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Why is IKEA furniture so affordable?

it's made by trolls who live under bridges. business is so good that IKEA had to hire thousands of trolls; which meant building a great many new bridges.

all trolls want is something ( preferably young children ) to eat. salary is not required so costs are low
 
Because most of it is made of crap and you have to put it together and sometimes the crap breaks when you are putting it together. Did I mention that most of it is crap?
 
Why is IKEA furniture so affordable?

Because, as is said above, it's cheap crap?

Actually - they do sell stuff for the office, not the home office stuff but for regular office use and they also sell extended-duty furniture. And those aren't cheap because they're built to the same standards as quality furniture.

It suits the lifestyle of the oft-moving, oft-changing younger families well, but you get what you pay for.
 
I think the other thing is, too, that they make so much of what they do. They design it nicely, and make a ton of copies. So the expensive design process and setting up machining, assembly lines, and so on, is split over many thousands of units. Mass produced things will almost always be cheaper than less-mass produced things. And the stuff about packing flat, simple designs, manufacturing in China, all so true. But they do have a very good human rights record. I like Ikea. 🙂
 
I'm happy with my ikea desk, night table, dresser, etc., it's all nice, cheap stuff, but I would never buy a bed from there. We spend 1/3 of our lives sleeping, on average, don't you owe your back something better and more comfortable? Get a sealy, serta, or whatever.
 
I have a lot of ikea stuff.

Some of their stuff is crap, and some is good. I avoid anything made from particle board. As well as being low quality - its just sawdust stuck together with glue - there's some research that the glues give off rather toxic gases. OK for the factory floor, but not what you want all your furniture in your bedroom to be made from.

Go for the solid wood or well made stuff. Look at it in the store before buying.
 
Because its crap and won't last.

My wife and I have rules for buying from IKEA:

1) Never buy big items of furniture as it won't last in a decent looking state for long. OK it will hang on for years but it will quickly look shoddy. Examples of this are the shelving systems which sag, settees and beds which wear and look tired. OK its cheap but these are major feature items and will look cheap and will need replacing.

2) Don't buy anything you will have to put stress on. An example of this was a garlic press and cork screw which broke the first time we used them.

3) Do Buy crockery and glasses as its so cheap and if it breaks it is so cheap to replace.

4) The pictures are OK but EVERYONE has them so don't expect your art piece to be unique.

5) candles are OK

6) Never buy IKEA office furniture as they stick a big fat premium on for calling it office furniture as it is often purchased with unquestioning business accounts and they know this..

7) NEVER EVER BUY BEDS from them. Honestly you will regret it. We brought a decent sealy and its almost 10 years old and still doing well. We did (before we perfected our IKEA rules) buy a bed for our visitors but it gave people sore backs and just didn't last.

Overall IKEA has gone way down hill in recent years and even their famed design is so so.

They have definetly gone for the low, starter end of the market which is fine but you quickly realise " I'm better than this junk" It's better to buy decent second hand stuff than new from IKEA.

They are very rich for selling 1$ hot dogs and 25C ice creams.

Sorry but , alas, you will be lucky to find anything made in Sweden now. Most of it is made in China, Indonesia, India, Vietnam, Malaysia and Thailand. It used to be made in Sweden say five or so years ago and that is when IKEA was good. We still use a dining table (solid wood) made in Sweden which my wife purchased before we were married about 10 years ago.
 
Don't buy "important" furniture from Ikea.

Buy bed linen, towels, forks/knives/spoons, hangers (very nice), plates and bowls, etc, at Ikea. Don't buy a coffee table unless you want a VERY cheap one that scratches easily and feels cheap. For the furniture worth buying and keeping, their price isn't much better than anything else out there.
 
RedTomato said:
I have a lot of ikea stuff.

Some of their stuff is crap, and some is good. I avoid anything made from particle board. As well as being low quality - its just sawdust stuck together with glue - there's some research that the glues give off rather toxic gases. OK for the factory floor, but not what you want all your furniture in your bedroom to be made from.
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Might you be talking about plywood manufactured with glue containing urea formaldehyde resin? Some places are now starting to manufacture with an "Ecobind resin." Supposed to have very low emissions of formaldehyde.
 
Shotglass said:
I do know that around here, IKEA kitchens are made by prison inmates.
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so, you rate that as a negative...? or how do you see this (not wanting to hijack the thread, mind you)...?

LiveForever said:
7) NEVER EVER BUY BEDS from them. Honestly you will regret it. We brought a decent sealy and its almost 10 years old and still doing well. We did (before we perfected our IKEA rules) buy a bed for our visitors but it gave people sore backs and just didn't last.
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is it THE bed (frame) or the mattress that isn't good?
 
Likely both.

Why would you even consider buying a mattress from a company that doesn't know anything about mattresses? That's definitely an item that requires a certain amount of expertise. It's like if Ikea started making cheap running shoes. I certainly would not consider buying a pair, no matter what the price. Whatever I pay would be a waste of money.
 
webgoat said:
how is that ikea store btw? i'm only about 15 minutes away from there in nw austin and have driven by it countless times on i35 but never stopped in
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I don't know, I have only driven by there are on my way to Austin.

Thanks for all the information, from what I gather it is still better stuff than sold at Wal-Mart and since when I do move out of my parents out (haven't decided if I want the hassle now or in April after I get my degree) I am going to be on a budget I will probably end up with a lot of cheaply made furniture. If the stuff lasts a few years then I shall be happy.
 
CalBoy said:
I suggest you wait. May/June is a better time to move in any case because the weather is better, and you'll have more time to prepare.
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That is assuming my dad doesn't drive me nuts before then. But yes, waiting would be better because it would allow me more time to continue saving funds.
 
maestro55 said:
That is assuming my dad doesn't drive me nuts before then. But yes, waiting would be better because it would allow me more time to continue saving funds.
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Yeah, parents can really be a driving force, but just put up with it a little longer. You made it this far right?

The extra money will really come in handy those first few months. 🙂
 
LiveForever said:
6) Never buy IKEA office furniture as they stick a big fat premium on for calling it office furniture as it is often purchased with unquestioning business accounts and they know this..
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Disagree, at least in part. I like their EFFEKTIV office furniture system for the most part. Definitely better build quality than their "home" stuff, and I think the pricing is reasonable. Their GALANT desks I'm not a huge fan of because the work surfaces don't feel terribly substantial to me, but my fiancee got one with the motorized lift to raise it from sitting to standing height. Got a killer price on it, too! Motorized desks can be crazy expensive.

Wish I could buy all my furniture from Design Within Reach, but I'm not quite made of that kind of money. 🙁
 
Ilove ikea I once drove to the one in Virginia shopped 3 hour and drove back to florida took me 25 hours but worth it and now have one in fortlauderdale and Orlando...Orlando rocks 🙂
 
What is your definition of quality? An antique chair or the plastic seats used in McDonalds?

The answer is both. The word quality (according to my training) means "fit for purpose". Plastic McDonalds chairs are designed to be hard-wearing, easy to clean and take a fair amount of abuse. An antique chair isn't, but is designed for a different purpose (to look good in a classic dining room).

Thus both can be defined as quality products as they are both fit for purpose. If your requirement is for cheap, light use, throw-away furniture that will last 4 or so years then buy Ikea as that's the purpose they've been designed for (hence 'affordable'). I would argue that a dining table that costs twice as much but lasts 4 times as long is more 'affordable'!

Perfectly summed up by this statement!

LiveForever said:
They have definetly gone for the low, starter end of the market which is fine but you quickly realise " I'm better than this junk" It's better to buy decent second hand stuff than new from IKEA.
Click to expand...
 
maestro55 said:
I don't know, I have only driven by there are on my way to Austin.

Thanks for all the information, from what I gather it is still better stuff than sold at Wal-Mart and since when I do move out of my parents out (haven't decided if I want the hassle now or in April after I get my degree) I am going to be on a budget I will probably end up with a lot of cheaply made furniture. If the stuff lasts a few years then I shall be happy.
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Have you thought about going to a thrift store such as Salvation Army or Savers? Since you're moving into your first apartment there is no need in buying new furniture. I'm sure if you look around you'll be able to find used furniture that is better quality and cheaper than IKEA. Good luck.
 
b/c it is really cheap materials. they use the worst quality wood they can get their hands on for the most part. you get what you pay for, im speaking from multiple ikea purchases

Shotglass said:
Actually, having furniture made in a country far away would be counterproductive (think shipping), so I very highly doubt that. I do know that around here, IKEA kitchens are made by prison inmates.
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isnt shipping not that bad since they barely paid for any labor?
 
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