The factory price is the easy part. Who measures the openings, prepares the DOB submittal, clears the container, replaces the damaged unit and answers the warranty call in year three decides whether an imported window package saves money or costs it.
In short: Buying windows, doors, railings or curtain wall directly from a factory in China is the cheapest line on a spreadsheet and often the most expensive package on a job, because the factory does nothing after the container leaves the port. A local representative, which is what Alex Glass Construction is for several Chinese manufacturers, keeps the factory price and adds survey, shop drawings, submittals, customs, delivery, installation and warranty service from Staten Island. Call 929-235-1233 or request a free quote.
These are the calls we get from builders who bought direct, usually after the container has landed:
None of these is a reason not to import. All of them are reasons to have someone local responsible for the package.
| Direct from a factory abroad | Through an importer-dealer | Through a local representative (Alex GC) | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Price | Factory price plus your own freight, duties and risk | Factory price plus importer and dealer margins | Factory price plus our drawings, logistics and, if you want it, installation |
| Survey and field verification | You | Sometimes; often a size list | Our surveyor, in New York, every opening |
| Shop drawings and submittals | Factory drawings, often incomplete for NYC | Dealer-prepared, varies | Prepared here in the format NYC architects and the DOB expect, approved before production |
| Energy and test data | You request it | Usually supplied | Supplied with the quote (U-factor, SHGC, air, water, structural) |
| Customs and freight | You hire the broker, you pay demurrage | Included | Included, delivered to the site on our trucks |
| Damaged or wrong units | Credit on a future order | Reorder through the dealer | Replaced by us, inspected at our yard before delivery |
| Installation | Your crew | Dealer may subcontract | Our own crews, or a site start for yours |
| Warranty and service | Factory abroad | Dealer, if still in business | Alex Glass Construction, 7 Beach Street, Staten Island |
| Where the responsibility sits | With you | Split between dealer and factory | One company |
If you are an experienced builder with a customs broker on retainer, your own crews trained on the system, a surveyor you trust and a project far enough from New York that our trucks cannot reach it, buying direct can work, and we will ship you a container to install yourself; see we ship nationwide. For everyone else in the NY metro, the representative route costs less once the first mistake is counted.
No single factory is the best at everything. We represent several manufacturers in China so that large sliding doors, curtain wall, windows and railing systems each come from the factory strongest in that product, and so that a capacity problem at one factory does not stop your project. We do not publish the factory names; the specification on your quote is what matters, and it is written out line by line.
More projects are added to the portfolio as they finish.
Wrong sizes from an unverified size list, submittals the architect cannot use, customs delays and demurrage, damaged units with no local replacement, crews unfamiliar with the system, and no one in the United States to honor the warranty. A local representative takes each of those on.
No. A representative adds the cost of survey, drawings, logistics and service, which a dealer chain also charges for, but it does not add importer and dealer margins on top of each other. The quote is still the factory price plus one company's work.
We do. Shop drawings, system test data and the U-factor and SHGC for the energy code are prepared and supplied with the quote; the architect of record files them.
We track production and the sailing, give you the ship date and the expected delivery, and plan the order three to four months ahead. If a delay threatens the schedule, we tell you early and can supply temporary closures.
We do, from our shop at 7 Beach Street, Staten Island. The factory warranty on profiles, finish and glass passes to you and the service that goes with it is ours.
Usually not; we order from the manufacturers we have vetted and work with. We can quote the same specification from one of them so you can compare.
Factory-direct windows, doors, railings and curtain wall from China Non-branded aluminum systems Authorized distributor: factory-direct prices How windows are really sold Order from the right supplier Design, planning and drawings Leaking windows or failed waterproofing?
About this page. Written by Alex GC Inc. d/b/a Alex Glass Construction and reviewed before publication by Aleksandr Chernovolenko, Managing Partner, with our design and estimating lead and a field foreman. Our foremen hold the NYC DOB Site Safety Training supervisor card and our crews the 40-hour worker card; we are certified to fabricate, install and service Alutech and Everest aluminum systems. Facts are drawn from our own projects, manufacturer test data and the applicable codes; where we are giving an opinion, we say so. Last reviewed September 2026. Credentials
Send the plans or a window schedule. We will quote the package factory-direct with survey, drawings, delivery and installation included, so you can compare it with buying direct.
