Situated in a perfect location right beside Southern Cross station this DFO is rather disappointing and more like a shopping mall. I feel there are better & bigger bargains to be had elsewhere and apart from perhaps grabbing a coffee & a bite to eat I would give this place a miss if you are heading to Melbourne.

The DFOs in Brisbane and in Perth are both much better than the Melbourne DFO! Perhaps because of its' proximity to the CBD, This one is less factory outlet and more shopping plaza. There are less bargains but it's still a good place to wander around and find some nice things. I've bought books from here for the train trip back home.

I do think, as others have said, that if your trip to Melbourne is short you could miss the DFO altogether. There are so many bargains to be had in Melbourne that this place doesn't hold anything special.

My favourites are some of the factory outlets in Brunswick street.

Variety of shops, good prices. Central location, near the station. Variety of products at one place!! Great for shop lovers

The first time I went to DFO I thought I was in shopping heaven....But i soon realised the opposite, It was too crowed. The prices were not as good as once thought and it took soooo long to try and find anything worth looking at.

I have been to DFO on a number of times and enjoyed the variety of shops and food choices availiable . I found most shops were well stocked and staff were pretty friendly and helpful . This is our first stop when we go to melbourne each time . You can grab some great bargains .

DFO's advertisements are quit mis-leading. Personally I find that you don't actually save that much money on anything in here. If you do, it is probably last seasons or damaged stock. I find that most of the stores are not outlets, just another business in one of the many franchises (such as JJ's, Cotton On, etc:).

It is not pleasant to shop here. I feel like I am in a half-assed, jazzed up warehouse with similar priced stock that you would find elsewhere. They do have an assortment of all types of stores, mainly clothing though. I would much rather prefer to go into the city itself.

I must however, give kudos to the Chocolate cafe' the station end of DFO. It is a very nice place for chocolate and coffee's. Also the Sunglasses outlet (forget the name) have genuine discounts on sunnies.

Other than the Chocolate place, I dislike going to DFO and won't be going there again. If your traveling from out of town into town, don't add DFO to your itinerary, even though it is right next to the station. You will waste a good hour or so trying to find something that is actually 70% off.

My friend and I recently went hunting for a particular outdoor cooler type item that we'd heard was sold at Direct Factory Outlet. After wandering through many stores to no avail, we approached the woman at the information desk who was wonderful in suggesting a few stores. All store staff were very friendly and happy - we were so impressed that we not only bought a few (unnecessary) items, but also, we shopped for so long that we even stayed for lunch LOL