I was a young, naive newlywed when I was invited to their presentation years ago. We were told we had to sign up then or never, and we made the mistake of signing. What I found out over the course... More

I was a young, naive newlywed when I was invited to their presentation years ago. We were told we had to sign up then or never, and we made the mistake of signing. What I found out over the course of the next few months was that they offered nothing I wanted (or could afford at the time). Their entire business is based on the fact that they are a business with a loading dock for trucks to deliver the merchandise. This entitles them to "wholesale" prices not available to individuals. I scoured the "wholesale" books they had incessantly and never found anything worth buying. Their big "deals" were on items which already had a large markup, such as furniture, flooring, cabinets, etc. I never found any electronics or everyday items for a better price than I could find locally. After almost a year of membership, I had not bought a single item. I decided to cut my losses and I asked the owner (I forget the woman's name) of the midlothian franchise if it would be fair if she just kept all of the money she had already received from me (for nothing), and I would drop membership and call it even. She promptly sent the remainder of what I owed on the signed contract to a collection agency. To sum it all up, I paid for a membership and never bought a single item. Looking back, all I can say is, save your money.
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Yes, it costs money to join, but if you are like my wife and I and are about to build a house, it's going to save you BUNDLE! Our builder has even joined after seeing the potential, and there were... More

Yes, it costs money to join, but if you are like my wife and I and are about to build a house, it's going to save you BUNDLE! Our builder has even joined after seeing the potential, and there were only a couple of things that he could match through his suppliers. The biggest thing you have to do is homework - pick everything you actually want instead of relying on the builder on picking out "builder" grade materials. We're saving over $50,000 and there is no way we'd be able to pick the high quality of things we're using if not for Direct Buy.
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Richmond Direct Buy is no longer located at 9550 midlothian trnpk. Its nicer and newer location is at 12830 W Creek Pkwy Richmond, VA 23238.

Richmond Direct Buy is no longer located at 9550 midlothian trnpk. Its nicer and newer location is at 12830 W Creek Pkwy Richmond, VA 23238.
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Then you will feel right at home. Direct buy, famous for late night commercials, is a 35 year old catalog retailer operating out of "members only" centers where you can order items "direct from... More

Then you will feel right at home. Direct buy, famous for late night commercials, is a 35 year old catalog retailer operating out of "members only" centers where you can order items "direct from manufacturers" at "rock bottom prices". The process: They don't divulge any details until you sit through their 2+ hour sales pitch, so I will save you the trouble. Besides a cup of tea or coffee they don't actually TELL you anything but the price of membership at the open house (it takes 2 hrs to make you feel bad you don't have one already!). Then they might give you prices on 1-2 items, usually something that is a big savings item (in theory) and hard to compare- such as flooring. They won't let you come back (or so they say) once you say no, and you have to sign up on the spot. The group I went with didn't have a single taker but there were 4+ couples shopping in the Bothell location on a random night of the week, so who knows- someone must have signed up. The cost: $3990.00 for three years plus the option to renew for 7 additional years at $199.00 a year. >> yes, you didn't miss a decimal, it is four grand to sign up! The benefits: It is hard to tell because you can't actually look through their special merchandise books before signing up. They showed me a few prices that seemed good, but not great and you need to buy the brands they carry (e.g. KitchenAid, Whirlpool, Canyon Creek Cabinet Co, Jen-Weld, etc.). What to do: If you are a major buyer of furniture, flooring, etc. then this service may be worth it to you. But if you want to do it, pick a big ticket item (like $5,000+) such as kitchen cabinets and bring it with you to the open house to get them to show you a similar item and see if it is worth it. This is imilar to some of the benefits of using a general contractor who may be able to buy direct or using services like U-Build-It, but for me, I don't spend $4000 without proof of savings.... please post responses if anyone has actually seen the savings - or not!
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