Your Questions About Direct Buy

Nagesh answers:

Your right to cancel a particular contract depends on the jurisdiction and on any cancellation rights specified in the contract. Within the U.S., Federal law gives you rights for certain contracts and state law may provide you with rights for other types of contracts. The situation is similar in Canada.

In the past, DirectBuy’s corporate offices had stated that a 3-day right of cancellation applied to all DirectBuy memberships, but this may or may not be current policy. In any case, you always have whatever protections may be available under the local laws (if any), though some contracts may be written that waive those rights, unless the law prohibits this.

The link below, from the Ontario Ministry of Consumer Services, provides different sample letters depending on the basis of your cancellation. If you entered into the contract outside of Ontario, and your contract does not provide for a right of cancellation, then you’ll need to check for what the law is in your jurisdiction. You should be able to adapt the sample cancellation letters from the Ontario website if similar laws apply in your jurisdiction.

More generally, only those specific “cooling off” provisions that are provided by applicable law are available to you. However, if misrepresentations were made during a sales presentation, these may also be grounds for voiding a contract. If permitted by law, contracts will often state that any representations not made in the contract don’t apply, but consumer protection laws may prohibit such provisions or make them null and void. Also, misrepresentations don’t necessarily have to be literal, they can be based on the overall impression. This is the kind of thing where DirectBuy would be likely to fall into. For instance, at the DirectBuy sales presentation, they may have given the impression that there would be substantial savings as compared to what you would have to pay if you weren’t a DirectBuy member, but if it turns out that most of your savings are eaten up by handling fees, then this may allow you to back out of the contract and recover any monies you have paid. But once again, this is highly dependent on whatever laws apply.

Nagesh answers:

$5000 to join…at least that was how much a year ago, could be more now. You can find better buys on the exact items at local stores…I checked them out and had exact itemized lists of all different things to compare. I found cheaper prices at local hardware, furniture, and even specialty stores. They do not deliver and they do not install. Run away from them…you will be saving a lot of money by not joining and watching local sales and stores.

Nagesh answers:

If it has products I want, and they’re products I can’t get elsewhere, then why not?

It really all depends on the advantages and disadvantages of using the online site as compared to other methods of ordering the products. Does it affect the price I pay, including shipping? Does it take more time or less time for me to get what I’ve ordered? Is the site easy to use or difficult to use?

Nagesh answers:

I know a website, that is CNbuy – cnbuy.cc, can help you buy anything from China

Nagesh answers:

Here is one piece of advice:

Never go to the “open house” unless you’ve already made up your mind to become a member. There’s really nothing you’re going to learn at the “open house” that’s going to help you make that decision, except perhaps the exact price they’re charging for a membership (which you presumably already know is generally around $5k, and which is completely non-refundable after any applicable 3-day “cooling off” period).

Supposedly you’ll get to check out the “insider pricing” in their catalogs, but that doesn’t seem to square with their explanations that you need their assistance to understand the pricing in the catalogs. Plus you have to add on their handling fees, shipping costs (through DirectBuy’s proprietary shipping service) to the local DirectBuy warehouse, and the cost of delivery from the DirectBuy warehouse to your home, so it really won’t be practical to get an idea of your savings, assuming they even offer the specific model you’re interested in (they may only carry the more expensive models for certain manufacturers).

Somewhere there are people who actually pay MSRP, and if you’re one of those people, it certainly makes it more plausible that DirectBuy could save you money. However, people who pay MSRP probably have an expectation of a high level of service, yet part of the DirectBuy deal is limited service. If for whatever reason you’re unhappy with the merchandise, it’s your problem, and you’ll have to deal directly with the manufacturer to seek a resolution.

The real problem, though, is that when you get a DirectBuy membership, you’re buying a pig in a poke. DirectBuy makes all sorts of representations about the money you save, but there’s no assurance of any actual savings, only hopes and dreams that this will happen. If you’re willing to fork over $5k for these hopes and dreams, then DirectBuy may just be for you.