Where to Buy RTA Cabinets Online: 8 Things a Good Store Shows You

Buy RTA cabinets online from a store that publishes full specs and prices, sells sample doors, offers a free design, and puts its shipping, return and warranty terms in writing. Those things tell you more about an online cabinet store than its ads or its discounts do.

Ready to assemble cabinets are sold by many online stores, and from the outside they can look alike. Use the eight checks below on any of them, ours included. Where it helps, we have put our own answer under each one.

1. A spec for every part of the cabinet

A good store says what the box, the back, the bottom, the shelves, the face frame and the drawer box are made of. "All wood" or "solid wood doors" on its own is not a spec.

Ours: a plywood box with a solid wood face frame, 3/4 inch plywood shelves, full overlay doors on concealed soft-close hinges, and a 5/8 inch solid wood dovetail drawer box on soft-close, full-extension glides. Our guide to judging RTA cabinets explains why each part matters.

2. Prices you can see

If you have to log in or request a quote to see what a cabinet costs, comparing stores becomes slow work.

Ours: every price is printed on its product page, with no login and no quote to request.

3. The finish, named honestly

Real paint and stain, or a paper, thermofoil or melamine wrap? A store should say plainly.

Ours: real paint and stain only, never paper, thermofoil or melamine.

4. Sample doors

Nobody should choose a finish from a screen. A store that sells real sample doors expects you to look before you buy.

Ours: a full sample door is $19.99 and a quarter door sample is $4.99, shipping included, and the sample price is refundable within 30 days of delivery.

5. Design help before you order

An online order is only as good as the cabinet list. A store that will lay out your room catches missing fillers and wrong sizes before they ship.

Ours: send your measurements for a free kitchen design. A designer returns a layout, a cabinet list and a price, with no obligation to buy.

6. Shipping terms in writing

How freight is charged, where the driver leaves the order, and what to do about damage should all be written down before you pay.

Ours: freight is calculated at checkout from the delivery address. Residential delivery is curbside, and anything damaged or missing should be noted on the delivery receipt before the driver leaves. We ship to the continental United States.

7. A return policy you can read

Read it before you order, not after. Look for the window, the condition the item must be in, any restocking fee, and who pays return freight.

Ours: ready to assemble cabinets can be returned within 30 days of delivery, unassembled and in the original packaging, with a 20% restocking fee, and the customer pays return freight. Assembled cabinets and trim are not returnable. Damage is a claim, not a return, and carries no restocking fee. The full refund policy has the details.

8. A warranty, and a person to call

A published warranty tells you what is covered before something goes wrong. A phone number tells you whether anyone will help when it does.

Ours: a five year limited warranty against defects in materials and workmanship, published in full. Call (305) 782-7587, Monday to Friday, 8am to 5pm ET, or email hello@rtacabinetsplus.com, and a person who knows the product answers.

Red flags

• No mention of what the box is made of.
• Photos only, with no sample doors for sale.
• A price that only appears after you create an account or request a quote.
• A return policy that is hard to find, or no return policy at all.
• Assembly described in a sentence, with no instructions to look at before you buy.

Questions

Is it safe to buy kitchen cabinets online?
Yes, from a store that publishes specs, prices and policies, sells samples and answers the phone. Order a sample first and read the shipping and return terms before you pay.

Are cabinets cheaper online?
Often, because an online store has no showroom to pay for and ready to assemble cabinets ship flat. Compare the delivered total for the same cabinet list.

What is the best online kitchen cabinet store?
The one that passes all eight checks above for the cabinets you want. Use the list on every store you are considering, including us.