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IKEA is the new "fast fashion", but for furniture. You buy something one day, and it starts to deteriorate and become janky after a year, and you'll have a buy

IKEA is the new "fast fashion", but for furniture. You buy something one day, and it starts to deteriorate and become janky after a year, and you'll have a buy a new one. All products have gone through spreadsheet cost optimizations. It wasn't always like that. If you're lucky to get your hands on an old IKEA bookshelf (Billy), it's sturdy and will last forever.

sofixa 1mo ago
> You buy something one day, and it starts to deteriorate and become janky after a year, and you'll have a buy a new one I had a LACK table (9.99 euros at time of acquisition) last for 10 years before a move forced me to give it away. I also have a few random things from them (wooden cutting board, grater, I think a bookshelf) and everything is pretty OK, even the cheap stuff.
martin- 1mo ago
I have no experience with newer IKEA furniture, as my old IKEA furniture seems to last forever.
- yourusername 1mo ago
  They make stuff at all price points. The basic stuff is sturdy paper meant to last a few years, something like Ivar is solid (ish) wood and will outlive you.
arexxbifs 1mo ago
Even the stuff they've traditionally been good at? Funny thing is, I haven't bought much furniture for ages since my old IKEA stuff has lasted for several decades and is still going strong. Their major kitchen appliances are crap, though.
sdoering 1mo ago
We’ve had IKEA furniture for over 15 years, sometimes storing it in the attic for a few years after disassembling it, then assembling it again. We’ve also kept the main bodies of our living room furniture while replacing the doors. We sold the old doors on eBay, and other people reused them. I also inherited some “regular” living room furniture after my mom passed away. It cost about four times as much as IKEA’s higher-end lines. After moving it from my mom’s place to my office, I can already see it falling apart after just three years (total lifetime as my mom only had it for two). The quality is so shite that I honestly wish my mom had bought IKEA. In the future, I’ll either buy custom pieces from a furniture maker or choose IKEA's higher end lines for longevity and reusability.
vlyan 1mo ago
we miss it dearly in Russia. most (reasonably-priced) furniture we had before Ikea was worse, and what we have now is worse still. high quality furniture loses most of its value the moment it becomes preowned, so it only makes sense to buy if you are absolutely certain you aren't going to move anytime soon, which is not realistic for most people. Ikea is just good enough.
bluebarbet 1mo ago
A lot of people want this to be true, but alas it isn't. The stuff lasts. Probably for a simple reason: Any given product line is bought by millions of customers, so design flaws are quickly found and remedied. I see it as a form of safety in numbers.

sofixa 1mo ago

> You buy something one day, and it starts to deteriorate and become janky after a year, and you'll have a buy a new one I had a LACK table (9.99 euros at time of acquisition) last for 10 years before a move forced me to give it away. I also have a few random things from them (wooden cutting board, grater, I think a bookshelf) and everything is pretty OK, even the cheap stuff.

martin- 1mo ago

I have no experience with newer IKEA furniture, as my old IKEA furniture seems to last forever.

yourusername 1mo ago
They make stuff at all price points. The basic stuff is sturdy paper meant to last a few years, something like Ivar is solid (ish) wood and will outlive you.

arexxbifs 1mo ago

Even the stuff they've traditionally been good at? Funny thing is, I haven't bought much furniture for ages since my old IKEA stuff has lasted for several decades and is still going strong. Their major kitchen appliances are crap, though.

sdoering 1mo ago

We’ve had IKEA furniture for over 15 years, sometimes storing it in the attic for a few years after disassembling it, then assembling it again. We’ve also kept the main bodies of our living room furniture while replacing the doors. We sold the old doors on eBay, and other people reused them. I also inherited some “regular” living room furniture after my mom passed away. It cost about four times as much as IKEA’s higher-end lines. After moving it from my mom’s place to my office, I can already see it falling apart after just three years (total lifetime as my mom only had it for two). The quality is so shite that I honestly wish my mom had bought IKEA. In the future, I’ll either buy custom pieces from a furniture maker or choose IKEA's higher end lines for longevity and reusability.

vlyan 1mo ago

we miss it dearly in Russia. most (reasonably-priced) furniture we had before Ikea was worse, and what we have now is worse still. high quality furniture loses most of its value the moment it becomes preowned, so it only makes sense to buy if you are absolutely certain you aren't going to move anytime soon, which is not realistic for most people. Ikea is just good enough.

bluebarbet 1mo ago

A lot of people want this to be true, but alas it isn't. The stuff lasts. Probably for a simple reason: Any given product line is bought by millions of customers, so design flaws are quickly found and remedied. I see it as a form of safety in numbers.