The answer is a resounding maybe. For those of you who haven’t seen the commercials on TV, Direct Buy is a retailer selling appliances, cabinets, flooring, furniture, etc. You have to be a member to purchase goods from them and you have to order from catalogues.

George, a friend of mine who is building a home, received an invitation to visit a Direct Buy here in Washington. He had asked me to do a little research on weather to join was a good deal or not. There were a lot of pros and cons about Direct Buy and their business tactics. Most people thought it was a good deal if they were building a new home, or were doing major refurbishing and needed to purchase a lot of materials. Those that only had a few purchases to make or were buying mid price range items, weren’t impressed.

George went to the Direct Buy showroom and purchased a membership that set him back $5000. He was unhappy with the high pressure tactics used on him and that he was not allowed to check any prices. Had it been me, I would have walked out because I have zero tolerance for high pressure sales people, but that’s me and not George.

George usually is a good shopper, particularly on items that are spendy. He tells me he has saved thousands of dollars, on the high end purchases he made. So far he has bought his kitchen cabinets, appliances, and flooring from Direct Buy. He told me he could have definitely beat Direct Buy’s prices on these items had he settled for mid-grade quality.

He had a small mix up on the cabinets. He thought the cabinets were solid wood, but when he got them, the doors were wood, but the interior was particle board. Of course, you can’t tell such things when you buy from a catalogue unless you carefully read the specifications. In addition to that, there was a mix up on the size of one of the cabinets. It’s been over two months and the problem still hasn’t been resolved.. The appliances were fine. It’s been eight weeks and he still doesn’t have his flooring.

Based on his experiences and my research, I think Direct Buy might be a good deal if you can make it past the initial hard sell and membership fee. You would need to read the specifications of any items purchased to be certain you were getting what you wanted (all wood, not particle board). You need to know going in that the delivery, shipping costs, and handling fee can significantly drive up the price. You should also be prepared to place your order weeks before you need it and hope there isn’t a problem.

Personally, I wouldn’t join. I find that I can wrangle good deals out of local merchandisers by purchasing multiple items from them at significant discounts. If it’s a one-shot purchase for a high end item, I can usually find it on sale somewhere or negotiate the price down. That way I know what I’m getting and usually have the service to go with it.

I would strongly recommend to anyone thinking of joining a buyers club to thoroughly research it first. And, for heavens sake, don’t let anyone bully you into a membership.