In our last post, we chatted with Dave, one of our Cabinet Corner experts. Dave has been able to give some great insight as to why some people are skeptical about buying RTA cabinets online, and a broad overview of how Cabinet Corner works. If you need to get caught up, check out our last blog post!
We continued our interview with Dave to learn more about the process of buying RTA bath and kitchen cabinets. In this post, we’ll learn more about the shipping process and assembly process required when purchasing RTA cabinets from Cabinet Corner.
Us: Thanks for continuing our interview, Dave. Previously we were talking about the assembly process. Is that something a person can do themselves without having to hire a contractor or a builder?
Dave: It is. We have a lot of customers … In fact, most of our customers are individual home owners that are doing these projects themselves often from the very start through completion of the project. That includes ordering, assembling and installing the RTA cabinets. We like to see their projects completed and done well. Again, we’re available online, by phone or through our videos and websites too, to help them through each of the steps.
Us: Can you ship a single, already assembled cabinet?
Dave: Typically, we don’t ship cabinets assembled. Part of the reason is the high cost to ship cabinets assembled. Additionally, they’re more prone to damage in the assembled form. Once they leave our distribution center, we have no control over the cabinets while they’re in transit. We try to address the potential damage with crates that we build for shipping rather than just shipping them on pallets or something.
Us: What happens if damaged cabinets arrive at a customer’s house or whatever?
Dave: Good question. Prior to sending a shipment, we send an email letting them know that their RTA cabinets have shipped. Along with that email, we attach pictures of their crates with the labels on the crates so that they have an idea of exactly what will be coming. Some of these crates are quite large and sometimes truckers struggle with getting the large crates off their trucks. We ship these with trucking companies that have a lift gate service.
When the cabinets arrive, you’ll want to look at the crates, inspect them just as a quick look to make sure that they haven’t been dropped or had forks run through them damaging the contents. If you do see that, we ask that you give us a call right away. We include that in the email that we send you prior to shipping along with our phone number and contact information.
If the crates do arrive with a little bit of damage, but on perusal it seems that the items inside are okay, we encourage you to go ahead and accept the order and then as you pull those cabinets out and the accessories out, you inspect them and make sure there’s no damage. If you do find damage, we encourage you to take pictures and let us know which specific items that you will need to have replaced and we can usually get those shipped out usually the same day with no additional cost to you.
Us: Do you offer free shipping?
Dave: Shipping does cost. When we go through the process of getting a shipping quote for you, we query all of the trucking companies that service both your area and our area and then choose the lowest possible shipping cost that we can find for you. We only choose trucking companies that are reputable and are known to provide good service.
Most of the time when you get free shipping online, prices of the cabinets or accessories have been marked up enough to cover those shipping costs so that they can offer that service to you. In other words, you are paying for it in some other form. We try to keep our RTA cabinet prices as low as possible so that you feel like you’re getting a good bargain and yet not having costs built into those prices. We try to find the lowest shipping we can available for you. Most of the time you find that the shipping and the cost of the cabinets and the accessories is still less than what you would pay through a company that does offer free shipping. We can usually beat those competitor prices even with the cost of shipping.
Us: Thanks Dave, that cleared up a lot of information about assembly and shipping.
Dave: No problem, happy to help.
If you still have questions about how shipping and assembly works when purchasing RTA bathroom or kitchen cabinets, visit our website or feel free to contact us directly!
