Buying kitchen cabinets wholesale vs. retail can save you a bundle when you’re considering a remodel or renovation of your kitchen. Whether it’s planning a kitchen expansion or enlargement, or a complete remodel, upgrading your kitchen cabinets at wholesale prices can save you $10,000 or more. Consider this example for a typical kitchen remodeling job with a total cost of $40,000. Kitchen cabinets are usually half of the total remodel cost, so that’s $20,000 in our example. If you can cut the kitchen cabinet cost in half by purchasing your cabinets wholesale, meaning direct from the manufacturer, that saves you $10,000!
Buying kitchen cabinets wholesale doesn’t mean you give up quality either. Buying wholesale simply means that you are cutting out the retailer and their associated markup and working directly with the manufacturer. This allows you to save substantially on your kitchen home improvement job, plus you likely will be able to purchase a higher quality kitchen cabinet than you initially planned which makes buying direct an even greater value.
With internet shopping literally at your fingertips, buying kitchen cabinets wholesale has never been easier. You have instant access to hundreds of wholesale cabinet dealers across the country with virtually any cabinet style, wood choice and finish color. But there are important considerations to assess prior to taking the step of purchasing your new kitchen online. Here are some drawbacks to an online purchase:
- You must accept the full responsibility for assessing the quality of the product when you buy kitchen cabinets wholesale online. In most cases you cannot see the finish or measure the thickness of the shelves or see what kind of secondary wood has been used to build the cabinet box. You must either evaluate the product in a store and then purchase direct from the manufacturer, or ask all of the appropriate and necessary questions to be assured you are buying a quality product. Of course, until the finished product arrives you’re not completely assured that what you expected is what you’re getting.
- When you buy kitchen cabinets wholesale you must deal with delivery and storage until you are ready to install the cabinets. The cabinets will be drop-shipped from the manufacturer directly to your home.
- Buying kitchen cabinets wholesale also means you may be purchasing cabinets RTA (ready to assemble). This means that every cabinet must be assembled and installed. Either you will need to assemble the cabinets (which can be a great way to save money, but can create problems if you don’t have appropriate tools or knowhow) or you must hire a contractor, carpenter or cabinetmaker to assemble the cabinets for you. Then, either you or the person you hire must install the cabinets.
- When you buy kitchen cabinets wholesale you will be able to buy them only in standard sizes. You will not be able to buy special sizes to fit your kitchen design. You may also have limited access to cabinetry with special features or accessories. There are companies that do sell after-market items, but ordering the right components can prove cumbersome when dealing with different manufacturers. You may consider buying cabinets in the size closest to your needs and try to find someone who can customize them for you, but in the end that defeats the original purpose of saving money.
Buying wholesale can be a good idea, but only if you are fully aware of the extra work required in assembly and installation along with the added responsibility for storage.