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For myself nostalgia doesn't have anything to do with it. I like well built furniture that will last the test of time and remain nice looking. Ikea and the ilk

by a2tech 11y ago

For myself nostalgia doesn't have anything to do with it. I like well built furniture that will last the test of time and remain nice looking. Ikea and the ilk produce throw-away furniture. Even their sturdiest/most expensive pieces are designed to be used for a time, then discarded. I'd rather buy 1 $4000 couch that lasts my entire adult life than buying a new $500 Ikea couch every 5 years.

benmanns 11y ago
An amount of money diversely invested in the stock market can generate about 4% in return even with volitility (see Trinity Study). By buying a $4,000 couch, you are spending $3,500 more today than the Ikea alternative. $3,500 invested could be drawn down at $140 per year without invading principle. A new Ikea couch only costs $100/year. You're actually spending more (with opportunity costs) on the buy-it-once couch. This is why I don't buy nice furniture. (Also, I move too much, and it's easier to sell and re-buy Ikea than paying to move heavy, well-built furniture).
- pc86 11y ago
  If you reduce everything to how much money you could have otherwise pulled out of the stock market you are going to have a miserable life.
  - gutnor 11y ago
    He will not live rich, but he will die rich.
    - Jtsummers 11y ago
      Or retire early/rich. This is why I encourage my younger coworkers (well, all of them really) to try and put as much into an IRA and their 401k as they can afford (ideally maxing it, once that's done every pay raise goes entirely to you and the gov't (as taxes)). When you're in your twenties you usually have a far higher tolerance for discomfort (so if you want to travel you're more willing to do the hostel stays and such) and have fewer external obligations. By the time you're in your 30s you're making enough money (as a professional engineer/scientist type in my field) that those contributions are a small (but still significant) part of your income, and if you need to reduce it to cover family expenses you still have a lot of money banked and earning towards your retirement.
      - gutnor 11y ago
        The most likely outcome is retiring early, but that really only applies to young people making significantly better than average salaries in order to do it quick, before having kids. If you have spent 40+ years saving every penny, you don't start spending when you retire, saving money has become part of your identity, not a mean to an end.
  - knughit 11y ago
    That completely misses the point about allocating resources efficiently over a lifetime.
    - pc86 11y ago
      And looking at a couch arguably an order of magnitude nicer than anything at Ikea and saying "oh I'm losing $140/mo in potential revenue at retirement!" completely misses several points.
- mcguire 11y ago
  There's ano old story about someone who got a barrel of apples. At every point, they ate the apples that were starting to go bad first. They spent months eating slightly rotten apples.
  - knughit 11y ago
    Old story? That's my fridge and pantry, every week.
adrianN 11y ago
I disagree that Ikea furniture breaks after just five years. I've used an Ikea bed for almost twenty years. It also survived moving (and was easy to transport because you could disassemble it again). A Billy will definitely also last longer than five years. I can also not believe that there are sofas, for whatever price, that last a lifetime without expensive repairs to the cushions.
- mikeash 11y ago
  This axe will last a lifetime! Just replace the head every ten years, and the handle every twenty.
- tonyedgecombe 11y ago
  I think if you avoid the very bottom of the range then Ikea products are pretty good. We have a solid wood Ikea dinging table that is wearing a lot better than the expensive one we had previously.
- syntheticnature 11y ago
  I have a $4k sofa, from Ethan Allen, purchased a bit over a decade ago, and will confirm that the cushions are in dire need of restuffing, and there a piece of plywood (sewn into cloth) underneath the cushions to compensate for decay in the underlying supports. If mattresses basically need replacement after a decade, similarly-constructed things will also.
  - mturmon 11y ago
    I have a $3.5K sofa, well-built with elegant fabric, that did not fit in with my house after I moved. It now sits in an outbuilding and my dog loves it. I got a replacement on Craigslist for $350, and I like it just as much. My lessons: (a) buying sofas is hard; (b) for me, nothing is forever; (c) it's hard to generalize about the wisdom of various furniture purchase strategies.
at-fates-hands 11y ago
>>> Ikea and the ilk produce throw-away furniture. I have to agree with you there. Most of the stuff I've bought at IKEA I've had to reinforce using Gorilla glue and heavier screws so it won't fall apart within 6 months. It helps, but I stopped buying their stuff after I graduated from college.
- knughit 11y ago
  This happens if you install the screws loose in the first place.
criddell 11y ago
I'm kind of the opposite of you. I like to change out my furniture every few years. I'm not going to pay for something that will last forever because I don't want to use it forever and the resale value often isn't terrific. In the past I have bought Ikea stuff and I was pretty happy with it (the Poang chairs were a favorite of mine for a while). It worked well for me and was easy to sell on Craigslist when I was done with it.
gozur88 11y ago
It's a different perspective. Ikea's philosophy is furniture fashions change, and you shouldn't sink so much into your furniture that you'll be unwilling to try something new. You may decide you don't like that couch in five years, even if it's holding up well.

by a2tech 11y ago

benmanns 11y ago

An amount of money diversely invested in the stock market can generate about 4% in return even with volitility (see Trinity Study). By buying a $4,000 couch, you are spending $3,500 more today than the Ikea alternative. $3,500 invested could be drawn down at $140 per year without invading principle. A new Ikea couch only costs $100/year. You're actually spending more (with opportunity costs) on the buy-it-once couch. This is why I don't buy nice furniture. (Also, I move too much, and it's easier to sell and re-buy Ikea than paying to move heavy, well-built furniture).

pc86 11y ago
If you reduce everything to how much money you could have otherwise pulled out of the stock market you are going to have a miserable life.
- gutnor 11y ago
  He will not live rich, but he will die rich.
  - Jtsummers 11y ago
    Or retire early/rich. This is why I encourage my younger coworkers (well, all of them really) to try and put as much into an IRA and their 401k as they can afford (ideally maxing it, once that's done every pay raise goes entirely to you and the gov't (as taxes)). When you're in your twenties you usually have a far higher tolerance for discomfort (so if you want to travel you're more willing to do the hostel stays and such) and have fewer external obligations. By the time you're in your 30s you're making enough money (as a professional engineer/scientist type in my field) that those contributions are a small (but still significant) part of your income, and if you need to reduce it to cover family expenses you still have a lot of money banked and earning towards your retirement.
    - gutnor 11y ago
      The most likely outcome is retiring early, but that really only applies to young people making significantly better than average salaries in order to do it quick, before having kids. If you have spent 40+ years saving every penny, you don't start spending when you retire, saving money has become part of your identity, not a mean to an end.
- knughit 11y ago
  That completely misses the point about allocating resources efficiently over a lifetime.
  - pc86 11y ago
    And looking at a couch arguably an order of magnitude nicer than anything at Ikea and saying "oh I'm losing $140/mo in potential revenue at retirement!" completely misses several points.
mcguire 11y ago
There's ano old story about someone who got a barrel of apples. At every point, they ate the apples that were starting to go bad first. They spent months eating slightly rotten apples.
- knughit 11y ago
  Old story? That's my fridge and pantry, every week.

adrianN 11y ago

I disagree that Ikea furniture breaks after just five years. I've used an Ikea bed for almost twenty years. It also survived moving (and was easy to transport because you could disassemble it again). A Billy will definitely also last longer than five years. I can also not believe that there are sofas, for whatever price, that last a lifetime without expensive repairs to the cushions.

mikeash 11y ago
This axe will last a lifetime! Just replace the head every ten years, and the handle every twenty.
tonyedgecombe 11y ago
I think if you avoid the very bottom of the range then Ikea products are pretty good. We have a solid wood Ikea dinging table that is wearing a lot better than the expensive one we had previously.
syntheticnature 11y ago
I have a $4k sofa, from Ethan Allen, purchased a bit over a decade ago, and will confirm that the cushions are in dire need of restuffing, and there a piece of plywood (sewn into cloth) underneath the cushions to compensate for decay in the underlying supports. If mattresses basically need replacement after a decade, similarly-constructed things will also.
- mturmon 11y ago
  I have a $3.5K sofa, well-built with elegant fabric, that did not fit in with my house after I moved. It now sits in an outbuilding and my dog loves it. I got a replacement on Craigslist for $350, and I like it just as much. My lessons: (a) buying sofas is hard; (b) for me, nothing is forever; (c) it's hard to generalize about the wisdom of various furniture purchase strategies.

at-fates-hands 11y ago

>>> Ikea and the ilk produce throw-away furniture. I have to agree with you there. Most of the stuff I've bought at IKEA I've had to reinforce using Gorilla glue and heavier screws so it won't fall apart within 6 months. It helps, but I stopped buying their stuff after I graduated from college.

knughit 11y ago
This happens if you install the screws loose in the first place.

criddell 11y ago

I'm kind of the opposite of you. I like to change out my furniture every few years. I'm not going to pay for something that will last forever because I don't want to use it forever and the resale value often isn't terrific. In the past I have bought Ikea stuff and I was pretty happy with it (the Poang chairs were a favorite of mine for a while). It worked well for me and was easy to sell on Craigslist when I was done with it.

gozur88 11y ago

It's a different perspective. Ikea's philosophy is furniture fashions change, and you shouldn't sink so much into your furniture that you'll be unwilling to try something new. You may decide you don't like that couch in five years, even if it's holding up well.