Here's a story from Consumer Reports.

Save your money in some other ways, this will cost you.

Here is a link that might be useful: Direct Buy

Lots of good advice and bad experiences can be found in several old threads. See Link below.

Here is a link that might be useful: direct buy threads

I wandered through a showroom once and was not impressed with the products offered.

First off, let me say that I am not affiliated with Direct Buy in any way, other than being a member for about 10 years. In my experience, the membership has saved us thousands of dollars. I have used it primarily for remodeling and furniture purchases, although they sell many categories of items. You need to determine if you will use it enough to make it worth your while. I would recommend that if you go to the showroom for a visit, take a list of items you've recently purchased or are planning to purchase. Know your retail prices, and then compare them during your visit. There are individual binders for each vendor which include their product literature, price lists, and handling fees. In my experience, the handling has never been more than 3%. Within the first year, I recouped our initiation fee. Over the past 10 years, I've carpeted an entire house with very good carpet, remodeled four bathrooms, two kitchens, and purchased furniture all at significant savings. They carry many well known lighting, plumbing, appliance and cabinetry brands in all price ranges. DB is a huge resource in that manner. They carry many brands that I can't find locally, and I love having access to all the catalogs from each vendor, and the ability to sit in a quiet showroom and go through the catalogs at my leisure, comparing features and pricing. As an example, my husband wanted a very large, American made leather sectional for his man cave which we found at a local upscale furniture store. We discovered that DB carried the brand and believe it or not, we saved almost 4K over the retail. We were stunned. Would have never purchased that sofa at retail, but DB made it possible for us to be able to justify the purchase. In some categories, like electronics, the savings will not be as substantial. I always compare prices at retail, internet, etc, and then determine if DB is the way to go. You can also purchase many items through the members' website without stepping foot in the showroom. Nobody puts a gun to your head and forces you to sign on the dotted line. Check it out and make up your own mind.

I think that maybe if you joined early on with lower fees and needed to outfit a house or were remodeling kitchens/baths it might have been worth it. Last I heard a few years ago membership was $4000 in my area. Even if they carry a lot of brands, you are still limited to what they carry. We heard about them a lot in our area a few years ago through print and tv ads but not anymore...wonder if they are still here. And I heard if you visited with a free pass, they really put the pressure on to purchase a membership.

If you are indeed a landlord, you should check out ProSource. It is a wholesale to the trade (including property managers) members showroom, but the membership fee is only $25 rather
than 200x that amount. They have cabinets and flooring and soon plumbing fixtures. No furniture, but for the savings over DB, you can still get a whole pretty nice sofa on sale for the difference.

Full disclosure: I am a KD at one of the locations, but I am not trying to solicit your business. Just trying to show you that there are other options that can fulfill your needs without such a large up front investment that you may never recoup.

Here is a link that might be useful: ProSource storefinder

live_wire_oak, I am not "to the trade", so as a homeowner, I prefer the DB concept. Twenty years ago we built our second home and the builder referred us to ProSource. Had to go in with an appointment, and were escorted by one of the Prosource salespersons. I ended up going with a local small flooring shop that beat the ProSource pricing through our builder.
Any members club, whether it's DB, ProSource, Sam's. Costco, etc, can only be made based on your buying habits. Before we joined DB, I purchased furniture through the furniture marts in N. Carolina, Since joining, that hasn't been necessary. I can get better pricing, and if there is a problem, I am dealing locally and not over the phone with a salesperson I have never met in NC. DB has worked extremely well for us. That is not to say that it is the right decision for everyone.

Thanks all for the information. This is such a great resource.