I was told I would get a quote for kitchen cabinets from Direct Buy once I receive a special invitation. I was not informed that I would have to buy a $4549.00 membership nor that I would have to sit through an hour sales pitch. Upon doing as the sales men told me to, I never did get my quote to compare if the membership would offset the membership fee enough to make it work it.
My question is, say I saved 30% off cabinets that Home Depot quoted $9,000.00 for. The savings would be $3000.00, but I will now have to pay for delivery. I could not get a Direct Buy sales person to give me a quote when I knew exactly what I wanted.
Isn’t this just taking the profit away from local retailers and giving it to this company? Instead of shopping around for a good price and taking the item home when purchased, isn’t this paying upfront more money than I would save for the inconvenence of waiting for my purchase and paying for shipping though I still have to pick it up myself?
2007-07-15 18:07:55 · 7 answers · asked by Traveler 4 in Home & Garden ➔ Decorating & Remodeling
It seemed like a scam to me when the video I was forced to watch told me that everything I hear that day must be kept a secret from retailers and that I must sign a contract stating I will not use Direct Buy to negotiate a better price with other retailer. Am I looking at this incorrectly or is this a scam?
2007-07-15 18:09:00 · update #1
The agreement DB has you sign is that $4459.00 is paid for 3 yr membership then an additional $190.00 there after. You sign that you will only make purchases for dependant children, your spouse and self, will not use price to bargain with retailers, will not buy any item to resell to someone else and will not buy items for someone else.
Another concern is that DB may claim agreement was broken and will close membership based on this and will keep difference. Has anyone experienced this?
2007-07-16 01:44:15 · update #2
The membership fee offered to me was $4549.00. I made a typo in the previous comment.
2007-07-16 01:45:58 · update #3
You pretty much have it figured out. Then there is the problem with damaged goods upon delivery that they do not want to replace. They are a "middleman" the same as any other store. I belonged to a similar club years ago and found that what they were selling was new, but discontinued items. Save your membership fee and buy local.
2007-07-15 19:41:39 · answer #1 · answered by sensible_man 7 · 1⤊ 0⤋
It sure smells like a scam to me. I don't know a lot about the company, though I've heard a few things about the bad way they treat people who decide not to join, as well as the high pressure to make a decision that day. Whether or not it's a scam, in my opinion, I won't do business with anyone who pressures me like that. I won't even hire a contractor who isn't pleasant to deal with if I change my mind about a design or something. I certainly wouldn't dream of plunking down close to $5000 when they won't even show you proof (via the quote you asked for) that you can save money with them. To me, that seems VERY fishy right there. If they've got such a good deal, why wouldn't they give you your quote so that you could immediately see how much you'd save over getting your Home Depot cabinets? It seems to me that the only reason they wouldn't give you a quote before you join is because they know they can't beat it by enough money to offset the membership (or even come close).
2007-07-16 01:20:12 · answer #2 · answered by PJ 2 · 2⤊ 0⤋
For one, that is not a contract. They may call it a contract but from a legal perspective it is "Not' a contract.
A contract must have certain parts to qualify in the eyes of the law as a contract.
It must have a specific job, for example, and it must include a deadline for another. It must have a start and end point in time ( the deadline). It has to state clearly what work is to be performed and who is to perform the work and where it is to be performed and at what rate it will be performed.
There has to be a buy - out of the contract; such as, if one fails to meet their end of the contract then there could be penalties.
No if anything this would be a release which is voluntarily signed and unenforcable.
What are they going to do if you do use them to cop a better deal...other than get mad. I'd do exactly that ...they have no problem taking you for a ride so I'd have no problem using them to my advantage as well.
Just my thoughts on this .....
2007-07-16 08:34:07 · answer #3 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 2⤋
i guess it would depend on how much they want for the cabinets from Direct Buy, if your total spend (including delivery) is less than other retailer's quotes, then you would be saving money, which might be worth the extra inconvenience, but since you would already be paying about 4,500 upfront those cabinets would have to be dirt cheap to really make the purchase worth it.
sounds like a lot of BS for very little savings
2007-07-16 01:27:09 · answer #4 · answered by fluffybojangles 2 · 3⤊ 0⤋
Run away from this "deal" . Do the math. If you buy from Home Depot you pay $9,000. If you buy from them you pay $4595 for membership , $6,000 for the cabinets. That's already $1595 more than Home Depot and you have no idea how much more the shipping will be.
I'd report them to my state's department of consumer affairs and the district attorney.
2007-07-16 01:22:19 · answer #5 · answered by G. S. 2 · 5⤊ 0⤋
I use to work for direct buy. The fee for being a member plus the discount equals the same retail price. your best chose is to not buy from them. Look for going out of business sale or small chain store with guarantees.
2007-07-16 01:21:56 · answer #6 · answered by the fox 6 · 2⤊ 0⤋
$4549 membership! is that a typo? did you pay that? then
refusing to give you a quote, and making you sign an agreement that you won't tell anybody about it your 'deal'...it smells bad.
2007-07-16 01:21:44 · answer #7 · answered by ellarosa 3 · 3⤊ 0⤋