This is a follow up to an earlier post regarding Ready to Assemble kitchen cabinets (RTA).

I have answered a few questions from people looking to purchase from the same company that I did in the past. I felt that a new post was in order to be sure this information is easier to find.

Dear -name withheld-,

I purchased a sample cabinet directly through their Ebay auction. The 2 subsequent orders were done directly through their web site. I did not have any trouble.

I was surprised to hear that they were selling you a “sample”. I don’t see finish samples listed anywhere on their site. I have operated an e-commerce business in the past and I can tell you that anytime a consumer requests something that is outside of the normal operation, it tends to take longer. There probably isn’t a method in place to handle processing and shipment of this order. Perhaps they are setting up an “order sample” process and you are the first. Delaying until process is in place. Just a guess.

On top of that, I feel it is difficult to get a true sense of the finish and of the material with a small sample. I would encourage you to purchase a single cabinet (one that falls within your kitchen layout) to get a true sense of the quality of construction and finish (or lack of quality).

I can’t answer for the company, but my best guess is that this is sitting on someone’s desk who is busy with the normal routine and can’t seem to find the time to handle an order that is outside of the normal flow.

Good luck.

Sorry to bother you again, but your response was very helpful. A few more questions:

1- did you buy directly from the site or through eBay? I didn’t see a lot offered on eBay making it seem much easier to buy directly from them.

2- any special tricks in getting this company to respond to you? I sent an email asking about finish samples… no response, so I called. They told me to send them $6 through paypal & note which finishes I wanted samples of. I did it that day. That was a week ago. Sent another email asking about the timing of receiving the samples (I am eager to start my project) & no response. Called again today to ask about it & the lady was very uneducated in everything & not very helpful. Said it should only take a few days, but I have already waited a week… so I pressed, “… so I should expect them before the end of the week?” — Got a mumbled kind of “yes” - she didn’t even want to take down my name so she could look into it. And this is only $6 samples, so I am getting a little nervous about spending $1,000 with them. Just wanted to see if you had any tricks of the trade here since you were so happy with the service.

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The Buffalo Niagara association of Realtors web site is called BuffaloNiagaraHomes.com. It is managed by a company that is contracted to handle the MLS for the group. They reconfigured parts of their site and made it rather frustrating.

As a web user, there is nothing more frustrating than landing on a page that gives me an error telling me that the page can’t be found. Well, recent changes at the Buffalo Niagara Homes site will have that happening with any property that was linked prior to the change. When you are making changes on a web site, especially one that many other parties rely on (Realtors), you should make the transition as smooth as possible. There is a rather simple method used to forward any old links. It is seamless to the visitor and should be a first step.

How about a bookmark this listing? Isn’t the growth area on the web social? Sharing of links and bookmarking is a key component of that. BNH eliminated the simple ability to share a listing with a friend, spouse, Realtor, etc. You can e-mail it, but that is much more intrusive (captures the user data). Make it simple. When you do a search and click on a listing, they are passing the information specific to the property in a way that hides it when you bookmark the page. How about adding the feature?

One other thing… How about presets values for minimum price and maximum price that are more reasonable. Are you basing this upon your own search data? Why don’t you start at “no minimum” and “no maximum” for price and give your users a little credit. They are smart enough to figure out how to modify form fields. If they aren’t, you are losing them anyway. Lock them in at $100,000-$150,000 and they will go away thinking you don’t have listings in their $300,000 price range. For the people who you don’t think can change some form fields, you are sending them away. I would bet they could navigate ‘next page’ if they can’t change a form field. Show them everything. Why don’t you give this a run for a week or two and then base your preset values on actual search data that you are capturing. If you are already doing this, my apologies.

Just trying to provide some feedback that I would imagine that BuffaloNiagaraHomes.com isn’t interested in.

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Have you ever wanted to a be able to do a 3d drawing but don’t have the skills (can you hear the infomercial voice now?).

Google purchased a company last year that offers a great product that makes design work easier (note that I said easier, not easy). There are some great applications for this CAD like program and it is fun to play around with. As with many cool products, there is a huge community around it with resources, examples and tutorials.

There are a few initial tutorials that allow you to do a side by side project. The completed version is on the screen next to the example that you are building.

If you are a contractor, this could be an invaluable tool in illustrating changes for your customers. The best part is that it is free.

In fact, you can even download your favorite sports stadium or the Eiffel tower.

Have fun with Google Sketchup
The 3d Warehouse is a collection of projects completed by Sketchup users. You can download and play with to your hearts content.

Some of my favorites:

• Sports Stadiums
• Well known buildings (even a couple of buildings at the Google Headquarters)
• Various Houses in Google Sketchup
• And, of course, a Handyman Workbench

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If you have residental rental property, apartment, and don’t currently use Craigslist.org to advertise, you are missing out. Craigslist is a site that you might reach and wonder when they are going to finish the design. Since its inception in 1995, the site has remained true to its roots as a free classified marketplace. It does charge for job ads in some cities.

You can list an apartment for rent in the Buffalo area for free at Craislist.

If you own a rental property in the Buffalo area, you should really give it a try. You can remain anonymous using the Craigslist system. You don’t have to include a phone number and Craigslist will automatically forward any inquiry from your ad through to your email box. I have used craigslist to list a duplex for rent and have had incredible success each time.

One negative… commercial real estate for rent. There has been no success when listing commercial real estate for rent. I have a building in Lancaster that has been listed a few times and a friend has done the same with a building in Orchard Park. Neither has generated a valid prospect.

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Obviously there was a fiasco with the former comptroller in NY State (Alan Hevesi). However, the gall that they NY legislature has is incredible. They wasted taxpayer money in a search for a replacement, narrowed to the three top candidates and then decided to appoint one of their own!! Nassau Assemblyman Thomas DiNapoli, to succeed Alan Hevesi as state comptroller

The comptroller in the state of NY wields a huge amount of power in the financial community. One decision of where to place funds can have a massive impact on any company involved. What better way to pay off some of your financial backers than to appoint one your own members to a post that awards billions of dollars of investment to who they see fit. Who do you think the new comptroller will see as a fit manager for funds? A backer of the Democratic party? A backer of Sheldon Silver? Sick.

I am not saying that Hevesi was good, what I am saying is that the comptroller should be independent of influence from a party. Sure, whoever the New York comptroller is will certainly be influenced by others and will probably have some self dealing. Honestly, it comes with the post. Probably nothing direct, but there will be tremendous indirect benefit to the comptroller his/her friends and family. That has always existed and probably always will. What I am saying is that these benefits should not have this direct tie to our state government. The power in Albany is far too concentrated already. Imagine how much more power will be had when there are Billions of dollars to throw here and there based upon what you are doing for the party or for a particular politician. The comptroller has oversight of the the State’s $140 billion dollar pension system.

To top it off, the assembly reneged on a deal it made with governor Eliot Spitzer to choose only from candidates deemed qualified by an outside screening panel.

Maybe I am being naive in thinking that the self selection, or self dealing, hasn’t been the case all along. Well, if it has been, it was kept a little more private. This is brazen.

Related Articles:

• Stunning lack of integrity
• Legislators Pick a Comptroller, Defying Spitzer
• The Legislature’s gall

You might question how this is related to Buffalo. Well, everyone in NY loses with the power that this legislature abuses. Selecting an insider from downstate will further insulate upstate, and WNY, from the consideration it deserves in state government.

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I have 3 offices/suites remaining for my Lancaster office. If you are interested, please contact me through the ad at Craigslist.

Lancaster NY Office for rent

Thanks.

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