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Comment by toomanybeersies | Hacker News Reader

Moving from a country with no Ikea to a country with Ikea has been a paradigm shift for me, and I'm not sure it's entirely a good one.

It used to be that if I wanted furniture, I'd go to the second hand store, and look for some used furniture that fitted my purpose. If I couldn't find something that worked, then I'd look online, and then failing that, I'd buy it new.

I found some real gems at the second hand store. A desk I bought is going strong 5 years later (I gave it to a friend).

Now I don't even bother, I just go straight to Ikea. It's so cheap that there's no point in looking at second hand.

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Sure there is a point in getting second-hand furniture/clothing/electronics/whatever, even though these things can be had new from IKEA/department stores/China/anywhere for a pittance. The reasons are multifold, actually. You can find things second-hand which are hard or impossible to find new. You can often get higher-quality material second-hand - after all it has already spent a lifetime in someone elses care and still survives to be resold. Second-hand is often still cheaper and the proceeds generally go to some 'good cause' (which you might, or might not agree with so it makes sense to investigate this before giving a charity your business just like it makes sense to do the same before giving any business your money). Reuse is better than recycle is better than landfill. The second-hand store is probably closer to your home than the IKEA, certainly closer than China. When it comes to electronics you can generally get 'professional' grade material for 'consumer' prices.

In other words it is your own actions which will decide whether the presence of IKEA (et al) is detrimental, neutral or beneficial. It can be beneficial due to the economy of scale made possible by their concept but they do have a number of 'throwaway' products which can be seen as wasteful, although many of those products are made of recycled (fibreboard) or rest materials (hardboard) so the waste is more related to manufacturing, transport and disposal. The solution is just not to buy those products - or repair/reinforce them when they get damaged.

On another take, the amount of IKEA furniture I've assembled over the years has instilled some basic sense of design and structure which has aided my in building my own outdoor furniture. IKEA is, effectively, a DIY store and you aren't limited to the pieces they package together. You can really be creative with it.

There are many good examples of DIY approach at the IKEA Hackers blog.

https://www.ikeahackers.net/

The Lack specifically is one of the most versatile pieces of furniture in existence. Dirt cheap, symmetrical, strong load bearing, simple design and assembly. The classic “Lack Rack” server racks have been posted on here several times as another example of what you can do with the Lack.

For those curious about Lack server gear https://wiki.eth0.nl/index.php/LackRack

I think you’d like Enzo Mari’s Autoprogettazione. He designed some furniture with the intention that they should be easy for people to build themselves from simple material and with a few simple tools. And by building their own furniture, people would get a better understanding and appreciation of good design.

For those like me who want something clickable:

https://makezine.com/2013/04/20/enzo-maris-autoprogettazione...

>A desk I bought is going strong 5 years later

So? Furniture of any quality can be found at second hand stores. From one of a kind expensive pieces to el cheapo ready to break stuff and everything in between.

That said, there's nothing much that can hurt a properly done desk. I have IKEA desks I use for 10 and 15 years now, and other than a few dents I've caused them, are perfectly fine.

I don't mean to insinuate that Ikea has bad quality stuff, quite the opposite.

Instead of getting second hand stuff, it's easier for me to just get new stuff from Ikea. But what's happening to all the second hand stuff that I would've bought? Does it all just go into the landfill? Because that's a waste.

But wouldn't this cheaper Ikea furniture just translate to even cheaper second hand Ikea furniture? I can't imagine a way to keep furniture prices high enough to pressure people into engaging in the second hand market.

The last time I wanted to get rid of something very cheap I posted it online for people to pick it up for free. A few days later it was gone.

I'm not disagreeing with you, but I recently saw an IKEA lamp selling for £10 in a second hand furniture store. The same lamp sells for £6 new in IKEA!

> Instead of getting second hand stuff, it's easier for me to just get new stuff from Ikea. But what's happening to all the second hand stuff that I would've bought? Does it all just go into the landfill? Because that's a waste.

the stuff you would've bought at near-Ikea prices won't be trashed, rather it will likely have to sell for slightly less. and the stuff that would've been that price will sell for slightly less, all the way down to some stuff that might've gone for a few dollars on craigslist will be given away for free. and the stuff that was only worth $0 will instead be trashed.

along the way, some folks of more limited means will be able to purchase slightly nicer furniture than if you'd gone and bought the nicest thing they could afford.

TBH, because of the amount of effort that Ikea furniture assembly and shopping takes, I'd rather just buy it used & 'pre assembled'.

Ikea being a maze is really annoying when you just want to buy a few cups. Going to target or similar is about the same kind of furniture, for the same price, with a much faster experience.

Perhaps because of the presence of an IKEA in your new area, it would be an even better place to seek out second hand furniture. Perhaps more choice and cheaper as people flock to IKEA?

Or in my case, I had the luck of finding the IKEA desk I was looking for - three blocks away from me, second hand, already assembled, on Gumtree. This is why I love cities. (Sydney isn't even that dense)

When I see

> used furniture

All I read is

> bedbugs

And then my skin crawls.

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