IKEA in the ACT - the countdown is on

Interesting:
https://au.finance.yahoo.com/news/ikea-billionaire-pays-first-swedish-110619725.html

Raging Tempest said :

David M said :

A few years ago my daughter and I went to Sydney and picked out a new queensize bed for her bed room. She liked it… We assembled the bed. Lo and behold, the bed rails were around 75 centimetres too short for the mattress.!

Given that you pick up each part of the bed separately, it sounds like you picked up the wrong size rails. Problematic when you are a seven hour round trip away, but not the company’s fault. If they were labelled incorrectly, well, that is shit service.
The aren’t for everybody, but they have been around over 60 years, so their model obviously works.

Actually, no, the rails were the correct ones for the bed, and for an Ikea mattress and therefore too short for standard mattresses, it’s something no-one would notice until, as we did, they used a standard mattress.

rosscoact said :

dungfungus said :

JimCharles said :

watto23 said :

dungfungus said :

Holden Caulfield said :

MEATBALLS!

Sorry to ruin your day:
http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/world/horse-meat-found-in-ikea-meatballs/story-e6frg6so-1226585487864

As someone who has been to a restaurant in Slovenia that actually served horse meat and also ate horse meat in Kyrgyzstan, neither country it is considered exotic or strange, I find the paranoia about things like this amusing. Now I take issue if its labelled as beef, but actually horse meat, but otherwise its meat and i eat meat. I don’t have this western standards system of whats an acceptable meat to eat other than not eating endangered animals or animals that are farmed in a cruel way (ie korean dog farms which are similar to battery hens).

Or even France, where chevaux is very common. My mother fed us burgers from a French campsite bbq many years ago, not knowing what the hell it was until later…..

I’ve often wondered where they get the meat, I know Australia makes its occasional mass Brumby culls self-financing by selling the meat to some market or other. maybe dog food but who knows eh?
Maybe Australian horses are going to Europe?

There are some brumbies about to be culled at Twickenham this weekend.

Are you anti-Australia Dungers?

It was meant to be a joke Rossco but you have got me thinking about what is “Australian” these days, especially when it comes to sport which has been totally ruined by money.
Sport has nothing to do with nationality or regional identity anymore.
Some of us even eat horse-meat as a choice these days – how un-Australian is that?
And before JC chimes in to correct me about the venue for the next rugby matches, I am not sure is at going to be a Twickenham so lets say “in Europe”.

dungfungus said :

JimCharles said :

watto23 said :

dungfungus said :

Holden Caulfield said :

MEATBALLS!

Sorry to ruin your day:
http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/world/horse-meat-found-in-ikea-meatballs/story-e6frg6so-1226585487864

As someone who has been to a restaurant in Slovenia that actually served horse meat and also ate horse meat in Kyrgyzstan, neither country it is considered exotic or strange, I find the paranoia about things like this amusing. Now I take issue if its labelled as beef, but actually horse meat, but otherwise its meat and i eat meat. I don’t have this western standards system of whats an acceptable meat to eat other than not eating endangered animals or animals that are farmed in a cruel way (ie korean dog farms which are similar to battery hens).

Or even France, where chevaux is very common. My mother fed us burgers from a French campsite bbq many years ago, not knowing what the hell it was until later…..

I’ve often wondered where they get the meat, I know Australia makes its occasional mass Brumby culls self-financing by selling the meat to some market or other. maybe dog food but who knows eh?
Maybe Australian horses are going to Europe?

There are some brumbies about to be culled at Twickenham this weekend.

Are you anti-Australia Dungers?

JimCharles said :

watto23 said :

dungfungus said :

Holden Caulfield said :

MEATBALLS!

Sorry to ruin your day:
http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/world/horse-meat-found-in-ikea-meatballs/story-e6frg6so-1226585487864

As someone who has been to a restaurant in Slovenia that actually served horse meat and also ate horse meat in Kyrgyzstan, neither country it is considered exotic or strange, I find the paranoia about things like this amusing. Now I take issue if its labelled as beef, but actually horse meat, but otherwise its meat and i eat meat. I don’t have this western standards system of whats an acceptable meat to eat other than not eating endangered animals or animals that are farmed in a cruel way (ie korean dog farms which are similar to battery hens).

Or even France, where chevaux is very common. My mother fed us burgers from a French campsite bbq many years ago, not knowing what the hell it was until later…..

I’ve often wondered where they get the meat, I know Australia makes its occasional mass Brumby culls self-financing by selling the meat to some market or other. maybe dog food but who knows eh?
Maybe Australian horses are going to Europe?

There are some brumbies about to be culled at Twickenham this weekend.

ungruntled said :

Rubyait, many of your comments may be correct, but I do not think your comments about the quality of Ikea products is correct.

My experience has been quite the opposite. I have put in two Ikea kitchens & forn no problems at all. The pieces were cut to within a millimetre accuracy, they went together easily and lasted well. I am now living in a house where the flooring is Ikea & has been here for 25 years & still looks good – quick mop & it’s sparkling.

They have a mixture, I’ve got a 20 year old large coffee table that’s outstanding quality, you wouldn’t think it was an Ikea and we’ve dragged it to 3 countries now.
But they make a lot of money from the cheap goods they pile high in the marketplaces, and the stuff aimed at students and renters.

watto23 said :

dungfungus said :

Holden Caulfield said :

MEATBALLS!

Sorry to ruin your day:
http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/world/horse-meat-found-in-ikea-meatballs/story-e6frg6so-1226585487864

As someone who has been to a restaurant in Slovenia that actually served horse meat and also ate horse meat in Kyrgyzstan, neither country it is considered exotic or strange, I find the paranoia about things like this amusing. Now I take issue if its labelled as beef, but actually horse meat, but otherwise its meat and i eat meat. I don’t have this western standards system of whats an acceptable meat to eat other than not eating endangered animals or animals that are farmed in a cruel way (ie korean dog farms which are similar to battery hens).

Or even France, where chevaux is very common. My mother fed us burgers from a French campsite bbq many years ago, not knowing what the hell it was until later…..

I’ve often wondered where they get the meat, I know Australia makes its occasional mass Brumby culls self-financing by selling the meat to some market or other. maybe dog food but who knows eh?
Maybe Australian horses are going to Europe?

rubaiyat said :

bd84 said :

Most of the furniture shops in Fyshwick have already closed in the last 2 years. A drive along Gladstone street shows a lot of empty shops that used to be selling furniture.

From what I have seen of their products, the main competitor for IKEA is Fantastic Furniture selling cheap flat packs or more expensive stuff that is of a slightly more better quality. Cheap stuff is reflects the actual low quality, the more expensive stuff is better, but not substantially so. Hours of fun after lugging your purchase home to put it all together. This will suit some people, but not a large number of others.

I don’t really expect there to be another rush of more furniture shops closing, or for the big guys to give up on furniture. It appears to have a niche in the market that could be sustained, and like other new shops, the novelty will wear off after a few months.

The furniture stores are all in what used to be the DFO, they haven’t closed.

It will be hard to compete with a huge international operation that not only avoids paying tax by shifting profits offshore but gets the local government to excise a specific piece of land out of the existing zoning just for them.

To what end I do not know. Large corporations have been playing this game all round the world for decades now to the point that they make the major decisions and the governments simply comply.

Wait till you see what concessions the tram people get.

bd84 said :

Most of the furniture shops in Fyshwick have already closed in the last 2 years. A drive along Gladstone street shows a lot of empty shops that used to be selling furniture.

From what I have seen of their products, the main competitor for IKEA is Fantastic Furniture selling cheap flat packs or more expensive stuff that is of a slightly more better quality. Cheap stuff is reflects the actual low quality, the more expensive stuff is better, but not substantially so. Hours of fun after lugging your purchase home to put it all together. This will suit some people, but not a large number of others.

I don’t really expect there to be another rush of more furniture shops closing, or for the big guys to give up on furniture. It appears to have a niche in the market that could be sustained, and like other new shops, the novelty will wear off after a few months.

The furniture stores are all in what used to be the DFO, they haven’t closed.

It will be hard to compete with a huge international operation that not only avoids paying tax by shifting profits offshore but gets the local government to excise a specific piece of land out of the existing zoning just for them.

To what end I do not know. Large corporations have been playing this game all round the world for decades now to the point that they make the major decisions and the governments simply comply.

Most of the furniture shops in Fyshwick have already closed in the last 2 years. A drive along Gladstone street shows a lot of empty shops that used to be selling furniture.

From what I have seen of their products, the main competitor for IKEA is Fantastic Furniture selling cheap flat packs or more expensive stuff that is of a slightly more better quality. Cheap stuff is reflects the actual low quality, the more expensive stuff is better, but not substantially so. Hours of fun after lugging your purchase home to put it all together. This will suit some people, but not a large number of others.

I don’t really expect there to be another rush of more furniture shops closing, or for the big guys to give up on furniture. It appears to have a niche in the market that could be sustained, and like other new shops, the novelty will wear off after a few months.

David M said :

I’ve got mixed feelings about Ikea. They’re mid-range for quality, when Freedom opened in Australia in the 1980s they filled a similar niche in the market but where are they now? And Fantastic, not sure I’d rate them much.

A few years ago my daughter and I went to Sydney and picked out a new queensize bed for her bed room. She liked it. She didn’t like the mattresses so she went to a Canberra mattress place and bought a queen size mattress. We assembled the bed. Lo and behold, the bed rails were around 75 centimetres too short for the mattress. Fortunately, her father had a welder and was able to add in the difference. A quick spray of matt black paint and no-one will ever know. The Ikea ‘system’ is insidious.

I like some of their kitchenwares but I hate being forced to follow their rat run. If I know what I want, I enter through the checkout end and go straight to the warehouse end and get it.

But don’t get me started on Billy bookcases:

watto23 said :

Not everything at Ikea is going to last and is priced as such. I’ve found their Billy bookcases though to last a long time indeed. Had 3 of them for 15+ years and no sign of needing replacement, and thus bought a heap more for my study. However as per recommendation I’ve anchored mine to the wall also, which has helped them stay strong.

I agree, to a point. We bought several Billy book cases some years ago, and I bought another a couple of years ago because the original ones WERE good. However, instead of the MDF backing that worked so well in the first three or four, they’ve substituted cardboard. It’s not as rigid as the MDF backing sheet and is therefore a frigging pain to install properly. After re-arranging my study about six months ago, I finally managed it with some help from my wife. When I remonstrated with someone on their Facebook page, all I got was some care factor zero comment about seeking ways to cut costs to consumers which didn’t really address the issue. Yeah, Jingle Bells!

Well, soon it will all be cardboard (or paper). Recyclable of course!
http://www.psfk.com/2015/08/ikea-paper-furniture-new-line-of-furniture.html

David M said :

A few years ago my daughter and I went to Sydney and picked out a new queensize bed for her bed room. She liked it… We assembled the bed. Lo and behold, the bed rails were around 75 centimetres too short for the mattress.!

Given that you pick up each part of the bed separately, it sounds like you picked up the wrong size rails. Problematic when you are a seven hour round trip away, but not the company’s fault. If they were labelled incorrectly, well, that is shit service.
You can get maps at the entrance that show you where all the exit holes are so you don’t need to follow the yellow brick road. If you know what you want, it is easy enough to get in and out using the map or check availability online and go straight to the warehouse area.
I have rooms full of their stuff and most of it has proved hardy unlike equivalent stuff bought at Fantastic which fell apart within a couple of years.
The aren’t for everybody, but they have been around over 60 years, so their model obviously works.

I’ve got mixed feelings about Ikea. They’re mid-range for quality, when Freedom opened in Australia in the 1980s they filled a similar niche in the market but where are they now? And Fantastic, not sure I’d rate them much.

A few years ago my daughter and I went to Sydney and picked out a new queensize bed for her bed room. She liked it. She didn’t like the mattresses so she went to a Canberra mattress place and bought a queen size mattress. We assembled the bed. Lo and behold, the bed rails were around 75 centimetres too short for the mattress. Fortunately, her father had a welder and was able to add in the difference. A quick spray of matt black paint and no-one will ever know. The Ikea ‘system’ is insidious.

I like some of their kitchenwares but I hate being forced to follow their rat run. If I know what I want, I enter through the checkout end and go straight to the warehouse end and get it.

But don’t get me started on Billy bookcases:

watto23 said :

Not everything at Ikea is going to last and is priced as such. I’ve found their Billy bookcases though to last a long time indeed. Had 3 of them for 15+ years and no sign of needing replacement, and thus bought a heap more for my study. However as per recommendation I’ve anchored mine to the wall also, which has helped them stay strong.

I agree, to a point. We bought several Billy book cases some years ago, and I bought another a couple of years ago because the original ones WERE good. However, instead of the MDF backing that worked so well in the first three or four, they’ve substituted cardboard. It’s not as rigid as the MDF backing sheet and is therefore a frigging pain to install properly. After re-arranging my study about six months ago, I finally managed it with some help from my wife. When I remonstrated with someone on their Facebook page, all I got was some care factor zero comment about seeking ways to cut costs to consumers which didn’t really address the issue. Yeah, Jingle Bells!

rubaiyat said :

ungruntled said :

Rubyait, many of your comments may be correct, but I do not think your comments about the quality of Ikea products is correct.

My experience has been quite the opposite. I have put in two Ikea kitchens & forn no problems at all. The pieces were cut to within a millimetre accuracy, they went together easily and lasted well. I am now living in a house where the flooring is Ikea & has been here for 25 years & still looks good – quick mop & it’s sparkling.

I think it is important to be accurate, not just “spew” negativity.

On the down side, I have found the Sydney Ikea shops not very disability friendly & am looking forward to find out how this one stands up. Some of us cannot walk 2 & a half kilometers & there were no electric
“go-fers” available nor isles wide enough to navigate.

We have just installed an ikea kitchen in our ski like lodge using builders and we either are dead unlucky or maybe we actually know what we are looking at.

Despite they must have computerised jigs to cut the pieces they did not fit together with “mm” accuracy. Particularly where the bench tops joined and frankly I find that quite irritating. Especially as I recommended against ikea but was overruled.

There is an interesting phenomena when decision makers get shown up by their adamant certainty. That certainty continues to refusing to see the obvious blemishes and misfits in the finished job. A plasterer mate and I waited till we were the only ones in the lodge and then did our best to patch up what could be patched.

What was most annoying was that Ikea wasn’t even the cheapest, but it was seen as the “most convenient” is the lazy choice.

Ski lodge?
Is that the one in Aspen or St Moritz?
If you were talking about Perisher that would mean you would have to have an evil car to get there and back and we all know your thoughts about that.

ungruntled said :

Rubyait, many of your comments may be correct, but I do not think your comments about the quality of Ikea products is correct.

My experience has been quite the opposite. I have put in two Ikea kitchens & forn no problems at all. The pieces were cut to within a millimetre accuracy, they went together easily and lasted well. I am now living in a house where the flooring is Ikea & has been here for 25 years & still looks good – quick mop & it’s sparkling.

I think it is important to be accurate, not just “spew” negativity.

On the down side, I have found the Sydney Ikea shops not very disability friendly & am looking forward to find out how this one stands up. Some of us cannot walk 2 & a half kilometers & there were no electric
“go-fers” available nor isles wide enough to navigate.

Agree. Rubaiyat usually hits the mark, but I don’t think that’s the case here. IKEA is respectable quality – outstanding for the price.

Alexandra Craig said :

pink little birdie said :

I need some specific pieces of furniture. I’m going to go shopping on Ikea’s opening weekend at other furniture stores because they will all be having sales.
Woo!

That is actually an excellent idea! I might do that myself for some smaller bits and pieces I need.

Maya123 said :

Only five years out of a lounge; that’s awful. They should last twenty years at least. My previous, very cheap lounge did, despite having tenants in the house who also used it; plus their friends. And there were cats using it too. It did get a new, washable cover though, plus some minor structural repairs. Finally when I replaced it after twenty plus years, it was still good enough to finder a buyer for it, so it went to another home and not the tip.
Furniture used to be bought for a lifetime and then often passed down through the family; now it’s treated more as a disposable. Cheap furniture companies, such as Ikea, encourage that wasteful idea.

Really?! 20 years for a cheap lounge? Maybe I use my lounge more than other people though… I do all my writing on the lounge and all my admin work for my charity takes place there too.

My lounge was used a lot. My tenants and I sat at it to watch TV, eat (no dining room or table), visitors sat at it, cats enjoyed it, etc. It was looked after, being cleaned when necessary, until finally it got a new homemade cover, which was removed once or twice to wash it. Some minor structural work was done too, such as a few screws to stabilise the legs, and to stop the lounge bits moving apart (a design fault). Perhaps it lasted better because the cushions were cotton filled mostly, rather than spongy material, but it mostly lasted, because when a problem occurred it was rectified, not thrown out because of that.

watto23 said :

dungfungus said :

Holden Caulfield said :

MEATBALLS!

Sorry to ruin your day:
http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/world/horse-meat-found-in-ikea-meatballs/story-e6frg6so-1226585487864

As someone who has been to a restaurant in Slovenia that actually served horse meat and also ate horse meat in Kyrgyzstan, neither country it is considered exotic or strange, I find the paranoia about things like this amusing. Now I take issue if its labelled as beef, but actually horse meat, but otherwise its meat and i eat meat. I don’t have this western standards system of whats an acceptable meat to eat other than not eating endangered animals or animals that are farmed in a cruel way (ie korean dog farms which are similar to battery hens).

Nothing wrong with horse meat.

Only thing is after eating smoked pferde in Albert Kuipper Markt in Amsterdam, I start salivating every time I watch the Melbourne Cup.

ungruntled said :

Rubyait, many of your comments may be correct, but I do not think your comments about the quality of Ikea products is correct.

My experience has been quite the opposite. I have put in two Ikea kitchens & forn no problems at all. The pieces were cut to within a millimetre accuracy, they went together easily and lasted well. I am now living in a house where the flooring is Ikea & has been here for 25 years & still looks good – quick mop & it’s sparkling.

I think it is important to be accurate, not just “spew” negativity.

On the down side, I have found the Sydney Ikea shops not very disability friendly & am looking forward to find out how this one stands up. Some of us cannot walk 2 & a half kilometers & there were no electric
“go-fers” available nor isles wide enough to navigate.

We have just installed an ikea kitchen in our ski like lodge using builders and we either are dead unlucky or maybe we actually know what we are looking at.

Despite they must have computerised jigs to cut the pieces they did not fit together with “mm” accuracy. Particularly where the bench tops joined and frankly I find that quite irritating. Especially as I recommended against ikea but was overruled.

There is an interesting phenomena when decision makers get shown up by their adamant certainty. That certainty continues to refusing to see the obvious blemishes and misfits in the finished job. A plasterer mate and I waited till we were the only ones in the lodge and then did our best to patch up what could be patched.

What was most annoying was that Ikea wasn’t even the cheapest, but it was seen as the “most convenient” is the lazy choice.

Holden Caulfield said :

dungfungus said :

Holden Caulfield said :

MEATBALLS!

Sorry to ruin your day:
http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/world/horse-meat-found-in-ikea-meatballs/story-e6frg6so-1226585487864

Sorry mate, I have a stomach of steel, you’re gonna have to do a lot better than that to ruin my day, haha.

Damn!

rubaiyat said :

Meanwhile your money will have left the country barely touching the sides in its rush to be reunited with Mr Ikea reportedly a Swedish Scrooge MacDuck. The Australian competition will have closed down because it actually pays regular wages AND its taxes in Australia.

You will then probably not notice the next dreadful negative Australian Trade imbalance, because who pays attention to that stuff, it is bad every month anyway, and proceed to blame someone else, the unions, the government, people who like to eat for a living, everyone except exactly the person who did it. You.

While I completely agree, blaming Ikea for it is ridiculous. Are we going to point to Aussie companies that also offshore there income where possible to avoid tax, or the numerous ways the wealthy in this country avoid paying tax. They play within the rules that are set by our government and many other governments around the world. Its a very big issue and its not going to disappear anytime soon. Governments don’t have the fortitude to stand up to the wealthy and large corporations.

However the local furniture stores in Canberra have to now stop overcharging a ridiculous amount for furniture. Not everything at Ikea is going to last and is priced as such. I’ve found their Billy bookcases though to last a long time indeed. Had 3 of them for 15+ years and no sign of needing replacement, and thus bought a heap more for my study. However as per recommendation I’ve anchored mine to the wall also, which has helped them stay strong.

I’ve found their home wares to be of extremely good value. I bought an Ikea wall unit for $299 and it lasted around 14 yrs also. It would have lasted longer, but I decided to rearrange the furniture and get a new wall unit. They clearly make a product many people are happy with. Its not perfect by any means, some things feel very cheap and many look pretty ugly.

I am a fan of competition and variety. Ikea doesn’t compete with quality furniture. If those stores close down, its not because of Ikea. If you want a quality solid wooden desk, you don’t go to Ikea to buy one. Places like Fantastic Furniture are going to be the real losers IMO.

dungfungus said :

Holden Caulfield said :

MEATBALLS!

Sorry to ruin your day:
http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/world/horse-meat-found-in-ikea-meatballs/story-e6frg6so-1226585487864

As someone who has been to a restaurant in Slovenia that actually served horse meat and also ate horse meat in Kyrgyzstan, neither country it is considered exotic or strange, I find the paranoia about things like this amusing. Now I take issue if its labelled as beef, but actually horse meat, but otherwise its meat and i eat meat. I don’t have this western standards system of whats an acceptable meat to eat other than not eating endangered animals or animals that are farmed in a cruel way (ie korean dog farms which are similar to battery hens).

Rubyait, many of your comments may be correct, but I do not think your comments about the quality of Ikea products is correct.

My experience has been quite the opposite. I have put in two Ikea kitchens & forn no problems at all. The pieces were cut to within a millimetre accuracy, they went together easily and lasted well. I am now living in a house where the flooring is Ikea & has been here for 25 years & still looks good – quick mop & it’s sparkling.

I think it is important to be accurate, not just “spew” negativity.

On the down side, I have found the Sydney Ikea shops not very disability friendly & am looking forward to find out how this one stands up. Some of us cannot walk 2 & a half kilometers & there were no electric
“go-fers” available nor isles wide enough to navigate.

dungfungus said :

Holden Caulfield said :

MEATBALLS!

Sorry to ruin your day:
http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/world/horse-meat-found-in-ikea-meatballs/story-e6frg6so-1226585487864

Sorry mate, I have a stomach of steel, you’re gonna have to do a lot better than that to ruin my day, haha.

pink little birdie said :

I need some specific pieces of furniture. I’m going to go shopping on Ikea’s opening weekend at other furniture stores because they will all be having sales.
Woo!

That is actually an excellent idea! I might do that myself for some smaller bits and pieces I need.

Maya123 said :

Only five years out of a lounge; that’s awful. They should last twenty years at least. My previous, very cheap lounge did, despite having tenants in the house who also used it; plus their friends. And there were cats using it too. It did get a new, washable cover though, plus some minor structural repairs. Finally when I replaced it after twenty plus years, it was still good enough to finder a buyer for it, so it went to another home and not the tip.
Furniture used to be bought for a lifetime and then often passed down through the family; now it’s treated more as a disposable. Cheap furniture companies, such as Ikea, encourage that wasteful idea.

Really?! 20 years for a cheap lounge? Maybe I use my lounge more than other people though… I do all my writing on the lounge and all my admin work for my charity takes place there too.

dungfungus said :

IKEA must have changed if it can deliver stuff “off the floor”. Last time (and only time) I tried to buy something on display at an IKEA store I was told floor stock was not for sale and the items I wanted would take 2 months to be available.
Enjoy your meatballs.
PS You don’t happen to drive a Volvo, do you?

You must have been unlucky, every time I’ve bought stuff there it’s in the racks out the back. Getting it on the roof racks without damaging yourself or the car is an entirely different proposition.

rubaiyat said :

You will then probably not notice the next dreadful negative Australian Trade imbalance, because who pays attention to that stuff, it is bad every month anyway, and proceed to blame someone else, the unions, the government, people who like to eat for a living, everyone except exactly the person who did it. You.

And how much of the furniture you buy from elsewhere is made in Australia? Sure you can find some, but the bulk is imported. So no change to balance of trade and the world isn’t going to end with the arrival of Ikea to Canberra. But might be an ideal location for the terminus of the Russell extension to light rail.

Holden Caulfield said :

MEATBALLS!

Sorry to ruin your day:
http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/world/horse-meat-found-in-ikea-meatballs/story-e6frg6so-1226585487864

rubaiyat said :

All we need next is WalMart to do to us what they have done to the United States.

I am assuming that you mean only the fashion conscious shop at Walmart? ha ha

Only five years out of a lounge; that’s awful. They should last twenty years at least. My previous, very cheap lounge did, despite having tenants in the house who also used it; plus their friends. And there were cats using it too. It did get a new, washable cover though, plus some minor structural repairs. Finally when I replaced it after twenty plus years, it was still good enough to finder a buyer for it, so it went to another home and not the tip.
Furniture used to be bought for a lifetime and then often passed down through the family; now it’s treated more as a disposable. Cheap furniture companies, such as Ikea, encourage that wasteful idea.

I need some specific pieces of furniture. I’m going to go shopping on Ikea’s opening weekend at other furniture stores because they will all be having sales.
Woo!

I prefer to pay Ikea/fantastic prices for high quality second hand pieces.
I paid $500 for a second hand couch and it’s fantastic. Big and comfortable and still going strong after 4 years of second handness (3 moves so far). (Our dining table is also second hand).

MEATBALLS!

IKEA must have changed if it can deliver stuff “off the floor”. Last time (and only time) I tried to buy something on display at an IKEA store I was told floor stock was not for sale and the items I wanted would take 2 months to be available.
Enjoy your meatballs.
PS You don’t happen to drive a Volvo, do you?

All we need next is WalMart to do to us what they have done to the United States.

Personally I can’t help but notice that Ikea’s furniture is made to minimal standards in some third world country with no labour laws and they have structured the business to move nearly all profits to the Netherlands and whatever other tax haven they are currently using.

The net result for most people is going to be a long drive to a remote store which has a windowless internal layout designed to deliberately disorient you like in a casino. There you will succumb to your consumer imperative to go home with something because “after all we drove all this way”.

Having got home you will struggle for how many hours to assemble the piece possibly damaging or stuffing it up because it is made out of ticky tacky. After a not too long time after having trashed it you might go buy another or wake up that too good to be true usually is, and buy something better that lasts.

Meanwhile your money will have left the country barely touching the sides in its rush to be reunited with Mr Ikea reportedly a Swedish Scrooge MacDuck. The Australian competition will have closed down because it actually pays regular wages AND its taxes in Australia.

You will then probably not notice the next dreadful negative Australian Trade imbalance, because who pays attention to that stuff, it is bad every month anyway, and proceed to blame someone else, the unions, the government, people who like to eat for a living, everyone except exactly the person who did it. You.