DirectBuy complaints mount, but company says its big fee is worth it
What would you say to the following offer?
Join our shopping club and we'll promise you below-retail prices on thousands of brand-name products – but we can't let you compare our prices with competitors until you join. You'll shop for most items through a catalog, but once you place your order, you can't cancel or return your purchase. Our membership fee is several thousand dollars, usually non-refundable. Finally, if you refuse our offer, we'll never make it again.
More than 400,000 consumers in the U.S. and Canada have said "yes" to a similar pitch by DirectBuy, including a 72-year-old retiree who visited a showroom in Hauppauge, N.Y., sat through a two-hour presentation, and despite an "inner voice" warning her not to do it, paid the $5,900 membership fee.
