Direct Buy - Waukegan,IL

5490 for a three year membership! it seems like a good deal if you are buying a house! or buidling or remodeling, but if you just need a couch like I did it wasn't worth it to me.

There is a small store in naperville called zora's......she can order you all kinds of furniture for nearly half the price........what i have done in the past is went shopping & found what i wanted, then get the make/model of the furniture & go to her & more than likely she can get it.....she also has tons of books you can look thru.

My husband and I are Direct Buy members and have been for about 8 or 9 years, I think. When we joined it cost about $3k. We paid monthly payments. We recouped our $3k in our first two or three purchases. We bought a big screen tv, a large entertainment center and a vacuum. We researched the price of everything with the taxes, shipping and all costs involved and then compare with Direct Buy, it's shipping charges, it's handling charges and the taxes...then we decide which would be cheaper. Like I said the entertainment center could only be found at Plunkets and maybe one other store. We saved $1800 on it even after the fees and taxes.

This type of club is for those that 1.) like more expensive, high end type things but can't afford them 2.) Have a way of picking things up and transporting them ...otherwise you must figure in a delivery fee or a rental fee for a uhaul. 3.) Is for someone that needs lots of furniture or remodeling type things.

If you are quite satisfied buying an entertainment center from Walmart then Direct Buy is not for you.

If you don't have any MAJOR furniture buys, remodeling, or a new home to put together, then Direct Buy is not for you. This is not something you join and then buy a laptop or appliance from once in awhile.

You have to be willing to shop around to make sure you are getting the best deal. You have to be willing to go to the show room to research what they carry.

If you like to shop, compare and research then you can find some great deals.

Some things just don't get much of a price break...like appliances unless you are buying five or so at a time. Or even technology equipment..like computers.

When you go to the show room, take a list of things that you think you want to buy....do you need lawn furniture, a living room set, some appliances, cieling fans, new coutner tops, curtains, shades,....write it all down with prices that you can buy this stuff for at the store. Maybe even pick out some name brands and write the prices. Then when in the showroom they will let you look through the cataloges that one time. See what kind of savings you can make.

My husband and I are glad we joined, but we had a few major purchases to make and my husband likes nice things. We could never afford this stuff otherwise. We will make more purchases in the near future because our kids are getting older and all the furniture has seen better days.

Goodmorning T.,

I recently joined within the last 8weeks . It is quit expensive 5k for a 10yr then a renewal of 200 for the year . They offer financing and a payment plan but the interest rate is a little bit higher . My husband and I are buiding a 4 bedroom addition with 2 bath , laundry room and redoing our main level(opening up the walls and moving our kitchen to the back) . I feel its worth it for us , however if your only doing small projects I feel it wouldnt be worth it . I do have to let you know that the process of getting kitchen cabients is very long and a pain in the butt .Our cabientry guy from the harlem and avondale location is awesome but he cant control the manafactor's . Also allow extra time for items you purchase . Let me know if you have any question .

Hi T.,
My husband went last year to check it out and the price is completely obscene, it was something like $10,000!!!!! Don't waste your time.

5000 to join these peple are high

Hi T. - my neighbor did. It was a few hundred, if I remember correctly. But he stressed it is only worth it if you plan to do a LOT of remodeling; kitchen AND bathroom are an example. If your planning to only do your bathroom, you will save the sign up fee by waiting for sales at the local home improvement places or Hobo's. But if you're going to do your kitchen, bath & windows, it's probably worth it :)

Not worth it. $5000 for a 3 year membership, then some kind of smaller fee each year to stay joined.

The showroom wasn't that close to our house. Overall, we did better on our own.

We completely renovated a ranch house to a 2 story home (redid the 1st story and basement too). It was a 5 year project - we lived in the house during renovations and did all the work ourselves.

Given the current economy, stores are willing to wheel and deal. You have to do a lot of legwork and research anyway to buy things through Direct Buy. You can do that on your own and find rather good deals, and use store credit cards for 0% interest and be able to return items as needed.

At Direct Buy, they show you the manufacturers price, not the cost other stores actually sell items for (no one sells at manufacters price). So when you go for the tour, they use the manufacturers price to show what you can save.

When you go for the tour - they make you decide then and there - I hated the pressure of that.

If you have a problem with an item, then it's a challenge to get if fixed/replaced - I had a problem with a shade that took a couple months to replace.

We didn't purchase any furniture through them because I like to sit and feel a piece of furniture before I purchase it.

You need to have a way to pick up all items and get them to your home.

I wish we had gone to Hawaii on that $5,000 instead. Would have been much better use of the money.

I am a member and currently not sure what the initial membership fee as the initial fee is considerably larger than a Sam's/Costco membership but then after that it more reasonable and you pay yearly. At the time we bought in, the initial membership lasted 3 years. We've been members for almost 5 years.

Direct Buy is worth it if you have a lot of things to buy. For example, you're renovating a home or just bought a home and need furniture for every room. We joined after we bought our home and needed furniture. We got some great furniture at great prices. With that said, you have to do your own product research and there are delivery fees. Sometimes especially for smaller items you can get a better deal by shopping sales. You also have to arrange for pick up or delivery of the items.

For us it was worth it but we use it a lot less than we initially joined and had a lot of purchases to make.

We purchased it last year for a remodel job we were doing (hardwood floors). I don't remember the exact cost but I think it is like $5000 (I think it is multiple years like 3 or 5). We did get a lot of use out of it at first (floors, new bed frame, baby furniture) but have not used it lately.

There are advantages and disadvantages. If you change your mind on something, you are kind of stuck with it because there are no returns on undamaged items. Plus is you may buy something that is a higher quality for the same price as a lower quality item at a store. Depends on what your needs are.

Be prepared though. If you get a free pass you must decide at the end of the presentation if you are going to be a member. No going home and thinking about it or coming back later. One time chance.

Good luck

My husband and I decided to join Direct Buy a few years back and it was the worst decision we've ever made. Their prices are way too high and you still have to pay some kind of fee on every purchase plus shipping charges, so the final prices end up being similar (or even higher!) to retail. Not worth it.

Initial membership is $5,000.

I don't know how it is now, but we belonged to this around 20 years ago. when we first purchased our house in 1987 we bought all kinds of things from there. we really did save a lot of money...appliances, furniture, duet pleated shades, vertical blinds for the patio door, the furniture that our kids have in their bedrooms, end tables etc.

My husband and I joined direct buy about 4 years ago before building our home. We saved a LOT of money but if you're not building a house and doing a lot of the work yourself, I personally wouldn't join. You really have to do a lot of research on what you want before going to the show room and going through catalogs to find what you want, make a list, work out the pricing & ordering, pay up front & hope that what you ordered is correct. Most of the time it was. We did have a few problems & found out a little late that each direct buy 'store' is managed differently & after having problems with the Tinley park office went to the Fox Valley branch & found a HUGE difference in customer service. For day to day shopping/gifts, for us not worth the trouble, for large purchases, tile, paint, plumbing, appliances,etc. YES, very worth it. The cost to join was paid for with our first couple purchases.

My husband got sucked into this years ago when we first got married. He thought he was doing me a favor and that we would get a good discount on things we needed for our new life together. We went to one showroom once and i could not afford to even look at the prices. We never bought anything from them and despite there not being a showroom within a hundred miles of where we lived after we got married we still had to keep paying the membership for three years. Let me tell you how much better we could have eaten every month with that money.

Yes. It's only worth it if you have 60-70k to remodel a kitchen and end up spending 50k thru them. They're overpriced but good quality...John M Smythe is just as good for quality and the $ are not nearly as high.

Unless you have a lot of capital to spend on high end merchendise don't do it! My husband and I bought into it when we were first married. ugh! By the time you include shipping and handeling the saving is gone! It might be ok if you are used to buying high end stuff where the markup is larger but if you get most of your stuff from wal-mart or other discount stores you will not get your money's worth. I ended up buying only one thing there. Really do your reasearch and think long and hard about the things you wish to purchase before joining.
Best of Luck
Peggy