ᐅ Ikea Visit and Purchase – More Frustration Than Enjoyment This Time
Created on: 22 Oct 2017 18:25
Y
ypg
Yesterday we went to IKEA. Something felt 'different' compared to our last visit. I didn’t feel the usual excitement. Even today, assembling the furniture was rather unsatisfying.
But starting from the beginning: I’m used to IKEA introducing many new designs and changes in their showroom after the new catalog is released. Yes, some “rooms” were new, but the sofa, bed, and table sections seemed unchanged. There was no eye-catching display. Worst of all: the dining tables and sofas looked more like clearance sale items. Nothing was decorated or nicely arranged [emoji33]. I barely noticed the kitchens. Just around the corner was the appliance and planning section – normally there are two large standout kitchens set up where you can see various cabinets and get inspired. Well, this time I wasn’t motivated at all to buy anything not on my list [emoji1].
We needed LED bulbs for our outdoor wall lights: both the lamps and the LED bulbs are from IKEA. One of the bulbs is defective. We needed 7W with 260 lumens to match the brightness of the other bulbs, but those are no longer available! They only had 5W bulbs with different lumen outputs. Where have the outdoor lights gone? Are they discontinued??? Every corner had these 5-watt bulbs, but no 7-watt ones... so we ended up buying four 5W bulbs instead of one or two to fit all our outdoor lights [emoji36].
Then I had an idea to buy under-cabinet lights, meaning light strips to go under our new bedside consoles. This would save us the indirect cozy lighting from two floor lamps by the bed. Here they seem to have drastically reduced the selection: in a small area, you need to figure out the difference between task lighting, indirect lighting, cabinet lighting, and strip lighting. It’s not easy when products are mixed up on the shelves as other customers pick up items and don’t put them back properly. Fortunately, my husband noticed that I was about to buy a cabinet light while I realized he was holding an expensive task light. In the end, we found what we were looking for… hopefully [emoji6].
Originally, I wanted two white Besta units, 30cm (12 inches) high with doors to serve as bedside tables. Nicely wall-mounted, as I mentioned, like console tables. They cost about €30 each. My husband liked the drawer version of Eket much better. Well, we swallowed that: those cost about €85 each. Ok, we’ll go with it. I’ve been looking for bedside tables for 3 years, know the prices, and know what else is missing from the market [emoji6]. Unfortunately, there were no shelf or compartment info cards on the furniture anymore [emoji35]. Since when is that a thing??? We had to rely on the computers in the warehouse. We didn’t remember “Eklet” at first, so we flipped through the catalog, then on the PC had to choose between storage, shelving systems, drawer units, and eventually bedside tables, which barely appear. My husband wisely went to a separate PC to search directly for Eklet. I wouldn’t have been surprised if only one item was left in the compartment (that always seems to happen to us), but there were still plenty available. Then we went to the bargain corner where almost nothing was advertised. That is also very rare at IKEA.
-> And my husband asked if the wall rail for mounting was included. I said: at that price everything should be included... of course it wasn’t, which we only discovered during assembly [emoji20]. After assembling the first cabinet, we started the second one. And what do we see? A nasty air bubble worked into the top surface: I’ve never seen this before, never had this, and tomorrow it will send me into a traffic jam on the A1 – but oh well: I still have to buy wall rails anyway [emoji14].
Then I looked closer: the other cabinet has the same issue, just a smaller air bubble inside. For €85, I really find this unsatisfactory [emoji20].
But starting from the beginning: I’m used to IKEA introducing many new designs and changes in their showroom after the new catalog is released. Yes, some “rooms” were new, but the sofa, bed, and table sections seemed unchanged. There was no eye-catching display. Worst of all: the dining tables and sofas looked more like clearance sale items. Nothing was decorated or nicely arranged [emoji33]. I barely noticed the kitchens. Just around the corner was the appliance and planning section – normally there are two large standout kitchens set up where you can see various cabinets and get inspired. Well, this time I wasn’t motivated at all to buy anything not on my list [emoji1].
We needed LED bulbs for our outdoor wall lights: both the lamps and the LED bulbs are from IKEA. One of the bulbs is defective. We needed 7W with 260 lumens to match the brightness of the other bulbs, but those are no longer available! They only had 5W bulbs with different lumen outputs. Where have the outdoor lights gone? Are they discontinued??? Every corner had these 5-watt bulbs, but no 7-watt ones... so we ended up buying four 5W bulbs instead of one or two to fit all our outdoor lights [emoji36].
Then I had an idea to buy under-cabinet lights, meaning light strips to go under our new bedside consoles. This would save us the indirect cozy lighting from two floor lamps by the bed. Here they seem to have drastically reduced the selection: in a small area, you need to figure out the difference between task lighting, indirect lighting, cabinet lighting, and strip lighting. It’s not easy when products are mixed up on the shelves as other customers pick up items and don’t put them back properly. Fortunately, my husband noticed that I was about to buy a cabinet light while I realized he was holding an expensive task light. In the end, we found what we were looking for… hopefully [emoji6].
Originally, I wanted two white Besta units, 30cm (12 inches) high with doors to serve as bedside tables. Nicely wall-mounted, as I mentioned, like console tables. They cost about €30 each. My husband liked the drawer version of Eket much better. Well, we swallowed that: those cost about €85 each. Ok, we’ll go with it. I’ve been looking for bedside tables for 3 years, know the prices, and know what else is missing from the market [emoji6]. Unfortunately, there were no shelf or compartment info cards on the furniture anymore [emoji35]. Since when is that a thing??? We had to rely on the computers in the warehouse. We didn’t remember “Eklet” at first, so we flipped through the catalog, then on the PC had to choose between storage, shelving systems, drawer units, and eventually bedside tables, which barely appear. My husband wisely went to a separate PC to search directly for Eklet. I wouldn’t have been surprised if only one item was left in the compartment (that always seems to happen to us), but there were still plenty available. Then we went to the bargain corner where almost nothing was advertised. That is also very rare at IKEA.
-> And my husband asked if the wall rail for mounting was included. I said: at that price everything should be included... of course it wasn’t, which we only discovered during assembly [emoji20]. After assembling the first cabinet, we started the second one. And what do we see? A nasty air bubble worked into the top surface: I’ve never seen this before, never had this, and tomorrow it will send me into a traffic jam on the A1 – but oh well: I still have to buy wall rails anyway [emoji14].
Then I looked closer: the other cabinet has the same issue, just a smaller air bubble inside. For €85, I really find this unsatisfactory [emoji20].
Müllerin schrieb:
Conclusion: we'll probably end up at IKEA again, in this case BESTA.Oh, I just checked out the Besta out of curiosity. Taste-wise, we are actually as far apart as the North Pole and the South Pole. That wouldn’t be for me. But they do sell a lot of it—so it must appeal to many.
ypg schrieb:
Yesterday we went to Ikea. Something felt ‘different’ compared to the last time. I didn’t feel that happy. Even today, the assembly was rather unsatisfying. Isn’t every visit to IKEA like that? At least every time I’ve been, I always have the same impressions.
When it comes to lamps and everything else, IKEA seems to do it right... why sell just one when you could sell four?
I am happy now [emoji847]
I had that part replaced. I quickly went to the Besta section and found a “shopping list” with the individual parts and shelf location, then spontaneously bought two white carcasses 40cm (16 inches) deep with high-gloss doors and hanging rails.
The hanging rails weren’t available a few years ago – I’m curious to see how the installation works.
And if it works well, our 3-meter (10 feet) Besta unit under the TV will be wall-mounted as well. My husband doesn’t know about it yet [emoji12]
The carcasses are quick to assemble, and they’ll be mounted on the wall tomorrow (or the day after). They even match the color of our Nolte kitchen, making them an extension for our new Ikea glassware [emoji6]
I’m excited! [emoji847]
I had that part replaced. I quickly went to the Besta section and found a “shopping list” with the individual parts and shelf location, then spontaneously bought two white carcasses 40cm (16 inches) deep with high-gloss doors and hanging rails.
The hanging rails weren’t available a few years ago – I’m curious to see how the installation works.
And if it works well, our 3-meter (10 feet) Besta unit under the TV will be wall-mounted as well. My husband doesn’t know about it yet [emoji12]
The carcasses are quick to assemble, and they’ll be mounted on the wall tomorrow (or the day after). They even match the color of our Nolte kitchen, making them an extension for our new Ikea glassware [emoji6]
I’m excited! [emoji847]
Nordlys schrieb:
See, everything works itself out.If you knew how literally your sentence fits my exchange from yesterday:
First, the claims department. I was told I’d have to buy the cabinet again, then they would swap the part for me. But there were only 3 packages left in stock. So I went back to the entrance, upstairs, got a cart, through the miscellaneous items, shortcut in front of the fabrics on the right and right again, then in the self-service area to aisle 10, shelf 50 (all the way at the back), packed it up, plus the wall rails from shelf 48, parked the cart discreetly somewhere, back through the miscellaneous items, upstairs to the showroom toward Besta. Spent 5 minutes looking around quietly.
Left the showroom, went downstairs, through the miscellaneous items in front of the fabrics on the right and right again into the self-service area, returned (to find my cart), swapped the cart for one of those package carts, visited several compartments in aisle 10. Thought about it for a moment!
Took everything off the cart again and rearranged the package to be exchanged from bottom to top, Besta parts to the bottom, then through the clearance section (still not worth it) to a checkout. Left again because 4 interior shelves weren’t enough. Grabbed 2 more, then for the first time used a scanner checkout. Paid and then went to the claims department: the lady was gone, so I approached a man to explain I was already halfway through the "exchange process." Completed the exchange of the panel with this slow guy, loaded everything into the car. The clock showed 4:50 pm. I had started at 3:00 pm. Good timing before getting stuck in traffic [emoji51]
We also went to Ikea yesterday. And, of course, we ended up buying more than I intended.
Originally, I only wanted a tabletop for the Trofast shelving unit and some storage boxes to build a play table for my son.
Result: tabletop, 6 boxes, 2 LED light strips for the kitchen wall cabinet, power adapters (why on earth don’t they have the power adapters in smaller sizes!!!), a cup for the child, and a large picture frame -.-
Originally, I only wanted a tabletop for the Trofast shelving unit and some storage boxes to build a play table for my son.
Result: tabletop, 6 boxes, 2 LED light strips for the kitchen wall cabinet, power adapters (why on earth don’t they have the power adapters in smaller sizes!!!), a cup for the child, and a large picture frame -.-
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