How to Read a Cabinetry Quote (Apples to Apples)
Here's an uncomfortable truth from someone who writes cabinetry quotes for a living: two quotes for "the same kitchen" that differ by $25,000 are almost never quoting the same kitchen. One of them has quietly removed things — from the spec, from the scope, or from the fine print — and the removal is invisible unless you know where to look.
I'd rather you compare us hard against competitors than buy blind from anyone, including us. So here is the complete method: the line items every serious quote must contain, the exclusions that make cheap bids expensive, and the payment-term red flags that should end a conversation.
First: make the specs comparable
Before comparing prices, force every quote to answer the same six questions. If a quote can't answer them in writing, that's your answer about the company.
- What is the box made of? Thickness and material of sides, backs, and shelves. "3/4-inch sides, 3/4-inch adjustable shelves, full back panel" is a spec. "Quality plywood construction" is a slogan. The differences hide here — this is the heart of our custom vs semi-custom vs stock comparison.
- What are the doors, exactly? Material (MDF, solid wood, veneered panel), construction (slab, five-piece), and finish system (how many coats, what chemistry). A "painted Shaker door" spans a 3x price range depending on these answers.
- Whose hardware, by name? Blum, Hettich, and Häfele are commitments; "soft-close hardware" is a category that includes $2 hinges. Ask for the brand in writing — our hardware comparison explains why it matters for decades, not months.
- Which interior fittings are included? Cutlery inserts, pull-outs, corner units — itemized, not "as shown in rendering." Renderings routinely display $8,000 of fittings the quote doesn't contain.
- Are panels, fillers, and trim counted? Finished end panels, island backs, crown, light rail, toe kicks, scribe. On a full kitchen this is $2,000–$6,000 that teaser quotes love to omit.
- Is delivery and installation included — and by whom? The company's own installers, a subcontractor, or "installation available"? Each is a different product at a different risk level.
Second: hunt the exclusions
The gap between quotes usually lives in what's not written. Scan every quote for these, and ask directly about any that are missing:
- Site conditions: stairs, elevators, long carries, parking permits. In condo markets this is real money.
- Old kitchen removal and disposal — $800–$2,500 that lives in someone's budget.
- Appliance installation and reconnection. Cabinet installers set boxes; who sets the range and hooks the dishwasher? Under our terms, your trades do — and we say so upfront rather than letting you discover it on install day.
- Countertops. Usually quoted separately everywhere; confirm nobody is "including" a placeholder allowance that reality will double.
- Taxes. Sounds obvious; costs people four figures in surprise regularly.
Third: read the payment terms like a lawyer
Payment structure tells you more about a company's health and honesty than its showroom does. Here's the honest industry structure — it's the one we use:
- A design retainer (ours starts at $3,000), credited toward the order, producing drawings and a fixed itemized quote. What it buys is detailed in our retainer explainer.
- A 50% production deposit at sign-off, non-refundable once production begins — because at that point your materials are cut and your kitchen exists in parts. This is normal and fair for custom goods.
- Balance due before delivery. Also normal for custom manufacturing: the product is built to your measurements and has no other buyer.
Now the red flags: 100% upfront from a company you can't visit (walk away). Deposits to a personal account or heavy discounts for cash (run). "Deposit fully refundable anytime" sounds friendly but is economically impossible for true custom work — it means the price contains a cushion for the refunds, or the product isn't actually custom. And a price valid for 48 hours only is a pressure tactic, not a quote; real quotes hold for 30 days minimum.
Also compare timelines like a line item: our production runs 8–12 weeks from sign-off. Anyone promising full custom in 3 weeks is shipping containers of stock boxes and calling it custom. Anyone quoting 6 months should explain why.
Fourth: normalize and compare
Make a simple table: box spec, door spec, hardware brand, fittings list, panels/trim, delivery, install, taxes, timeline, payment terms, warranty. Fill it from each quote's written text — not from what the salesperson said. Two things happen: gaps become visible instantly, and roughly half the time the "expensive" quote turns out to be the cheap one once the missing items are priced back in.
Then weigh the warranty. A lifetime warranty from a manufacturer with its own factory and thirty years of history is a different instrument than a 1-year warranty from a dealer who imports from a factory they've never visited. Ask every bidder: who actually built this, and who stands behind it in year six? (For what warranty language really covers, see the terms — ours are public in our Terms & Conditions.)
The ten questions, printable
- What are the box sides, backs, and shelves made of, and how thick?
- What is the door material, construction, and finish system?
- Which hardware brand — in writing?
- Which interior fittings are itemized in the price?
- Are end panels, fillers, crown, and toe kicks included?
- Is delivery included, and are site conditions accounted for?
- Who installs — your employees or a sub?
- What are the payment milestones, and what's refundable when?
- What is the production lead time from sign-off?
- Who manufactured it, and what does the warranty cover, for how long?
A company with nothing to hide answers all ten in one email. If you'd like to see what a fully itemized quote looks like — with every one of these questions answered before you ask — book a free 30-minute consultation, or start with our custom kitchens to see what the numbers buy.