Do You Tip Cabinet Delivery Guys? Full Guide

If you’re having a cabinet delivered; perhaps for your kitchen, living, or dining room, you may be wondering what the etiquette is for tipping this kind of delivery driver.

Working out how much and what to tip is key to managing your financial budget.

No one wants to pay too much but neither do you want to ignore common customs when it comes to tipping.

In this article, we’ve covered what the custom practice is for tipping cabinet delivery drivers, how much you should tip (if anything), what cabinet delivery drivers earn and how much a typical cabinet delivery will cost you on average.

Keep reading to find out what we discovered.

Do I Need to Tip a Cabinet Delivery Guy? The Short Answer

There is no requirement to tip cabinet delivery drivers but lifting cabinets is fairly hard work and delivery drivers don’t always earn reasonable salaries. Therefore, you may consider it is good practice to offer a tip of, say, $5 – $20 if the service has been performed well.

How Much Do Cabinet Delivery Guys Make?

It will likely be useful to you before deciding whether to tip, to look at what a cabinet delivery driver earns.

We know in some industries that workers have to boost their earnings with tips and therefore it’s customary to compensate them this way after the job is complete.

But is this the same for cabinet delivery drivers?

It isn’t as most delivery drivers earn a reasonable salary to begin with.

According to Talent.com, cabinet delivery drivers earn, on average, $55,000 per year.

This actually exceeds the average yearly income in the US, which, according to PolicyAdvice.net, equates to $51,916.27.

It’s clear that delivery drivers in the US do not need to supplement their income with tips as they already earn a respectable salary to begin with.

This is unlike other driving jobs, such as grocery delivery, where it is common to tip the driver before or after delivery (see our article on whether to tip Kroger drivers).

As such, tipping a cabinet delivery driver is certainly not required, although it will still likely be welcomed, especially if it’s a large and heavy cabinet.

How Much Does Cabinet Delivery Cost

Another key factor in deciding whether to tip is how much the delivery will cost you.

Cabinet delivery can be expensive but how much so depends on where you purchase your cabinet from.

Some retailers include free delivery, while others charge hundreds of dollars.

For example, on Amazon and with Costco, many items come with free delivery (especially if you’re a Prime member with Amazon), whereas Ikea delivery can cost a few hundred dollars for bulkier items.

Other companies like the Pottery Barn charge a lot less for delivery at around $15 – $30.

According to Uship.com, the average cost is $75 – $250 – again depending on the size of the goods and also the distance shipped.

How Much to Tip for Cabinet Delivery

The usual amount is 10 – 20% of the cost of the goods or service which would set you back around $10 – $50 on the basis of the above figures provided by Uship.com.

Alternatively, you can just tip a fixed percentage of say $5 – $20 depending on the size of the delivery and the quality of the service.

Do You Tip for Cabinet Assembly?

Some companies also provide an optional white-glove service where the cabinet is delivered and assembled as well.

You usually pay a few hundred bucks extra for this as an optional extra.

Many companies now outsource their assembly services. For example, Wayfair uses the company Handy as we found out when we asked whether you should tip Wayfair assemblers.

Ikea uses TaskRabbit.

Task Rabbit and Handy are both gig economy apps and their assemblers usually earn less than average salaries so we think it is worth tipping them as they most likely rely on tips to supplement their income.

We concluded that 10 – $20 is probably about the right amount of tip when we looked at whether to tip Amazon assemblers.

How to Tip Cabinet Delivery Drivers?

We’d suggest tipping your delivery driver in cash after the delivery has been made and you are satisfied the order is correct.

Cash is always best in our view as it ensures the driver will keep the tip as was intended. You can’t be assured of this if you pay by card and your tip could end up in the hands of the company and not the driver.

Some companies now provide the option to tip the driver at checkout as we found out when we looked at the etiquette of tipping Kroger drivers.

When Should I Tip a Cabinet Delivery Driver More or Withhold a Tip Completely?

There will be some occasions when it’s best to tip a bit more and also those when you should hold on to your tip.

Tip more if:

  • The driver does more than expected. For example, if the cabinet is taken to a remote area of your house or he/she follows specific instructions you leave;
  • The driver is professional and well mannered;
  • If the driver attends in snow or bad weather;
  • In the case of cabinet assembly, if the cabinet is constructed to a good standard and the work area is kept clean.

You may decide to not tip if:

  • The cabinet is delivered late or is incorrect;
  • The cabinet is damaged in transit;
  • The cabinet isn’t assembled correctly (missing screws, lopsided construction etc…)
  • The cabinet delivery driver is rude or unprofessional.

Final Thoughts

Cabinet delivery drivers likely earn a decent enough salary to not need to subsidize it with tips so there is no common requirement to tip them.

If you do decide to tip then we suggest a figure of $5 – $20 is likely enough but you’re unlikely to raise any eyebrows by not dipping into your pocket.

The average delivery cost for a cabinet is likely to be around $75+ but that much depends on the retailer. Some offer free delivery, whilst others charge a fortune.

Whether and how much you tip might well depend on what you’ve already forked out for delivery in the first place.

In terms of cabinet assembly, we would usually recommend tipping assemblers, especially if they’re from outsourced gig economy companies like Handy or TaskRabbit – they receive below-par wages so a tip will always be welcomed.

About the author

Oliver graduated from law school in 2008 and has practiced exclusively in the field of civil litigation for the last 10 years. He has a wealth of experience and expertise in litigation involving large financial losses and a special interest in consumer law. He has achieved numerous 7 figure settlements and has been involved in multi-billion dollar class-action consumer lawsuits against companies such as the Volkswagen Group. Away from the law, he is a consumer information and personal finance writer, having been featured in key publications such as Yahoo Finance, GO Banking Rates, NewsBreak, MEL Magazine, and many more.



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