IMO that wit will be very common for the forseeable future no matter who makes the cabinets. I find that is a good wait time to make sure all the other aspects of the kitchen are done like flooring, reworking plumbing all the stuff that needs doing before the cabinets go in . BTW I have done IKea kitchens where the boxes were all installed and had to wait for a few doors it is not the end of the world , these times are a PITA but we will get through this . Get a KD who has experience with Ikea and get to work on a fabulous plan for your new kitchen . BTW Ikea ktichen planners are not the best choice since they can only do what is allowed on their computer . I have done many kitchens where Ikea would have said no you can’t do that but I did it.

I posted this primarily so other people who assume (as most of us would) that IKEA is the place where one can get almost instant gratification when ordering kitchen cabinetry.

And, for others, I have found that there are some IKEA kitchen "designers" who can't really do much other than manipulate the software and others who offer really, really good advice. It kind of depends on who you get--luck of the draw.

Update: I tried to order a few weeks ago and several items were "low stock" but it wouldn't let me put them in my cart! (It's like, why can't I have the last one?!?) X-( I tried checking stock at 6 different stores (one in another state), but same issue with each. Ultimately, there are a few boxes I'm unable to source right now. So I tried calling the "Help"line (HAH) and was unable to get through to a live person despite multiple attempts over many days. Finally I was able to Google the magic combo of numbers to press that would allow me to bypass the endless loop of hold music to reach an actual human.

The nice fellow I spoke with explained that stupid COVID has caused production delays (a common refrain everywhere nowadays) so many items are backordered to the ends of the earth, with a long queue of folks with existing orders waiting to be fulfilled when they come back in stock, . I said did he have any insight into that and he said the out of stock items won't likely be available for the foreseeable future (and other items will obvi also run out as time goes on) and that they've received no updates whatsoever and are unable to provide even a ballpark guesstimate as to when things might get moving again.

Long story short, this poor guy had zero information for me and apologized profusely but in the end basically said that I'm SOL. I feel bad for him basically having to deal with grumpy folks demanding cabinets all day long, every day, when he doesn't have any more info than we do, really. :-(

We are looking elsewhere now so would welcome any recs on inexpensive cabinet boxes of reasonable quality that have fast turnaround time. Hunting for a magical unicorn, I know, but one can dream....

I am in the same boat and would also like to hear of any RTA alternatives to Ikea cabinets.

I am in the same position. I had half my kitchen on backorder and had to check the website every single day trying to collect as many items as possible. Finally, I will be able to use curbside pick up tomorrow for my final item. But it has taken a couple months since they can't add an item to your cart if it's low stock (which is a pain since we haven't been able to shop in-store since mid-Dec). But now my whole renovation has been put on hold due to local restrictions and I have hundred of boxes sitting in my living and dining room!

Jason and all others seeking good alternatives:

I think we're going to order from 27estore. Working with them has been awesome so far, and they offer quality boxes made in the USA with Blum hardware etc., plus a huge selection of doors/drawers. We're doing a modern look - frameless with wood-look textured melamine slab doors - and we've found several HPL (high pressure laminate) ones we like, all of them made in either Austria or Italy (***=quality***). Pricing isn't as cheap as IKEA, but it's a good bit cheaper than a number of other online RTA dealers I've priced out (Barker, Dunsmuir, and Scherr's), and they get many positive reviews on Houzz.

I liked Barker Modern a lot, but their lead time was 10-12 weeks minimum (holy jeebus, Batman!), and they aren't cheap. Modern RTA Cabinets also has USA-made boxes and their pricing is roughly on par with 27estore, but they don't have as wide a range of finishes and the cabinet configurations are somewhat limited. Still, they'd probably be my 2nd choice at this point.

RTA Cabinet Store has great prices and a decent selection if you want Shaker cabinets, but they don't much in the way of modern style. Scherr's didn't have the finish/door style we want, and plus, they're squirrely about providing pricing up front on the website and want you to submit a cumbersome form first, which is a huge turnoff for me (no, I don't want your g#@damn consultation or customized design assistance - I just wanna order some cabinets, for eff's sake!!).

Good luck to you. I'm *so* over COVID screwing up everyone's lives. lol

Jennifer B

Thanks so much for posting this. I had never heard of 27estore so am glad to have this as a possible source. I had been planning on IKEA but our project got delayed, and I haven't been to anxious to get it started up since IKEA is having stock problems anyway. I have some lovely samples from Barker Modern but never actually sat down to use their planner to thoroughly measure everything out. I know what you mean about Scherr's; I'd like to just be able to know how much one door costs so I can do a cost comparison to other places.

I'm curious when you say that these are more expensive than IKEA. More expensive than their most expensive cabinets, or more expensive than their mid-price cabinets?

I haven't had time to thoroughly explore the site yet. How do I figure out costs? Will their cabinets fit IKEA inserts? One of the things I do like about IKEA is that their storage insert options are so reasonably priced.

Finally, what have you learned about other people's experiences with this line?

27estore has been so awesome to work with. I could probably scrounge around for lower prices, but the price point is acceptable and the level of service makes it well worth any minor cost differentials. All I had to do is upload my IKEA planner plans (thanks, IKEA!) and they did the rest. Kathy (lovely lady I'm working with) has even made some recommendations to lower the cost and improve the utility of our design! I always love a vendor who actively tries to save you money. :-)

To give you an idea of price point, I had priced out a bunch of different options; here's how they stack up. These figures are rounded, obviously, and *none of them include shipping costs* except for 27estore, which gave me $300 off and free shipping.

- IKEA boxes - $1500 (I never priced out doors because their selection BLOWS - I can't get over how hideous the finish options are, with nothing remotely like what I'm after. If I had to guess, I'd say it's probably $4000 including fronts)

- IKEA boxes + Barker Door fronts - $4300

- IKEA boxes + Semihandmade fronts - $4500 (SHM had a sale for 20% off, or it would've been higher)

- Home Depot / Lowe's (s#$@ quality) stock RTA cabinets (boxes & fronts) - $5000ish (BAHAHAHAH Yeah, nope.)

- Modern RTA boxes & fronts - $5300

- 27estore boxes & fronts - $5800 **incl free shipping**

- Barker Modern boxes & fronts - $7000

- IKEA boxes + Dunsmuir fronts - $7700 (their planner is actually pretty good though)

At the lower price points, obviously there's a more limited selection so you have to make compromises and can't always get exactly what you want. I found I could get the exact finishes and configurations I wanted with 27estore and Barker; the others all involved some compromises.

Thanks for the super detailed reply! It really helps to give me some idea of cost. It's been a while since I priced out the IKEA with two different door options. For my kitchen one was about $5800 as I recall and one was about $7200. Now I can do my guesstimates on cost after I take a thorough look at their website.

About how far out is their ETA?

27estore is 3-4 weeks on boxes (plus transit time of 2-5 days), and depending on which fronts you get (and whether they're produced in the US, Europe, or elsewhere), they can take up to 5-6 weeks plus transit. Not ideal, but way better than Barker's quoted 10-12 weeks (yipes!). Modern RTA Cabinets (my second choice) is saying 3-4 weeks turnaround (plus short transit time).

RTA Cabinet Store has really good pricing (including a sale right now), and they're the fastest lead time - seems like the website is saying 1-2 weeks plus transit time! They have very limited choices in the way of modern/slab style doors or textured melamine/HPL wood-look finishes, so I didn't bother getting a quote from them, but for someone just after some basic Shakers, they're worth taking a look at.

Scherr's just now got back to me (sans pricing, naturally - GAAAHHH come ON, man!!!) and told me they were currently taking orders with fulfillment dates in June. Uh, yeah, no thanks.

@Jennifer B Our cabinetry is custom engineered. There is no standard pricing to share. Each kitchen we make is unique.

Thanks for the break down!

@Scherr's Cabinets & Doors Inc So if I order a basic 24" base cabinet with door and shelf, and NJMomma above orders the exact same cabinet with all the same specs, would we be quoted different prices?? There's no legitimate reason not to provide this info, as many other sites do. The assumption ends up being that you're too expensive, or that getting a quote is too much of a hassle, and 9 times out of 10, if people browsing your site can't even get a ballpark idea of your price point, they will just move on to other websites where they can readily obtain that info.

Not having transparent pricing does a real disservice to your customers and potential customers, and it puts needless burden on your staff to have to respond individually to every single person, even the casual browser who wants to a general idea of what they can expect to spend. Why not making buying quick and easy? Why add extra steps that complicate the shopping and buying process?

Our prices are good for what we offer. People can trust us or not.

I never implied that you're not trustworthy! I don't doubt that you offer a good product at a reasonable price, but someone perusing your site has no way of knowing this and isn't likely to invest additional time in trying to obtain basic pricing info. My point is that the lack of transparency is a frustrating pain point for potential customers that probably results in a lot of lost business for you.

We understand that. We’ve been working on a solution for that on door prices. For our custom cabinetry there are simply too many options and customizations possible to make any online pricing legible and navigable. I wish there was a better way but we don’t see it. We apologize for the frustration. It’s not intentional.

Sorry for the confusion. Switched to working from home. This is a personal account but it’s the same person speaking for Scherr’s. I’ll have to fix the comment when I’m not on mobile! :)

Thank you for your insights, we will take them into consideration! :)

Wondering how your 27estore cabinet installation went, Jennifer B.?