AVOID THEM AT ALL COSTS!!! Our nightmare is described here. We placed a nearly $4,000 order with Cabinets To Go on 6/13/12. The standardized Cabinets To Go receipt and paperwork we received stated that we should expect 1-2 weeks for shipping. Carrie, the representative in the Raleigh, NC office that we worked with and ordered from, told us we should expect 10 days for shipping. The 1-2 week timeframe on the CTG correspondence would have placed our delivery somewhere between 6/20/12 and 6/27/12, and the 10-day estimate from Carrie would place our delivery date on 6/22/12. However, we have received no cabinets by 6/29/12. As soon as CTG received our payment (which was made in-full and immediately upon ordering on 6/13/12), all communication with us stopped. We were extremely satisfied with CTG's customer care during the designing and ordering process, and Carrie exchanged 35 emails and 5 phone calls with me over the 5 days that we spent considering our options and making our decisions. However, as soon as CTG got our money, customer care went out the window. On 6/29/12 we were still waiting for delivery of our nearly $4,000 order, which was paid for in-full and upfront. Furthermore, we received no communication from CTG in regard to tracking our $4,000 shipment, updates on delivery, or even scheduling a delivery until I started asking questions on 6/21/12 about where our cabinets were. We understand that CTG may not be able to pinpoint an exact delivery date immediately upon ordering. However, we never even got the opportunity to request an estimated delivery date during any conversation with CTG, because these delivery estimates were bestowed upon us and this topic of conversation was completely initiated by CTG! If you are going to give an estimate, it needs to be an accurate estimate. If something goes wrong during the processing and shipping of an order, the customer needs to be told, so as to adjust their expectation for delivery. We were never told that the delivery estimates provided by CTG needed to be adjusted due to processing or shipping problems, so we expected the estimates to hold true. When we had received no cabinets by 6/21/12, I contacted Carrie in Raleigh to inquire about the status of our order because we had not received any correspondence from CTG during the 8 days that had passed since paying for our cabinets. Carrie responded via email on 6/22/12 and told us the cabinets were in transit, but one item was on backorder. So, our cabinets been shipped and no one had told us, and part of our shipment was on backorder but we were not informed about this. So we waited for 5 more days, but when we still had received no cabinets on 6/27/12, I began calling and emailing the CTG headquarters and their customer care representatives. At this point, it was 9 days after our items had shipped and 14 days after we had ordered, and we still had no cabinets. Chris, the corporate customer care representative I spoke with, informed me he was very concerned about the lack of customer care we were receiving and would forward my concerns on to the Raleigh office, something I had already done on my own. Later that same day (6/27/12) Carrie forwarded me an email that she had received on 6/18/12 containing details about tracking our order. (It took 9 days to get our shipping information forwarded to us from CTG, and we had to request this information from them!) We were directed to contact CGL (the carrier that CTG uses for delivery) directly about our order. CGL must have been informed that I was on a mission to track down the cabinets, because a few minutes after I got the email from Carrie, Katarina from CGL called and left a voicemail requesting that I contact her to schedule delivery of our cabinets. I called, but was told the scheduling team would not be back until 9:00am the next morning. So I called them back at 9:00 on 6/28/12 and asked to schedule our delivery. Katarina told me she could not yet schedule delivery, as our cabinets had not reached the distribution terminal yet and she could not tell me what day we could expect to get our cabinets. I called CGL three more times over the course of 6/28/12 and spoke to three different CGL representatives, all of whom gave me different answers about when we could expect delivery and whether or not they could even schedule delivery yet. My fourth call to CGL on 6/28/12 ended with the representative telling me that the cabinets would arrive in the distribution terminal in Fayetteville, NC during the night on 6/28/12, and she said she thought we could get delivery on 6/29/12. Exasperated by the back-and-forth of the last two days, I emailed the CTG headquarters a second time and updated them on the mess that we were dealing with. I also called the number Chris had left for me and left a voicemail for him with the same update. I called CGL at 9:00am on 6/29/12 to check on the arrival of our cabinets at the distribution terminal in Fayetteville, NC. However, I was told that someone at CGL had made an error since my last phone conversation with them the evening before, that our cabinets were put on the wrong truck, and they were currently at the distribution terminal in Atlanta, GA. I insisted that we get our cabinets before the weekend, but CGL said they had no trucks available to bring us our cabinets. I requested that CGL rent a U-haul and drive our cabinets to us, since this was their error and we were way past the delivery timeframes indicated by CTG. They indicated they would not consider this option. I immediately called the Raleigh CTG office and asked someone there to deal with CGL. I was told by the man that I spoke with (Bob) that he would look into it, but I never got a call back. I called him again later that morning, and he said he had no information for me. I asked him to keep me informed, but I never got another call from anyone in the Raleigh CTG store. I called the CTG corporate offices again and spoke with Chris. He indicated that he was sorry for the inconvenience, but offered nothing in terms of restitution for the incredible hassle that our order had become, and did not even offer to contact CGL on my behalf. Katarina at CGL called me several times over the course of the day on 6/29/12 and appeared very apologetic and concerned that the delivery of our cabinets had spiraled into a big mess. She indicated that she had called another shipping company in Charlotte, NC and that they could deliver our cabinets between the hours of 1pm and 3pm on 7/2/12. I indicated that this delivery time was not preferable, as we wanted our cabinets before then, but that it could work if need be. The director/manager at the Boston CGL location was also on the line and asked me to call CGL's contact in Charlotte, NC to confirm this delivery, and then call CGL back to let them know what was said. I did as he requested, but this could have been handled by someone at CGL rather than by me, their customer. We were then looking at a delivery time of 19 days at the very very best, but IF AND ONLY IF our cabinets actually got delivered on 7/2/12. As you can imagine, we were extremely displeased with the absolute mess that our order turned into. As CTG's customer, I shouldn't have even been expected to deal with their distributor, CGL. I am the customer, I just paid them $4,000, yet they put the burden of tracking down my cabinets on me. I am appalled that the Raleigh CTG office washed their hands of this mess, since they are the originators of the order and the people who are ultimately responsible for ensuring that we continue to get quality service DURING OUR ENTIRE Cabinets To Go experience. I am appalled that CTG headquarters has offered nothing in terms of compensation for time lost or for hassle, and am even more appalled that Chris said, "I'm not sure how we can compensate you for this," during my phone conversation with him on 6/29/12. I can think of several ways: 1.) Paying for and arranging for special delivery of our cabinets so we get them on 6/30/12. The drive from Atlanta, GA to Wilmington, NC is only 7 hours long. 2.) Offering our money back for what we paid in shipping and delivery costs. 3.) Offering a discounted price on our order, since we have been waiting for $4,000 worth of cabinets that have yet to show up. This order and shipment of cabinets was only half of what we had designed for us by Carrie and only half of what we planned to buy from CTG in Raleigh. We told Carrie up-front that we would have to split our purchase in two to make it fit our budget, and she indicated she would save her designs for us when we were ready to order the remaining cabinets. We had planned to order the other half of our kitchen cabinets from CTG around mid-July (more than $3,000 in additional cabinets on top of the $4,000 we just spent), but at this point, you can safely assume we will NOT be ordering from CTG ever again. While CTG offers a 100% satisfaction guarantee policy on all purchases, they in no way guarantee their service OR the customer's experience. On June 30, 2012 Mark McIntire from the Cabinets To Go corporate headquarters called me (someone had forwarded him one of my emails - I'm not even sure what his position is in the company) and asked me why I was "causing such a debacle." I told him we were frustrated with the poor communication between all parties involved in our order and just wanted some acknowledgement that things had gone wrong. We wanted an apology for being left in the dark, and wanted an answer about when we would get our cabinets. He said that I was "being ridiculous" and that he didn't "want to deal with this" so he cancelled my entire order. Then he hung up on me. And that was the end of that!

You may absolutely purchase Ikea cabinets without doors either online or in person, whichever you prefer. Each cabinet is really a collection of, say,10 items, each with a part #. At the store, a kitchen person will add the cabinet you want in a Harlig door, for example, and then go in and just remove the door, leaving the other 9 items in your cart. If you go this route, double check size, configuration, and frame color (birch or white) while they're typing it in. Mistakes happen. If you're doing this online, simply select the item you want in the configuration you want, and click on the "Show dimensions, weight and article numbers" link. Then copy each article number into the search button at the top of the page, and the item will appear. Buy it online. Repeat with the next 9 part #s. When you come to a door, just don't buy it. GW is great for some types of info, but you should really check out the Ikeafans web site for more guidance. In order to use Barker doors, you will need the measurements for the doors. You can find these on the Ikea web site if you look hard enough, or you can check out the Ikeafans link below. You'll have to look up info on hinge cup cut out size and location. Barker will cut them wherever you want them, but you need to know what to select/ask for. It is worth comparing the cost of a Barker Cabinet vs. Ikea/Barker Door. For ordinary cabs there's not that big a savings to be had with Ikea. For tall pantry/oven cabinets, or corner cabinets, the difference is substantial. Also, when ordering through Barker Door, make sure to take note of the maximum door width that differs among styles. Good Luck! Here is a link that might be useful: Measurements

I've got to speak up for Scherr's Custom RTA Cabinets. They are a custom cabinet maker that does RTA cabinets. You get exactly what you want. They assemble as much or as little as you require. I had them assemble my drawer boxes and I did everything else. They have more than three finishes. I had a great experience with them. I will use them again. Scherr's cabinets are made in North Dakota. Leon Scherr has been in business for at least 25 years. They were cost competitive and had really good customer service. You could actually talk to someone. They helped you answer questions and solve problems. That is why I selected them over Barker's. Scherr's does have a rather clunky, old fashioned website. You fill out a form with your requirements and send them a rendering of your plan including measurements. They put it into a CAD and cost it out for you. I think one of the reasons more folks at GW tend to use Barker's is because of Barker's online ordering system. While it's sort of efficient, many people just don't want to talk to anyone and would rather work up an order to see the price. You actually have to talk to someone about your order at Scherr's. I guess people are shy about it. It's a great product and nice group of people.

If your price is double, I have doubts if there is an apples to apples comparison happening. First, is the quote in the Full Access line? Omega Custom Framed cabinets will not be price comparable to Full Access. That is the fully custom division, with a price to match he possibilities. Second, did you just have them do a box to box comparison, via a list of components, or were they free to design the space with all of the needed side cover panels, molding pieces, and other required finishing touches? If they gave you a COMPLETE designed quote, and your Barker quote is lacking in the needed accessory parts, then that is not a true comparison. Accessory parts and pieces can easily add 30% to a quote from either company. Third, are you comparing the single color available finished cabinet to the multiple choices of standard finished cabinet? Not unfinished to finished. Or standard finish color to an upgraded finish color, like with a glaze or distressing. Comparing unfinished and unassembled to finished and assembled is no where near apples to apples. Although I no longer work with the line, I still find them an incredible value for someone who wants frameless cabinets but doesn't want the price of the Euro imports. Not to say that they are cheap, as no quality frameless line will be. Frameless is usually more expensive in the US than framed, simply because it is not readily available or "standard".