Actual question we've received (paraphrased):.
“ Can you give me a ballpark price on my kitchen? I’m a single guy, it’s a small 1500 sq ft house, I’m not picky ”
Understandably one of the most frustrating things for a consumer is not getting an immediate answer on price. Often we are asked for a ballpark figure on kitchen cabinets. Here we explain why that isn’t easy and to suggest you run from the cabinet “professional” that offers pricing this way.
Let's start by talking options. We carry 5 lines of cabinets. In those five lines we offer the following: 219 door styles, 46 different wood species/materials (i.e. metal, glass, foil) in over 7,000 skus. In each of these skus you have anywhere from 3-10 construction options (e.g. plywood, engineered, interior finish, etc.), as well as anywhere between 12 to well over 100 other options including drawer material, guides, special dimensions, extended face frames, matching interior, and much more. On top of all of that, some of our lines offer full custom products that require engineering and special pricing by the manufacturer. All of these options will have an impact on pricing. These are just product options! You also have to take into consideration the layout and configuration of the kitchen; not to mention decorative moldings and accessories. Do you see why giving a ballpark figure isn’t so easy? Even if we are provided with every detail needed and precise measurements, it still takes time to generate a price. Not even a person of extreme mathematical and memory ability possesses the skills it would require to store and calculate a rough estimate in their heads with the options we provide to our customers.
The next and most unfortunate part of the problem is the companies that use less than honest tactics in selling cabinetry. The “tactic” usually comes in the form of 10×10 or linear foot kitchen pricing advertised at a particular price. You’ve seen them in storefront windows: “New kitchen for $999.00.” In all the years I’ve worked in cabinetry I have never seen the 10×10 kitchen, used to figure these prices, in the real world. This low advertised price is for a strategically planned 10×10 space to create the absolute most cost efficient way to configure and use cabinets to complete a functional kitchen. However, your actual 10×10 kitchen space is almost definitely not this strategically designed and advertised kitchen. The lack of proper configuration also applies to linear foot pricing. These tactics are a prime example of the classic bait and switch.
An analogy might be visiting a car dealership because they placed an ad in the newspaper for a pickup truck in your price range. When you get there you are told that it sold but I was told they had 3 or 4 others that were “similar.” Every option that was still available was $1-$2 thousand more than the one advertised. When I asked, the salesperson explained how that truck model had no a/c, radio, etc.. You leave and a month later see the identical ad for the identical truck in the same newspaper. Do you see where I am going with this?
I hope this helps. Contact us if you’re interested in one of our many options of cabinetry.
