I've been looking for a bit and I've had several companies tell me about promo's their having:
Cabico - 10% off bottom line
Dover Woods - no charge for wood or paint upgrade
Canyon Creek and Brookhaven are also offering specials. not sure exactly what but I know had CC quoted a while ago at nearly 14k. I've made some changes but not enough to account for the new 9k quote.

I'd say definitely ask for a reduction.

You most certainly can. I posted the same question a few month ago and got allot of helpful responses. In this economy everything is negotiable. Before I finnally ordered my cabinets I had gotten several quotes from different places. The prices were all over the map. As I learned more about all the features and upgrades and different pricing of various woods I was able to narrow my choice down to two. The one place sold Shiloh cabinets and the other was custom. The Shiloh cabinets were $1500 more. I was honest with the KD and told her we were probably going to go with the custom because of that( I felt really funny doing this but I just had to ask.) She thanked me for my honesty and said she would call the company but was not promising anything. About 15 min later she called back and said if I could send her a copy of the estimate they could match the price. We ended going with the custom anyway but it goes to show that EVERYTHING is negotionable. Just make sure you get written estimates to back you up and if they want your buisness they will work with you.

how small is small? check out Crown Point-- excellent quality, fantastic customer service (so far!), and really, really good prices.. much better than what we were about to go with (both in terms of quality and value).

and FWIW when the economy was booming, I negotiated 10% off my Lowes order (Kraftmaid).

Thanks so much for this post, it's really timely for me.

I am *stunned* that you (meaning us consumers) have no idea what the price and/or price markup is on cabinets. For instance, the manufacturer quotes their price to the kitchen cab distributor and then the distributor marks it up by *we dont know how much*. You can't visit a manufacturer's website and get an idea of where in the price spectrum they fall.

Everybody has to make a living, I have no problem with that but honestly, someone could give me a quote of 50k or 15k and I haven't a clue if it's reasonable.

At least with cars they have an msrp on a sticker!

danielle00 -- Our kitchen is somewhat hard to describe as it is a fairly large room, but only a limited portion is capable of supporting cabinets due to there being four doors and a few full windows that we do not wish to cover (the former owner boarded over a beautiful big window in order to put upper and lower cabinets across one wall). We have 12.5" of upper and lower capable wall (some of which will be used for a pantry and wall oven cabinet), and about another 24' (including 7' peninsula) for just lower cabinets (some of which must be used for dishwasher).

I did reach out to Crown Point so it will interesting to hear if they can work with my budget. What is a fair price to assume for cabinet installation if you order cabinets from someplace like CP and have to arrange your own install?

Last week I priced cabinets at a local custom cabinet company, at Lowe's (Kraftmaid), and another semi-custom cabinet shop one town over.
Lowe's was the most expensive even with their rebates, sales, etc.
It pays to shop around.

CP is fantastic-- the quality is a lot better than all of the mid-tier semi-custom/custom brands we were looking at. The door sample they sent me was absolutely amazing. not sure of their current promotion, but for production in March we got a very, very deep discount.

For the installation price, it really depends on what you want included (demo, soffit work, other dry wall work, window/door modifications, appliance install, etc). Our demo. will be around 1000, I think. The cabinet install is around 2K... we also have other work (plumbing, electrical, adding a window, moving a door, appliance install, etc).

If you go with CP, you'll want to make sure you are comfortable with your GC since once the cabinets arrive you are kind of on your own (you won't have someone in an actual store overseeing the entire process-- it will be you and your GC).

Your space sounds a lot like ours-- 5 doors (one to the outside) and a window.. we're raising the existing window and adding another one. We also had a chimney removed.

In any case, I think you'll be surprised about how affordable the CP product is. I was blown away by the door sample they sent. I really hope the rest of the process goes smoothly.

danielle00,

CP sounds amazing. Can you tell give me any idea about your CP price as compared to any other manufacturers? I am probably looking at around 17 cabinets in my current plan. I did not see anything about a promotion and their "average" cost they listed was $30K-40K.

We are doing all of our own demo, soffit removal, etc. and other than having a dedicated electric line run for the new oven, I don't anticipate needing any other contractor services beyond cabinet and countertop installation.

I plan on speaking with my Cabico salesperson tomorrow and in the mean time have contacted CrownPoint with our drawings and measurements. I am looking forward to what they have to say. All told we are also going to need 17 cabinets. . .

my CP cabinets came in at $26K so less than their estimate. definitely worth checking into.

We have 13 cabinets plus an island. We did away with most of the uppers to keep the budget reasonable and because we did not want to block any of the light coming in the windows on our window wall. If we had gone with uppers, we probably would have been around 16 (close to your count). Some of our cabinets have glass doors and we also opted for a few heavy-duty pull outs. We also got a DW panel. Our wood species was a 15% upcharge... milk paint on the island was extra as well. We are also getting hardware through them, which is more expensive than a lot of the online places. Additionally, we ordered a cutlery insert for a drawer and a knife block insert. Bid also includes beadboard for behind our baking center (that was about $300)

So, depending on the extras you need, your price could be close to ours even with the extra cabs (ours will end up being around 14K to 15K). Their cabinets are so beautiful, I don't think they need a lot of fancy finishes/glazes, etc. You could probably go with something bare-bones and have something more beautiful than an inferior brand with lots of upgrades.

Good luck with your decision. We were dealing with Peter at Crown Point-- he was extremely helpful and accessible (let us go through our final order confirmation in the evening... gave us his cell phone number so we could do this when my husband got home from work).

danielle00,

Thanks for all of the information-- very helpful! Did you have your cabinets shipped from Crown Point? If so, any guidance on what to expect cost-wise in this respect?

Well, my discussion with the Cabico dealer did not go very well. He broke down that our installation cost was over $5K (!) attributing a large part of it to the fact that he is located more than an hour away from me. While he did offer to take $1K off, the total price is still about $2K higher than we can spend.

I noted to him the situation that he happens to be the only Cabico dealer anywhere in my vicinity (which is surprising since I live in a major metro area) yet his distance makes his pricing uncompetitive. I suggested that he try to talk to Cabico about getting some concession in order to get the deal done, especially if they want him selling in such a broad geographic area.

I'll see if he even responds further; meanwhile, I have made contact with a very nice lady at Crown Point and I should have a quote shortly. We also have a Decora style we like that we can fall back on and pricing there has been very reasonable.

Thanks so much - I love everyone's CP cabs. I think I am going to call them this week. Mamadadapaige, my sister and I were drooling over your kitchen pictures yesterday :-)

I live in southern MA so CP isn't that far away.

odiegirl 113... I had a bid through a local place (can't remember the brand, but it was a fully custom line) that was around 20K. Our mid-tier brand that we ended up dissatisfied with (still attempting to get deposit back-- that's how much we hated it-- we did NOT want to risk going with them) was around 16K... CP is around 15K for us. minimal uppers, but we did a hutch-like piece, island, some inserts for various drawers, pull outs, lazy susan, DW panel, hardware, etc.

danielle00,

Thanks for the details on your CP order. I was just about to go with a local design store that carries a frameless line and Medallion. I kind of figured out that I would not be happy going the super cheap route on a painted finish. The milk paint photos that erikanh posted were amazing. Maybe I am wrong but it seems with CP your money is going toward the product and not so much toward the cost of their marketing.

you are right, odiegirl 113. i learned from my first order (bad door arrived, wanted deposit back, near-bankrupt cab store is keeping it/has spent it) that the actual value of my 15K order was around 9k. the cab guy spent 6K and still could have completed my order with the rest of my deposit. there is an ENORMOUS mark-up. Some pieces were even cheaper with crown point. We didn't end up going with a plate rack, but the previous company would have been 1200 while crown point was 600 for the same piece (only more beautiful). if you can stretch your budget or compensate in some other areas, you won't be sorry. there was a big discount in March at CP, but i'm sure they still have special promotions.

we went with QS oak instead of painted cabs all over b/c of the price.. it would have been more expensive with white paint. we also went with inset on the island only. the rest is frameless.

good luck on your decision.

danielle00 - I have been following your posts on the other threads and I can't tell you how bad I feel about your cabinet saga. I am looking forward to seeing your finished kitchen and still hoping you get some $$$ from those guys. Thank you very much for sharing the pricing information. I think all of the businesses are pretty desperate. The one I was thinking of using cut their design fee in half to $375 on the spot. You have given me a lot to think about.

Hi all,

We are shopping for cabinets and have enjoyed our experience with Crown Point thus far. Their present promotion (for the month of April) offered to us is a 15% "production discount", plus discounts on various finishes, including milk paint.

They are still quite expensive for our roughly 12x12 L-shaped kitchen and 7x4 island - quotes range from $26k to $30k. We are pricing painted inset cabinets. I know we could lower the price by moving to frameless and alternative finishes.

Anyone else comfortable sharing their production discount offered by Crown Point recently. I'm hoping there is more room for negotiating a lower price...

Their product appears built to last a life time, which is what we're looking for since we hope to be in our home for the next 50 years (hopefully!). By the way, our home is an early 1800s flat top Italinate in Montpelier, Vermont.

Don't forget to look at custom- like others have said that you might be surprised at how competitive a local shop might be. In our case we build a much better cabinet and we compete very well with the box cabinet companies so check with your local shops. Especially now their prices can be real negotiable. I know that if I have a hole in my schedule I will give a great price to fill the gap and keep my shop busy.

Travis Alfrey Woodworking
Pinehurst, NC

The Crown Point cabinets are custom and they are manufactured only hours away from us. Our local stores offer all the typical Omega, Dynasty, Schrock cabinetry and I agree that those products are inferior (compared to Crown Point). They are also $5k less for frameless full overlay.
I would not be comfortable paying for custom unless the manufacturer was a drive away and I could confirm they are financially solvent.

Do any of you "deal hounds" feel like sharing some info? Do you guys really like the back and forth bazaar game and the higher average price for everyone, or would you rather just have my "best price" up front that still allows me to deliver the quality and service you're looking for and still keep the lights on?

If you are doing a kitchen remodel, you should check out this kitchen blog called "Kitchens in San Luis Obispo". It has great information on Kitchen Cabinetry, and "How to get started".

www.kitchensInSanLuisObispo.blogspot.com

The Kitchen Guy

Here is a link that might be useful: Kitchens In San Luis Obispo by Phillips Floor to Ceiling

Antss - I love to negotiate, however, I for one would be grateful to receive an honest best price offer from the beginning.

It's rare that the consumer has such leverage. Today's economic climate provides for that, although I hope it doesn't last too long. Our timing is driven by the discounts offered on nearly EVERY component of our renovation. The business I work for is getting pinched as well. As long as I remain comfortable that I will retain my job, it seems if you're financially able to proceed, you can choose to do it for less than you could have a year ago or upgrade considerably...

Hi,
Cabinet prices are somewhat negotiable with a local dealer. However, they have a lot of overhead to cover. Have you gotten any quotes online? There is very limited overhead and you can purchase direct from the manufacturer. You can save anywhere from 25% to 40%.
Good luck

Here is a link that might be useful: Green Cabinets Direct

I think there is always some flexibility in pricing. I ended up getting a door style upgrade and a few extra odds/ends for the price of a less expensive door when I negotiated. I also could have had painted finish for the same cost as stained (although with this particular line, painted was only a 5% upcharge anyway). At the end of the day the designer wanted the sale and was willing to be a little flexible to get it. This was during the "boom" but I am a careful shopper so I managed to get a good deal on most of my kitchen stuff. I did try to be fair in my negotiations, though, and I certainly didn't begrudge my designer's need to make a living.