guess i’ll know by noon if i have 70k worth of junk or something I’ll be proud of…
placed the order 4-5mo ago to china after 3-4 months of plan’n, deal’n and head scratch’n….
i should have aprox 700 running feet of uppers and 700ft of lowers and alot of misc stuff… oven cabs, trim, appliance garages, fillers ect… by my best figures that should be 250-300 feet more than i need… but… if i have em I’m sure i’ll find a place to use em…
all wood…face frames and doors maple… with a honey glaze… all plywood boxes… all finished inside & out boxes are 6 ply 12mm materal… all euro hinges, full ext slides… some self closing…
all shipped knocked down… but all have been put together to check for fit then knocked back down and boxed for shipment…
i saw and touched samples… what i saw i was impressed with… hope what i get equals that
sit’n here sweat’n bullets til i see…
p
Replies
Did you pay up front or something?
What if it is junk?
with importing really the best you can do... is research who you are dealing with and pray... I've been importing "stuff" by the container load for about 10yrs... maybe 1 a year when the mood or need hits me... this deal was 50% upfront and i have 10 days to pay the balance so there is some comfort level.... most of these deals are all done on letters of credit... which means when it hits your door it gets funded...very little recourse... but... if all is good with this deal I have an option to get 2-4 containers a month...
p
So, for 700 LF of uppers/lowers, may we ask how much it cost you a LF?
Or, should I ask: How much will you sell them for a LF?
Bryan
"Objects in mirror appear closer than they are."
Klakamp Construction, Findlay, Ohio - just south of the Glass City
Edited 4/18/2007 9:49 pm ET by BryanKlakamp
can I have the containeri do live in Alabama, so my advice might be worthless
Dude... we think too much alike... this is the first time i have not been able to purchase the container... in the past I've requested a used container be included in the price... one it kept me from rushing to unload it... and two... i like containers... never can have enough of em... i'm about ready to start stack'n em...
in this case because they consider this "furniture" it only ships in newer below deck containers... vs containers that ride in the open... subject to the weather and the seas... plus it's my understanding that the ride for the shipment is better mid lower ship.... provided that the ship stays afloat...
p
Edited 4/18/2007 10:56 pm ET by ponytl
these aren't cheap... i could have gotten close to what i think/believe i purchased for about half of what i did spend... part of pay'n more was who i was dealing with and part was what i think is a better product...
you can do the math... i'm into em for about $100 a ft base & wall ie 700ft & 70k...
i did this deal because...
a. I don't have set in stone plans for 20 kitchens, 2 morning kitchens, one butlers pantry and some misc built ins...
b. my taste & wants far exceed my budget
c. most of what i could buy local was junk
d. i wanted my own inventory to be able to pull from
I do know of one company that has the same factory in china building their product under contract with their brand.. stamped onto it... they sell them as custom and ship them out put together... I checked their prices and they were dead on 4x my cost... to the penny that was contractor price... they do have finishes and names for same that belong to them... and they put them together, advertise, have dealers and customer support ect... but ... i would bet they pay less for them...
i'll post when i see what i have....
around here unfinished junk partical board case goods sell for about $35 a ft for a 3ft base with junk hardware... and about $30ft for the uppers... i would guess you'd spend about as much or more time in prep and finishing of them than you would putting these together... and you'd still have junk... plus i have all the trim & finish parts... so I'm not sure i wouldn't be at the same price point...
i will have stuff i don't see me ever using.. or being able to sell off... but my feeling from the start was if i get everything i need for this price I'll be happy... if have something left of any value I'll still be happy...
p
they showed up.... right on time... brand new container... container was so new my boxes had to have been loaded while the paint was still wet on the inside...
loaded with zero room for anything to move... they included at least 300 sample doors in packaging just to fill every void...
packed really well took 3 of us 8 full butt bust'n hours to empty 28 ft of a 40 ft highcube container... still have 12ft to go....
to say i'm impressed with the quality would be an understatement... i'm way over the wow factor... the doors are prehung in the faceframe... 3 euro hinges per door... yep..3... (uppers... never even unboxed a lower) the finish is very nice it's a honey glased maple with worn looking black in the deep details... not sure what you call the style ... raised panel with a trim around the panel that sits proud of the doors face... oh yeah... they are made and hung in the face frame so they can be left or right hand just by flip'n it over... and... knobs not required since they milled a recess into the btm of each door....
the joints... are... well... as close to perfect as i've ever seen... the finish on the inside is as good as the outside... the face frame is as good as the rest...
had several people who know their stuff wonder by today... so not just me who was impressed...
anyway i don't know if i can get the details in a pic but i'll shoot for it sometime friday... pretty worn out... the pantry units were heavy... but they shipped me some 30" wide 4 drawer bases that had to be 200lbs ea
so far very pleased... i'll know how pleased once i get the rest unloaded and get to get at least one upper and one lower put together... the upper i unboxed i can't see it take'n more than 10 min to put together... they have some really cool brackets that line everything up...
anyway... glad they are here.... i've filled a 16x40 ft room with room to see what i have and still have 1/4 to 1/3 more to go... i have more inventory than lowes ...going to be sweet to be able to pull from "inventory" anything i need to best finish out a space
p
talk about fun times,it's gotta be like christmas there,i'm jealous.... larry
pics?????? cominghand me the chainsaw, i need to trim the casing just a hair.
You going into the wholesale business? ;)
Have a link to the company you got them from?
PaulB
good thing you have them knocked down. cubbing out on a container before weighting out is an expensive lesson. may i ask what your import duties and port fees are for something like cabinets.
I have plenty of stories to share about the condition of cargo in containers after 30 days at sea and poor packaging. I hope you don't experience similar problems as I am sure you must pay your invoice prior to your freight forwarder releasing your containers from port.
once i make the contact & deal with a factory... i then go to a broker who does all the paperwork and walks it thru customs ect... they also set up the payment & terms... i then get a to my door price... which usually holds... my last shipment came into the port of NO right as Katrina came... it then went to texas where it found another storm... and ended up in some mafia controlled port... where it was held for ransom of $600 a day storage even on the days they were closed due to the storm and... you have to give 72hrs notice to get your container out... and you had to pay the storage upfront before they would even start to get your container out... so min charge is $1800 and goes north from there... it usually goes rail from the seaport to me... where it then goes truck from the rail yard to me...
as for damage... i've been lucky... and why i only get packed full containers... that why on this deal i have alot of misc trim ect.. because i tell them to pack it tight & fill every void with something... i don't care what... you fill it and ship it I'll buy it... seems to help... and yes... always go for max weight and fill all voids... if it can't move it should get damaged...
p