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DirectBuy for bathroom showers and tubs (Kohler, Maax,etc.?)

15 years ago

We are remodeling our bathroom and I am interested in purchasing some of the nice Maax or Kohler products that are available, but quite pricey. I was interested to see if anybody has used DirectBuy to order things for a major bathroom renovation and if they found it worth the costs. We are redoing the whole thing, including putting in a vanity, getting a whirlpool tub, and also a jetted steam shower. I figure what we want will cost around $6-10K from what I have seen online, so I was curious what people think I could do at DirectBuy. Any thoughts?

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Comments (5)

59 Dodge
15 years ago
Wife has a friend at work that paid $5000.00 for their "Contract" you havta buy before you buy anything there. Her friend is trying to get her money back, but so far, no luck. They may have cheaper "Contracts" I dont know, They had called me , sent me a "Key" for a "free look around" I was gonna go, outta curiosity--more than anything else---They called and asked, "what time will You and your wife be here" I said , "Wife works, She will not be there" They said then my key will be "No Good"(Not usable). Now why did they do that???
They want to "Turn Closers loose on you"!!!! To have a "valid contract", both spouses must sign.
They were not offering a free "Look around" They wanted the chance to "Turn their closers loose on us" and sign a contract!!!!
Not the kind of people I will do business with!!!!!

Gary
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busybme
15 years ago
Do a search on the home forums here on GardenWeb and other places online. Not a whole lot of good feedback regarding DirectBuy.
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alabamanicole
15 years ago
"They called and asked, "what time will You and your wife be here" I said , "Wife works, She will not be there" They said then my key will be "No Good"(Not usable). Now why did they do that??? "

They wouldn't even speak to me since I'm a single woman. No hubbie, no lookie. My guess is their entire sales strategy consists of playing one partner against the other.

This is not normal business practice. What does a business care about my marital status? It tells me they don't have an honest product to sell if my money isn't as good as a married couple's money.
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marie_louise
15 years ago
Stories like this are why I never even considered going there.

It is hard enough to make decisions without salespeople pressuring you! Instead of paying a $5000 fee to a corporation with very questionable sales tactics, you could pay a little more per item (but overall, spend less) by shopping at your local plumbing store. You'd get much better service, a wider selection via special order, and best of all-you'd be keeping your neighborhood store in business.
raehelen
15 years ago
No way would joining Direct Buy be a sensible decision for you.

You are only planning to spend $6- $10,000.00 in total, so you'd be spending close to $6K just to get in the door. Besides the contract fee there are yearly fees.

I did join Direct Buy- we are doing a total house reno from top to bottom (literally), replacing all windows and doors, gutting, rewiring, jackhammering concrete to put in drains, new roof- well you get the idea... I was enthralled by all the possibilities when I went for my visit. Luckily for me, I did go without my husband- signed the contract by myself- and after researching that night at home, I was heartsick that I had made such a stupid decision. WE played good cop/bad cop when we went back in- I composed a letter asking for a refund, and they very graciously DID give us our money back. So kudos to that particular DirectBuy outlet.

However, I did a fair amount of research (albeit a day too late), and did discover that there are many many issues with DB. The least of which is, shipping and handling fees which can be 25%, and that they are not refunded if you decide you do not want the product you ordered. And, if I'm not mistaken, the item is delivered to the warehouse, not your home address, so there's that whole issue...

I'm not going to go into a litany of all the problems, but suggest you google direct buy consumer concerns for yourself.

Again, I reiterate- I do NOT think you should consider joining. You will NOT save any money, particularly just on ONE bathroom reno.
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