When I first started looking at kitchen cabinets I was amazed at how expensive these things really were. Even the cheap cabinets cost more than I expected. After I realized that the cheap cabinets were not much more than particle board, I decided it was either spend a lot of money or I needed to find some other options. The answer was not at your local super mega store, it was online.
Here are 5 quick suggestions I put together after searching long and hard for new cabinets for my kitchen. 1. Go online and look for kitchen cabinets.
You can find the same cabinets you're your local store is offering, plus some custom manufacturers, RTA distributors, and you will able to get competitive prices. You will find that most of the cabinets are still expensive, but if you look for RTA cabinets, you are sure to find some good buys. If you don't know what an RTA cabinet is, it stands for Ready to Assemble. There is no need to worry, the ready to assemble literally means you will need a screw driver and that's it.
All of the cabinets I bought came with one page of directions and I used my cordless drill, but it was not necessary, it was only to speed up the assembly. 2. Be careful what sites you're going to online. Do some research before deciding to buy from one site versus the other. Many of the on-line sites are just retail stores buying from someone else.
If you can, try to find the company that is importing the cabinets. There are a lot of cabinet sites out there, and some will try to confuse you by changing the name of the cabinet so that they can sell it as a higher end cabinet. Some will offer "free shipping". Don't believe it, it will be free shipping, but they will mark up the cabinets enough to make up for their shipping costs. 3.
Trust the quality of these cabinets. The good RTA sites import their cabinets from reliable sources that use all hardwood construction for the face frames and door, and they will use solid plywood for the sides. Most store cabinets consist of some part particleboard.
4. Compare what you would spend at a super store; add in the inconvenience of driving to the store, and the price of gas. Now compare that to the convenience of having the cabinets delivered to your door. Yes there are shipping costs, but even after those costs, I still saved hundreds on the cabinets.
5. Look at the options you have. When buying from a store, you will quickly find out that they carry very few of the cabinets.
All others have to be "special ordered". With this special order comes a mark up for shipping and usually other charges as well. On the other hand, if you can find the RTA Cabinet sites that are importing their cabinets directly, they will carry all of the cabinets in stock. The importers can usually ship your cabinets in 3-5 days, not including transit times, so if you find a site that tells you 3-4 weeks they are probably just re-selling the cabinets. So go online and look up an RTA kitchen cabinet site. Be careful of the mark ups on some of these sites and don't be afraid to ask questions.
Prices vary and some costs are hidden, but in the end you will save a good amount of money.
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