And you thought that window washers had a dangerous job...
http://www.flixxy.com/helicopter-cable-inspector.htm
Yikes!!!
Sunday, December 09, 2007
And you thought that window washers had a dangerous job...
http://www.flixxy.com/helicopter-cable-inspector.htm
Yikes!!!
http://www.flixxy.com/helicopter-cable-inspector.htm
Yikes!!!
Direct Buy - Buyer Beware!
Anne and I attended a Direct Buy Marketing presentation at our local Direct Buy location here in Hunt Valley, MD. We are planning on buying some end tables and a coffee table for our living room and I stumbled across them during some googling.
I signed up for a visit without really knowing what it was all about. Looking back, I should have checked it out before I wasted 2 hours of my life I will never get back.
Here's the summary:
One couple walked out as soon as the presentation was over. They guys voice was shaking as he made a lame excuse about a dog in his vehicle. Clearly he was embarrassed and wanted to get out of the building.
The presentation was emanating such a feeling of sleaze that I was waiting for a multi-tiered marketing approach to sell my friends for a membership discount. That never happened, oh well. I couldn't help but feel I was about to buy some swamp land south Florida!
The salesman did say we could go over and review all the catalogs and pricing information. I asked for lists of manufactures and percent breakdowns by categories. He just talked around it and never produced paper.
The membership price did not shock me as much as the fact that the offer was only good for my one and only visit. They claimed it was to prevent people from leaving the DB center and using DB pricing as leverage against local retailers and therefor invaliding the trust relationship they have with the manufactures. A slick argument that I don't buy.
Circuit City has a policy that they will match or beat other local advertised prices or give you money back. They clearly state they do not honor club pricing because your discount is based on a membership fee. Apparently local manufactures and retailers don't have issues with Sam's Club or Price Club. Why would they have a problem with Direct Buy?
Related Side Story: I refuse to make any large purchasing decisions before I perform research. As an example, I recently purchased a new Mazda CX-9 and spent quite a bit of time researching and negotiating. When I finally purchased the vehicle (at the invoice price) the financial salesman was shocked when I did not take the extended warranty. It was stated as "you have to get this now or leave it" Or course I said "No, I don't purchase anything without researching it" and we drove home in our new car. When I got home I did some googling and found out that there are plenty of companies that offer extended warranties on any vehicle and the initial price was half of what the dealership was offering.
Things I learned after I got home from Direct Buy:
The financial argument made was that for my income level I would be saving over $125,000 during my 10 year membership. R...i...g....h....t...?!@*&
I can only come to the conclusion that Direct Buy preys on the meek and the uninformed.
The only scenario where you could justify the $5100 is if you were certain to be spending over $30k on major home improvement items or furnishings and they had all the manufactures you were interested.
Personally, I only buy certain things that I can put my hands on or see the actual item. This is not possible with DB. For instance, I recently bought a True treadmill after hours of research. I initially was going to buy one via the internet for pricing reasons. Some sold exclusively via the internet got got great reviews! I just could not bring myself to purchase one without actually trying it out. I purchased one locally from Gym Source on black Friday and got a great deal. It was delivered and 1 hour after use it was shutting down and displaying an error code. My local retailer sent and True professional repair man to my house and it was fixed in an hour due to a connector falling off. Would my experience with that purchase through DB have gone the same way? No. Also, DB does not carry True products.
I hope my stories and justifications help you to not waste 2 hours of your life at a Direct Buy center.
Mark
Read more opinions @ infomercial scams
Anne and I attended a Direct Buy Marketing presentation at our local Direct Buy location here in Hunt Valley, MD. We are planning on buying some end tables and a coffee table for our living room and I stumbled across them during some googling.
I signed up for a visit without really knowing what it was all about. Looking back, I should have checked it out before I wasted 2 hours of my life I will never get back.
Here's the summary:
- Membership for 10 years
- Initial signing cost was $5100 for 3 years. - You don't find this out until 1.5 hours into the slick presentation
- It must be payed up front or can be financed at 17%.
- $199 each year after that up to the 10 years.
- After 10 years you can pay at the current yearly rate.
- The prices are at manufacturer pricing
- They make claim retail marks up products from 50-70% to justify their financial model
- 900+ manufactures (I never saw a complete list)
- You must pay a 8% service fee on most items
- You must pay freight on all items
- Of course you pay tax
- Prices on electronics are no better if not worse than local retailers.
- and the drum roll please ...... You must take the deal before you leave!
One couple walked out as soon as the presentation was over. They guys voice was shaking as he made a lame excuse about a dog in his vehicle. Clearly he was embarrassed and wanted to get out of the building.
The presentation was emanating such a feeling of sleaze that I was waiting for a multi-tiered marketing approach to sell my friends for a membership discount. That never happened, oh well. I couldn't help but feel I was about to buy some swamp land south Florida!
The salesman did say we could go over and review all the catalogs and pricing information. I asked for lists of manufactures and percent breakdowns by categories. He just talked around it and never produced paper.
The membership price did not shock me as much as the fact that the offer was only good for my one and only visit. They claimed it was to prevent people from leaving the DB center and using DB pricing as leverage against local retailers and therefor invaliding the trust relationship they have with the manufactures. A slick argument that I don't buy.
Circuit City has a policy that they will match or beat other local advertised prices or give you money back. They clearly state they do not honor club pricing because your discount is based on a membership fee. Apparently local manufactures and retailers don't have issues with Sam's Club or Price Club. Why would they have a problem with Direct Buy?
Related Side Story: I refuse to make any large purchasing decisions before I perform research. As an example, I recently purchased a new Mazda CX-9 and spent quite a bit of time researching and negotiating. When I finally purchased the vehicle (at the invoice price) the financial salesman was shocked when I did not take the extended warranty. It was stated as "you have to get this now or leave it" Or course I said "No, I don't purchase anything without researching it" and we drove home in our new car. When I got home I did some googling and found out that there are plenty of companies that offer extended warranties on any vehicle and the initial price was half of what the dealership was offering.
Things I learned after I got home from Direct Buy:
- Lots of people are unhappy with DB
- a possible looming class action lawsuit?
- You can't place orders via the member website.
- Each DB location is franchised. That is why you see so many different membership pricing.
The financial argument made was that for my income level I would be saving over $125,000 during my 10 year membership. R...i...g....h....t...?!@*&
I can only come to the conclusion that Direct Buy preys on the meek and the uninformed.
The only scenario where you could justify the $5100 is if you were certain to be spending over $30k on major home improvement items or furnishings and they had all the manufactures you were interested.
Personally, I only buy certain things that I can put my hands on or see the actual item. This is not possible with DB. For instance, I recently bought a True treadmill after hours of research. I initially was going to buy one via the internet for pricing reasons. Some sold exclusively via the internet got got great reviews! I just could not bring myself to purchase one without actually trying it out. I purchased one locally from Gym Source on black Friday and got a great deal. It was delivered and 1 hour after use it was shutting down and displaying an error code. My local retailer sent and True professional repair man to my house and it was fixed in an hour due to a connector falling off. Would my experience with that purchase through DB have gone the same way? No. Also, DB does not carry True products.
I hope my stories and justifications help you to not waste 2 hours of your life at a Direct Buy center.
Mark
Read more opinions @ infomercial scams
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