Buying Kitchen Cabinets from China: Samples, Payment, Shipping and Warranty
Cabinet Guides · Buying Guide
Buying kitchen cabinets from China works best when you buy from the factory that draws and builds them. Approve shop drawings in inches before production, check samples or a live video of the trial assembly, and put payment, delivery, installation and warranty terms into one written contract. For a US kitchen, the panels should carry TSCA Title VI certification.
Chinese kitchen cabinets range from flat-packed stock boxes to fully custom kitchens drawn for one house. The questions owners ask are the same either way: will the cabinets fit, will the finish match the samples, what happens if a crate arrives damaged, and who stands behind the work afterwards. This guide answers each of those questions the way we answer them for our own clients. For the materials themselves, our cabinet materials guide and our plywood vs MDF vs particleboard guide go into detail.
What Does Buying Kitchen Cabinets from China Involve?
A custom kitchen from a factory abroad follows the same steps as one from a local shop, with two differences. The drawings carry more weight, because nobody can adjust a box on site with a saw, and the finished cabinets travel in crates before they reach your walls.
The order of work on a custom kitchen from our factory. The dates are set in your contract.
Each step has a clear owner. You supply the layout and approve the drawings; the factory draws, builds, checks and crates; installation is either our crews or your own installer. When every step is written down, a long distance becomes a schedule rather than a risk.
How Can You Tell a Factory from a Middleman?
Many sellers of Chinese kitchen cabinets do not build anything. They pass orders to whichever workshop is free, which makes it hard to know who drew your boxes or who to call when a door does not line up. A few questions usually reveal the difference.
- Ask for a live video walk through the workshop and the finishing room, at a time you choose.
- Ask who draws the shop drawings, and whether the same team builds from them.
- Ask to see a kitchen standing in trial assembly before it is crated.
- Ask whether you can visit the factory, and where it is.
Our factory is in Foshan, Guangdong, and we have delivered more than 800 projects. You are welcome to visit, or to see any part of the work on video, because a factory that builds what it sells has nothing to hide on the workshop floor.
What Should the Shop Drawings Show?
Shop drawings are the real product you approve. For a US kitchen they should be in inches and show every box, door, drawer, filler and panel, drawn to your measured walls rather than to stock sizes. They should also mark the appliance openings, the sink centerline and the finish of each face.
Good drawings start from good measurements. Our guide to measuring for kitchen cabinets explains what to send, and our standard kitchen cabinet sizes guide shows the heights and depths most kitchens start from. Read the drawings slowly and question anything that looks wrong, because every change on paper is free and every change after production is not.
Which Materials and Certifications Matter?
For cabinets sold in the United States, composite wood panels such as hardwood plywood, particleboard and MDF fall under the EPA formaldehyde rule, known as TSCA Title VI. The panels we use for US kitchens are certified to it, and the finished cabinets carry the TSCA Title VI label. The EPA’s frequently asked questions explain the labeling rules for imported finished goods.
Beyond certification, ask which board goes where. A sound specification uses plywood boxes near the sink and dishwasher, sealed edges throughout, and a door board chosen for its finish. Our plywood vs MDF guide compares the boards part by part, and our custom kitchen cabinets page shows the four core boards side by side.
How Long Does It Take?
Lead time depends on the size of the order, so a single kitchen and a multi-unit project run on different schedules. Two things are always true. The clock starts when you approve the shop drawings, and your contract sets the dates before production begins.
A quick, clear approval does more for the schedule than anything else. Questions answered within a day, and drawings signed without long gaps, keep the production slot where it was planned. Late changes to appliances or finishes are the most common cause of delay, so settle those before you sign.
Send the appliance spec sheets with your layout, even for appliances you plan to buy later. The refrigerator, the oven and the dishwasher each set an opening, and drawing those openings early keeps the schedule and the fit intact.
How Are Payment Terms Set?
Because every custom kitchen is built for one house, some money changes hands before production starts. We agree the deposit and the balance with you, project by project, and keep the terms flexible on purpose, so the schedule matches progress you can see on video or in person.
Everything we agree goes into one written contract, together with the drawings, the materials, the delivery terms and the warranty. Read it before you pay anything, and ask about any line that is unclear. A good factory welcomes those questions, because a clear contract protects both sides.
How Can You Check Quality Before the Cabinets Ship?
Distance is the hardest part of buying kitchen cabinets from China, because you cannot open a drawer in a showroom down the road. We bring the checks to you in three ways, and you can use one or all of them.
- Samples. We can send door and board samples, so you can see the finish, the color and the edge in your own light before you decide.
- A live video of the trial assembly. We stand your cabinets up in the workshop and walk you through them on a call; ask to see any joint, edge or drawer.
- A factory visit. You are welcome to visit our factory in Foshan, Guangdong, and see the work in person.
Samples are most useful where the cabinets will stand. Look at them beside a window and under your own lights, at different times of day, because a matte greige or a walnut veneer can read quite differently in the morning and in the evening.
Trial Assembly Before Packing is our standard on every kitchen. We put the boxes and fronts together, align the doors and label every part to its wall, so the kitchen that arrives is the kitchen you saw.
How Are Kitchen Cabinets Packed and Shipped?
Export-Ready Crating means the cabinets travel in crates built for the ocean crossing, with every finished face protected and every crate labelled to the room it belongs in. We insure the shipment, and we pack a generous supply of common spare parts, such as fixings and fittings, so a small loss on site does not stop the work.
If the journey damages something larger, we can send replacement parts by air instead of waiting for another sea crossing. Check the crates on arrival and photograph anything unusual before you sign for them, because clear records make any claim faster and simpler.
Who Installs the Cabinets?
In the USA, Australia and Canada, our own crews and partner installers can install your kitchen, quoted separately so you see exactly what it costs. Because the cabinets already stood together in our workshop, the work on site is mostly placing, leveling and fixing parts made to match each other.
You are always free to use your own installer. Every order ships with the shop drawings, labelled parts, an assembly guide and a step-by-step video, and our team stays on hand during the fit. Plumbing, gas and electrical connections remain work for licensed trades.
What Does the Warranty Cover?
Every kitchen comes with a warranty, and its terms depend on the materials you choose and the services we provide, such as installation. We set those terms out in the contract for your project and agree them before production, so you know what is covered before you pay.
After delivery, the same team that drew your kitchen is the one you call. Because one factory drew and built every part, we can make a replacement door or panel to the same drawing, which is one quiet benefit of buying from the factory rather than a reseller.
Who Will You Talk To?
Long chains of people cause most mistakes in custom work. Each project has one dedicated contact, backed by our design team, who follows it from the first layout to the last crate. Replies come promptly by WhatsApp, email or a call, so questions do not wait for days. Our guide to buying a custom staircase from China describes the same process for staircases.
What Do Finished Kitchens Look Like?
Our Florida walnut kitchen pairs walnut veneer with light matte lacquer on plywood boxes. Our kitchen renovation in Germany replaced cream raised-panel cabinets with frameless greige fronts, and our Virginia outdoor kitchen uses stainless steel boxes with sintered stone fronts. We drew, built, trial-assembled and crated each one the same way.
What Should Be on Your Checklist?
- A seller who builds what it sells, with a workshop you can see on video or visit
- Shop drawings in inches, drawn to your measured walls and appliance spec sheets
- TSCA Title VI certified panels and labelled finished cabinets for a US kitchen
- Samples or a live video of the trial assembly before the cabinets are crated
- Payment, delivery, installation and warranty terms in one written contract
- Insured crates, spare parts in the shipment and a plan for replacement parts
- One contact who answers quickly and stays with the project after delivery
Planning a kitchen from our factory?
Send your kitchen layout and we will reply with shop drawings in inches and a factory quote for the whole kitchen.
Send Your Kitchen Layout →More Questions Owners Ask
Are kitchen cabinets from China good quality?
They range widely. Quality depends on the factory, the boards and the checks before shipping, so ask for certified panels, shop drawings, samples and a video of the trial assembly.
Can I see samples before I order?
Yes. We can send door and board samples, and we can show your cabinets in trial assembly on a live video call.
How are payment terms agreed?
Project by project. The deposit and the balance are agreed with you and written into the contract with the drawings and the warranty.
What happens if a cabinet arrives damaged?
The shipment is insured, common spare parts travel in the crates, and larger replacement parts can be sent by air.
Do you install kitchen cabinets in the USA?
Yes. Our crews and partner installers can install in the USA, Australia and Canada, quoted separately.
Related: Custom kitchen cabinets · Kitchen pantry cabinets · How to measure for kitchen cabinets · Plywood vs MDF vs particleboard · Germany kitchen renovation · Florida walnut kitchen
Sources: US Environmental Protection Agency, frequent questions on the TSCA Title VI formaldehyde standards. Process, payment, warranty and installation terms: Double Building Materials project practice.
Double Building Materials draws, builds, trial-assembles, crates and ships custom cabinetry from our factory in Guangdong, China. In the US, our crews and partner installers can install, quoted separately.
