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Yes, with regard to the prices for IKEA stuff that you'll find on Amazon. In a hurry to fill an immediate basic need, I bought a minimal IKEA torchiere lamp fo

Yes, with regard to the prices for IKEA stuff that you'll find on Amazon. In a hurry to fill an immediate basic need, I bought a minimal IKEA torchiere lamp for circa $20 on Amazon. I think Prime shipping was a factor in my decision. I didn't even visit the IKEA web site. A few months later, errands took me near the not-close-to-me IKEA and I popped in for a couple of things. I was a bit shocked (more at the absolute price than the difference) to see the same lamp being sold for $7. (Something's wonky with the world when this whole thing can be manufactured and then shipped -- including its heavy base -- halfway around the world, and then sold retail, at a profit, for $7.)

andruby 10y ago
Ikea is possibly The most efficient manufacturer/distributor in the world.
freehunter 10y ago
If they were just shipping that lamp, it wouldn't be. But that lamp ships basically for free when you have a container ship full of other stuff. If the cost of a trans-Atlantic freight voyage is $150,000, that's basically $150,000 as a fixed cost. If you only have one thing on that boat, it will still cost $150,000. If you have two, it's still $150,000 but now you've halved the transport cost per item. And so on. Now if you put $150,000 worth of merchandise on there, the trip is paid for. Every additional item you stack on is pure profit, essentially. So that (relatively) little lamp just gets balanced on top of a Svorgbøg sofa and ships for free. The only thing they pay is the cost to manufacture, which using the same principles on the assembly line, is almost effectively just the cost of the raw materials. And those raw materials only cost $2 for some plastic and a tiny amount of metal, so there we go. Profit. Amazon has something similar in their add-on items. These are items that would not be able to be sold or shipped by themselves as it wouldn't be cost effective, but if you purchase them with something else, now it's worth the shipping for them.
- lucaspiller 10y ago
  > These are items that would not be able to be sold or shipped by themselves as it wouldn't be cost effective Based on the add-on items I've seen I'm not convinced that's true. I needed to buy thermal paste a few months ago and there was a 4g pack for £3 as an add-on item, or a 20g pack for £3.50 with Prime delivery. Other times I've needed something buts it's only available as an add-on item - I don't mind paying for delivery as it's still going to be cheaper and easier than buying in a brick and mortar store.
  - freehunter 10y ago
    I agree and I almost hesitated to put that in there. I bought from AAA batteries on Amazon recently and it was an add-on item. I would have gladly paid to have them shipped, but I was not given that option. Instead I hit the "subscribe and save: button, placed my order, then canceled the subscription at no cost. To be completely honest, I have no idea how their "add on" program actually works. That's just the excuse they give on their site.
- bigiain 10y ago
  It might surprise you to know that the cost of a trans-altantic freight voyage for a standard 20 foot shipping container is down under $2500. I find that startingly inexpensive (given the scale of the infrastructure required to make it happen...) http://www.chinaimportal.com/blog/shipping-costs-when-importing-from-china-a-complete-guide/ http://www.chinaimportal.com/blog/shipping-costs-when-import...
  - freehunter 10y ago
    That is surprising. I pulled a number out of my ass with no basis in reality, so that $150k I quoted was completely made up. But yeah, $2500 for a container is actually really low.

andruby 10y ago

Ikea is possibly The most efficient manufacturer/distributor in the world.

freehunter 10y ago

If they were just shipping that lamp, it wouldn't be. But that lamp ships basically for free when you have a container ship full of other stuff. If the cost of a trans-Atlantic freight voyage is $150,000, that's basically $150,000 as a fixed cost. If you only have one thing on that boat, it will still cost $150,000. If you have two, it's still $150,000 but now you've halved the transport cost per item. And so on. Now if you put $150,000 worth of merchandise on there, the trip is paid for. Every additional item you stack on is pure profit, essentially. So that (relatively) little lamp just gets balanced on top of a Svorgbøg sofa and ships for free. The only thing they pay is the cost to manufacture, which using the same principles on the assembly line, is almost effectively just the cost of the raw materials. And those raw materials only cost $2 for some plastic and a tiny amount of metal, so there we go. Profit. Amazon has something similar in their add-on items. These are items that would not be able to be sold or shipped by themselves as it wouldn't be cost effective, but if you purchase them with something else, now it's worth the shipping for them.

lucaspiller 10y ago
> These are items that would not be able to be sold or shipped by themselves as it wouldn't be cost effective Based on the add-on items I've seen I'm not convinced that's true. I needed to buy thermal paste a few months ago and there was a 4g pack for £3 as an add-on item, or a 20g pack for £3.50 with Prime delivery. Other times I've needed something buts it's only available as an add-on item - I don't mind paying for delivery as it's still going to be cheaper and easier than buying in a brick and mortar store.
- freehunter 10y ago
  I agree and I almost hesitated to put that in there. I bought from AAA batteries on Amazon recently and it was an add-on item. I would have gladly paid to have them shipped, but I was not given that option. Instead I hit the "subscribe and save: button, placed my order, then canceled the subscription at no cost. To be completely honest, I have no idea how their "add on" program actually works. That's just the excuse they give on their site.
bigiain 10y ago
It might surprise you to know that the cost of a trans-altantic freight voyage for a standard 20 foot shipping container is down under $2500. I find that startingly inexpensive (given the scale of the infrastructure required to make it happen...) http://www.chinaimportal.com/blog/shipping-costs-when-importing-from-china-a-complete-guide/ http://www.chinaimportal.com/blog/shipping-costs-when-import...
- freehunter 10y ago
  That is surprising. I pulled a number out of my ass with no basis in reality, so that $150k I quoted was completely made up. But yeah, $2500 for a container is actually really low.