You have gotten confused on the details of the cabinets you were looking at online as rta the face frames are 3/4 thick and the plywood boxes are 1/2 thick. I own and operate a kitchen and bath store in orlando. I specialize in the affordable products as well as having high end products to offer. I often wonder about those that post on here as to why RTA is not considered more. I can ship out directly to anywhere in the US 75 different RTA cabines that are assembled by the company that stocks them before they are put on the truck! You do not even have to put them together. I also have several domestic brands that are in the same price range. Many do not even use cam locks any more they are to be glued and stapled like most domestic brands are that are not in the Wode Mode business model as cabinet makers. I have one brand that ships out assembled with a lifetime warranty. They even do inset door styles that everyone seems to want on here. I have another brand that imports 60" wide by 66" wood hoods with raised panel arch vallance over the cook top and pull out spice racks in the towers. They are not as nice as stanici but they are not the cost either. Both have their place in society. I offer out of my store 20' of cabinetry in any configuration with 30" 36" or 42" wall cabinets with crown and light rail 10 level 1 granite stones to chose from removal of exsisting kitchen, installation of new kitchen and appliances painting of the kitchen area and any knobs you want from my supplier which has 25,000 different ones for $7,000-$10,500 I have inset door styles, flat slab bamboo, raised panels, applied moldings, painted cabinets, glazes, shakers, no name I have at least 1 of everything some will be looking for. When I am done with their kitchen only someone in the industry will be able to tell if the cabinets are imports most of the time. The trade offf is you are dealing with in stock product. No 2 companies stock the exact same cabinet list. It is just the nature of the beast. You can be a smart shopper and find the best price that gives you what you like or you can go for brand name recognition for bragging rights when compnay is over and conviently forget to tell your friends you look wealthy but have no retirement funds cause you buy everything on name brand to feel more important. RTA will not suit everyone but the truth is it fits most Beaver Cleaver neighborhoods very well. Which is where most of americans live that can afford to remodel thier kitchen

We used Scherr's, too, and they were wonderful. We just gave them the dimensions of the cabs and the appliances that we chose and they designed the cabs with the proper spacing and all the stuff a good KD would do. The customization is the best - the wall oven cabinet was worth it alone. The instructions were terrific, customer service wonderful - I just can't recommend them enough. We got the mixed-hardwood boxes for our drawers. They are beautiful dovetailed boxes, and you only notice the crazy woods when the drawers are pulled out. It appeals to my reducing/recycling/reusing inclinations, and it is fun trying to figure out what kinds of wood they are. Several of the families that work there lost their homes during the flooding a couple of years ago that made national news. And it's great to support a "Made in the USA" product! Scherr's Scherr's Scherr's!

We're in the middle of assembling a Scherr's kitchen now. We had planned on an IKEA/Scherr's combo for a long time, but in the end felt that our tiny kitchen would be best served by going the all-Scherr's route, so we could customize things as needed (and because the closest IKEA is almost 5 hours away). We ordered sample doors (unpainted and two wood types) and went back and forth with Leon, the owner, over the details. When we were finally ready to place an order in late October, the lead time was 10-12 weeks. However, there was a last minute cancellation/delay of an east coast Scherr's project due to Hurricane Sandy, so Leon pushed us up and we got our cabinets in 4 weeks. Cost for our 10x10ish kitchen was a couple thousand more than IKEA and a couple thousand less than a local cabinetmaker (also frameless cabs). As I said, we're still sorting through all of the boxes and assembling cabinets, but communication and customer service have been great so far.

After a lot of research and agonizing over our cabinet decision, we finally ordered Barker RTA in natural cherry with conversion varnish. In doing so, we saved thousands over our other quotes which will allow us to purchase higher-end appliances. We have already assembled them, and are in the process of hanging them this coming week (knock on wood on the timing). Based on our experience, I can say without reservation that Barker cabinets ARE definitely top quality USA made cabinets and are VERY easy to assemble.