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Shelfgenie? Anyone?

9 years ago

Have any of you wonderful folks ever used Shelfgenie? Would you let me know your experience with them? Pros/Cons?

I searched gardenweb and didn't find anyone who had used them. Considering them for a project but have to ask trusty gardenwebbers first.

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HU-466475223

3 years ago

last modified: 3 years ago

I've seen shelfgenie around home shows in my area, I own a custom cabinetry business and vend in the same shows as them sometimes. I built custom kitchens and built-ins, they're not my competition, so this isn't personal. Speaking bluntly, their product quality is simply substandard. Their chosen joinery is based off ease-of-manufacture, their materials are very inexpensive, their drawer slides are just basic, run of the mill stuff. Nothing to write home about. Oh boy, I'd be steamed if someone called my stuff substandard, so I better back that up with some facts. Here goes. The industry standard is 5/8" solid birch or maple drawers with dovetail joints, undermount slides with soft-close. For a business, purchasing that from vendors will run you about $75. If you've got the equipment, and buy material in bulk you can put that together for about $40.

When I found out people were paying $400+ for drawers, I was floored.

Technically you can't justify that cost, so let's put that to the side for the time being and figure out how they go about charging that much. It seems they like to look at themselves as selling 'solutions'. They've effectively separated themselves from being a commodity company to be a solutions provider. Pretty smart marketing strategy I'd say. Sell a solution and markup the cost of the product by like 1000%. I'm not kidding, it costs about $25-35 to make one of their drawers, sell it for $350 and you've marked it up 1000%. To be fair, other factors like marketing, sales, install, general overhead will all add to the sale price. $400 for a plywood drawer though, wow.

If I may offer a little unsolicited advice. do a little footwork and you will easily find many product vendors that will gladly sell you all the products that comprise a shelfgenie solution. Let me help you get started: Korner King, Rev-a-Shelf, Drawer Depot, Shelf O Matic.

But why would I write a post like this? I've got nothing against ShelfGenie, in fact I kind of like their approach of being a solutions provider as opposed to a commodity seller of drawer products. But my old jaded nature just can't leave this type of company alone, because I feel they do a disservice to the general public. Dollars to donuts, they're like other companies I know. They'll hide their pricing behind well polished marketing until they're in your house, have taken a couple hours of your time, have you cornered with your buying options: 1) expensive 2) very expensive or 3) fly me to the moon expensive.

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Comments (6)

numbersjunkie
9 years ago
I think most people here on GW will say you should use drawers rather than pullouts if at all possible. I used the kitchen forum extensively when planning my kitchen remodel. After reading all the posts on GW, I opted for drawers everywhere - 36" wide for pots/pans, 30" wide for dish storage, etc. Never regretted that decision.

The problem with pullouts is that its a 2 step process - you need to open the cabinet door (or both doors) and then pull out the drawer. Its much nicer to just have the one step - pull open the drawer.

What application are you considering?
suzanne_sl
9 years ago
If you aren't replacing your vanity, a retrofit pull-out is better than getting down on your hands and knees and digging around in the back of a shelf. We did custom retrofit pull-outs in our kitchen years ago before we remodeled and it was a big improvement. If you're going with a new vanity, though, I'd recommend ordering drawers for the non-base portions. Our new vanities have a pull-out in the base, which (I think) will be an improvement, so that's a possibility in some lines.
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We are a roll out shelving company. We make custom roll outs for people around the world. We help with installation questions via FaceTime or Zoom. We help with measuring and sorting out the issues of Roll outs. The biggest thing with roll out shelves is getting the dimensions correct. It is essentially a box rolling out 100% from a cabinet. Has to clear hinges, and trim. Not rocket science but lots of ways to mess it up! We have a lifetime warranty on our products. We ship everywhere. Our hardware and drawers have a lifetime warranty against any problems. Our boxes and hardware are rated to 100 pounds per drawer. We are ADA compliant - which means that if someone needs to steady themselves while looking through a cabinet or pantry - they can steady themselves on our roll outs. We are extremely easy to work with and offer live help to measure and install. We would love to help anyone that is nervous about ordering roll out shelves. Easy to work with. 614 746 9182 Call our founder any time and discuss your questions. Or FaceTime and do the same. We love a challenge. Doing it yourself is alot easier if you are working with shelves that are custom made for your situation. We make it super easy.
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aftermarket pot/pan roll-outs like this-does anyone sell these?
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I Googled "roll out drawer for pots" and came up with lots of wood ones similar to the OP. Sorry I don't know how to post more than one link, but I can tell you Home Depot, Lowes, The Container Store, and several others that will ship them. One brand is Slide-A-Shelf. The store in the attached link also looks promising. They make their own and have lots of styles and sizes to choose from for better prices than Home Depot. Also Home Depot and Bed Bath and Beyond sell a little piece to stand pot lids up. Also I've seen a wire rack to hang on the inside of the cabinet door. Here is a link that might be useful: Shelves That Slide link
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anyone use shelfgenie for pantry? worth cost?
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Well, I can possibly offer some perspective on this if you're so inclined. I've been in business for a very long time, and like to think of myself as savvy to business strategy. Credit where credit is due, they do sell drawers for $400+. That's quite a feat. Achieving markups of 1000% is no easy task. The question remains, how do they do it? I will give you my perspective on how they do it. You can see from their website, they are positioning themselves as a solutions provider. This is an important point. Drawers are generally considered by most to be a commodity item. A Drawer Solution on the other hand enters into the realm of a being a custom item, which people accept as being of higher value and subsequently will pay more for. Yes their prices are absurd, but their business approach is sound: sell cheap items for a lot of money by positioning them as custom items in your clients eyes. It's sketchy to say the least, bordering unethical if you ask me, but that's what they're doing and it's working for them. If I may provide some unsolicited advice. You're clearly competing with them, but it seems you don't understand how they're doing what they're doing. Clearly you have your clients best interests at heart and want to provide a valuable service at a fair price, which I would consider to be a noble venture. I am of the same mind. Considering ShelfGenie's success, people clearly see great value in their Drawer Solutions and are willing to pay a lot for them. If I were competing with ShelfGenie, I'd attempt to beat them at their own game. Give the client what they want: a Drawer Solution, but give it to them at half the cost. ShelfGenie clearly has a lot of money - most likely coming from the pockets of their franchisees - so they can market themselves to a broad audience. It's tough no doubt, but you'll need to find a way to market yourself to a broad audience, provide Drawer Solutions, at half the price. Add a pinch or two of client education, you'll have them beat. Get creative, roll up your sleeves and I have no doubt you'll come out on top. Good Luck!!!
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Texas - thanks to the Deedles-pointer. Like, wow what a kitchen and wow, what a great blind-corner solution! Though ... depends on your flooring; that thing has to roll smoothly and tile might hold up the proceedings. I'm actually happy enough with the super susan in ours. I belly-ached about whether to super-susan the lazy susan and I can't believe in retrospect I spent so much energy wondering about this. There is little question at all, I believe now from this side of the fence, that the super susan is well worth the money. The difference is in the center post. Without it you can utilize enormously more space. It's not perfect because there's still the edges of the circle that get missed but you can actually stick stuff on the shelf in that space, it just doesn't move around to you. I suppose you could hang a hook to utilize the upper space too. For us I think the super susan is a better use of that space (which you need considerable cabinet width to install on both sides of the corner - it's a large contraption) because it is more accessible. And not super-easy, so things like small appliances go in there and thermoses. We use these enough that I'd be annoyed to have to roll that stack in and out, but infrequently enough that I'm not annoyed by the twisting and stretching. So it depends on your "lifestyle", stuff-use schedule and annoyance quotient I suppose. This is really something where reasonable minds can vary. But I'd say Deedles' solution is for truly rarely used items only, not just infrequently-used ones. YMMV. Oh, as for nifty kidney-bean vs super susan thing -- cost matters; those kidney shelves cost a fortune. And I'm pretty sure they'll hold way less than a super susan which winds up just being a regular old large shelf. You can pack a lot in therefore. The kidney things are also very metal-y which is not terrible, just a different look and also utility - maybe a little less packing to be done around wire than around a flat wooden shelf (depending on whether the bottom is wire and I think most are?)
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gumspring45
9 years ago
I agree that drawers are the first choice. However, for retrofitting, pull outs are really nice. I had a carpenter build ours for a pantry and other kitchen areas. He was about $85 a shelf 2 years ago. It was worth the expenditure. I now know what is in those cupboards.
Mrs. S
3 years ago
I bet they're even more expensive now, 7 years later.
PRO
Christy Collection International
3 years ago
Thank you for the shout out for our company! Shelf O Matic has been around for years and we are a solutions driven storage company. We solve problems in the kitchen, bath, closets, garage, hobby areas, pantries, and can do custom built ins. We tackle the most amazing projects and solve problems everyday. We are founded by a certified licensed interior designer that basically tore apart the competitors and built a better mousetrap. Our drawers are 100% USA made. We use the heaviest duty zinc slide on the market. We deliver in 8 days from our factory right here in the USA. We are available 24/7 with live help for any problem. Our solutions work. We have a FOREVER warranty that can be passed to the 2nd and 3rd owner of a home. We do closet built ins that cannot be beat. Our pricing is 1/3 to 1/2 of all competitors. Our service is unheard of. NO one offers our warranty. NO one offers live time help for any DYI person that wants to install their own storage. We are so proud of our work and so confident in its comparisons in the industry that we are now working in 14 countries around the globe. (we even provide interpreters)

Give us a try. We just make things easier. We make everything custom to fit your existing cabinets and not require any construction. Call our Founder - she will answer 24/7 614 746 9182 clc@shelfomatic.online www.shelfomatic.online

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