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Comment by runjake | Hacker News Reader

As far as I can tell, a lot of the more recent IKEA stuff we've bought is using that "wooden oatmeal cookie"[1] and honeycomb cardboard junk. I think some commenters are underestimating how much their materials have changed.

We've even have an older version of a shelf unit that is nice, solid pine, and gone and bought the current version and the current version has changed to that wooden oatmeal cookie[1] crap.

Glue does still help, though.

1. Great term, so fitting! I'm stealing it.

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This is a worrying article because they had already seemed to previously squeeze all the quality they could have of their products.

In the past most of their table tops were solids, with only the cheapest ones being hollow. As they phased out those original tops and replaced them with identically priced updates, the vast majority become cardboard honeycomb filled.

When you're selling $200 cardboard filled table tops, I'm not sure how much more blood you can squeeze from the stone.

One thing I've kinda admired about IKEA is that they are super straightforward about what materials their products are made out of. Literally everything on their website says exactly what it's made of. If you want stuff that lasts longer, you buy the stuff at a higher price point that's made of solid wood, if you are on a budget or don't care about the longevity of it, buy the stuff made from particle board or compressed cardboard. It's not so much that the materials have changed, it's that people are buying the lowest end products and then complaining that they aren't as good as the higher end ones, when IKEA sells a whole range of different quality products. And honestly, their lower end products are usually cheaper and better made than the equivalent versions from other retailers. Those cheap IKEA bookcases are far superior to similar versions from Walmart or Target despite being essentially identically constructed.

Have you tried destroying IKEA $10 Lack table? It's straight up cardboard and is one of the most durable things I have ever encountered.

I have a desk that's just a large Lack, and while it was too weak to hold up my monitor arm + 32" screen (yes, it was a dumb idea), it looks barely damaged after re-gluing the trim.

I've heard it called "glit", I guess for glue and...

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