I did some more research and it seems kind of suspicious, but they seem so legitimate with their TV Ads and all.

Here is a link that might be useful: Direct Buy - Furniture Store Scam?

I have only read information about them online. I was interested in checking them out because, well, who wouldn't like a great deal on items from the home. I was thinking they would save us a lot of money on furniture, kitchen remodeling and many other things for the home.

However, after doing some research, it seems that they might be good for a very small population. They seemed to have very strong sales tactics to get you to spend thousands of dollars to become a member. They bring you in and tell you that you can't see any pricing or any items unless you pay membership fees (which I think was around $5000). Then, I heard they threaten that if you leave they won't let you come back to be a member.

After this, the savings might be decen, only if you spend outrageous amounts of money. By this I mean remodeling a kitchen or decorating a house, not just buying a sofa and a chair.

For me, this didn't seem like such a great deal afterall. I am not one to put down a lot of money unless I know what my return is (for example, I am not going to become a member of a high priced club unless I can see the merchandise and prices).

Like I said, my review is only based on what I read from the internet reviews. I would consider actual experience, but I don't know anyone personally who has checked them out.

Good luck to you. Let us know what you find.

Beware of this place. It's not convenient by any means. We were members there and found continually that what we were interested in had been discountinued, and other things were just, well, poor quality. It's a rip off. There was a thread on here several months ago about DB, and the majority of people had negative comments - well over 3/4 of the comments were not good.

However, if you are remodeling an entire house, or even kitchen, it may be worth your while. That's up to you. I'm sure the member fees has increased. It was $1,500 for 3 years and this is going back approx. 5-6 years ago. After the 3 years, there's an annual renewal fee of $200 or more.

I would never recommend this place, and if membership was 1/2 off, I'd still stay away.

Sorry, but I speak from experience.

Stay away from Direct Buy. My in-laws got suckered into their "membership", and when we moved into our new house, in-laws tried to convince us to use their membership, but after hearing their story, DH & I decided not to buy from Direct Buy because we didn't agree with their business practices. I know my in-laws wanted to feel like they got "more" out of their membership if we used it too, but I just couldn't give money to a company like that, even if I was getting furniture in exchange for that money. Hope that makes sense!

My DH and I went to an interview(my take on it) and were thoroughly not happy with their pitch. As others before have said, you don't see any actual comparison to pricing before you sign on the dotted line. We were planning a kitchen/dining room remodel and thought it might be a good place to shop. But they really give you no information on what brands will be available except for cabs. They encourage you to research what you want on-line and even going into local appliance stores, flooring, etc. to get the info you need to buy and then buy from them. My brother is in retail(ski and biking store) and he has told me about people that do just this and suck up all of their time to not even buy the product from them. They have had to put some measures in place so that they don't continue to get burned by this behavior. Because of what he has told me I have very carefully researched all that I am buying and have been able to purchase as much as I was able from local businesses. I think Direct Buy's behavior is unscrupolous(sp?) encouraging people to use their local businesses for all of their know-how and not make the sale there. I challenged the "associate" on this pointing out my brothers experience and it was basically shrugged off as you have that right as the consumer. Not this consumer. I want to see my local businesses stay in business; it directly helps me to help my local economy!

I attempted to look into DB about a month ago.
I filled out an online form to request a store visit.
An associate called me the following morning and tried to set up a specific time to get my "visitor's pass", well after a few more questions it became clear that it was no visitor's pass but rather a full-on sales pitch appointment. After several unsuccessful probing questions about what products they carry and how I can get a sample of their product line, I started to get a bit annoyed.
I finally asked what their membership fees were as it would be a complete waste of time if they were significantly more than the local Costco or BJ's. The woman on the line replied "We'll it soulds like you are not serious about saving money. Why don't you call us back when you are serious about it" and hung up on me.
Can you believe it?
I wouldn't touch DB if the menbership was free.

I also filled out an online form for them to contact me. They wanted to set up a date and time for me and my DH to come to the store. I told them it would just be me as my DH is too busy and I handle all the purchases. The salesman said I couldn't come without my husband. I was mortified. I told him well I guess I won't be coming and hung up.

I also submitted an application, not once, but twice because we were remodeling. The first time they called for an appointment, I thought how inconvenient that you have to make an appointment to go see the showroom and sign up. I cancelled. Then I did it once more time when we began our remodel. But after inquiring about the membership fee, and was told there is NOTHING they can tell me on the phone, I said, "I just want to know an approximate member ship fee so I will know if it is worth my while to drive there. I said is it $100.00 a year? $500.00 a year?" They wouldn't divulge anything, so of course I dropped them like a hot potato. After reading these comments, sure glad I did. Rip-off artists!!

Like everything else, some showrooms are pretty good and others are high pressure. I have been a member for 7 years and have saved a tremendous amount of money on most major purchases. Direct Buy is in some respects no different from any store, some you walk into are high pressure and others are not. Yes the membership fee can be high but it can also be worth it. I have had the opportunity to at times go to a much higher end product because of the savings and other times, have saved nothing at all and purchased retail. I have been to showrooms in NJ, NY, OH and NC. Many times the "atmosphere" of the showroom is dependent on the franchise owner of that particular site. We went to one site in NJ and we saw much of the aggressive selling as well as the staff being very rude to the members. However, our showroom in Columbus is wonderful.

It just bugs me that folk make comments about something that frankly they have never tried.

My husband and I had an appointment at a Direct Buy in New York City. After the sales pitch, we were given the opportunity to view the catalogs of affiliated manufacturers.

We were mainly interested in furniture (case goods and upholstery) and home furnishing items (fabric, accessories, etc.). The highest quality level of these items were on the low end of what I would term "mid-quality" home furniture. Several furniture manufacturers were low-end mass-market type. I was disappointed to find that only a couple of the furniture manufacturers I was interested in were participants of Direct Buy.

That said, the pricing structure of the two manufacturers I was interested in, which had a couple of case good pieces I wanted to price out, was virtually the same as what a smart shopper will negotiate at their local furniture store. The high membership fees become ridiculous in this scenario.

We also saw that a number of products actually had surcharges applied to them. These surcharges make purchasing from Direct Buy more expensive.

We also noticed that home electronics and applicance items were not competitve to what one could price out at the local PC Richards or other electronics stores. Direct Buy is not the place to go for appliances/electronics items--there is heavy competition for these items and many places one can go to find the best price.

While we were sitting with the Direct Buy sales associate, my husband called his contact at the electronics/appliance store we have purchased from for years, priced the exact model of an item available from Direct Buy and found that the Direct Buy price was in fact more than $100 more expensive.

All this said, the high membership fees that Direct Buy charges may be of value to individuals who first and foremost have many, many purchases to make, i.e., a whole house to purchase for and are the kind of people who:

(1) Don't have the time or inclination to research the best price among retailers. This is quite understandable, it takes time and effort to get the best value for your money!!

(2) Are willing to settle for lesser quality items (for the money) in purchasing items for their home--this is really a point about making sure you purchase enough items to justify that hefty membership fee!

(3) Doesn't like to negotiate with sales people. This is really a good point to make in favor of a Direct Buy kind of place--many people in the United States don't like to do this & Direct Buy has already done it for you. You're not getting the best price or best quality for your $$ but at least you're not paying full retail!

The OP asked if we had any comments or things to say about them "Direct Buy." I think all the posters had legitimate comments to make. Thanks to Direct Buy's rude and agressive tactics they unfortunately have alienated potential customers who possibly would have "tried" them.

I have been a member of DB for 3 years and for me it has been a wonderful, money saving experience. The sales pressure was high at the beginning and we were told that if we didnt purchase the membership that day, we would not be able to purchase it in the future. I did not like that, but went ahead and took the chance and purchased. I have saved thousands and thousands of dollars. I am in the process now of buying furniture. Someone made a comment about low quality stuff, that isnt the case in my DB. I am looking at higher end furniture, and it is available thru my local DB. I think its just like any other francise, some are run great, others are not. I don't think all DB's can be grouped into one since they are all individually owned. The only negative I have found is that on certain things it takes a little longer to be delivered. Furniture is 10-12 weeks, but I am also picking my own fabrics and pieces.

It would help if we knew which manufacturers are offered; it's always such a mystery.

Mitch, it is actually a little bit easier to tell you what brands DB does not carry. They don't carry Thomasville, Baker, Century, Drexel-Heritage, for example. Otherwise, they carry pretty much most of the brands often mentioned here on this forum.

I recently purchased a console table that was advertised both in stores and online in the $1700 range. I purchased the same exact table from DB for $612 before taxes, shipping and the DB handling fee. My total for the table was $781. Hope this helps.

There were 50 complaints alone at the Virginia Consumer Affairs office.
The only way they continue to stay in business is that they advertise on Cable & Satellite TV. Local TV stations wouldn't touch their ads because of the volume of complaints would run them out of business.
Then checked with another source that had 200 leads in over 15 states covering 3 years of history (since 2005) in dealing with Direct buy. I did NOT find (1) one positive response.
Caveat Emptor.
No wonder they are still advertising......

Here is a link that might be useful: Other customer Experiences

Okay, they don't carry Baker, Century, or Drexel. I assume that means they also don't carry brands like Bernhardt, Hickory Hill, Harden, Henredon, and Stickley? What are the "higher end" furniture brands that they DO carry because I think we're running out of names. I'm so, so curious.

I also heard that they don't deliver anything. Is that true?