IKEA launches secondhand marketplace to compete with eBay
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On that note; I've found that if you add glue or contact-cement to the joints of the bookcases when you assemble them, the resulting bookcases are substantially more durable.
I was looking for a new work desk, planning to spend no more than 500 PLN - because IKEA is cheap... All desks within that price were wobbly pieces of glue and wood dust; then I found one for I believe 1500 PLN, 3x my intended budget, but imagine that: actual full metal frame! I could sit on it and it didn't even squeak, much less wobble. So I got it...Really love that desk, no problems with it over the years.
So yeah, they have cheap temporary stuff, but usually also have at least a couple of higher-end pieces per category... with accordingly higher prices.
Of course, the downside being that it does look like utility office furniture and is not exactly stylish.
Everything that has metal connectors with fasteners on both sides still works well on 2nd or 3rd assembly in my experience.
I've got a set of billy bookcases, a metal-framed desk from their 'desks for office' range, two double beds with mattresses, and a 5-seater sofa. It's all lasted fine.
Of course, as a veteran DIYer and woodworker, my furniture has the benefit of being assembled right and treated with respect. And nobody in my household weighs over 150 lbs, which probably helps this stuff last longer.
Even the IKEA swivel chair on which I sit all day in front of a computer is about ten years old and it is still good enough. It was however one of their more expensive models.
When my mother was alive, she has also used an IKEA armchair for about a decade and she was very satisfied with it.
I read the reviews and a lot of people attach heavy monitor clamps without realizing what the desk is, and it crunches in over time. Maybe it's a lack of communication on Ikea's part as it's meant for simple table/desk stuff, not a full wood computer desk. And it kinda looks like wood. But it's super cheap and looks nice, serves a particular purpose.
[1] tear down video shows the honeycomb material: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9vNRY6natiY
Note: definitely not my hobby, and I'm not going to consider waste and other impacts. So please, don't pitchfork.
It seems to hinge on this, but inexpensive doesn't imply a lack of durability. A sibling thread has many examples of durable Ikea products. Additionally, if cost is an issue, one can defray the cost of a fresh new table by selling their current perfectly usable table via a secondhand marketplace vs throwing out a broken one.
The fixings supplied and the material construction are just not capable of providing a solid, permanent result otherwise.
Unless this is meant for subsequent owners/houses?
I've never had an issue with IKEA disassembly/assembly having moved/lived/purchased across 3 continents, but I have always done my own assembly/disassembly.
1. The scope being limited to Ikea feels like it would decrease the user base notably enough where it wouldn't be worth it for users to sell or buy, ending in a downward spiral.
2. Maybe this is just me, but dealing with any potential liability of P2P sales sounds like a real PITA. Not sure where/how you can draw the liability line (probably depends on the country).
I'm guessing that they decided that they had no piece of the P2P used pie, so they're trying to grab a sliver.
I'm all for used furniture. I've had a really good experience with Ikea quality if you buy above the absolute bottom tier. I'm using a desk that's been taken apart and put together for the last 5ish year and it looks and feels new still. Same with a small loveseat and some metal night stands.
It's already easier to sell Ikea furniture as people will search for a specific Ikea item that they're looking for.
If Ikea makes this process even easier, that's all the more reason to prefer Ikea furniture.
If you buy the lowest quality, it is composed of "particle board" (AKA pressed sawdust) and "corrugated cardboard" (https://youtu.be/24F5JlKkxR4?t=76). This furniture is incredibly easy to break and it will often not support being screwed together twice.
If you buy the higher quality furniture, which is often soft wood like pine (which is still incredibly low quality compared to traditional hard wood-based furniture), it will stand up a little better. It still scratches easily, because it is soft wood, but at least you can reassemble it after it has been disassembled.
Does Ikea sell any traditional hardwood furniture that is made out of things like maple, oak? I think not. Did they ever? I think they might have early one, but I could be wrong.
To be honest, it is likely a net environmental win that Ikea uses these cheap and low quality woods and sawdust and cardboard. Pine grows so much faster than hardwood, and reusing sawdust and cardboard is really low impact on the environment. I guess you have to balance that against the shorter lifespan of its furniture.
Both Oak and Beechwood are considered a hardwood.
So yeah, it should be more durable than their pine-based furniture.
But yeah, I think thats the closest you'll get to hardwood anything at ikea
However, if you just look at IKEA stuff and compare how it evolves over multiple rounds of assembly and disassembly, there are products that are very hard to disassemble without breaking them and products that are fairly okay to disassemble and reassemble. As others have commented, it varies.
Several are saying that they've successfully disassembled and reassembled all sorts of IKEA furniture, while others insist that isn't possible.
I've had IKEA furniture for 10+ years, and it's survived several house moves and reassembly cycles.
That includes some of the cheaper products like LACK, KALLAX, and LINNMON.
The best is to go in a store and check by yourself, if you can do a bicep curl with your coffee table chances are it's not very sturdy
IKEA was never top quality, but used to be good enough for the price. But prices have gone up and quality down to the point it's no longer worth it.
Ive heard it described as furniture for college kids and divorced men.
I moved around ten times with a lot of IKEA furniture, changing countries even and the IKEA furniture definitely did not fall aparart. There are specific products, like the back of a wardrobe, that never fit properly - a move won't help there, but also isn't the deciding factor.
That is also why a second hand market for IKEA furniture is such a good idea. That stuff is sold second hand repeatedly anyway, can't hurt to add a bit of structure to that.
It would be one thing if their furniture was actually cheap (inexpensive), which it used to be, but it's not anymore. Now most of their stuff is way overpriced.
Maybe everyone just knew this and I was out of the loop, but at least for me as soon as I noticed this, I saw it in everything. In the store it's kind of hard to tell because everything is scaled that 75%, but it's kinda funny when you notice it. Even things like mixing spoons or tea pots are 75% size or 25% less material.
So anything that can be moved as is, maybe, but not anything else.
In addition, considering the cost of nww IKEA furniture I would expect a huge discount for second hand ones that I need to move whole myself in order to make it worthwhile at all.
Or just pushing something to the back of a shelf in my experience. Billy's biggest fault I think.
Last week I had to move a 3 door kleppstad from one room to another, and I think I made a good decision to take off the doors to reduce the weight as much as possible without fully taking it apart. But if this piece of furniture needs to move any further then I'm fully disassembling it. I would rather not risk taking it down the stairs fully assembled.