IKEA - Downgrading Quality - service (In TW) ?

[ceevee369]

I grew up with Ikea back home in the early 80's. I found them innovative, they used nicely finished materials and were worth the price.
30 years later,I still buy their stuff, but damn - is it only me whom is simply unlucky as over a span of 9 months and approximately 20 items bought, - 60-70% of the DIY kits' were either damaged upon arrival , not well prep'ed and/ or pieces are missing or wrong.
Of course, some Blue Truck boys might have worked in a meat factory before and not knowing the meaning of "fragile" but things seem also to go wrong @ pre-assembly (which is mostly in China for duplex / MDF stuff as seen on the packing material)
Broken bathroom sink & mirror, damaged corners of bed skeleton, plied metal bars, scratched tables upon unpacking, bolded cabinets, wrong and missing stews.
If only Hola or Homy could offer any decent alternative one day, I'd be happy to change - though impossible.

With a net income of 2.3 Billion USD last year - why can't they hire literate workers whom are able to count till 20 or recognize a vise from a screw? ...or is the Vision from the founder / farmer Kamprad simply turned into benefit without further concern about consumer satisfaction?

[Deuce Dropper]

highly underrated place for lunch.

[StuartCa]

bought quite a bit from them recently & never had any issues

[Super Hans]

20 items over 9 months! What the hell are you? A building contractor?

[fh2000]

I built my whole kitchen with IKEA products in LA 5 years ago. They have a simple 3-D design software on their website which I used. Once my design was done, I printed out all the parts needed to IKEA. Their kitchen specialists helped me with the parts location and pricing.

I did it piece meal. It took me a good 2 years on and off to get it all completely all by myself. My wife helped when I needed a second hand to lift some heavy cabinets. The local IKEA store from my house is a good 30 minute free way driving. I saved all receipts in a 3 ring binder, and I see that I made more than 20 trips. The kitchen is still looking nice and sturdy.

I would say, out of the hundreds (or maybe thousands) of individual parts, I do not remember any misplaced screws, simple tools, etc. I did miss-drill few holes, or assembled in wrong orders so damaged few boards. But, that was purely my own fault. So, I am pretty satisfied with their product and service.

[ceevee369]

20 items over 9 months! What the hell are you? A building contractor?

Refurbishing a house and a store needs stuff
Guess I just had bad luck with my purchases

[ichbinjenny]

You get what you pay for. Buy the cheap stuff and you get crap. Buy the more expensive stuff and the furniture lasts quite some time.

[Belgian Pie]

The reason for this quality loss is probably that 30 years ago they still had most of their stuff manufactured in the cheaper European countries, now most is moved to Asia, South America and Africa ...

[ceevee369]

You get what you pay for. Buy the cheap stuff and you get crap. Buy the more expensive stuff and the furniture lasts quite some time.

Thanks I didn't know that.
Seriously ?

You certainly do not know what you talk about calling Ikea "Cheap". The production price of an ordinary triplex pliewood cabinet is 7 USD which is sold 119 USD .
They are too expensive for what they offer, but a wise nose like you can certainly help me finding an alternative yes?

So, in Taiwan, find me a cabinet manufacturer which can be 2 times more expensive than IKEA, offering 3 colors and 25 different sizes / combinations and deemed "better quality".

[ceevee369]

The reason for this quality loss is probably that 30 years ago they still had most of their stuff manufactured in the cheaper European countries, now most is moved to Asia, South America and Africa ...

Indeed BP.