Direct Buy

Don’t waste your time or your money. No savings. I could find equal or better pricing by shopping around. Now they’ve closed the Naperville location so you don’t even have a showroom. Boy, did we get «suckered».

This location has VERY limited hours which leads to poor service. It’s been very hard to use the membership. Unfortunately, this membership has been a waste of money for us. If this location had decent retail hours, it would be easier to use.

They called my cell phone, which cell phones are not listed numbers and I never give mine out, and when I asked how they got my number, she tried telling me that a friend or family member referred me. First off, my family would not give out my cell phone number. Secondly, the girl would have said my name because a referral would have my name. Shady telemarketing. If I was in the market for your product, I would have looked you up.

This company needs to train their sales staff in basic common courtesy. I’ve been called REPEATEDLY and each time have explained I’m not interested in joining and I’ve rudely and abruptly been HUNG UP on then called back the next or following day. One time I was able to squeak out a «take me off your call list» but was again promptly hung up on only to be called again. This borders on harrassment.

Don’t fall for this scam they don’t deliver what they promise Paid for membership and every time I try to use it they either don’t have it, or can order it with out rages freight charges. They never return calls. don’t waste your time or money. the salesman over promise under deliver.

I’m not sure how they got my address, but DirectBuy of Naperville apparently sends out junk/​scam-​mail «special offers» as well. The mailer states «Must attend a 90 minute open house and presentation to receive gift» — mine was for a tablet, and said that their «records indicate that by responding within 72 hours» I would also receive a restaurant giftcard. That’s where I laughed and tore it up. Any business that uses tactics like this has to fall low on the legitimacy scale.

A complete waster of money. I am very sorry I joined and dashed out all this money.

As a Direct Buy member since 2007 I have to admit I have mixed feelings about joining. I was unhappy when the Hoffman Estates Direct Buy was closed and we had to go to either Gurnee or Naperville (neither was convenient but chose Naperville). With the price of gas, the distance is annoying. Also they continue to widdle down the hours/​days they are open. I am also not happy about paying an additional handling fee and in some cases an extra service charge on an item ordered. Those charges really ding you on your «wholesale» savings. I also question if it is legal to charge taxes on the handling/​freight charges? That can add up also.
The Direct Buy showroom is very impressive and I still feel like a kid in a candy store when I visit. The kitchen/​bath area is very impressive. The price to join Direct Buy is very expensive ($ 4,600.00) for a 3 year membership (you can continue for 7 more years for a $ 100.00 yearly fee). I have to admit I was in shock when they first told us the membership fee. Also you cannot go home to think it over for a few days; they want you to commit before you leave (and you cannot return). If you do the math, you must be willing to spend at least $ 20,000 just to break even on the pricey membership. We were moving into a new built home in 2007 and thought the membership would be a worthy investment since we needed eveything. As I look around my home today, every room does contain something purchased from Direct Buy. We are in the process of remodeling our basement and Direct Buy has come in handy for purchasing furniture, lighting, game room assessories, carpeting & flooring. We simply could not afford to furnish the rec room without Direct Buy pricing.
The first question people always ask is what is the most savings? You will save the most money on furniture and decorative items since the mark up is about 75%. We have been able to afford lovely patio furniture, rugs, couches and even carpeting by purchasing thru Direct Buy. Even with the annoying handling charges, we still do better then the sales prices of stores. You will save some money on appliances as compared to the sales prices of stores. You will save little or no money on electronics so you might be better off going to Best Buy or Amazon.
I have to say that the staff of the Naperville Direct Buy are very helpful and knowledgeable. It can be confusing and frustrating to place an order when all you have is a catalog, but the staff at the Naperville seem to have much patience and make the ordering process much easier. I also have to stress that the staff at Direct Buy are not salespeople and the customer has to do all the research when purchasing an item. However they can call the vendor if you have a specific question. They are there to help place orders and direct you thru the maze of wholesale catalogs.
Another thing I have to stress, is when you purchase an item thru Direct Buy, there are absolutely no returns unless the item was damaged or defective. If you accept the order then you must keep it, so you must be absolutely positive about the item you order. Also since items are shipped directly thru the manufacturer, shipping time can be much longer than purchasing thru a store. Depending on the item, it can be 3 to 8 weeks or longer so you must plan ahead. Some items can be shipped directly to your home, while others must be picked up at the warehouse in Naperville. If the items are too large, they do have a delivery/​storage company you can make arrangements with for a fee.
90% of the time we have saved greatly by purchasing thru Direct Buy. Only a few times we did not, and learned the hard way. One example was when we bought an electronic dartboard. The «wholesale» price was about half that of Amazon, but when you figured in the freight, handling, service and taxes (on the entire amount), we ended up saving only $ 20.00 and spent almost that much in gas to pick up the item in Naperville. You have to be careful ordering electronic items.

In summary, we have saved much money overall and have been able to «upgrade» by joining Direct Buy. Overall I have some mixed feelings because I do not like some of their business practices. In their advertisements they claim «no hidden fees» but certainly handling and service charges qualify as «hidden fees»? Without these extra «fees» and questionable «taxes» I would rate a star higher. I just expected more savings for the expensive membership fee.
To sum it up, we did save thousands over the past six years, and overall are glad we did join DB. However I must stress to READ ALL THE FINE PRINT and do not hesitate to ask questions.