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Ikea cuts prices as customers struggle with rising cost of living (www.bbc.com)
submitted 1 day ago by to c/europe@feddit.org
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[–] 40 points 1 day ago* (1 child)

I’m more concerned with IKEA’s quality decline than I am its prices. Lots of tacky crap made of virgin plastic these days. Even many of the sheet sets are 100% polyester and the towels they’re selling now are threadbare. Silicone spatula sets that aren’t designed to be used at cooking temperatures. Melamine plates that expose you to microplastics and can’t be used in the microwave. It also doesn’t help that their current seating designs are so low to the ground.

There are still some decent finds there, but it’s getting harder to see them through all the dollar store crap. I guess lowering the prices might help move this inventory, but I’m still not planning on buying any of it.

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  • [–] 5 points 1 day ago (2 children)

    100% PE is not fundamentally bad or unhealthy. I get that you have a preference. Spatulas from plastics never were intended for sustained high temperatures. Same goes for wood. They are, however, remarkably safe. (Note that there was a paper that claimed the opposite, but that got falsified) Micro plastics are largely harmless and inert. Otherwise we would have noticed adverse effects sooner. If you have to go looking it's probably not that bad. Also: as long as people are burning oil and gas we will have an excess of virgin plastic stock. They are a side product of processing. If you want fewer virgin plastics, burn less oil. Using recycled plastics is a band aid for the mind, not the world.

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  • [–] 3 points 19 hours ago (1 child)

    Otherwise we would have noticed adverse effects sooner. If you have to go looking it’s probably not that bad

    I'm not sure if asbestos would agree...

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  • [–] 2 points 11 hours ago (1 child)

    We were quite aware that asbestos is unhealthy. Same goes for lead. We considered the upside to be great. Not the health risk to be low.

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  • [–] 2 points 3 hours ago (1 child)

    And asbestos really IS a wonder material. It's tremendously useful for thermal protection and insulation.

    Lead was really useful too, but even more toxic.

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  • [–] 6 points 1 day ago (2 children)

    as long as people are burning oil and gas we will have an excess of virgin plastic stock. They are a side product of processing. If you want fewer virgin plastics, burn less oil. Using recycled plastics is a band aid for the mind, not the world.

    Virgin plastic stock can be saved indefinitely. In theory the same can be said for used plastic, but in reality these are often burned when they can't he sold because they are taking up space. You're right that recycling plastic doesn't fix everything, but it is more than a band aid for the mind.

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  • [–] 2 points 1 day ago (1 child)

    Storing stuff is most expensive. And barely produces value.

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  • [–] 1 point 1 day ago (1 child)

    Yes, which is why excess plastic waste that could be made into recycled plastic pellets has a much higher chance of being wasted then virgin plastic is. Increasing the amount of recycled plastic matters, it is not "a bandage for the mind" as you believe it is.

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  • [–] 1 point 1 day ago (1 child)

    The issue is that plastics are a commodity whose value is lower than that of recycled stock. You could impose taxes on raw plastics production or CO2 and have it handled. But recycling does not fix the problem of even alleviate it significantly.

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  • [–] 2 points 1 day ago

    Just because it doesn't fix the problem doesn't make it 'a bandaid for the mind'. I can't impose taxes on raw plastics, i can call out people who try to minimize the effect plastics have on the climate.

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    • [–] 9 points 1 day ago (2 children)

    IKEA is supposed to be affordable, by definition, and lately it’s not worth it.

    There was the little wood shelf for $2.99. For spice jars or whatever. I couldn’t make it for that so why bother? Buy it instead. Now they want $8.99 for those bits of pine when I can get a 2x4 for $6 and make a stack of them. (There’s probably a shitty YouTube video in there somewhere.)

    The quality has dropped too. I bought a decent monochrome 8’x10’ area rug. Cotton backing, edged in banding on that backing to prevent fray, dense pile. $100. It has held up well 3 years later. Went back to buy another recently. They didn’t carry it, the closest they have now is $200 and it isn’t built nearly as well.

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  • [–] 10 points 1 day ago (1 child)

    Ikea has for ages had the same price strategy: a super affordable tier that has an incredibly low price but is basically nice looking trash that might break within a few weeks and will definitely not survive you move to a new place. This tier exists to lure people in. Then there is a middle tier that tries to strike a balance between low cost also value for your money. The stuff in this tier is why other people tell you to go to Ikea because they have good stuff. Last there is their most expensive stuff, which is much less value for your money but is trendy and looks like designer stuff. This tier is what they put in ads and on Instagram, this is what they make most of their money with. Basically this is fast fashion but for furniture. It won't break as easily as the bottom tier, but you'll get rid of it in a few years because there is this new trend everyone loves. This is the least worth your money, in general.

    But despite them following the same strategy and therefor i don't think their prices went up more than average inflation - i do think you're right when it comes to their quality. It has become more fragile overall, especially if you look at it over the course of decades.

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  • [–] 3 points 20 hours ago

    I never bought living room items there. I’ve stayed in enough airbnbs to know it’s mostly uncomfortable crap. I always saw it as a place to go for organizer items to fit spaces that don’t cost a lot of time or material. They’re also good on glass food storage of all kinds. They also used to sell cotton sheets, down comforters, and pillows worth a damn.

    I did buy an off the shelf counter for $80. 6ft length. Seemed like a decent deal compared to big box. The difference was as you said. Where the big box with Formica does last, for years, this thing was toast after a little water spilled on, as happens with counters. The edging apparently has no seal and it fell off rather quickly. Not a deal. Get regular laminate at big box, if you want a basic counter that can take any wear and tear. A butcher block counter lasts longer, and they’re notorious for not lasting.

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  • [–] 6 points 1 day ago (1 child)

    Most of their stuff has generous warranties where the competition has fuck all.

    Good luck making a shelf with a 2x4 and $400 in tools.

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    • [–] 9 points 1 day ago (1 child)

    That is the WRONG course of Action! The CORRECT way to FIX declining Revenue is to FIRE a Bunch of People, Lower Wages and RAISE prices!

    -Amazon!

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    • [–] 6 points 1 day ago*

    Noooo. It's seen revenue decline as it's continued to shift from wood to slats to paper-filled shit.

    The rising cost of living is a problem completely unrelated to the cheapflation of Ikea's offerings.

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