Hello! I wanted to share a synopsis of my experience with long distance ordering. I live in NC and bought my Ikea kitchen through the College Park, Maryland store (about 6 hours away).
I had visited the store in June 2005to look at types of cabinets offered, special features, etc. and take detailed notes. Finally a couple of weeks ago, I was ready to order. I had planned to rent a cargo van, drive to MD, meet with the planner, place the order and do a "cash & carry" orderthat same day. However, after calling the store and speaking with an Ikean (Joyce), I quickly realized I was taking a big chance by assuming that everything I need (in Stat White) would be available to take home that day.
Joyce, who was excellent, recommended that I do a fax order from home with a cover sheet note stating that I wanted to order through "Terminal" and pick up the order at the College Park store. She explained that "Terminal" is a large warehouse in New Jersey that has everything in stock and ships to US stores directly. I decided to try this rather than risk having to make two trips to Ikea to pick up my kitchen.
On Tues. March 7, I sent the draft order to Joyce via fax (I put her name on the fax because she sounded very knowledgable and has been selling Ikea kitchens for several years). We talked via phonethrough all questions she had about cover panels, etc., and she faxed a final order for my approval. I then sent the credit card authorization back to her along with a form stating that if I did not pick up the kitchen within 2 weeks after receiving a phone call that my order was ready, that my order would be returned and money refunded minus a 30% restocking fee.
On Thurs., March 9, the order was actually placed. On Fri., March 17, my order was ready for pick up. I picked up the order on Sun., March 19. I opened all the boxes with my razor knife as my boyfriend and I loaded them into the cargo van to check for damaged items and then retaped them. I used the handy checklist (in numerical order that I had made in Excel as others have suggested) and highlighted as I verified the items were there.
One pantry cover panel had a damaged corner (though the box exterior looked fine) and one pack of shelving had damage on the exposed sides. I was able to exchange them right away. When you get the exchange items, remember to check them, too, as the second pantry cover panel was damaged also so I had to exchange that one as well. Fortunately for me, these Stat White components were in stock.
By the way, shipping to NC would have been around $680 for me. The cargo van rental (through Enterprise with unlimited mileage) was $65 per day plus about $120 in gas roundtrip so I still saved money on that and was able to buy some accessory pieces I wanted from the store while I was there.
The order weighed about 1500 pounds and fit very nicely in the cargo van. We strapped the boxes in to prevent movement and possible damage on the way home.
Please let me know if you have any questions, and I will try to answer them. Overall it wasa very positive experience for me, and if I was ordering another Ikea kitchen long distance, I would do everything the same way.
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