Here is my perspective of how DirectBuy makes money from you:
1) Your expensive membership fee (3-year memebership fpr $2985+HST=$3373 + option to renew annually at $300 per year for another 7 years)
2) The extra service fee of 8% for each order - This 8% service fee should be good enough to cover DB's operating cost and salary.
3) Freight charge: They make an estimate of the shipping charge. If the actual shipping fee is less than the estimate, they will ask you back for the difference. If the actual shipping fee is more than the estimate, they will never return the difference back to you. Therefore, they always over-estimate the shipping fee. This also means that they also make money from the difference in shipping charge.
4) Cash payment or debit card only: All orders must be paid by cash or debit card. Credit card payment is not allowed. This is a purely cash business. The owners do not even need to pay 1-2% to credit card companies. This business is very good for DB owners. For you, you can't earn any Aeroplan or Airmiles points even you have spent more than $10K there.
I have to tell you that if you need to buy lots of blinds, especially Hunter Douglas brand, you can save lots of money. If you need to buy blinds or shutter for more than $10K, your DB membership does save you money. For expensive furniture, you may save money.