It absolutely does not cost the same price as the properly made alternative. Noooo way.
Flat pack stuff like that is way, way cheaper, thus why people buy it.
Also, you can bring home a full armoire in a hatchback. Real wood furniture is large and heavy, and requires specialized equipment to get it up to an apartment.
Having antique furniture is like owning an upright piano. It probably has sentimental value, and will outlive humanity with minimal maintenance, but not everyone has the space for it, and when it comes time to relocate it, you realize why furniture went flatpack.
Real talk, I fit an Ikea mattress, slats, bedframe, and a weeks’ worth of groceries in my Ford Focus hatch when I was moving into an apartment in college. Meanwhile I had to rent a U-Haul for the 60 year old dresser passed down from my parents, because it wouldn’t fit in my car or either of their SUVs.
All IKEA furniture I’ve bought has lasted a long time, but the meme is wrong, the reason it even exists is you can’t buy better quality furniture for the same price, at least not by very much, it will cost a lot more if you want amazing quality.
I have a Billy bookcase that’s like 20 years old, if not more. It’s been there all my life, as far as I can recall.
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Yeah and you can find second-hand IKEA furniture for even cheaper.
I see you are in Germany, like myself, I tried other options momax, XXLutz and some others with very bad results. Yes, there are other more local brands but they are considerably expensive in comparison. Ikea has provided reliable and compact furniture, easy to move when changing apartments. Most of the second hand furniture I find is actually Ikea stuff in decent condition. I’m open to trying again with other brands and will do but my experience with Ikea has not been bad as described by the meme
But that is just my opinion.
If you’re adamant about that, then I guess this largely depends on where you live. Outside of one lucky find in a furniture charity shop I haven’t had that luxury, not to mention that you don’t get to choose what furniture you’re getting there.
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America is huge and you might have to drive very far to get that second hand item. Also not everyone has a pickup truck to go get bulky heavy furniture you can’t take apart to easily transport to your place. And bedbugs are an issue in some places, especially major cities. It’s possible for some but not everyone.
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I mean facebook marketplace and craigslist you’re just as likely to find furniture that’s already from IKEA or some similar retailer, anything better will likely cost way more unless someone really wants to get rid of it.
Also it should be no surprise that used IKEA furniture will also be way cheaper.
Yeah… about that.
This is representative of what I find when I look for anything second hand: https://lansing.craigslist.org/fuo/d/alma-beautiful-barn-wood-accent-table/7646902627.html
Note that this is about an hour drive each way.
Because that would be an apples to oranges comparison, even if it had any basis in reality.
Not sure why you’re being downvoted, maybe it’s because you keep replying second-hand without giving more information on that? Where are you looking? How are you finding it?
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I make and restore wood furniture. I have taken plenty of “all wood” furniture apart, repaired it, or just salvaged whatever actual wood scraps I could find.
Whatever idiot wrote this has no idea how expensive true wood furniture is. There is hardly ANY actual wood furniture in the market, PERIOD. You think it’s wood, but it’s veneered ply or fiberboard. That is the state of the entire industry, not just IKEA. This is a simple fact of life in a world that has already been heavily deforested even before all 8 BILLION PEOPLE currently living were born. Wood is precious. You also don’t need solid wood for your fucking nightstand. So maybe you should buy a nightstand made out of the particleboard that is waste product from milling lumber for other uses, like construction. That’s called using everything, wasting nothing. It’s sustainable.
There is nothing wrong with IKEA furniture for most people’s everyday needs. And you are not going to get a 150-year all wood piece for the same price. LOL fuck no. When you are in your 40s and have made it big time you can go to a craft furniture maker and get a solid oak bedroom set. It will cost more than your first car did.
IKEA furniture does not fall apart in 3 years, either. I’m about to go get my pajamas out of the IKEA dresser I’ve had since 2001. It won’t last centuries like a real craftsman made wood dresser. But it’s not 3 year garbage either, and looks and works like the day I bought it, despite me using it daily for 22 years and moving it between at least 4 houses in that time.
IKEA furniture is good for what it is and very cheap. One of the reasons it’s cheap is that it is flat packed for efficient shipping. Assembly by the customer also saves cost. And seriously, if you can’t figure out the IKEA instructions, you must not be trying very hard.
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And seriously, if you can’t figure out the IKEA instructions, you must not be trying very hard.
You missed the part where the same idiot posting stupid misunderstandings about the furniture market is the one trying to assemble the furniture. They’re working their ass off trying to assemble that nightstand, but it’s too damn complicated. Just opening the box took years off their life.
Sounds 'bout right.
OP has clearly never priced out solid wood furniture. A single mission-style sofa–by which I mean something made using Gustav Stickley’s plans–will typically retail for well over $3000 US. …Such as this version–from the original Stickley company–that has an MSRP of >$9000
OPs whole shit is wrong, honestly. I have a house furnished on quite a lot of Ikea shit that’s been going strong for 10ish years through multiple moves? Though I don’t disagree that I’d rather have better materials like real wood that can be refinished and really can last a century, that is not happening for anywhere near Ikea prices.
Exactly what I’m thinking, can furnish a whole place for a price of some of these solid wood furniture.
That’s what I was thinking too. Like, where can I get a nice, sturdy couch for under $800 USD?
Sometimes on Facebook Marketplace, Craigslist, or similar. If you like mid-century modern, and are willing to reupholster, you can often find 50 year old pieces at estate sales and such. But new? Ain’t happening.
For the same price
Lol
OP has clearly never purchased furniture
Speak for yourself, I have multiple IKEA furniture that’s lasted me for 10 years. You just have to be careful and take care of your stuff.
The massive wood furniture that lasts two lifetimes is only as cheap as the IKEA counterpart if you do it all by yourself, in your own little woodshop, and only need to pay for glue, nails, hinges, and electricity. And still only of you Include felling and milling the trees on your own.
Some years ago, I wanted one wall of the living room done with a custom-made, wall filling book shelf. Estimated cost by the carpenter: 7000. I paid about 3000 for IKEA furniture and other materials and did two walls of shelves instead of just one, suspended the ceiling, ran a ton of wires and redid the whole living room electrical and communication infrastructure. Yes, all that for half the price quoted by the carpenter. Guess what? None of the furniture has broken down so far. And I don’t expect it to.
Carpenters build house frames, cabinetmakers build furniture.
Is it legit $7,000 for a big wall filling bookshelf?
Sounds insane.
Like who would ever buy that service?
My dad is a cabinetmaker. At 34 I can reflect on my life and I have never seen higher quality cabinets than his. Nothing comes close.
I remember he used to complain that people could get cabinets cheaper at Walmart so he lost more and more business.
I think with wage stagnation, people can’t afford custom cabinetry anymore. So it seems insane to us to spend that amount. But you can imagine that with the price of lumber and the cost of skilled labor that 7000$ comes quickly.
Honestly, I spent most of my 20s as a cabinetmaker, I even had a shop of my own and just keeping the lights on, charging for materials and gas will run a basic piece of furniture into the thousands. That’s without making a salary at all. Nothing is cheap anymore and we can’t expect people to work for free. That among many other reasons is why I’m working in a different field now.
Proper woodworking is a very specialized skill set that isn’t all that common anymore. The tools to do proper woodworking can also cost a small fortune and take up a very large amount of space. The cost of good lumber from an actual lumber yard is also very high. You can’t make any good looking furniture that is going to last out of wood bought from Menards.
My dad used to do professional capentry and cabnetry. His woodshop takes up the entirety of a repurposed decent sized barn. The loft of his barn is full of old lumber that has been curing for several years. Most of the lumber he uses he has had to scrounge up from auctions just because most modern forestry methods don’t produce nearly as high quality of lumber. Modern forestry methods are far more efficient because the trees chosen grow faster and the cuts are more efficient but that also makes the wood weaker and the grain paterns less attractive. Old growth hardwoods are ideal for most woodworking. Generally modern forestry also rarely works with certain wood types because it isn’t economical to do so. Walnut is a beautiful wood but if you have ever seen a walnut tree then you know why it’s hard to make any decent planks out of one.
Lots of people.
No idea what that guy’s talking about. I bought a bunch of furniture from Ikea 15 years ago and all of it is still standing. Even the flimsy-looking chairs.
Yea, there are a couple tiers of ikea quality, and it’s clearly reflected in the price.
I spent $600 on a king size tufted headboard and box spring set and it’s been a tank for 10 years. I bought a $400 tv console and it’s similarly been a tank for 12 years.
I bought a cheap table for my dorm room and it didn’t survive the year.
I bought a £30 coffee table from IKEA and it lasted me 6 years and 6 house moves. Only reason I got rid of it is because the flat I moved into had the exact same one already
You expect to coherent points from 4chan? Everyone’s an idiot on that platform. Case and point they are arguing for a completely disprovable point.
In the UK before Ikea, it was MFI (colloquially known as ‘Made For Idiots’) that was even lower quality chipboard horrible furniture.
Yes, Ikea isnt some handcrafted solid wood furniture but until most people can afford that stuff, it will do.
Yeah what’s with this idea that solid wood furniture costs the same as IKEA’s equivalent. That’s just not true. If it was no one would buy IKEA furniture so it’s obviously not true.
Mr green text is a lying git.
I bought one piece of real furniture and the only reason we could afford it was because it was made by a dude as his hobby and he was selling practically for cost. And even then I had to really commit that I wanted that walnut dresser. Internals are still MDF btw.
Yeah the prices here are all out of wack. I’d love to buy nice, long lasting furniture. Please tell me where I can get a couch that will last generations for $500? I have some hand me down furniture that’s good quality and even in it’s day it was.a significant investment. My dining room table cost ~$1200 when it was brand new. If I didn’t have that I’d be using some $150 pressboard garbage from target or Ikea because that’s all I can reasonably afford
I actually like putting the flat packs together. It’s like Lego for adults.
Sue me.
They don’t use text in the instructions, just pictures. This lets them print the same instructions book for all the hundred countries they sell in. But it can make assembly just a little bit more tricky. This is the only even moderately challenging part, but like you say it’s usually fun.
Have you tried putting furniture with written instructions together? IKEA is a million times easier because they show you right in the pictures what you gotta do, instead of trying to explain it in words.
Yeah, you’re right about that. Pictures are good. It would just be helpful if you had the ability to use text with the pictures sometimes. They have to not do that.
In my experience, it’s a choice between decent Ikea shelves that don’t sag after a few years of use and super shitty Walmart furniture that falls apart in about 6 months.
Aside from the price of good quality wooden furniture, it’s heavy as hell which is rough when you’re a renter and moving every few years. There’s also a lot of wooden furniture, old or new, is just as poorly constructed with peeling veneer and failing staples. Not everyone has the time, money, or space to fix that up.
And all that being said, Ikea isn’t really that expensive for what it is. Their soft furnishings and decorative items seem overpriced, but their storage products (mostly what I get from them) are pretty decently priced. Yeah I’ve had my issues with missing parts and shitty customer service, but all in all my experience has been positive enough to keep going back.
I still want to get a couple really nice, high quality items, but I’m not going to break the bank every time I need a bookshelf.
Not to mention, they do sell actual nice solid furniture for decent prices. For example, my current dining table from Ikea is solid wood, not veneered particle board, and was less than $200 dollars. I’ll gladly take the 5 minutes it took to screw the legs on for a decent piece of furniture at that price.
I also have a few of those adjustable metal shelves from Ikea, which have been sitting on my balcony for two years now, exposed to the elements, with not a single spot of rust on them. Those were about half the price of comparable shelves from a big box store, which rusted out in less than a year.
Sure Ikea sells some cheap crap that disintegrates if you look at it wrong, and that sucks, but if you’re just a little more selective about what you buy there, you can get stuff that’ll last at a very reasonable price.
My IKEA wardrobe survived 3 moves and 10 years so far and it’s almost a good as new
Where do you get wooden furniture for the same price?
cheaper, not the same price … and it’s in the thrift stores. I love buying old shit and refurbishing to my liking, it’s fin, it’s good for the enviroment, your wallet and it’s unique. Not gonna find my coffee table in any floorroom and that bitch would break a mofos back
Well, I’m in a third would country and wood furniture is cheaper than ikea for sure. Even custom made stuff is not that expensive sometimes.
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It’s mostly Ikea furniture on the marketplace sites in my area lol
That “bureautje” thing looks like the random crap furniture my grandmother had in her house.
Nice, I have absolutely nothing like that within my area.
I used to keep an eye on the marketplace sites for a while, but after a few months gave up because there was usually fuck all good furniture and the good deals get snapped up instantly.
Dealers spend all day watching these market places (I’ve met at least five in my local area), the second they see a deal they jump on it, then post it back on with a 500% markup.
The first one is absolutely hideous, I wouldn’t want that in my house.
The second one doesn’t even look too be solid wood, but rather engineered wood with a veneer - I don’t see how that’s any different than IKEA.
I love real wood furniture as much as the best person, I have some myself, but your post here does not help the point you’re trying to make
… What? I have Ikea furniture that’s lasted 10+ years, through 5+ moves including disassembly and reassembly every time. Nothing took more than 20 minutes to assemble, and I definitely believe this furniture can outlive me.
The IKEA shelves in the studio are about 30 years old, moved twice, and are still fine.
You have to remember, you bought that quality 10 years ago though, to play devils advocate
Flat pack stuff has been around much longer then IKEA. The real wood stuff was great, but heavy and inconvenient to transport. That’s why the flat pack stuff caught on so fast.
Particle board is heavier than un-processed wood. Ikea does sell some stuff made from actual wood if you look for it. I bought an unfinished pine table from them for $60 a few years ago.
That’s just false. Particle board is without a doubt less dense than actual wood.
It really depends on the variety and the wood. MDF or medium density fiberboard is quite dense and heavier than say, pine wood. But not all particleboard is the same. There are many kinds and they vary greatly in density and composition.
I’m not sure what being heavier is supposed to mean though. Heavier doesn’t mean stronger.
I didn’t say heavier. I said dense. I wasn’t making a comment about the strength.
I also said dense. Particle board comes in many densities (as does wood). The range of both of them overlaps, so there is no way to make a sweeping comment that one is more dense than the other.
Come on man…
You’re being pedantic. Yes if you choose the least dense wood you can, and the most dense particle board, sure. 👍.
Well you made a very strong statement to someone: “that’s just false.” And you were not correct. Correcting that with actual nuanced information is not being pedantic.
No it isn’t. Particle board is not one product, first of all. It comes in all kinds of material compositions, densities, and coatings.
Yes, 3/4” sheet of MDF is heavier than plywood. Heavier than a panel made from construction wood species. Not necessarily heavier than hardwood.
But IKEA furniture is not made from MDF. The particle board they use is something far lighter and full of tiny voids where MDF has none.
