Direct Buy - A scam?

Ever heard of them?

They are all over the TV and in plenty of magazines.  They are supposed to be a way to order product at wholesale prices - cabinets, furniture, flooring, etc.

Are they a scam?  No, I suppose not... not technically.  But I will tell you, I will never ever deal with them. I'm so sure of this I'm not even going to give them a link from my blog.

It all starts off with high-pressure phone calls.  3, in our case.  They call, want you to sign up for a "personal seminar" with them to understand how the whole thing works.  Honestly, this part seemed fishy, but doable.  When we dug a little, we got thousands (and I do mean thousands) of hits about how much of a horrible place they were.  One of the sites suggested we ask them about the membership.

Membership? WTF?  Like Costco or BJs?  Ok... fine, I can see how that might be necessary.

So, Sandy gets a call, and chats a little. Uses her husband as an excuse for not committing to joining up on the phone right then and there, and for not being able to set up a time for a session.

Second call, they try again... sign up.  Sandy asked about the membership, and the person's response?

It depends.

What?  Seriously?  Come on now, lets have an answer here.. if we're going to do something like this it is important to know what we're getting in to.

Well, it really depends on what you want to buy.

OK, so it is based on how much you participate?  What type of discount you get?  Fishy and getting fishier.  We press for an answer.

Direct Buy:  Maam, I really have no idea at all.
Us:  Well, are we talking hundreds?  thousands?  tens-of-thousands?
Direct Buy:  I really can't tell you.  I only answer the phones.  So, can I sign you up for the session this Saturday?
Us:  No, not yet.  I don't think my husband will be able to come. (Lying)
Direct Buy:  Well, we really need him there.  Why can't he come?
Us:  That's not really your business.  We need to know how much it is before we can commit.
Direct Buy:  We can't tell you over the phone, we have to have you in the seminar first.
Us:  Thanks, no.  Good bye.

Got a call the next day, wondering why... actually chastising us for not being able to commit.

Do yourself a favor... check out the reviews online before you do anything with them, ever.


Needless to say, we're not going with them in any way, shape, or form.

Appliances / Ikea Kitchen

Now come the fun part!  Actually, this has all been fun.

Kitchen creation.  We love Ikea stuff... style is right up our alley.  Sometimes quality can be a little less than perfect - and what do you expect for the price. We have some friends in CA that just did an Ikea kitchen and love it.  But, is this really for us?

Hell yes!

We went to the showroom to do some serious thinking about it all, and were surprised with the quality that was available to us.  Sure, they do have the particle board cabinets and counter quality available for insanely low prices - but for a very reasonable price, you can get some solid wood systems too.

Impressive.

What is even better is that Ikea has an online 3D CAD tool for building out your kitchen...

So we did.  Nice stuff.

What is even better, is that it produces a full on list of what is needed for purchase.

Great stuff.

We are trending towards a glossy red island with white cabinets surrounding.  Counter top, TBD, but probably a dark color.