Cages By Design

Please do not buy from this company. Paid 2500.00 for a cage . Took 6 weeks to get it, though they advertise expedited shipping. Arrived without tube from window to cage and without metal braces for roof. Calling just sends you to voice mail. I had to pay 120.00 for a length of tube to finish the cage and my contractor had to fabricate the metal roof connectors - more money I didn't need to spend. I will let you all know if they reimburse me for their shoddy shipping and product control.

On 6/2/2010 I ordered a Corner Bird Cage from CagesByDesign.com for a total of $4748.50. The staff, particularly the production supervisor Thomas Law, was quite responsive regarding color choices and shipping information. The cage arrived a little late on 7/23, but still in time for my wedding the following week. It was very well packaged, but less athletic customers might want to opt for the more expensive house and not curbside delivery. The assembly instructions are fragmentary at best, but manageable with some trial and error. There was a little sagging of the cage door, but really minor. The only thing we immediately complained about was a 22" x 3" hole in the back of the cage stand (and missing seed catchers – another minor item which we eventually received). This is where you usually store bird accessories including food and such a hole is an invitation to any vermin that sometimes find their way into our house. That’s when Tom’s response (or any response from the company for that matter) became scarce. After first claiming “the hole in the back of the stand is actually for assembly, we have never had any problems with bugs or anything on any of the ones sold or in use here”, he finally agreed on 8/9 to make “something to put in the back of the stand”. After a few missed promises, we got the first ‘hole cover’ on 8/25. After sending several pictures and description back and forth, Tom finally admitted, that there was no way this one would fit: “The first attempt at fixing your issue was obviously flawed.” End of August, Tom promised to send a new one, which, after a few reminders, arrived on 9/29. This one fit much better, but was still about one inch short – for mice prevention it might as well not have been there at all. Once again we exchanged picture and descriptions until, on 10/29, Tom wanted me to send him exact dimension for the hole cover. I responded that “I'm not an engineer and have no experience with provided measurements for parts. Also, I would think that your specs of the cage should enable you to build what is needed to cover the hole, especially if accompanied by the multiple pictures I provided.” Alas, not so: Tom wanted to shift responsibility for designing a proper cover to me and, when I declined, he all of a sudden argued that the cage with the hole “is complete and has been built like any other kind of furniture with a hidden back”. Again, we went back and forth a little until, in December, I finally got tired of all the effort I had to put into a $5K cage and asked Tom for a 15% refund on the purchase price to “have a local handyman stop by and make a cover that fits“. CagesByDesign sent a product that was lacking (or, at least, described insufficiently – nobody ever mentioned a hole in the back of the stand prior to arrival of the cage), was given ample chance and time to rectify the issue but it didn’t work out. Half a year after the initial complaint, it was high time to have this issue resolved without inconveniencing the customer any further – at least I thought so. Well, that’s when CagesByDesign’s responses started to take months. I’ve sent e-mails and called several times including asking for a statement from the company’s president, Adam, under [protected]@aol.com, but no response since 2/9 now ...

I posted a complaint concerning this company. I had opted for Priority shipping (their terminology) because I had an urgent need for the article to be there by a certain date. Their priority schedule fit the situation. The article did not arrive as schedule; Part of the shipment arrived 2 days later then their spread of 10-15. The remaining part arrived on day 18. I would not have paid the extra fee if I could have afforded the extra time.

They have resolved the issue (refunding the difference in shipping costs) and so the matter is closed. However, until the process for the most part has been rude and curt. It is though they feel they are doing me a favor by selling me the cage.

The last contact I had with the company was respectful and courteous.