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> Assembling IKEA furniture isn’t hard. People just perceive it to be hard before they even try because it’s a meme. People have different kinds of capabilitie

> Assembling IKEA furniture isn’t hard. People just perceive it to be hard before they even try because it’s a meme. People have different kinds of capabilities, and IKEA furniture assembly may be easier for developer/engineer-types than others. The components don't have labels and often require careful inspection to choose the right one, based on illustrations that are also unlabeled and low-resolution. Often times the pieces can be assembled incorrectly in a ways that don't become evident until later, requiring disassembly to correct the mistake. I can easily believe that people who have weaker visual-spacial skills and/or are less detail-oriented would find the assembly hard and frustrating. Someone made a good analogy elsewhere: assembling Ikea furniture has a lot in common with some kinds of puzzles. Some people love puzzles, others tolerate them, and some hate them. That's not "just a meme."

user5994461 9y ago
Yet everyone manages to get them assembled fine after a bit of struggle. It's not especially hard to do, it's just a meme to complain about it.
- Lionsion 9y ago
  I didn't say that assembling the furniture was impossible, just that there's probably some basis to the complaints that may not be experienced equally by everyone.
MichaelMoser123 9y ago
They are a very successful company, how so if their products really have usability problems of this kind?
- Lionsion 9y ago
  > They are a very successful company, how so if their products really have usability problems of this kind? Because their products are cheap and relatively stylish, so people bear with it? IIRC, their success comes from the efficient logistics that this kind of design enables.
- cryptoz 9y ago
  They are very low-cost for some items that are traditionally high-cost. And for all the people who have trouble doing assembly themselves, most (nearly all) have a family member or friend more than willing to help. This means that even though the same person buying and owning may not be building, the popularity remains. It is also more than a meme at this point, is a specific bonding time between friends and family alike. Edit: I forgot to add, I think everywhere IKEA also offers an assembly service, even same-day if you do it early enough. And with the assembly cost added, I expect their furniture is still cheaper than much of their competition locally.
Tyr42 9y ago
I mean, I assembled a shelf partly upside down once. It's fun but not strictly speaking easy.

user5994461 9y ago

Yet everyone manages to get them assembled fine after a bit of struggle. It's not especially hard to do, it's just a meme to complain about it.

Lionsion 9y ago
I didn't say that assembling the furniture was impossible, just that there's probably some basis to the complaints that may not be experienced equally by everyone.

MichaelMoser123 9y ago

They are a very successful company, how so if their products really have usability problems of this kind?

Lionsion 9y ago
> They are a very successful company, how so if their products really have usability problems of this kind? Because their products are cheap and relatively stylish, so people bear with it? IIRC, their success comes from the efficient logistics that this kind of design enables.
cryptoz 9y ago
They are very low-cost for some items that are traditionally high-cost. And for all the people who have trouble doing assembly themselves, most (nearly all) have a family member or friend more than willing to help. This means that even though the same person buying and owning may not be building, the popularity remains. It is also more than a meme at this point, is a specific bonding time between friends and family alike. Edit: I forgot to add, I think everywhere IKEA also offers an assembly service, even same-day if you do it early enough. And with the assembly cost added, I expect their furniture is still cheaper than much of their competition locally.

Tyr42 9y ago

I mean, I assembled a shelf partly upside down once. It's fun but not strictly speaking easy.