacturer directly, or looking online. It's a lot of research, but you'll save thousands that way, without joining a club.

Just my opinion...:)

Marcy

[tarabenet]

Thanks everyone for the feedback. Also, thanks for the link. I had searched but not found it.

[dawell0]

If you are joining because of building a house, I think that before you join, you should have your builder selected and know about how they buy items for your house. We are currently building and decided not to invest in Direct Buy, but to be fair we also did not attend the sales pitch. DH did go to a sales pitch for a similar company years ago and decided that it was not worth it. It takes a lot of buying to save the thousands in membership fees. While our builder does not require us to go through him to purchase items, he usually can get things at a contractor discount or direct from the manufacturer himself. Some of the builders and companies that we talked with would not allow you to purchase anything outside of them (because they mark up everything again). We are are different situation because we don't need furniture (I'm buying out someone who is downsizing to a condo) and only need products that the builder would be able to get a discount. Our builder can even get appliances at a price cheaper than the employee discount for a large appliance manufacturer that my dad works for, so I think that it is really a matter of the volume and the specifics of your builder.

[megs4413]

FWIW, the membership fee was not anywhere NEAR that much! 2500-3000 a year for 3 years is WAY beyond our budget! I don't know if we're allowed to say what we paid which is why I hesitate, but it was only several thousand dollars and that COVERED the first two years and then is just a couple hundred a year for 10 years! If you spread it out over that amount of time...and have to purchase enough stuff it works out....

[jenjenfirenjen]

Well, we've been members for going on 4-5 years so we've bought a TON of stuff but I'll do a little mental inventory and go through my house room by room and think what I've bought through Direct Buy. Here goes...

Living Room:
2 Rowe slipcovered chairs
Butler Speciality Handpainted console table and mirror
Hall Tree (can't remember manufacturer)

Dining Room:
Currey & Co chandelier

Family Room:
Ashley Pub Table and two chairs
Bassett Sofa and Love Seat
Panasonic Plasma TV
Bassett Plasma TV base
Dutailier Glider & Ottoman

Bedroom:
Sealy mattress & box spring

Kitchen:
We totally remodeled our kitchen earlier this year. Direct Buy provided a kitchen design consultant at no cost who produced the sketches for our contractor. We got our cabinets (Diamond), appliances (Maytag), and lighting through Direct Buy. Also, we were able to puchase hardwood flooring and granite countertops at contractor cost through our affliation with Direct Buy. Other kitchen things we've bought: pot rack, Chef's Choice knife sharpener, Lenox china and crystal, Wustof knives, Wilton Aremtale serveware.)

Things for the kids:
Child Craft crib, combo dresser, bookshelf
Baby Jogger City Series Double

That's all I can think of for now. I can't really go into specifics about how much I saved on each item (you're not supposed to do this as a member) but suffice it to say we did our research on all of these items and it was always worth the savings to go with Direct Buy. The only items I can think of at the moment that it was not a cost savings to go through Direct Buy was our sound system and stationary bike (shipping killed the savings on this one.)

I have to disagree with another poster below that if you know how to shop and research big ticket items then Direct Buy is not worth it. My DH and I research almost everything we buy to death and Direct Buy has saved us a ton (I believe we recooped the cost of the membership with our first purchase...the sofas and mattress.)

[ChunkyNicksChunkyMom]

Wow Jen, thanks for the info and the brandnames.
Susan

#1 Nick 11-18-04
#2 Kate 04-26-06