DirectBuy Member Corner

Hello everyone, :|
My wife and I just joined last week.I am still having buyer's remorse.
I do not know if we did the right thing, especially when we have a baby
on the way and the money is scarce. Just looking for some support. We will apppreciate any supportive response. Take care! :roll:

I felt the same way when I first joined 2 years ago. Me and my husband just moved into our house that was built in the early 60s and it needed some major updating. At the time our daughter was only 15 months and our money was scarce. Slowly we have been updating our home and I have to say that being a member of direct buy has been the best decision we have made. Our 1960s home is now looking like new and we have saved at least 15,000. We are about to finish and furnish our basement and we know we will be able to save probably another 5 thousand, minimum.... Not to mention, the staff at our local showroom is great. We only wish that we would have become members sooner, cause we could have saved big on baby furniture. Anyway, good luck and congrats on the new baby!

Kristie

Hi roquen,
How is your membership going? I am a new member and I'm interested to hear how it's been for you since you expressed uncertainty back in September.

I am new and am wondering if there are min. requirements?
For example min. shipping cost or min. handling cost. Is there a min dollar amt. required per order?
If anyone can help me with this I would appreciate it very much.

I seen where some new member mentioned min. quantity on some items and talked about members sharing cost and items.

N Bee

Dear Member,

Welcome to DirectBuy and thank you for posting on the DirectBuy Cares forum. By the way…great questions!

To answer your first question, most suppliers do require a $25 or more minimum order amount on items. A few suppliers may also require that you order a minimum number of items on products such as glassware, stationary, giftware, and etc. If you wish to order less than the minimum, it may be possible to combine your order with the orders of other members to meet the manufacturer’s minimum. If you’re interested, simply request information from the Product Specialists at your local DirectBuy club. The specialist at your club will also be able to assist you with questions regarding your specific order.

Thanks for joining the forum. Please don’t hesitate to post questions regarding your DirectBuy membership. We look forward to helping you along the way.

Best Regards,


The DirectBuy Cares Team

Hi Jean, My husband David and I are also new members, and like you and others I am sure, were questioning our membership.

I really knew what I wanted and did my home work before joining, I had a handful of information from most of the leading furniture web sites on the internet. David had given me a budget and I knew he really only wanted to spend a certain amount.

After compairing what I could, we saved well over 50% of the total cost of our furniture and that savings actually paid for our membership fees! It also allowed me to up-grade to better quality furniture! These are things we tried to do on our own, but just couldn't get what we wanted. It would have taken us a few years to do this without our membership.

I am sold on Direct Buy. ;>}
Hoofbeat308

We recently signed up for DB (DirectBuy) because we just purchased a second home out of state and knew that we needed to completely furnish it. I have found there are some definite pros and cons with the DB system.
Pros --
REAL SAVINGS!! -- I am keeping a log of items we intend to purchase: DB amount vs. retail amount. We are starting with just the basics; mattresses (3), fridge, & table -- we have saved over $2,300. I know it hasn't saved the cost of membership, but we are only just beginning!
Local -- Our showroom is within 20 minutes of our house so it is very easy to just stop in.
On-Line Catalog -- It is fantastic to be able to shop from my home whenever I want and it helps me narrow down my search.
Selection -- There seems to be no end of catalogs to preview in order to find the items I am looking for.
Directions Magazine -- I love getting the Directions Magazine that spot lights hot items and specific vendors. It also has some additional savings that may help direct me to specific products.

Cons --
Selection -- There seems to be no end of catalogs to preview in order to find the items I am looking for!! This is very daunting when trying to find that one special item.
Shipping -- As I mentioned, we are purchasing for a house out of state, so we are having to try to time it just right so that it doesn't sit in the DB warehouse for too long, yet it doesn't show up late and we can't pick it up. So far, we have only made one actual order and are hoping it will be there when we are in town. I realize this wouldn't be an issue if we were ordering for a house we were currently living in.
Catalog vs. Hands On Buying -- It is VERY difficult to purchase a mattress or a couch without being able to actually "feel" it. I found myself having to spend a lot of time searching at regular retail stores for similar product only to then find out that the names of items don't match up from the DB catalog to what I found in the stores. I had to go back out and make note of the actual specific layers in the mattresses and then come back and try to compare them with the details listed in the DB catalogs. I still haven't figured out how to purchase a couch -- I like the look of it in the DB catalog, however I would hate to order it and then find out it is too firm or too squishy. If I was more comfortable with catalog or on-line ordering, I'm sure this would be much easier.
Sales Assistance -- Perhaps it is just the showroom that I am using because I read on-line about how fantastically helpful most staff members are. However, I find that I am constantly having to reach out for assistance and the answers I get are only exactly what I ask, never any alternative suggestions or advise.
Time -- As I mentioned, I have spent HOURS shopping for just the few items that we are purchasing so far. The dollars savings are substantial and thus I will continue to use DB. My hope is that as I get more familiar with DB, it won't take me as long to make each purchase.

So overall, I know it looks like the cons outweigh the pros, but if you have the time to do your homework and/or are comfortable making purchases without actually putting your hands on the items, then the savings will more than pay for the membership. I know that when we get ready to redo flooring we will realize an even more substantial savings and we will be able to purchase those with confidence because the samples are right in the showroom. :)