Thanks for letting us know~ I have wondered what the deal with them was ~ the closet one to us is over two hours away so that sorta made it a little harder anyway, but I was told it was a pain so I have never called.  Hate that you had to go through that though...

http://www.infomercialratings.com/product/direct_buy

http://www.infomercialscams.com/scams/direct_buy_scams

If you would've made your appointment, you would be even more upset... There is no real furniture to look at, in fact they won't allow you to look at anything unless you pay a fee, depending on your area it could range from $4000 to $7000 for a membership of one - two years then a yearly $200 fee is added to keep up the membership. There is also a confidentiality agreement... all prices, products and complaints are to be kept on the hush, hush...

My mom was doing some remodeling and we decided to go together just to check it out... They welcome you then herd you into a room with a crowd of others who had an appointment set for the same time...... Then they give you an hour sales pitch a review of the infomercial and then a video in which they stop and start to ask questions.... They did not not like my answers.

When I shop I do my research on various products, brands and so on... I also spent a little time working in the retail business... so I knew the answers to their questions, even when they began asking/quizing about wholesale prices etc...

Then just when your fanny numbs up they herd the crowd into a 'tour', again stating that this is all very top secret and not to speak about it to anyone... The 'tour' consists of a kitchen cabinet display, where they talk about diferent brands, quality and then quiz on what Mr. joe blow thinks it costs vs. real cost... Don't answer correctly or they'll sic ya - The guy giving the sales pitch went to thier group of vultures and their head vulture and told them to watch me...  Why?  I don't know, I guess informed shoppers are not allowed?
Also on the tour is a large bookshelf display of binders that contain all the wonders and mysteries of shopping with Direct Buy, but you cannot look or price compare until after you become a member... And then you can never speak of it to your family or friends...  If you do I guess they'll have to be killed. They also try to pressure you by saying that this membership is a one time offer, once you say no to their membership, you can never come back.

After that their sales vultures desend upon the crowd and usher individuals, couples etc., into a private areas... That is where they lower the boom of the cost... Mom was told that if she became a member that I would not be allowed to shop with her and would have to purchase my own nearly $6000 membership... We asked a few more questions, then our vulture was called into the big office_ he came back saying that I was not acceptable and maybe we should just leave.  Perhaps they thought I was a ringer for the BBB? I don't know....  We were escorted out and told not to come back.

I was relieved, baffled and insulted all at once, you would've thought I started a bar brawl... But there I was, dressed in business attire and behaving quite civilized, hmmm go figure.

Inorder to recoop any of the membership fees, one would have to be a mega-consumer who spends a lot and frequently, not for the regular joe-shmoe or the one time large project.

You Guys have all confirmed my suspicions about this place. We have started some remodeling in our kitchen and bathroom and we thought we would like to try Direct Buy, since the commercials say you can save so much money. We requested the brochure, but since I don't like sales calls, I gave a fake phone number.  I received 3 emails requesting my phone number so that someone could contact me. When I did not respond, the information packet finally came in the mail. It basically said what the comercials say. That we can save a lot of money and that we would need to purchase a membership. One of the FAQs was "How much will a direct buy membership cost?" The answer was that the membership cost varies based on how much you intend to spend. I was immediately turned off. I will not deal with a company that does not have set prices. These people want a lot of information, like how much you intend to spend and what type of things you want to buy. I think they charge the membership fee based on how much money they think you have. We scratched the idea of driving 1.5 hours to a sales pitch and we decided to visit our local warehouse and surplus suppliers and we made out pretty good. I figured, for the amount that we would spend on a membership, we could do half of the remodeling.

Wow...I didn't realize all that.  I'm just thankful I did not follow through with actually showing up.  I guess the folk at Direct Buy must think that their furniture and stuff is top of the line, eh?  I ain't about to jump through hoops, only to pay a multi-thousand dollar membership fee to buy their furniture.  What a scam! 

meowmix ~ you were like herding cats my dear!  They don't like people that they can't push around and bully!  Much less people that can actually think for themselves!!!!  You scared them!

Oh Z!  PLEASE go!  I want to hear the story of what happens when you go and mess with their minds...that would be a good one!