DirectBuy of Seattle North

Drove over from the Peninsula on a Saturday after checking online to verify hours — open from 9 – 5 — to find out they are beyond closed. Signage has been removed from the above address and no mention of a new location. And the local number is out of service.

We have been members for nearly three years. It has not been worth it. Biggest complaints;
— Open hours are awful for working families
— Lookup/​research method is archaic and wastes the precious few hours we have to spend during opening hours
— S/​H fees can often take you to a price equivalent to a good sale
— Determining the actual price is like intro to common core algebra
— Vendors they select often have horrible reviews
— Savings might be good on bulk materials like cabinets, carpet or hardwoods, but good luck finding a contractor to measure for you and then install
— Newer staff aren’t very knowledgeable or at least seem less than interested in helping with anything other than placing an order
We have ordered furniture, appliances, and tried to find hardwood flooring, countertops, and carpet. The latter three are where we’d expect to get great savings, but I’ve gotten price-​matched for the exact same carpet from a local vendor plus they’ll install and I don’t have to pick up the carpet myself. Hardwoods I’ve found to be more expensive than I can find on the market, but here, too, unless you yourself are a contractor or have the time to take on an apprenticeship, you really need to have someone measure and estimate materials for you. And good luck getting a quality team to do that for you without being the source for your materials.
Hours. How are you closed on Sunday and at 5pm on Saturday? Those are the prime hours for research in the store??? I can’t take time off of work just to go comb through hundreds of pages of couches.
And the hundreds of pages… really??? It’s 2015. Invest in a good database and web front-​end?! How much sense does it make to have to sift through all 50 books you have when I just want to compare kitchen sinks. And if you’re going to make me sift through 50 books, at least create some sort of indexing system! Let me look up sinks in your index and jump right to the page to see them so I don’t waste the time flipping through all those damn notebooks.
And the notebooks are all falling apart which makes you wonder how old they are… which leads you to look for dates… which leads you to see «2012 pricing» giving you the utmost confidence…
So now you’re wondering if you’re really getting the best selection, so you compare online to see what you can find and determine, it’s not always quite the same, leading you to think, «maybe Direct Buy gets their not-​so-​successful lines that bombed upon unveiling»…
And finally the pricing. Why do you have to make it so confusing?! We already paid the stupid membership fee so just tell me the price would you??? If you put all this information in a database, the computer could figure it out pretty quick, but I already covered that point.
Bottom line — I’ve spent the money I’ve saved in «researching» at their showroom. Totally not worth it.

We purchased our membership with the intention of remodeling our kitchen. We just completed the job, and while we are happy with the result, due in large part to the high quality work performed by our contractor, we are less than happy with our experience with Direct Buy.
The kitchen planner made a major error in our order, and Direct Buy has made no effort to remedy the situation. At this point, making a correction is out of the question. (The DB planner’s drawing of our kitchen design showed elaborately carved legs on the kitchen island, which we were very happy with. However, the legs that were delivered and installed were very plain, very ordinary, not at all what we thought we were getting as illustrated in the «final drawing».) He said he would call the manufacturer to see if the problem could be remedied. It was almost a MONTH before we heard back about it, and only after we kept asking. By then it was too late.
There were a few other smaller but just as annoying issues. I wrote a lengthy description of this situation on the website and received no reply. Weeks later received a generic email from DB wanting feedback on our experience, as our feedback was «very important.» So I reiterated the problems and added that if my feedback was so important, «Then why not reply to my original complaint?» Finally received a call from some vice president or something, and he said he would follow up on the situation and get back to me. Yep, you guessed it. It’s been 5 or 6 weeks now and I have heard nothing.
We will not be renewing our membership. Did we save money on our remodel? Yes. Was it a frustrating experience working with DB? YES! Would I recommend DB to anyone else? NO NO NO.

Worst ripoff ever spent 3800 on membership nothing said about annual renewal few only bought a few things but what you pay for membership is equivalent to the markup at a regular store. Then Beta finance never reportet payoff of the loan to the credit bureaus. You will always do better the going with direct buy. Its just scam beware!

Full Blown Advertising Scam.
We got a letter saying that if we came to their sales pitch we would get a free night for 4, at the Great Wolf Lodge. Being a bit of a sceptic, I called them to aske about thsi and they confirmed — free night for 4, no blackout dates, no payments needed, etc. Just come for the sales pitch.
We signed up, heard the pitch, were not even slightly convinced that the membership was worth it.
When we were done we got the certificate and on it was the number to call to set things up. This is when the «small print» suddenly came out.
Had to pay upfront $ 75 to even reserve. Then they give you optional dates to choose 3 dates from. These dates were more than 6 months away and you could only ask for dates in one month increments. They say they will TRY to get you those dates but if they cant, you still pay the $ 75 and then can pay extra to get the dates you want.
I had an extra child to take so at least it seemed the $ 75 would cover that bu then they said the fee would be more than $ 75 — in fact over $ 100… and when I asked why, they said it was taxes and fees. I had to ask 3 times to get the details of the taxes and fees and was then told that about $ 60 was an optional «trip insurance» they automatically signed me up for without telling me. I asked to take it off and suddenly the fees were $ 18.
This was not the simple Free night in return for coming to the pitch that Direct Buy promised both in their letter and then again verbally!

Our first interaction with them was a piece of mail that they sent to us which was made to look like a check. It was nothing more than marketing material.
Trust is important. How can we possibly trust this company when they essentially sent us a trick…

This place is full of false advertisement, they mislead you to believe that you well get stuff so much cheaper by becoming member. I bought in to their high pressure sale and bought the membership for $ 5300. But after 3 years of purchasing stuff through them and directly through internet I must say I wasted my money purchasing the membership because stuff is either same price or cheaper directly through internet.

If I could put zero stars I would. I’ve never been so insulted by a company. I own a condo 100% by myself and a house with my boyfriend. They refused to let me come as a woman alone. Discrimination is the word that comes screaming to mind. That was 2 months ago. They’ve been calling everyday this week. I finally answered and told them to take me off my list as they’ve alienated me permanently. Not a business to be supported in any way.

I like the staff, they always help me when im lost and their prices seem to beat everywhere else hands down. Two thumbs up!

I entered a contest at the Seattle Home Show for a $ 25,000 home renovation. Today I received a call. «CONGRATULATIONS! YOU ARE A SEMI-​FINALIST!». I said great, now what. She told me that she would just need a few pieces of information… Are you married, in a relationship, or single? Single…“oh, I’m sorry you are not eligible to win this contest.”
Ummm…and why is that exactly? I am apparently eligible to own my own home…(at least my bank believes so anyway)… but I cannot win a contest? That is blatant discrimination. There was no disclaimer on the entry form. I guess only married people would go to the home show?

I LOVE this place! My husband and I have been members for several years, and have saved SO much money!
I’ll go into a bit of detail here, My husband and I joined when we were just married (and kinda broke) and living in a very small apartment because, we knew we wouldn’t be there forever, and that we would be able to benefit from this club. So that first year, we only used our membership for smaller purchases like, Christmas gifts and stuff, but we still saved money.
But through the years we have remodeled a kitchen (not by choice, there was a nasty leak but that’s another long story), bought a new house and replaced all of our mismatched hand-​me-​down furniture, replaced appliances and bought jewelry and flooring. The savings are awesome, and this club has definitely changed the way we shop. We wouldn’t be able to afford the quality things we have in our home without DirectBuy
The employees at this particular club are so helpful and patient even with me being as indecisive as I am, and it’s really nice to see that the couple who own this place are out helping members as well.
Again, These other reviews are surprising to me, as I have been a very happy, very loyal member for years now. I honestly cant praise them enough. My best advice to anyone looking into Directbuy is check it out for yourself.
UPDATE: After checking the filtered reviews, I see that many other people have had the same experience as me!

I have to say it is certainly nice to shop at a place where people actually care about how much you save rather than how much you spend. I have had nothing short of an excellent experience from the time I place my orders to the time I pick up my orders in the warehouse. I strongly recommend Direct Buy to anyone who likes saving money.

Yes — there are some savings to be had. Along with a level of frustration that is incomparable and incomprehensible. You better know exactly what it is you want and you better not need any help pre or post purchase. Especially rediculous is their insistence that you abandon any hope and your connection to the outside world, turn your back on the Internet and go to their so-​called showroom to order many big ticket items. The reason being? Because they are clueless and themselves frustrated and they don’t want to feel they are alone. OK … That last comment is just a guess — except for the cluelessness. Savings quickly vaporize if an error is made. And you are the one making the mistake. Manufacturers restocking fees combined with shipping costs and Direct Buy’s handling fee renders the notion of returns a financial boondoggle. There are too many little nuances and pitfalls that can and will render the smallest of problems into canned worms. Icing on the cake is the entire shipping and handling process defined by a company that is too cheap to acquire a fork lift.
Given a choice — I’d rather pay double than «save» money at Directbuy.

This is the most ridiculous waste of time ever. They do a lousy job trying to rope you in and show you some comparison purchases and «savings». They charge an extravagant membership fee that is counter intuitive. You’d have to purchase a ton of items just to get a deal. Also, they keep speaking of a one time membership payment then mumble something about renewal fees, that you need to pay every 2 years after the 3 or 5^th year. Their approach is obnoxious, with their condescending buddy to buddy, high pressure mind game sales approach. There isn’t anything about Direct Buy that I can see as beneficial in savings. Possibly if your a «Builder» and have a ton of building items to purchase but even then… Also, you have to drive to the remote offices to pick up the items you order from either inside their location or online. Either way it’s a hassle and inconceivable. In addition and closing, the buys on the surface look appealing, however they’re high pitched sales examples are limited and in accurate. I’m convinced that they have actors walking around the store to give a certain ‘feel’ which is quite common practice in these types of sales approaches. In the end they thank you for listening to their pitch with «gifts» that they either don’t have in stock or you have to pay into. Don’t fall for the high pressure tricks they try to fool you into.

The Bad: We were aghast at the high pressure sales techniques that involve scarcity are part of the initial appointment. This left us feeling very uncomfortable to say the least because the membership fee is thousands of dollars.
Ordering inside the store from wholesale catalogs is rather cumbersome. Also it would be nice if they had free refreshments other than coffee for members.
The Good: However, if you can afford the fee and you are wealthy and have to make a lot of purchases such as furnishing a new home, then the membership fee is a good deal in the long run.
They have improved their Internet catalog website in the past year. Also membership renewals are a fraction of the cost of the initial membership.

We joined Direct Buy several years ago and paid a $ 4,000 membership fee. They were very high pressure. Either you sign up right then and there, or you can never join (or so they say). In our entire year as members, we bought only one item (a file cabinet) which we selected from a catalog. The price was fine, but Direct Buy screwed us by imposing an additional shipping charge. During that year, we remodeled our kitchen. We reviewed all the Direct Buy catalogues. It turns out that if you want high-​end appliances (like Sub-​Zero), you either can’t get it from Direct Buy, or the price from a local partner was not good. As for the usual stuff (such as faucets or fixtures), internet suppliers were cheaper and the shipping was usuallly free. We joined primarily for the cabinets, but ended up buying from another source. We were also interested in furniture, but the merchandise was frequently listed as not available.

Waste of time (2.5 hours)! The summary is high pressure long sale talk without explaining about how we order things and return policy etc. All they care is to get you to pay the expensive membership. That is what we felt.