Sick of Angi Leads screwing over custom cabinet guys in north jersey

I'm up in north jersey, zone 5 winters mean alot of folks want custom cabinetry to beat the cold drafts, but these Angi leads are killing me. Paid $450 for a lead on a kitchen remodel with inset cabinets, show up and the homeowner's already got a bid from some hack using IKEA crap. They think $8k for quality oak face frames is too much when the other guy's quoting half with particle board. Watched a Matt Risinger video on proper joinery last week, that's the level I'm bringing, not this cheap BS. Someone in Carpenters of America FB group said ditch Angi entirely, but how else do you get eyes on your work? It's frustrating as hell chasing these ghosts.

man, same here, feels like every lead is a tire kicker wasting your time.

at least you're only out $450, I dropped 2k on thumbtack last month for nada. laughable how they call it 'marketing'.

yeah, the constant no-shows after paying for leads sucks the life out of the day.

angie is the WORST for trades like us, they favor the big box installers over real woodworkers. time to union up or something.

had a similar job blow up last week, client backed out after seeing the material costs for real hardwoods. pissed me off big time.

don't even bother with paid leads, stick to local networking or you'll go broke chasing them.

i feel your pain, north jersey market is saturated with lowballers anyway.

totally get it, leads like that make you question the whole business.

angi leads are trash, fight me if you disagree, but yeah they suck for custom work.

been there, brother, those leads drain your wallet faster than a bad joint.

yep, same struggle, custom anything gets undercut by the diy crowd now.

we're all getting hosed by these platforms, they take our money and give us scraps.

try yard signs and local FB groups instead, got three solid cabinet jobs from that last year.

frustrated too, quoted a deck frame job and the lead vanished, total waste.

post your work on r/woodworking, that's how I picked up a couple referrals without paying a dime.

these lead gen sites are a racket, designed to bleed small shops dry while corps eat the real jobs.

yeah, the big players dominate, us independents get the scraps.

build a simple website and seo for 'custom cabinets north jersey', way better than angie.

ha, at least your leads are for cabinets, mine are for floors nobody wants custom anymore.