"Cheap: The High Cost of Discount Culture": IKEA As Bad As Wal-Mart

Salon:

My mother still owns, and uses, the same vacuum cleaner she bought early in her marriage, just after World War II. She still lives in the house my father -- not a carpenter by trade, but an electrician -- built in the early 1950s with the help of his brothers, a small but sturdy Cape Cod-style dwelling with hardwood floors and solid wood doors that close with a hearty, satisfying clunk (as opposed to the echoey click of hollow-core doors). Today the idea of anything -- a household appliance, a piece of furniture, a house -- being built to last is almost laughable. When your vacuum cleaner stops sucking, you most likely haul it out to the curb and trek to Target or a big-box home-goods store to replace it. Even if you could readily find someone to repair it, the trouble and the cost would be prohibitive. If you need a bookcase, there's always IKEA: Sure, you'd prefer to buy a sturdily built hardwood version that doesn't buckle under the weight of actual books, but who has extra dough to spend on stuff like that? The IKEA bookcase is good enough, for now if not forever.

Read the whole story: Salon

Comments

[postedby]

If you don't like IKEA, don't buy their goods, don't work there. Are we done now?

[gbrooks]

Nope.

[bokiluis]

So why do you?

[DC]

IKEA instant life style. Throw it out in two years and buy more. Consumption as family entertainment.

[noamjunior]

I have a bunch of Ikea bookshelves going on 10 years old that I will be moving for the 4rth time- they all still in good shape

[Chaucea]

I really like IKEA. Living in Scandinavia for several years, it was a godsend, since the only other furniture option was absurdly over-priced 'designer' furniture boutiques (and all that stuff looked like it came from IKEA anyways--and 'thrift stores' were quite rare, especially those that sold furniture.­)

Nothing I purchase from IKEA and assembled was flimsy, far from it--it held up very well and was nice looking, and at the same time, was awesomely functional, too.

I quite adore the clean, modern lines consistent with Scandinavian furniture design, and I really miss not having an IKEA near where I live now back in the USA.

[Bafun]

You are right: no moving without "Billy". Billy came with us from Europe to the US with our furniture, some very old french antiques.
Building Ikea furniture is a lot of fun in the family. May be Shell is not a DIY talent!

[raaf]

I found this whole article not really convincing.

[noamjunior]

like the author worte the article to get out his own frustrations centering on his incompetence with an allen key

[noamjunior]

IS Ikea union busting?
is Ikea strongarming local governements into relaxing zoning and taxes to build in their communities?
Has Ikea been busted for locking "illegal" workers in their store overnight ?
Is IKEA posting anti-Obama literature in their employee break rooms?
IS Ikea being sued for sex descrimination?

[LHoney]

These are not the only problems with cheaply made goods and planned obsolesence. We are running out of places to dispose of these cheap goods and the rest of the world is catching up to us in consumerism. If we don't go back to the old ways of making products that last for a lifetime and settling for less profit, we will be drowning in garbage very soon...

[noamjunior]

is IKEA really the problem- the stuff I bought there has held up fine

[SwingingFromCenter]

We're running out of space? Have you driven through the middle of the country lately?

[noamjunior]

The world ecconomics of IKEA may be similar to wall mart- but my experience with IKEA is that once the stuff is together it is sturdy- tired rehashes of Ikea stuff falling apart (like the article) are NOT based in reality

[plzchuteme]

The whole idea of the "big box" discount store is something of a myth. It's true that you get what you pay for. Nearly everyone can recount a story where they have found items of equal or better quality for an equal or better price at an establishment closer to home, locally owned, and offering some real service. When a giant Ikea store opened near me, I resisted it for nearly a year before finally checking it out. It took about 5 minutes to realize that this wasn't the place for me and I tried to leave. I kept following signs that directed me towards the exit only to find that they directed me deeper and deeper into the store causing me to pass by and perhaps be attracted to more and more merchandise. It took me 45 minutes to find my way out and even then, it was not by a proper exit. When told by an employee that I could not exit via the entrance, my response was for him to try and stop me. This was my first and assuredly last encounter with Ikea.

[unitron]

"I kept following signs that directed me towards the exit only to find that they directed me deeper and deeper into the store...It took me 45 minutes to find my way out and even then, it was not by a proper exit. "

You should have brought the wrath of the fire marshall down upon them.

Seriously.

[plzchuteme]

I'm sure they were in compliance as far as fire exits go, it was just this deceptive maze that I was caught up in to find the ordinary public exit.

[blah2 0]

Obviously the US can't compete with China in quantity and price so I think the best strategy is to produce quality esp GM should take notice

[Downix]

This I'll sign. American workers once made the best quality goods in the world, where the 'Made in America" badge ment something beyond "crap".

Take pride in your work, produce the best stuff, period. Take no compromize.

[yourmotherwasahamster]

I miss Wegmans! We don't have Wegmans here in Florida. It is one of the FEW things about Western NY that I miss since leaving 29 yrs ago!

[gbrooks]

I *love* Wegmans. Not sure what they have to do with Ikea, but damn is that store awesome. There are two here in my little town and they consistently make the list of best employers.

Wicked good bagels too. :p

[Deesel]

If you had read the article you'd know why Wegman's was brought up.

[Airmail56]

If the American people were not having to pay so much in taxes, they could afford to buy more Ethan Allen...

[Downix]

You do realize that the US pays less in taxes per capita than virtually all other industrialized nations in the world, right?

[Airmail56]

I/ve hear this nonsense spin ad nauseum. Why spend more and more money on things that don't work?

[SwingingFromCenter]

That's an outright fallacy. We pay something like 52 cents out of every dollar we make to taxes--among the highest in the world. We just mask it with a million kinds of taxes that fly under the radar.

[noamjunior]

both the profile picture and the opinion are witless and unoriginal

[Airmail56]

Go hate on someone else.

[rextrek]

really? nooo u got it wrong - Americans do not pay enough taxes...th­ey want ALL the services and don't wanna pay for them. The republicans always wanna cut taxes esp. for BIG busiess and thier trickle down theory that does NOT wrk! ALL Americans should pay thier fair share and NO loop-holes for the Uber rich!

[Airmail56]

And you want more 'trickle up poverty' from Obama? Big business hires people, not the poor.

[barkrudedog69]

Most taxes are paid by the wealthy. Go to the Treasury and do a search on "Who pays the most taxes?"

[TXfemmom]

Americans pay far less in taxes than do most other industrialized countries. We also do not have much of a safety net when it comes down to it, unlike in other countries, either. The one thing which I find very sad about the mentality here is that a good many Americans will raise cane and not want social programs as a safety net because they fear a few will abuse it, but they seem to be willing to sacrifice the rest of the country who are good, hard-working people who have a need due to no laziness or manufacture of their own doing just because they are afraid a few whom they consider unworthy may benefit. Just structure the net where people have to make a legitimate effort to help themselves but keep the net. I would prefer that a few unworthies benefit but the overwhelming deserving have the benefits as a net when it is needed.

[Airmail56]

You are correct that many people feel that social programs support more than a few 'welfare queens,' but the second perception most have about government is inefficiency. Consider what is spent on public education, and what actually gets to teachers and classrooms.

[gascelebrations]

Worst "furniture" you can buy. It falls apart days after you assemble it. Compare fifty bucks spent in there with the same fifty bucks spent in a consignment or thrift furniture place where you can get STURDY, long-lasting stuff and spend a little elbow grease fixing it up to your liking. We found four school chairs at an antique market and sanded & painted them for $300 less than the same chairs would have been new at Pottery Barn.

If the recession has done anything, it has exposed money-making frauds like big box retailers and the manufacturers of crapola.

"Never mind what they're selling - it's what you're buying" - Fugazi

[noamjunior]

I'm all for buying used furniture but what did you put together at IKEA that fell apart? Sounds like nonsense to me

[ramper]

You need to follow the directions.

[bokiluis]

Licensed engineers and career carpenters have died from trying to understand "directions" to some of the unassembled IKEA furniture.

[betty22]

P.S. anyway how come all my made in America items even clothing do not last??????? We can do better..

[LeonBNJ]

Another issue with IKEA and almost all retailers is that more products are coming from countries with serious human rights, labor rights, political and envormental issues. IKEA sells for example cane woven products from Vietnam, real Persian rugs from Iran (and selling them in a heavily Jewish region of New Jersey!), towels from Pakistan and far too much from China. An vicious cycle has developed of declining manufacturing reducing wages and having to import more so affrordable for those still working. One day our politicans will have to face being not elected unless they end the exporting of labor from the USA. Of course, many will have to be willing to pay more for stuff, go without or even save up to buy.

[noamjunior]

not almost all- all retailers
so why singe out IKEA?

[unitron]

"real Persian rugs from Iran..."

Instead of from one of those many other Persian countries? : - )

[chedet]

How many persian countries are out there? I thought there's just Iran. Gosh get your geography right before you open your mouth

[betty22]

best place I woundn't shop anywhere else......­.. its my pocket book.. .and all lasts well so far in 10yrs..

[shamaniceconomist]

Imagine if you were the writer who had to explain to consumers, on behalf of those big corporations, why everything has to be so expensive.