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Direct Buy

We joined UCC (related company) about 16 years ago at one of their open house events. We quickly placed two orders -- both of which were complete disasters. UCC remains our story of wasted money, lost time and misplaced trust. :(
 
Worked for us

e.bram said:
any members of Direct Buy out here. Has anybody heard or dealt with them.
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We had two houses to remodel and bought tons thru Direct Buy. Still using them today, several years later. My brother n law also joined and has never used them.
My and my wife's thoughts on this is they are great if you are going to be using them for large purchases otherwise don't spend the money.
Bart
 
We sat through a presentation, but didn't buy. They couldn't give us any prices for anything at the presentation.

My brother in law joined in a couple years ago and let us look through some of their pricing. I couldn't find anything that I couldn't get for less elsewhere.
 
There is a recent class action against them for misrepresenting "cost" and what they sell to members for. It appears to be a very tough system to make any money savings with. We decided against it after a visit.
 
[Shill]

We just moved and I got a DirectBuy membership last summer. I haven't added it all up, but I would guess that I saved several thousands of dollars and was able to get really nice stuff for the new place. I got tile, granite, wood flooring -- all great. I was able to upgrade and still stay in my budget. The furniture is really where I think the great savings are. Lots of nice stuff but you pay the same as what you would pay in the low-end furniture stores. I think if you are doing major remodelling/redecorating it's a no-brainer!
 
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Gotta luv overly positive reviews from a new member with their first post. A sign of quality, no doubt.
 
[Shill]

Ken555 said:
Gotta luv overly positive reviews from a new member with their first post. A sign of quality, no doubt.
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Yes, I'm new here, but I felt compelled to share my opinion. There is so much negative sentiment about this brand online and much of it is put out there by people who don't really understand the DirectBuy business model. There really is nothing else out there like it.

MichaelColey said:
We sat through a presentation, but didn't buy. They couldn't give us any prices for anything at the presentation.

My brother in law joined in a couple years ago and let us look through some of their pricing. I couldn't find anything that I couldn't get for less elsewhere.
Click to expand...

They can't share their pricing because the high-end manufacturers whose products they carry won't let them. It hurts the big box retailers who carry the same brands and rely on the mystery of wholesale prices because they can (and do) make their money via margins.

What type of products did you look at when your brother in law joined? Certain product categories are marked up more than others are.
 
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I don't remember what all I checked, but it was things we had bought recently or were considering buying.

Let me check a few items...

Peg Perego Duette SW Stroller
Directbuy Price: $544 + shipping
PlanetKids.com Price: $479.99 shipped

Campbell Hausfeld 2HP 20-Gallon Compressor
Directbuy Price: $390.23 + shipping
Sears: $479.99
Ace: $413.76

Mitsubishi WD-82738 82" DLP HDTV
Directbuy Price: $2,151.84 + shipping
Amazon.com: $1,999.99 shipped

Hoover FH40030 Floor Cleaner
Directbuy Price: $134.99 + shipping
Warehouse Deals: $140.99 shipped

Canon Powershot SX30IS
Directbuy Price: Doesn't carry
Tech For Less: $312.97 + $10.43 shipping

Vornado Fans
Directbuy Price: Doesn't carry

Jenome Sewing Machine
Directbuy Price: Doesn't carry

So many of the things I tried to look up aren't even available. I ended up just looking to see what they did have and then compare prices. For those, the prices were comparable to the lowest prices I could find. (And I don't have to join an expensive club to buy from those places.)

They may have good discounts on high end furniture, but we don't replace our furniture very often. We've had most of our furniture for 10+ years or so, and most of it is still in good shape. It may not be the same brands and models as you can get through Directbuy, but we got it through a local furniture store at great prices.
 
I dunno but Direct Buy's sales tactics sure are like timeshares.:annoyed:

Gotta sign up that day or forever you are banned.

Whatever. :rolleyes:

If it was so great then why do you have to decide then and there.
At least with a TS you can buy it resale. ;)
 
Yes, it appears that MLHenry2003 is a shill. He happens to work for a marketing and advertising agency that has Direct Buy as a client and, thus, he has an interest in seeing that Direct Buy is successful.

So take anything he writes here as being biased.
 
Thanks everybody: I ended up canceling my appointment to the presentation. At least with a TS presentation I get freebies.
 
Dave M said:
Yes, it appears that MLHenry2003 is a shill. He happens to work for a marketing and advertising agency that has Direct Buy as a client and, thus, he has an interest in seeing that Direct Buy is successful.

So take anything he writes here as being biased.
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Thanks Dave.

It was rather obvious, especially after his second post.
 
Savings

I would again say the biggest savings are in two areas. Construction supplies and furniture. That is why it worked for us and that is why I advise for people doing major remodels, etc. Our two remodels cost over $400,000 and of course we are in California where everything cost more. We did find a few furniture items that also saved a bunch.
Bart
 
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We had a very similar experience although our purchases went into a new build for ourselves.

I had previously calculated the break even point at around $12,000-$15,000 and feel that we came out slightly ahead of the game in the end but we bought a decent amount of product (no where near your budget though):
- washer and dryer
- freezer
- wine fridge
- cooktop, wall over, microwave, warming drawer,
- bbq
- sofa and loveseat
- 2 occasional chairs
- bedroom set including mattress and boxspring
- kitchen hardware

There was good and bad. The good was the pricing of the items that we did want which was indeed below what we could get from a competitor although the savings were much less then their full retail comparisons but still a sizable saving. The bad was the limited product availability.

There is very little point in price comparing small items or electronics that have narrow margins to begin with...

Icc5 said:
I would again say the biggest savings are in two areas. Construction supplies and furniture. That is why it worked for us and that is why I advise for people doing major remodels, etc. Our two remodels cost over $400,000 and of course we are in California where everything cost more. We did find a few furniture items that also saved a bunch.
Bart
Click to expand...
 
Dave M said:
Yes, it appears that MLHenry2003 is a shill. He happens to work for a marketing and advertising agency that has Direct Buy as a client and, thus, he has an interest in seeing that Direct Buy is successful.

So take anything he writes here as being biased.
Click to expand...

Ah Dave, you should've let him hang around awhile before you gave up his gig. We could use the entertainment! We could've baited him into a conversation about who he might vote for for president in 2012, then banned him permanently for discussing politics!
 
We' joined Direct Buy about ten years ago (when it was cheaper). Their sales approach is somewhat like timeshare. We joined because we were remodeling a kitchen and did save more than it cost to join. Kitchen cabinets,plumbing fixtures,etc. are a big savings. Anything with ridiculous retail markups,such as furniture,are also big areas of saving though we have spent much time looking for furniture in their catalogs but never bought because we couldn't sit on it first. They were very up front when we joined about how you will probably not get the best deals on things such as appliances and electronics because those are fairly low markups and big retailers use them as loss leaders. What made me decide to join was,as I was in retail management,when I looked in their catalogs,I could pick out items with which I was familiar and saw I could buy from them for less than I would pay at the best sale price with my employee discount. Again,the membership is too expensive unless you plan on doing some home remodeling or buying a bunch of furniture. I also tell people that,if your idea of heaven is an afternoon in Walmart,it's not for you as your savings is only going to be if you intended to purchase high end stuff to start with.
 
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