My first use of imported Chinese RTA cabinets was after the housing bubble burst back in 2008. It was a bad time for anyone in a career that had anything to do with a house. I had a friend who was a real estate agent who had to become a waiter. Another friend lost his business as a mortgage broker. My business took a nosedive, too.
Out of desperation, I started bidding my remodeling opportunities using Chi-Com cabinets, and people liked the price. It got me through a tough time. I assembled and installed them for a couple or three years.
I really hated dealing with them, though. It took me a week to assemble them properly. There was no way I was going to let everything hinge on weak screws and metal L-brackets. I glued and staples everything together. That took precious time.
Worse than that, the stained finishes were inconsistent, and things never went together without breaking out a hammer and chisel or a router. My frustrations led me to burn all my samples in a cathartic ceremonial pyre in m back yard. I mean I got naked and drunk and dance around that bonfire! Just kidding....about being naked and drunk, but not about burning my samples and displays.
Recently, I've been approached by sales reps attempting to get me to carry their "unique" line of RTA cabinets. These were made in Vietnam and Indonesia. They looked nice, were made out of quality materials, and had all the bells and whistles people expect nowadays.
However, to my absolute shock, when I priced a kitchen project in both my best American-made cabinets and in an equivalent RTA cabinets, the imported cabinet was more! And not just a little more. It was $4000 more! And I'd still have to assemble them!
Nope. I'm done even looking at RTA cabinets. Same story every time: too expensive and too time consuming. My American-made cabinets cannot be beat in quality, and they are reasonably priced. I design the custom kitchen, order what I need from Bishop Cabinets, Inc., and they magically arrive a month later ready to be installed.
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