I realize I'm responding 8 years later but figured I should respond in case any one else asks the same question. I'm a kitchen showroom manager and we get this question from time to time for one reason or another. But here's why you'll find it hard to price anything for yourself.

First off, we don't carry Medallion, but we do carry several other brands in the same semi-custom range. Different brands all have their own slightly different ways to price things out, but there's enough similarities for me to know exactly what I'm talking about.

Spec books are typically hundreds of pages long that include specifications on every cabinet sku, construction standards and upgrade options, door style details, etc. On every page, there's usually 2 cabinet specs. Then those two cabinets most likely have between 2-20 different sizes. Then each of those sizes has a "list price" for all the different price groups which have several wood species-door style combinations inside each price group. A standard run-of-the-mill semi-custom brand can have over 20 different price groups. And then you have modifications that you can add, like reducing or increasing depth, adding glass, finished ends, etc and all of those have their own $ or % upcharges.

So on each page of any spec book, you can easily have a few hundred different prices for just 2 cabinets. And then you have to add any upgrades or upcharges.

Say you figure all that out, then you still only have a list price. That's like a MSRP. It's almost never the actual retail price. Every dealer will have a multiplier to bring that down to retail. Example, your list price might be $20,167 and their retail multiplier might be .63. So 20,167 x .63 = $12,705.21 retail selling price. The multiplier is determined by the dealer's cost multiplier which can be different for each dealer depending on location and market and many other things. Then the dealer has to make money so they mark that up a little. So maybe the dealer's cost multiplier is .525 and that dealer has a 20% markup. .525 x 1.2 = .63. No, the dealer will never ever give you their cost multiplier. And no, you cannot buy direct from the cabinet company unless your order is in the hundreds of thousands. (You can't buy a Toyota directly from Toyota. You have to go through a dealer.) -I digress.

Now you might have promotions so some things might be free or discounted so that has to be taken into consideration. But let's forget that for now just for simplicity.

The design program most designers use is 2020. That program generates a price printout of all of the cabinets and modifications of the kitchen plan they made. Yes, every cabinet and every modification price is listed out, but only in their list prices. And then most companies have some blanket upcharges, like an All Plywood upcharge might be 10% on all the cabinets, but not on things like moldings or modification charges. So 2020 lists that as a separate add-on price.

So you might be thinking that you can take each and every cabinet list price and use the multiplier to find the retail of every single cabinet, but don't forget all those modifications and upcharges listed separate. In a standard kitchen, you can easily have 25+ separate line items.

You might ask if the computer program does this for us. There isn't a short answer for that. Yes and no. We can put a blanket discount in the program file but a lot of designers A) don't know how to do this or B) they do know how to do this but worry that when they change to a different brand, they might forget to change to the other brand's multiplier so they might quote the wrong price.

So can you get your hands on a cabinet line's spec book? It's possible. It'll be hard because most brands aren't willing to give any away to anyone other than a dealer. A dealer might possibly let you have or borrow an old, outdated spec book but it's outdated for a reason. Cabinet companies implement price changes almost every year.

But say you managed to get one. And say the dealer gave you the retail multiplier. And say you sat down for days and read that spec book front to back and knew how to use it. And say you read up on all the jargon to know what you're reading. Then yes. You can price out a kitchen all by yourself.

Or, you can save yourself hours and hours of time and effort, and just trust your designer's knowledge and expertise. And trust that they're not trying to screw you over. If you can't trust them, then you shouldn't be buying a kitchen from them, period.

The fact of the matter is, the bulk price is just 10 times easier and faster for us to give you. It's not that we're trying to hide things.

What I will say is that sometimes some modifications can get super pricey. Or just certain cabinets can be. In our showroom, for example, we have 2 wall cabinets that have leaded glass in them. Extremely pretty. Our customers often want them in their kitchen. What they don't know is that that each cabinet is about $1,000. The cabinet started out as maybe $400, but then we had to add matching interior (20%), then add flush ends ($100) so we could add decorative ends ($100) and then prep the doors for glass ($50) then add the leaded glass ($270). We tell the customer that it's pricey but don't put a figure on it right off the bat. If the whole kitchen is within their budget and they love it, then great! But if it's over, then we know where to cut. Or if it's within the budget but they want to know where to cut if they want, then we know where to make suggestions. But if you love it, it's perfect, and it comes in at or under budget, why does it matter what the parts and pieces cost?

I have a designer who likes to compare the idea to cars. When you pick a car on the lot, you don't generally nickel and dime on the fog lights. They're just there. Probably part of some cold weather package or something. You can't nickel and dime and say that you want different shocks or... calipers. (I don't know much about cars but you get the idea.)

I hate when customers think we're trying to rob them. We're not. We're trying to design the perfect kitchen for you. And if it's too much, we can scale back. We're professionals. Not thieves. And if I'm on hourly pay, I could care less what you spend in the end, as long as you're happy. And if I'm on commission, you spending a few thousand more or less doesn't affect my pocket as much as you'd think. So I'd still rather see you happy than you be angry with me.

Them adding some things here or there is not necessarily them trying to get more money out of you. Adding soft close doors might not be an add-on. It might be standard. The tilt-out tray? I know one of our brands does a free sink base cabinet in their promotions a lot so I use the sink cabinet with the tilt-outs because Hey! It's free because the whole cabinet is free, including the tilt outs, so why not?!

In the end, if you can't trust your designer, then go to someone else you can trust.

And if you're concerned about spending too much, let your designer know and they can bring the price down in ways you might hardly notice. Or they might have a different brand for you to try.