Any members of Direct Buy/UCC? (new home, to buy, cabinet)

[apvbguy]

Originally Posted by titaniummd

My father in law's brother actually owned a huge showroom in High Point, NC and I bought furniture at cost, already. I was really interested in getting high end things that he could not get me. Unfortunately, I haven't taken advantage of it until recently. I still have a lot of purchases to make and I agree, if you look hard enough, you can find it as cheap as their prices. However, before I make a large purchase, I always checking the Direct Buy website.

and what did you pay to be able to use their web site?

[titaniummd]

Originally Posted by apvbguy

and what did you pay to be able to use their web site?

You can only access it if you're a member. It's like the Sams Club Website in a way. It lists the manufacturers or the product type.

I have a few things on my wish list such as a couple of wall bars and air hockey table.

[apvbguy]

Originally Posted by titaniummd

You can only access it if you're a member. It's like the Sams Club Website in a way. It lists the manufacturers or the product type.

I have a few things on my wish list such as a couple of wall bars and air hockey table.

I know that you need a membership, my question was what did you pay to be a member

[titaniummd]

Originally Posted by apvbguy

I know that you need a membership, my question was what did you pay to be a member

That was 9 years ago. It was about $2000 to $2200 ( I don't recall exactly). It didn't sound like much so I figured it was worth it. My friend joined for $5k. I wouldn't join for $5k unless I was building from scratch or redoing the kitchen/bathroom. You can everything from the tile, ceiling fans, cabinets, Sub Zero Refrigerators, kitchen cabinets, and even the kitchen sink.

I also use them to refer me to people who give discounts to members such as contractors. People they have referred me to are very good and the prices are better than 'cold calling' someone from the yellow pages. Being in a new city, I figure I could use all of the professional assistance I could get.

If I got transferred from the country, they said they would put my account on 'hold' and not make me pay the annual renewal fee, while I was away.

[Copper1234]

Gee, I guess that retail stores must pay all their employee's with coupons!

So if a salesperson in a furniture store makes $10 an hour, and the store has an average of say, 20 employee's working full time, just the wages alone would be $800,000 just in wages, not including taxes and benefits for one year. If the store isn't marking up a certain percentage how would all of the tens of millions of retail employees get paid?

I was a store manager for a furniture store, now I work for a distributor of a de-icing product. The de-icer we distribute costs us from the manufacturer, about $3.50 a bag, we charge our dealers $7.50 a bag, they charge clients $10 to $14 a bag, and in retailers it's $20 to $22 per 50lb bag, and that is just a de-icer, granted a high end one, but a de-icer none the less. So the average retail customer is paying over 500% markup.

The furniture store I worked for used to have me raise prices the night before a "sale" after closing to make sure the margins were still good, and when talking to others in that biz, I found it a very common practice. When I went in to Direct Buy, I saw the prices my former bosses paid for the products (cost in that store included some "padding") vs. what we charged customers and was livid with what I was paid! Needless to say I am a happy member of Direct Buy and quit that job soon after. I saved my dues years ago, and will renew at the end of my contract.

As a former Furniture store manager and current distributor employee I don't think, I know that if you need to buy big ticket items and you don't join Direct Buy, you get what you deserve, which is less money in your pocket, and the ridicule of people who are smart enough to understand reality.

[titaniummd]

Originally Posted by Copper1234

Gee, I guess that retail stores must pay all their employee's with coupons!

So if a salesperson in a furniture store makes $10 an hour, and the store has an average of say, 20 employee's working full time, just the wages alone would be $800,000 just in wages, not including taxes and benefits for one year. If the store isn't marking up a certain percentage how would all of the tens of millions of retail employees get paid?

I was a store manager for a furniture store, now I work for a distributor of a de-icing product. The de-icer we distribute costs us from the manufacturer, about $3.50 a bag, we charge our dealers $7.50 a bag, they charge clients $10 to $14 a bag, and in retailers it's $20 to $22 per 50lb bag, and that is just a de-icer, granted a high end one, but a de-icer none the less. So the average retail customer is paying over 500% markup.

The furniture store I worked for used to have me raise prices the night before a "sale" after closing to make sure the margins were still good, and when talking to others in that biz, I found it a very common practice. When I went in to Direct Buy, I saw the prices my former bosses paid for the products (cost in that store included some "padding") vs. what we charged customers and was livid with what I was paid! Needless to say I am a happy member of Direct Buy and quit that job soon after. I saved my dues years ago, and will renew at the end of my contract.

As a former Furniture store manager and current distributor employee I don't think, I know that if you need to buy big ticket items and you don't join Direct Buy, you get what you deserve, which is less money in your pocket, and the ridicule of people who are smart enough to understand reality.

For furniture, the markup is outrageous. I could get a houseful of used furniture for the price of new. The elite brands of furniture is even marked up even more than you think.

I learned to read codes on various store tickets to find out how much cost was and when they received the item. It's a great bargaining tool if you push the salesperson.

[cval]

Originally Posted by Copper1234

Gee, I guess that retail stores must pay all their employee's with coupons!

So if a salesperson in a furniture store makes $10 an hour, and the store has an average of say, 20 employee's working full time, just the wages alone would be $800,000 just in wages, not including taxes and benefits for one year. If the store isn't marking up a certain percentage how would all of the tens of millions of retail employees get paid?

I was a store manager for a furniture store, now I work for a distributor of a de-icing product. The de-icer we distribute costs us from the manufacturer, about $3.50 a bag, we charge our dealers $7.50 a bag, they charge clients $10 to $14 a bag, and in retailers it's $20 to $22 per 50lb bag, and that is just a de-icer, granted a high end one, but a de-icer none the less. So the average retail customer is paying over 500% markup.

The furniture store I worked for used to have me raise prices the night before a "sale" after closing to make sure the margins were still good, and when talking to others in that biz, I found it a very common practice. When I went in to Direct Buy, I saw the prices my former bosses paid for the products (cost in that store included some "padding") vs. what we charged customers and was livid with what I was paid! Needless to say I am a happy member of Direct Buy and quit that job soon after. I saved my dues years ago, and will renew at the end of my contract.

As a former Furniture store manager and current distributor employee I don't think, I know that if you need to buy big ticket items and you don't join Direct Buy, you get what you deserve, which is less money in your pocket, and the ridicule of people who are smart enough to understand reality.

Great sales pitch

[moving123456]

Originally Posted by titaniummd

For furniture, the markup is outrageous. I could get a houseful of used furniture for the price of new. The elite brands of furniture is even marked up even more than you think.

I learned to read codes on various store tickets to find out how much cost was and when they received the item. It's a great bargaining tool if you push the salesperson.

I used to work in a lower end furniture store and to price anything we took the price which the store paid from the invoice and multiplied that by 2.2, so if the store paid $250 for something, we would put it on the floor at $550.

[titaniummd]

I am in the market for a curio cabinet and there were two that I liked. One was $999 and the other $699. I was getting a $100 discount off those prices from the lady. I was about to buy it but I had to measure the places in the house where to put it. I thought "let me see how much it is in Direct Buy"....

I checked on the price: $452 and $350, respectively. I won't be buying it from the furniture store.

[apvbguy]

Originally Posted by titaniummd

I am in the market for a curio cabinet and there were two that I liked. One was $999 and the other $699. I was getting a $100 discount off those prices from the lady. I was about to buy it but I had to measure the places in the house where to put it. I thought "let me see how much it is in Direct Buy"....

I checked on the price: $452 and $350, respectively. I won't be buying it from the furniture store.

and what would the cost be after factoring in the initiation fee?