the problem with references is the company IS only going to refer you to happy customers.

I asked everyone who worked for us to give us two additional references - from someone who was initially unhappy and who ended up satisfied AND if possible someone who just plain wasn't satisfied and I followed up. In addition I went and visited every reference that would let me come on site to see the quality of the work. I never believed anyone who said they only had good references and dh even told one or two that unless they could provide the kind of references we were looking for they wouldn't get our work. And BTW, one GC "cheated". He gave us a reference of a very happy customer. When we showed up to see the work on site, the reference was kind enough to tell us "he'd do anything to help out his cousin" LOL. We di not use him.

OK all said and done, I really don't think I could justify Made in China cabinets and I have many reasons only a few of which have to do with the possible quality and long term durability of the product.

My Mom is retired and lives on a fixed income so she had to make a lot of compromises in redoing her kitchen but given we live in a country (Canada) with one of the formost cabinetry sectors in the world we didn't even entertain buying cabinets that weren't made in Canada (she passed on the, now defuct, formerly Canadian Canac because they closed all their Canadian factories when they were bought by Kohler). There are items made from all over the world in my Mom's kitchen (including quite a few from China) but we did try to buy Canadian when possible. I'm in no place to judge (we bought from an American owned chain after all) and we all have our bottom line but we just couldn't. Whatever your decision I hope it turns out fantastic.

I will chime in about the references. trust me I am skeptical about that. I only wrote it just to say ok, here this is.. I do agree it could be a cousin , a sister etc. or a friend helping out. Or heck a paid advertiser like you see on informecial. trust me I am a very cautious buyer and believer. my husband as technical as he is , would probably be more impulsive to buy but again he would look at details of how they are made but would NOT do the amount of research I do w/ regards to this even tho he is very detail oriented

sorry off tangent. but my point is I agree references - will be good unless you ask for them all and of course they will only give you great ones from happy customers.. trust me I haven't bought yet..

I would never buy cabinets made in China. Too long a lead time and indifferent quality control.

Not to mention the fact that who knows what type of finish they come with. There are no environmental regulations there to keep them from using who knows what that could pose a threat to your health (remember the lead painted toys?), or certainly to their worker's health. US manufacturers gripe about OSHA, but it's very rare to have an on the job death occur due to that organization.

I know everyone's money is a bit tigher these days, but it only gets tighter for everyone if huge dollar amounts are sent overseas rather than supporting our own factories and workers. It's a circle, and what goes around comes around.

Yes, I'm a KD who represents several US brands, so I am a bit biased towards them surviving, as well as biased about their workers doing a safe and competent job---that they will keep.

Not sure if all Chinese cabinets are poor quality, but here's another dealers perspective on the subject. This came from a dealer forum. I also read something on another page that said some cabinets are not recognized or certified as a KCMA....which means the cabinets do not meet certain criteria. Anyway, I hope the original poster doesn't mind me copying this. I was able to get to the info without logging on to the other forum...it just came up in a search.

FROM KITCHEN DEALER IN FL:
"Chinese Cabinets are great for our business! In South Florida we are already replacing cabinets that were installed two years ago.

Unsuspecting Consumers are ripping out cabinetry that has been in the house for 10 or more years and putting in cabinetry that will only last 2 years or so.
The finish is weak comes off easily , The mold problem is definalty a huge issue. And the drawer systems are even weaker. The hinges are cast aluminum often and they break easily. Try and replace a DaWong hinge at any hardware store..lol

There are a couple of "Quality" products, however the pricing is just as much as our "lower end" domestic products and still wont last as long.

I was a rep for a product that lost alot of business to the small to midsize developers who switched to "Chinese". What we were selling for $ 1,500.00 per unit (Foil basic apartment kitchen) they were able to do for $800.00. Plus it was instock, etc.
In 2007, this is starting to turn around in South Florida because of the quality issues that are arising!.
Eventhough more Chinese companies are signed up for KBIS this year in Chicago than ever, I still think it is a quality and import nightmare for most Kitchen and Bath Dealers to get involved.
My strategy for the dealers is to buy a 12" base cabinet from a distributor, put it together and hide it in the back. If you have a customer that desires it. Offer it, show them the quality. Charge 100 % or more markup. Do not Install it, ( or have your installer work direct). Get 100% of your money up front and have a written no warranty policy. Just simply say that we offer it for our developer clients, but it does not meet our standards for our regular customers. Unless it does..that is a whole other discussion.

I think the Chinese Cabinets and Products are great for our business because it gives the market a chance to compare quality and warranty and eviromental issues."

Wow! I had no idea there was even such a thing as RTA kitchen cabinets! I thought all cabinets came with the boxes pre-assembled, just waiting for doors and shelves and hinges, etc.
Jenellecal, I know you had a fire, I am sorry ... but I have to know after reading this saga: what was the resolution? Did you get your money back? Did it just become a wash?
If you can, please update.

Chefnewbie - There really was no formal resolution to the problem. I pursued the chargeback with my credit card and had several back forths' with the credit card company, Kitchen Pro and the Better Business Bureau.

Kitchen Pro never offered me a resolution. They spent alot of time writing letters that never addressed my issues, instead they circled around and around, being very accusary against my husband and myself. Each new round of letters created more and more discrepancies from what they had said in a prior email/letter. It got to the point where they were outrightly lying. It was obvious that whomever was writing the letters did not speak english as as their first language. It became pretty comical.

I'm just riding it out and see what happens at this point. Luckily we have an absolute ton of pictures that were stored on my flash drive and I had all the documentation at my work just in case...

I will not be buying chinese cabinets moving forward. I would rather have open shelving than the crap that I had. :)

Jennecal- did you pay for the product before it was deilvered or a deposit first then balance after receipt of product?

first I wanted to say i am sorry for what you went through. i do have to state that i didn't put in my original post, I did look at other cabinets last weekend at my Tile shop. they have a cabinet area as well.. they looked nice so i asked my hubby if he'd like to ck it out and get a price. So we did. the guy was very nice. he had some stuff similar ot what we are looking at.. All from CHINA though.. but very very different product then the line we are looking at.. These you could tell were and are very cheaply made. WE didn't say anything to the sales guy, but you could see they poorly fit even their showroom and he kept saying oh they will be better these were put in quick etc. the doors/drawers wouldn't open etc. were tight you could feel the boxes were not all that made well, very flimsy etc etc.. they looked nice from the outside and i am sure in any picture. HE also quoted us about 5K for our kitchen OUR kitchen is not a small kitchen . the prices we are getting from HD are upwards 16-20K, just tells you how cheap the cabinets are. They don't include anything etc etc and you can them in about a week to two weeks time they have a local warehouse. and yes probably are RTA

The cabinets we are ordering are ordered and custom fit, (may be semicustom) and come delivered boxes already assembled. assume bolted,glued whatever before shipped then they need to be installed. WE are going to the showroom tonite w/ more questions. the other thing is we do not have to pay total price upfront. you give them a deposit and balance is due AFTER installation.. and they also have to install the cabinets to keep the warranty in place which is 20 years.. We are going to ask more questions etc etc.. but i do have to say we have had the corbels and flutes in our hands as well as doors that he let us have so we can decide what we want and they are very solid hard wood. You can see where they pieced things together. Also the doors are all mitered very well made. Maybe this is a different product coming out of China then the prefab RTA that people are ording online. WE could not order these online. They have to come out and design the kitchen, measure your kitchen etc etc.. Anyways just wanted to mention a few things as I can see there isa big difference in our product vs. some of these chinese rta cabinets.

ours have bells and whistle, beautiful handmade corbels ,molding, hardware etc..

You seem to really want these Made in China cabinets. You should go ahead. For myself, given the word about the economoy these days, I'd be loathe to send my money to anyplace except an extremely up-standing business - regardless of country. And to a Made in China product? forget it! There have been way too many stories about poor or non-existent quality controls - not just of your cabinets but the very plywood itself. Poor quality plywood, poor quality and toxic glues ... toxic stains. At the end of the day, the product may not be dangerous at all - but with so few standards and no regulations whatsoever, the probability of getting a dodgy product is not that insignificant at all.

You seem to be advertising these cabinets more than evaluating them. Have you seen any other cabinets to do a critical analysis? If you really are nervous about Chinese cabinets (with good reason, I'd say) why don't you look at a couple of custom shops in your area, to see what you would be getting or giving up with going with these cabinets? Kompy and others have said here many times that if you are looking at cabinets at Home Depot, that you can almost always get those brands for less from an independent cabinetry shop than you do at HD, and that you'll get an overall better product and better support from that independent shop. if you're looking at Kraftmaid or the like at HD, why not try looking at an independent shop or two and to test the custom waters since YOUR product is supposedly custom, take a look at a good local custom shop in your area.

mindstorm-
in no way am I Advertising these products. I came on this forum with real concern and questions. I have looked at HD cabinets and yesterday visited a KD who carries medallion, omega and kraftmaid and he will be giving me a quote tomm as i gave him our blueprints and dimensions already.

The reason I am writng back on this board is to get input feedback etc.. just like some of the other posters- the diy that bought rta's overseas or locally produced. heck lots ofp roducts are made overseas. I know a very reputable company that a friend of mine worked at that moved all their production of (disposable cameras) to china a few years ago. yes the company overseas the facility but you still don't have control of what type of product/material they use. NO, i agree . I am especially concerned w/ that.

I love the cabinets I won't deny that. They have exactly what I've been looking for finish wise, accessory wise- molding, corbels, cabinet style etc.. the construction seems to be similar to other custom cabinets made but again who knows what they use or anyone for that matter.

again, my fear is what everyone else 's is here - is am i getting what I am paying for. and w/ out testing the product like the Kitchen Assoc does, how would I know otherwise.. yes use American made, but we make RTA also . Again these cabinets are not RTA like the online group or the ones that others bought. I guess that also gave me radar and ih ave looked at those links and pics and they are distinctly different.

I also had a custom guy come out to the house. I really liked him. He came in a bit high and he has now told us he'd come down 1000 under anyone else. the problem w him is I haven't seen his work except pics. NO showroom etc. He did not bring his stains, his actual woodwork except the doors. he gave us a bid w/out what we actually needed to lower the price then to find out it was gonig to cost addition 1500.00 . now he says he can beat anyone by 1000.00 so there is that "trust" issue.. we still however could go w/ him. He's local and turn around time is about 4 weeks.. We may have to invite him over again..

anyways, thanks , i appreciate everyone;s honesty and it's not that I don't believe what others are saying and that i am not skeptical, as that is why i wrote here, because my instincts were questioning something.

WE plan on making a decision soon so that is why I have also been actively writing , we have NOT decided w/ who yet. either custom guy, the KD or HD.. we are getting at least 4 bids.

also i have been reading that al ot of furniture that is US company is made in CHINA. i read in the furniture forum problems w/ this as well. thomasville, Ethan Allan, etc, what is one to do. As a matter of fact, I think this company makes some Thomasville or did at one time.. ??

It seems al ot of companies now outsource to China.

It seems al ot of companies now outsource to China.

They do, Rosema12, and that's why it's important to weigh all your options before committing.

"You get what you pay for" applies to other things besides the actual material quality of the cabinets (which I can't believe are terribly good at that massively lowest price). I'm also in the camp of wanting to buy from places where I can be reasonably sure that the workers work under decent conditions and earn living wages.

I don't mean to preach at all -- heaven knows I have tons of China-made products in my own home -- but actually, once you make a conscious effort to screen out such producers (China, Taiwan, Indonesia, often India), it actually can make your shopping choices much easier. :) Or at least that's what we're finding.

Good luck deciding it all, it's really a balancing act eh?

"The cabinets we are ordering are ordered and custom fit, (may be semicustom) and come delivered boxes already assembled. assume bolted,glued whatever before shipped then they need to be installed."

I recognize you haven't bought them yet but that you don't know how they are assembled is a bit of a red flag, IMO no matter where your buying your cabinets you need to know how they are constructed (assembly, thickness and grades of materials etc.) . Plywood is great but the notion that that alone will determine the quality of a cabinet is completely false. A well assembled medium grade particle board cabinet will last considerably longer than a badly assembled plywood cabinet. Being custom built descrbes the production process not the quality. Similarly Conestoga Woods makes a line of of RTA cabinets that are considerably better than a lot of assembled product that is being sold out there so being shipped assembled isn't a determination of quality either.

I also doubt that it is being shipped assembled. I think it will show up at your home assembled by the installation crew but I doubt it comes that way from China. I don't know what custom fit mean. Can you explain that? I know these are really tough decisions to make and sometimes emotional when you really like something and you want it work. I ask that you put that aside, judge these things fairly and then make a decision. That way, no matter the outcome, you went into it knowing the potential risks.

Did you see any of the installed kitchens that they used as references?

I have not ordered cabinets made in China (Brookhaven, made in the good ole' USA), but I did order a fireplace mantel. It was nice wood and beautifully carved. The pieces fit together perfectly. I know that cabinets are a lot more involved, but not all products that come from there are junk or suffer from poor quality control.
I also ordered a "no name" range hood from China and it works beautifully.
On the other hand, we bought a GE Christmas tree two years ago that was made in China. As we were decorating the tree for the first time, I found a rusty long razor blade covered in tape at one end. I guess a worker was using the razor to cut off excess plastic from the tree before packaging. I am just glad that my children did not come across it first ...
Like anywhere, there is bad work going on there and good work. Hopefully your cabinets will be from the good work ...

response to carryscott:
I know that statement sounded like I was confused. The reason i said that was because I've been reading alot on these boards about RTAs and that got my radar up to wonder how these come from china.. as most NOT RTAS come already made as a box(bolted ,glued etc) that same day I read about the RTA type cabinets one of the references said oh yeah they brought everything to my house and i put the "pieces" in my living room until they came back to install them.. I discussed this w/ my husband after reading RTAs and said hmm pieces? and he said maybe you should have clarified from her what "pieces" meant, boxes or piece by piece. so we will ask him tonite when we get to the showroom how they come from China. As far as construction we have the specs and they are to be made from all plywood /dovetail drawers etc etc.. we have the exact sizes and all.. I just was confused when I reAD About RTAS and that same day someone mentioned the word "pieces". again this is all new to me, and that's why I am here..

rosema12

First please accept my apology I re-read my post and I misjudged the tone quite a bit. I stand by the observations but please disregard the know-it-all quality as nothing could be further from the truth. Can't speak for anyone else but I found deciphering cabinetry really difficult so I understand how much info there is to try to keep straight. Whatever happens I do hope it works out and you end up with a good quality kitchen that lives up to your expectations.

If buying cheap cabinets from China was an easy and risk-free process we would all be doing it. The domestic economy needs your dollars. If you want to buy something foreign go get a nice bottle of French wine.

Good Luck ! :)

I originally considered cabinets from a Chinese importer because the display at the home show looked so pretty, and it was such a great price. Then all the recalls started with Chinese food, and now I never would buy them. Who knows what toxic stuff would be on the cabinets next to my food and food prep stuff? Do I want that all over my silverware? Not to mention what I would have to do if they started warping (mail them back to China for a replacement?)
For about the same price, I am going with Ikea, which offers a 25 year warranty. Maybe it won't look quite as "custom-made", but it's within my budget and I don't have to worry about lead poisoning.

Carla in Sac

thanks for all the replies. We did go see the product and it actually is quite beautiful.. they are made in china but the company factory is run by the guys that own the business here. the one partner actually overseas the operations in China and it is run by american cad engineers.. WE were able to see the entire factory tonite, the boxes shipped from china, wrapped and each piece of cabinet is Custom made exact to your liking. whatever you want. they make the boxes, and they are not shipped piece by piece. I saw the actual boxes myself. I was very impressed. they are all made out of solid wood and plywood specs as mentioned above. I can see some differences and imperfections but overall a very quality product. they are not any where near 5000.00 cheap. they are very close to custom made prices but a little less expensive and they add in a lot of the expensive extras= hardward, corbels, flutes , valances , side panels etc etc.

we still haven't made a decision, but i did want to reply to any of those wondering..

Rosema12--Just to add a couple of points that either haven't been mentioned &/or possibly not emphasized enough, IMO. So, in the spirit of adding a little more information and points to consider:

Just to make you aware (regarding the local custom cab guy), a lot of cabinet people don't make their own doors; they order them from companies that specialize in making just doors, drawer boxes, etc. (See one example at the link.) (IOW, definitely need to inspect his finished work. Real kitchens, not just samples.)

Concerning the Made In China cabinets--I've not seem much mention of the hardware, specifically drawer guides. Do you know what you'd be getting in the hdwe? Drawer guides/ slides particularly are a royal PITA to retrofit so I'd be double darned sure of the quality of hdwe used as well as the tolerances (drawer boxes) in the event that you need to replace these items with hdwe of known quality & reputation at some point in the future.

Ci

cilantro can you tell me specifically what i should ask? I know they have full extension drawers and self closing. But what kind of hardware are good cabinets/drawers using? and cheaper versions? I wouldn't even know what to ask.

i am assuming you mean sidemount or undermount drawer slides? which are better or not? i believe they are undermount slides/ self closing full extension

We are in the process of removing our Chinese made cabinets that have only been in place for 2 years. We had problems with them from the day they were delivered. I think most of our problems were with our contractor, mainly the way he assembled them and installed them. However, many of the cabinets arrived with issues, warpage, separations, etc, that my contractor tried to hide rather than get resolved. The issues he did try to get resolved with the manufacturer, were ignored by the company.

My contractor refaced the cabinets and put new doors on them to make them look better. Now the finish is literally falling off the doors.

It didn't save us a ton of money over the other options we were looking at at the time. The reason we went with these cabinets is that the contractor would handle the entire process. The cabinets looked good in the homes I looked at, the put together cabinet he brought me looked good and was solid, but what I got was junk.

Even my contractors bonding company said they cabs were junk and paid me the entire amount of his bond. Small claims court looked at the pictures and info form the bonding company and awarded me the rest of my money back.

Now, the cabinet company was Arbor wood productions.

Just my experience, hopefully yours would be different.

I am a custom cabinet maker. I ordered and put together one set of these RTA cabinets for a church project on a budget. My labor was free on it.

The quality was not very good, and the finish varied quite a bit from one door to the next. I would use them in a flip house or a rent house, but not mine.

My cost for materials to build a kitchen is about twice what the whole cabinet package cost, and I do have wholesale accouts with my suppliers.

My customers have always been happy to show their kitchens to future costomers. See if they will supply you with a past customer that will let you look at the quality and color first hand. That's my advice.

Good Luck

Kenneth

Ask what brand name of drawer slides they're using. And if they're full extension. When you know the brand & model they're using, then you can google to get opinions on the quality.

Respected brand names for slides are Blum, Accuride, KV, and others. (Woodweb is a treasure trove of info where you can read cabinetmaker's discussing methods, tools, material...)

Chances are that they're using a no-name slide (full extension undermount Blums cost around $50 a pair.) With a no-name slide, you just don't know what you're getting. Could be OK; could be crap. Replacing them would be up there on the Worst Jobs list and, obviously, it would get expensive.

Equest17,

I REALLY REALLY appriciate your reply because the cabinets from kitchenspro.com were infact the grandjkc cabinets. I went on the grandjkc website you posted and found a local dealer (thekitchencabinetcompany.com) just a half hour from me in Blackwood, NJ. I contacted them with the quote that kitchenspro gave me and they beat it and also offered free delivery right to my doorstep. My girlfriend and I went down there last night before the Flyers game since it wasnt far from the stadiums. They had the exact cabinet we were looking at setup on display so we got to play around with it. They look beautiful in person and everything worked flawlessly (drawers and all). I did see what the one person mentioned which is the door having a different color wood look on them. It looked like a few different pieces of wood put together then stained but I thought it gave the finish character. They had a single cabinet out on the floor that I was able to disect and I saw how they were put together with a staple gun and wood glue. It felt solid and was heavy which was good. Basically if you are good with tools you shouldn't have any trouble assembling these RTA cabinets. You are basically building them from scratch though so if you are not careful getting them even before applying the glue and staples then you will have problems. Here is a link to the assembly directions from Kitchenspro.com, as you can see the durability of the cabinets is entirely up to you when putting them together: http://www.kitchenspro.com/InstallationResources.htm

I am going back tomorrow morning to make my final decision. My package is going to cost $3700 delivered to my house, this is for a big L shaped kitchen with a large island. I would LOVE to stick with an American brand name but at the moment I dont have the money to do so. The price is so tempting and the build and finsh looked great on these in person. The full extension drawers and soft/self closing mechanisms worked great and I tested every cabinet in that place last night. I even slammed the drawer back in and it caught it and slowly pulled it back in.

So unless these things self destruct as soon as I hang them on the wall, Its hard for me not to go with them. I will take pictures tomorrow while I'm there and post them here.

Thanks again everyone

Rosemal, have you made your decision on cabinets yet?

I got the Kitchenpro.com cabinets on the recommendation of the contractor as he's put these cabinets in other kitchens and said that the company is easy to work with and the cabinets are good quality. The price was also a significant factor in the decision.

I didn't know that the cabinets were made in China until the boxes arrived and would definitely have preferred US-made products, but, given how many companies get their stuff from China, I'm not sure how practical it would have been to go that route, especially given the cost factor.

I also spoke numerous times with Vicki at Kitchenpro. They're nice people to work with, but, you do need to stay on top of every detail of placing and confirming the order. I think their software program that you have to use to draw up your order is annoying to use and didn't always work correctly, but Vicki said that it was being updated on one of the days we spoke (thus why it wasn't recording input from my end), so it's possible that it works better now. Even so, I think you do need to triple-check that they have everything from your order on their shipping list before it goes out.

Vicki told me that they get their cabinets from, as I recall, three different manufacturers, so that may account for the varying experiences of other posters here with Kitchenpro.

My kitchen is still in process, so I don't really have experience in using the drawers to see how they close yet (no knobs), etc., but they are in place.

I have the Cinnamon Maple finish. They look beautiful and well-made. The stain is even. There are a couple of imperfections or very tiny blemishes that look like minor scrapes.

If you get any of the Rev-a-shelf accessories, I'd recommend getting them from Home Depot or Lowes for about half the price of ordering them from Kitchenpro.

hi there. yes we did end up ordering our cabinets. But these are custom made cabinets , NOT RTAS etc.. we actually went to the warehouse , got a couple more bids so had a general idea of what our kitchen was going to cost (went to Kd got estimate on kraftmaid through home depot and KD and also got an estimate that was 10-15% more than KM) so for all our cabinets plus all molding, matching side panels, corbels, spice rack, garbage, pull out shelves in most cabinets, 2 full pantries, wine cabinet/ beveled glass, decorative pieces, onlay, and includes now our laundry room we got a price a little less then wHat KM quoted us for just basic cabinets no extras.. we love the color they have - cherry espresso the style of the cabinet which is one of the more expensive door styles, the quality of the cabinet is made very well compares to KM and self closing and fell extension drawers and doors so we went w/ in china made cabinets.. they came and drew up the paperwork, and custom made our kitchen all details size etc. the downfall is they take 8 weeks but that is ok as our renovation is just beginning on the rest of our house and by the time that is ready we will be ready to demo the kitchen just before cabs arrive. the service has been exceptional. he has come out to our house twice in one week to design it all and whatever we want we get.. i have seen the finished products in the showroom and client's pictures.. i am happy thus far

Str8out, I'm glad relating my experience was helpful to you. It certainly sounds like there is a variety of products and quality available from China, given the range of opinions expressed by me, jenellecal, chefnewbie, stephanielynn, and others. It would seem logical to research individual companies and lines separately and not necessarily castigate it all wholesale due solely to country of origin. I want to spend my money on the product, not a name brand, so I'm willing to do the extra work. Of course, all things being equal, I would prefer that money to go to local (or at least American) companies. But had we not been able to afford cabinets, we would not have done a remodel at all; that would have kept area contractors and stores from benefiting from the large number of products and services we did purchase locally!

Sarah

Rosemal wrote -- **yes we did end up ordering our cabinets. But these are custom made cabinets , NOT RTAS etc.. we actually went to the warehouse , got a couple more bids so had a general idea of what our kitchen was going to cost**

So what company or brand of cabinets did you end up ordering?

Let us know how you like them when they arrive! ;)

OH GEEZ! For a month my husband and I have been researching kitchen cabinets. We never jump into a sale that "seems too good to be true" and continued to google chinese cabinets. Yes i do find it strange there is not one review except this on that i have come across in all of my time on the internet. We were about to order when we thought it might be to our advantage to order one 12" bottom and top to see how it all works. Seems as if they would make sure a good one was sent? We are both aprehensive of trusting our money to get what we think is a quality product. Shopping in Canada is a little tougher than in the US. In order to get these cabinets we have to pay duty,exchange, "china tax" @ 9.5%, gst & pst and shipping from PA! And the dang things are still 4k cheaper than the Home Depot and much cheaper than custom. My husband is a carpenter & tradesman and the only reason we are looking this way is time factor. We were told that they are a quality product but it gives me a an odd feeling when all online pictures are not clear enough to see the grains in the wood or show doors that would not be sent. We priced just doors and my husband would make the rest but oddly enough the total cost of the cabinets was 5k and just the doors is 3k? My gut tells me to just build our own and forget about the dream of staying on budget. Can anyone tell me why there is no companies in Canada that sell the China made cabinet? (i guess we are too honest? lol) I believe in keeping my purchases here in Canada or US and not in China but the cabinet companies are just way too expensive for the budget. I too went to BBB but nothing comes up, never sure if that is the real name. Thanks to all for sharing your stories and i will sit and ponder this for another month.

Donna,

Guess you don't live on the West Coast. Cuz, here in the Lower Mainland (ie around Vancouver, BC), it seems there is a new company popping up on every second corner importing cabinets from China! We just had a brand new one in our fairly small town, and we priced a bathroom vanity in maple- 48" with two banks of drawers, full extension and reasonably well-made, fully-assembled for $300CAD. Our carpenter who is finishing off our kitchen had quoted us $1700! Mind you, his would have been painted and laquered, these are just stained, but still, for a basement BR, what do you think we are going to do? I'm kinda bummed, cuz I really wanted white cabinets- but guess I could always paint these. Can buy paint and a lot of extras for $1400!!!

i can't seem to find anything in Canada. I live in Manitoba so east or west it does not matter. The cabinets fit the budget but all the hoops we have to go through to buy in the US is crazy. I would like to know where they are since i have googled like a crazy person but never found any Canadian companies.

Well I received my cabinets and they look awesome. The guys from www.thekitchencabinetcompany.com showed up in a truck and delivered them right into my living room. He then went over everything on my invoice with me to make sure everything that was ordered was delivered. Very professional.

I opened up one box and everything looked great and the finished door-front looks fantastic. I will start assembling them this weekend with my pnumatic stapler and glue gun. I am a perfectionist when it comes to these things so I will be taking my time insuring that everything is done properly. I will most likely put these together with more staples and glue than the instructions call for to make sure these things never come apart.

The sides are thick enough to where I could even drill pilot holes and put a screw in everything to ensure sturdyness...along with the staples of course.

Photos are coming, I promise. It may take me a few weeks of installing but I'll document everything. So far I'm happy, hopefully the happiness remains throughout the install! lol

strout so glad your cabinets arrived ok and that you are so far soo happy. I cannot wait to see your pictures. you got a heck of a deal also.. mine will be here around March 19th ready to install.. which is fine as my house is torn apart right now and the rest of the hosue should be completed just before it is time to demo the kitchen which we will start early March. so i figure in 4 -6 weeks I will have the kitchen of my dreams. I will def post pictures and let you know how they are etc.. My concern was the doors and stains, as you just never know until u see. but we paid al ot more than some of these RTA brand cabinets. we paid one price and got whatever extras we wanted..

Rosema12,

Did you installed your cabinets yet? Please post pictures! I would love to see your cabinets.

Just wondering how str8outs cabinets turned out??

I would like to know too. (BTW I'm going with Kraftmaid but am curious)

One general comment I will make about customer service (in my area) based upon experience with my own kitchen(s) and in designing a few kitchens for other people: very few people are "repeat" customers of a particular kitchen dealer because the time frame of doing kitchen remodels is years, if ever.
So, pleased or very displeased customers...its hard to ascertain some of this information. There is a very high volume dealer of several well-known brands of cabinetry in my area that is Notorious for customer service that borders on hostility -- and yet they still have a booming business. There is no need to keep customers coming back because even the smoothest kitchen remodel is disruptive and most people live through it once.

I would be careful with things made in China. The main thing is quality. You get what you pay for. They are not going to ship good lumber too China and have them make cabinets and ship them back. Check the color carefully. The color of one cabinet may be slightly different than the other. And you don't know what chemicals are in the stains and paint. Such as lead. (remember toys from last summer?). There was also a report with problems with sheetrock from China. It's great to save some money but not worth risking your health.
There have been so many things recalled that are made from China. It's okay with a large US company backing them. But with small companies it will be hard to get help in the future. Just some of my opinions.

Hi all Cabinets should be in this week and once all is done I will post pics and details. Our tiles are going as we speak and there was a few weeks delay in the cabinets which we expected as that is the one thing the references told me would be an issue is they take forever!!! Pics soon.

Oh and btw it is a US run company. They have engineers/cad that are Us they all make furniture that used to be made here and now farm it out to china as its cheaper. So I am hoping it is more of a quality product as they have quality control run by fellow us employees. Not sure if any if this makes a diff but it is not just a co owned and ran by china. Just like a lot of us comapnies name brands. I know it doesn't make a diff but we take our chances I guess just like with anything

rosema12...unless I missed it, what's the name of the company you went with? I'm in LA/OC as well so I'd like to check out their showroom.

Thanks!
Doug

The nicer cabinets from China come from TSG. They have some of the best quality cabinets. One of the online stores to carry their line is www.fourlesscabinets.com

Looks like this thread died. Whatever happened?

Our contractor took us to a company Best Cheer in OC and I hated the quality and look of the cabinets! They are stock cabinets, and if they don't fit, it costs a lot more to retrofit them.

We went with PCS because they were recommended by a friend of ours who builds high end homes with only quality workmanship. PCS has varying levels of quality, and their low end cabinets are sold at the big box stores. Made in USA. You have to have a contractor to work with them. They do not sell direct.

Even if the OP has left this thread, it can still be helpful to others in the same boat.

"Assembled in the US" stock cabinetry with 5/8" sides for frameless and only a 1 year warranty? No thanks.

Very interesting read.

We have one China RTA kitchen installed that "looked good", but the promised pictures of the completed kitchen never got posted.

Then another "not RTA" custom Chinese cabinet manufacturer order where we never know if the products even showed up - and despite many posts, and repeated requests - this name of this phantom company was never revealed.

My guess is that after 5 years, they are no longer "torn" and the only question remaining is "Why did I think I could get $16K worth of cabinets for only $4K-$5K?"