I had a car for sale two years ago on craig's list. I had a scammer of some sort contact me via email. At first they seemed to be making legitimate inquiries about the car. The person said they were representing someone in England, who wanted the car, and they were buying it for them here in the U.S. to be shipped back to England. Then they said they wanted to buy it with a cashier's check but the amount would be over the purchase price and I would need to send the difference before shipping etc, etc. Since this was April of 2005, the scam was new at the time but I still knew it was a scam of some sort. I researched it online on the FBI's website. Sure enough, there were big warnings about the new scam. I reported this person but never heard anything from the FBI. However, they didn't use an international address. They actually used the address of a bed and breakfast in michigan. But the phone number they gave me always went straight to voice mail. And when I called the B&B, they had no idea who that person was. Since the money was to be wired to them instead of sending it to the B&B, I think they just picked an address at random that seemed legitimate. They weren't planning on getting any mail or money at that address. But having a U.S. address made them seem more legitimate, I suppose. One of the things that made me curious at the very beginning was it made no sense for anyone in England to want to buy a used car in the U.S., especially a gas guzzling Ford Explorer. So big for a country with such narrow streets and sky high gas prices. How much is the equivalent of a gallon of gas there? Isn't it around $6? And plus, the steering wheel would be on the wrong side of the car! Anyway, I never did tell the guy that I'd busted him. I wanted to see if the FBI would catch him. But they didn't do anything. No one ever contacted me. I did find an article at the time in the Chicago Sun Times on this then new scam. So I emailed the reporter to give him the details on how they'd tried to scam me. He emailed me back and I forwarded him the emails. I thought at least a reporter could make use of the info to get the news out.

Sadly, this just happened to my 83 year old parents on Friday morning and they called to tell me about yesterday after the scammer tried a second attempt. I am so stunned that they fell for this scam and are now out $4000. They were told to get $4000 in Visa gift cards immediately as their grandson "Tommy" was set to appear before a judge at 11:00am, so they went to Best Buy and purchased several cards. The "officer" that called even said that they may be questioned why they are buying so many cards, but to tell Best Buy it is for a friend you are helping out. The officer told them he would be calling them at 10:30am to get the card info. He called right on time and my mom read the numbers and pins on all the cards. She asked if she could talk to her grandson and they put "Tommy" on the phone who kept begging my parents not to call his wife or parents. Apparently he had been in jail for 2 days. My mom said it sounded just like "Tommy" and he even called her "Nana". Second attempt happened yesterday morning when the officer called them again saying that "Tommy's" bail was increased and he needed another $4000. This time my dad wised up and asked to speak to "Tommy". It took about 10 minutes for "Tommy" to come to the phone and my dad asked what is your sister's name (he doesn't have a sister). Tommy kept laughing saying "oh come on you know what her name is, why are you playing these games with me." This went on for a few minutes and "Tommy" hung up. My dad then called the real "Tommy" who was home with his wife and quite stunned by what my dad proceeded to tell him. It makes me sick as I write this, I can't believe my parents fell for it because they know about all these scams, we talk about them quite often and this incident is so not my parents. FYI, "Tommy" is my son and has never been in trouble with the law. My parents feel so embarrassed and upset about what happened, so there was no lecturing from me. I feel bad for them.

Mama, I can see how upsetting this must be. But there may be a silver lining here. All of us love our children, but at some point, they are on their own. Difficulties as they grow up strengthen them so when they are finally on their own, they are able to better handle challenging events.. From this event, they have learned some critical thinking skills which may serve them well in the future. I think the next family talk would be, what to do if someone shows up to pick them up (not just at school, but anywhere) saying that you sent them. The challenge to a parent or grandparent is to tailor these talks so they inform the children and get them to think, but do not scare them.

What a #relief to see ALL this newer-feedback via Direct Buy...especially from the postings via last year perspective. You sometimes think to yourself that maybe it is just "you," but all this analysis and feedback about the Direct Buy of new is eerily correct and accurate. Namely : OKAY--> WAY WORSE - on ***all*** fronts. My wife and I were (also) part of those legacy members who paid the huge 'dues,' but as we were renovating two houses per year, so the recoup (re: of Fees) was instantaneous for us. It was never great in the original format either, but as you'll read...if you were willing to do all the due diligence and assemble a huge list of what you needed by Style / Color / SKU, it was incredible savings. Aside : And I am sure it is confusing (re: if you are NEW and now deciding on whether to join or not) when doing due diligence on them...as this newer version of Direct Buy is a TOTALLY different beast than what it was via sales presentations and brick and morter locations. We (also) had a lot of hope with more of it going online...giving you the full price visibility when doing those orders online, but whatever the new CEO / Owner(s) did to move it into the digital age, completely torpedo'd any sense...or sanity...of even 1/2-decent Customer Service. And unless you are a trillion-dollar FRUIT company or Discover Card...the world has clearly and slowly shifted away from US-based reps (all together), but now you have chats with (what seems) every Eastern European rep...and the indifference, slowness and near-impossible resolutions to issues IS the real deal and a 'thing.' We even went onto Glass Door to see (employee reviews) of the company, and no question, something is BROKEN there now. Sounds like little is done to support or grow their staff internally. Hey...all businesses change and have to make tough decisions or shifts, but this is one that seems to be making all the WRONG moves. We'd also concur...seems like great vendors are slowing leaving their vendor matrix with each passing month / year, and forbid something goes wrong (which is the ineveitable nature of renovations and this industry), but it's a collossal disaster and time suck to right the proverbial ship...thought it still tends to get done. But at what price? At least with credit card purchases with them, you always have this layer of dispute. Good news, is that entry cost is WAY LOWER and on annual basis. As others mentioned...if you stick to mattresses, rugs, plumbing fixtures, electrical fixtures...you will indeed still SAVE and save a lot (even with handling and shipping - which always existed with them, for the record).. And another huge benefit is that most of this stuff now comes (excuse pun) direct from the manufacturer and never enters Dbuy's warehouse or purview, but yes... Furniture is super tricky. Some great prices, but usually comes LTL...which is another layer of chaos...and as someone else mentioned...when Direct Buy C/S sucks, you are battlings multiple issues. Not fun! Finally, if you do not have a sense of humor and an equal and infinite amount of patience, this is NOT the rodeo you want to attend or participate in. Love - Hate is our new norm with them as well, and hope this can prepare you some if you are trying to decide to join or not. I hope this comes across a decision maker's desk there, but guessing not, and point of a review is to be candid, inform and prep the world in their own decision making.