Price Pledge

Unfortunately, this is not a short answer, but it is a very important one to a very legitimate question.  From a professional standpoint let us say this... if a ready-made case is less expensive than what you can build your own for, then our advice is stay away from such cases!  In the long run you'll be glad you did.  We have had countless customers who came back to us after buying such cases who told us they either sent the case back, or were terribly disappointed with the quality and strength and wished they had spent a little more and built with us.  From a personal standpoint let us say that we certainly understand that it might actually come down to the fact that you just don't have enough money to build, and rather than not have a case at all, you might choose to buy the cheaper case. However, we will follow that up with; if you can wait a few more weeks, and save up the extra money you'd need to build a far superior case, that's what we'd recommend.  Having said all that, let's move on to the details.

There are many factors that come into play regarding price and you being able to "buy one cheaper" than building.  We are fully aware of what's out there on the market.  From us you are getting the industry's best parts and materials used by reputable case manufacturers worldwide.  We don’t like to mention names regarding poor quality cases, but we can tell you that the some of the well-known U.S. companies that we completely endorse as bona fide, top-of-the-line, case manufacturers are companies like Encore A&S, Anvil, Star, Calzone, Gator, etc.  There are also comparable case manufacturers as well.  For folks who have the money to spend, and do not want to be bothered with building their own, then such companies are the ones you should buy from if you want a great road case.

This is not to say that there are not other companies, or builders, that make quality cases, but if you are going to compare building yourself versus buying a case, then such manufacturer’s prices should be the standard for comparison.  Stay away from other manufacturers who boast much cheaper prices than well-known quality case manufacturers.  You get what you pay for.  There are a lot of road & flight case “manufacturers” that are nothing more than either of the following:

1. Re-sellers of pre-made poor quality cases coming from wholesale outlets in other countries.

2. Assemblers of pre-packed, put-together, poor quality cases coming from wholesale outlets in other countries.

These are not case manufacturers, and cases that you may see out there that seem to be less expensive than building yourself are built with inferior-grade parts and materials, poorly designed for intended purposes, and made with corner-cutting building practices.  Their stuff looks good in photos, and even sitting there in front of you, but will not hold up once you start using them.  Even worse, these cases will not protect what is inside like you had hoped.  Also, remember that most outlets will charge you an additional $20 -$60 for shipping depending on how they work that overhead into their pricing. They may say free shipping, but by the time you are in the checkout process you almost always see some sort of “oversized item” cost added for shipping.  If they don't add any shipping, and free shipping is actually included in the cheap price of the case, then you do not want such cases.

Bona fide cases from manufacturers mentioned above can cost from $50 - $150 for shipping depending on the size of the case.  Shipping is not cheap, especially these days.  If someone tells you that you can buy a case, and get it shipped to you, cheaper than building it yourself, then trust us when we tell you that you will be getting very poor quality.  The only exception might be if you are buying something used or blemished.  However, if you are going to be handling your cases with the greatest of care, and only moving them in the trunk of your car, then a poor quality case will probably work okay for your budget.

The bottom line is that if you don’t have the money to buy cases from a reputable manufacturer, you can get the same quality by building yourself with us, for usually less than half the cost. Even with the so-called manufacturers whose prices are close to, or a little less, than what you could build for, you are still getting a much better value for your money with us, including the shipping costs.

Everything we sell is top-of-the line, industry-standard, parts and hardware, at very affordable prices for such quality. Our prices for top-quality parts are the same, and in most instances cheaper, than any competitors lesser quality parts. Our manufacturer didn't become the global leader for case companies worldwide by manufacturing mediocre parts and materials.