We did it and were told their closest showroom was somewhere in SC. You had to go there to get any info on their program and you had to join as well. I cant recall right off how much it was to join but they did not send you any brochure, no website to order from or anything. You had to do everything at their showroom.
I did some quick looking online and found alot of consumer complaints and people saying it is a rip-off. Here is one... this guy says it is $5000 to join, and over the course of the first few years membership you'll actually pay $7000 for membership. http://edumacation.com/DirectBuySavingsAnalysis heres another one http://www.my3cents.com/showReview.cgi?id=44901 http://blogs.consumerreports.org/home/2007/09/with-directbu-1.html
The membership fee ranges according to which showroom you go to and how long you sit through the sales pitch. If you go there, they will do a hard sell to try to get you to buy. It is very similar to a timeshare presentation. So after each time you say no, they sweeten the deal a bit. When you try to leave, they make it clear that if you don't buy today you won't be eligible to join again for like 3 years. Many years ago (like 20) they had a similar program, but it was only a few hundred dollars to join. My parents did that and saved a ton of money when they built they house, and then two others for profit. My dad went to one of the Direct Buy presentations and said that it would be really hard to get your money's worth. And definitely check out the online reviews. You'll find some people that love it, but the majority have found it to be a total rip-off. Just think of how much you would have to spend in order to save enough just to cover the membership fee!
