Why Everyone Owns This IKEA Table
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- Опубликовано: 2 окт 2024
- IKEA has made a name for themselves as the furniture world’s “fast fashion” and, in the process, they’ve sold A LOT of cheap tables... Is there a LACK table in your life?
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Script: Bénédicte Herbout
Editor: Reid Valaitis
Animator: Zachary Kastrukoff
Project Manager: Lurana McClure Rodríguez
Host: Levi Hildebrand
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I've had my 2 $9.99 LACK tables since 2009, they've come with me through 5 moves across the country (because they are compact to move, easy to take apart and put back together and light so why would I throw them out). They have lasted the 11 years still in excellent condition. If I choose to get rid of them I'm sure I could sell them on facebook market place for what I paid. So in conclusion, my two LACK tables have not been fast furniture - I can't be the only one 😅
Yeah. I feel like "fast furniture" is not really a good 1:1 with fast fashion. In my experience they seem to last as opposed to cheap clothes and I can confirm my LACK was easy to sell on marketplace.
I suppose the important question is how IKEA can encourage people to use our reuse their stuff for longer and how to monetise it. Also taking a more responsibility of waste management, can furniture be made biodegradable possibly?
Front LACK table, 11 years is pretty amazing, but for a piece of furniture, it should only be the beginning of it's life. Furniture made before industrialisation can literally last hundreds of years
Got mine used off fb marketplace and its going strong after 7 years and three moves. You're not the only one.
This is a good point. A lot of Ikea furniture can't really be disassembled once you've put it all together. It just isn't designed to. The LACK tables have such simple construction that they are very easy to break down without damaging the integrity
I got mine second hand for free, and they've moved with me so far twice :D
I've never understood why people say IKEA is of low quality. Most of my furniture is from IKEA, and its has lasted for many years with no issues.
You don't have to be the type of person who throws away and upgrades often. Nobody forces us be so wasteful.
Right! Most of my furniture that I got about 10 years ago is still fine. Except that one back part of my closet. We got a new one when I moved in together with by bf. The rest has some marks from using and moving several times but this is it!
I’m 14 and my desk is from IKEA and it’s older then me .It looks fine
That is also why I have a Lot of Ikea stuff. Supply chain problems (or just that the Houston Ikea has better stock and I live in Midwest now).
Last ikea chest of drawers I did, put Gorilla glue on every seam and anchored it to my my wall. I recommend this for not huge things (like a bed or bedroom storage system). Those are so huge. It would have to be sledgehammer time to move out. I have my king size lack bed from 2007. It has lived in 6 places. I thought gluing it. At the end it's life.
I always say IKEA is as good as you build it.
IKEA has been decreasing in quality, to be honest. They sell fewer and fewer solid wood pieces, choosing to go for the weird wood shavings material, which breaks and scratches very easily.
I still have a lot of my IKEA pieces from a decade ago, but somehow my recent furniture pieces just don't hold up despite being treated the same.
The ”ugly product names” are Swedish words and citys.
Grunka ~ stuff
Sniglar = snails
Ulriksberg = a small village in Sweden.
Every product name make sense in Swedish!
I’m swedish and have never heard the word grunka lol
Came off as a bit disrespectful by him to pick on the names. Not everyone is American, sorry there are thousands of other languages out there that sound "weird."
@@TomyHun ikr, some people are so rude when it comes to other languages and other people's culture :/
Bolmen.
Except door mats. Those are named after danish cities
i think you underestimate how long it’s possible to keep something like this table useful. speaking as someone who lives paycheck to paycheck and rarely has more than $20 to spare for things like household items, stuff like this is kind of my only option so i have to treat it well and keep it until it is physically no longer functional. i think instead of treating cheaply produced furniture as entirely bad, we should encourage people to make what they have last.
If I buy a table like the one from the video I'd think whether I can keep bringing it with me while I move.
bro, why are you even buying furniture if you only have 20$ to spare?
I'm not living pay check to paycheck and I didn't spend money on furniture, either got handy downs or second hand ones for like 5$
If you're wondering for why the IKEA product names exist how they do, it's because the founder had dyscalculia and thought SKU numbers were too difficult to deal with for him to run his company. So IKEA products are generally grouped together into themes of Scandinavian names for things/places (ex. places, lakes, islands, boy names, flowers, etc) as to keep things logical and orderly
This table arrived well packaged and on time. ruclips.net/user/postUgkxn94T8Mu1iMnsLCMNOI9srXSsLkI4JXKW Like another reviewer advised, I pulled everything out and made sure everything was included (everything was!). I built it alone and it took me about an hour. The color is great and for the price the lift part works well. As others have mentioned, it’s not the smoothest opening/closing, but it works. The screws do show, but I plan to order white sticker covers if that bothers us too much. Really happy with this table! UPDATE: it’s been over a year since we got this coffee table and we still love it! It gets HEAVY use as our dining table, foot rest, and school desk. Over time, the opening and closing mechanism has gotten smoother. I added a new photo with the white screw cover stickers. They blend in perfectly and make it look a little cleaner. 100% recommend!!!
I'm a woodworker and particularly interested in creating furniture that could last at least a lifetime. Sadly we have shifted our whole idea of furniture as something we keep for 10 or 20 years because styles are changing. They are really only changing because of marketing. So we might think having a LACK table for 15 years means it lasts a long time, but really good furniture could be able to last 10 times longer
This is a really good point!! Thanks for sharing + joining us here 💪
Part, personally, is that my requirements change over my life. Either as a I move or because I simply need something else. And Ikea furniture seems to match that pace, when it comes to price. Add to that the simplicity of moving it easily when deconstructed or new.
Lifetime furniture is, at least to me, a thing for slightly more privileged people. It's usually bulky, expensive to move, and you need some space in your house. You can buy or sell it second hand, but that too can be quite a pain unless they can be deconstructed.
I'd probably be up for buying higher quality furniture, as long as it's still as practical as Ikea. But right now, that's kinda rare.
Most consumers are so disconnected from the products. They don't know where their food come from, they don't know how to maintain furniture, they don't want to put elbow grease on anything.
I'm in no way a professional so I can't tell you about prices, but labour cost is most of what the thing is worth. A side table doesn't have a lot of materials in it so really the price comes from labour and overhead
Depends on what you want, i prefer a Lack tbh because it's so easy to assemble and disassemble, and i can do it myself very easily so if i need to move it's not a problem. It's a lot more important to me how easy things are to assemble, disassemble and maintain than it is how great the wood is or how rare wax they used is.
80% of the Ikea furniture I’ve owned has fallen apart within 5-10 years but other furniture is just so ridiculously expensive now that when you compare it to Ikea prices makes it feel like you’re trying to buy the mona lisa to put under your ass. We should be looking at furniture like investment but I think economically most people are struggling so much right now it’s hard for a lot of people to do that.
Yes! Exactly this!!
Definitely! Thanks for taking the time to comment + tune in here 💪
@@FutureProofTV not true. My entire house consists of IKEA furnitures. They are all (except one) 20 years old and one is about 30 years.
It definitely depends on the piece and also how you assemble it. We always use wood glue and reinforcements and it makes a huge difference to the sturdiness of the product. Also swapping out knobs or pulls for better looking ones can really change the look of some things.
@@DavidSusiloUnscripted do you think that the quality was noticeably better 20yrs ago? I wonder if their recent items would last as long (assuming the same careful treatment you’ve shown your furniture)
I'm from Slovakia and our IKEA has some rebuying programme and they recycle a lot of textile products. I actually like how IKEA tries different methods in order to be more sustainable and eco-friendly.
Where is the rebuking place at? In Sweden they only have one and it is way out in the country side, two hours from Stockholm.
UK stores are now offering rebuying schemes, while they also have a section next to the checkouts selling damaged but still usable furniture at a discount.
Recycling is actually really un effective for it to be sustainable. Worst of the the three Rs
Also a Slovak here and I can confirm👍
@@valentinaabril4980 oh so they just shouldn't they do it then
Picked up a LACK table for free from someone in my street about 8 years ago. Yesterday I gave it away for free so someone else can enjoy it. Those things are quite durable if you handle them well. Let's hope more people sell/give away or buy/take 2nd hand stuff! 😄😄
If you have to handle them well, then they are, by definition, not durable.
Love the video. But calling another language ugly because it's different was a bit cringe.
My parents had heavy, made to last furniture that was 50+ years old. We had to sell their house, many avoided it because they had no space and neither did we.
One thing this appears to not take into account is home type. My parents had a single family home - plenty of space to store large furniture pieces and a culture that largely didn't move, whereas now we have way more renters and apartments. Not many people are going to want to invest a ton of money in something super heavy that they have to move every few years. In this sense, ikea works great for me. I bought the mid-tier version, reinforced it enough to handle moves, and its lasted 4 moves over 10 years just fine with no plans to switch out any of it anytime soon.
Hey! Great topic and discussion about sustainability, and nice to hear the recommendation about thinking before buying 👍
I’m Swedish and have worked at IKEA for a bit more then six years now. The goal that your talking about ‘people and planet’ says that 100% of the materials should come from renewable and recycled materials. As it stands today in the IKEA production, 60% comes from renewable materials and 10% from recycled, 70%.
The “buy back” initiative is getting bigger and bigger at least in Sweden. Guess it takes a while for people to hear about it and use it.
The section ‘recovery’ or ‘circular store’ is filled with furnitures that people have either sold back or furnitures from the showroom.
Sorry to hear that there is less than 1% in the US that gets ‘recycled’ + the 20% for heating? 21% then. In Sweden 99% of all garbage gets recycled in some form. Sounds like the US should start to get rid of the solution of sending its garbage to landfill…
Great video! And good luck with the 50k goal 👍
As a woodworker, there is a section called as in at Ikea. There are a bunch of old doors, panels, miss matched cabinets. Plus its super easy to transport. Plus most there older used products are perfectly fine to move. Other then that, ive had a $10.00 lack table since the mid 2000's and its never moved an inch. Also you dont have to be the one to throw the products out just becasue your done with them. Ive seen people donate whole kitchens and bedroom sets to good will and other habitat for humanity projects.
My dad has pointed out to me, as a carpenter, the decline of real wood furniture. I think this shouldn't be overlooked when considering how fast we go through furniture. My real wood bookcases are still lasting versus my fiberboard ones, which are much more flimsy and show signs of wear. Just an observation, I don't think ikea furniture is bad or anything. I just bought a bunch.
I think it will get to the point where our houses are all cheap plastics, foams and other BS that is only there cause its easy to put up.
IKEA makes stuff from actual wood as well though,
Please don't call words or place names ugly. The Swedish language is a beautiful thing if you take time to learn it. That was not to your usual high standard :(
But yes, I've had and still have a lot of IKEA pieces, some are better than other. The most annoying thing is the lack of spare parts, like that glass lampshade where I had to buy an entirely new lamp when the glass broke. Unfortunately IKEA is so prevent in Sweden it's hard to find anything else if you're not made of money, even the secondhand furniture is IKEA and it gets old really fast to scroll past a million Lack tables.
Hey yeah, that bit was in poor taste! Thanks for pointing that out to us, we'll make sure to be more sensitive in the future with our choice of words, so we're culturally respectful moving forward. We didn't even consider the lack of spare parts, that must be super annoying. Thank you for taking the time to comment + tune in here!!
Aren't a lot of the furniture names made up by Ikea? I'm always seeing posts about random words becoming a table name or even made up words altogether.
@@bruceh4180 Nope, most product names are real words we use every day! Some are made up but that's because in Swedish you can make legit words as you wish, we're very good at making words switch classes. So a noun can become a verb and vice versa.
And when the product names aren't regular words they are real place names, places which exist on a map and where real people live.
@@bruceh4180 for example the popular commode with the name Malm, that's a real word which means ore. Probably inspired by the great mine in Kiruna.
Big recommendation for Ikea stuff, always check the bargain basement corner. You can find ex-display stuff with a few bumps and scratches at a good price, but more importantly you can find spare parts for next to nothing that you can use to repair what you already have or modify things to better serve your needs.
My parents have had their 2 lacks for 25 years. I myself own a recycled one which is 10 years old. Ikea isn’t hard to assemble compared to other stores if you read the manual carefully and their furniture can survive moving multiple times.
…as Long as you aren’t American I guess.
Those tables are very effective, they only break if you move it too often. Also, keep in mind Sweden is an environmental pioneer. When one of my homies moved to his apartment in DTLA he was so lazy putting together 4 IKEA pieces he asked if I could do it for him, since I have a furniture background. I managed to do it in 30 minutes without instructions and he paid me for my efficiency. They are a great go-to choice for a furniture brand, it really depends on how you treat the furniture you buy from them. Many people don't buy it cause it's cheap, they buy it cause that's all they can afford. Many people are moving into their first home or just getting into college. So don't knock IKEA's position in this world.
IKEA goes together like broke college student and cup ramen, borrowing neighbors' wifi and Netflix account, watching on a laptop while sitting on the floor with the laptop on the $10.00 idea table. It's the foundation for a more stable financial future.
I worked at a furniture company where our competitor and we priced the same style table for $600.00. That is not ideal for the common consumer. Shit, we even shipped one to Casey Neistat, but even he said tables shouldn't cost that much.
95-99% of furniture you see in any furniture store is now made from particle board and fiber board. The same stuff IKEA uses for its furniture. It has been a race to the bottom as companies realize people care more about price than quality.
Older Ikea funturine is not bad actually. The computer desk my dad bought from Ikea is 20+ years still going strong after several moves. Frame is made of steel and the wood is hardwood. Super heavy to move too
When my husband and I got out of college, IKEA was all we could afford. That was before we started our low waste journey. I felt uncomfortable buying secondhand furniture at the time. The only furniture in our house that wasn’t IKEA was family hand-me-downs. Now, I would just buy everything secondhand. Furniture is SOOOO expensive. It needs to be seen as an investment since nicer, more expensive, sturdy furniture will obviously last longer. However, people can’t afford it.
Thankfully now there's a surplus of affordable second-hand IKEA furniture available near IKEA locations. Thanks for sharing + tuning in!!
@@FutureProofTV that’s true! Idk about Canada, but here in the US, IKEA stores are buying back used IKEA products and selling them in the store. So you can buy used IKEA products at IKEA. Downsides are if you sell them your used products, you get store credit, which just encourages you to buy more stuff. Also, they are only accepting a very small range of products right now. But I guess it’s at least a step in the right direction? Idk how I feel about it.
@@ashleyballard9561 It depends on how we receive the returns as well. Don't include all the parts in the box? We can't end up building it and selling it in as is, so it becomes a parts bin. We'll receive things that are completely torn apart and try our best to salvage them for parts to build furniture. In the end it doesn't all go into a trash compacter, we have separate metal/wood bins that can go to recycling.
I live in Germany and bought second hand furniture made by IKEA as a student. It still stands with some grooves - but overall not bad.
To repair it (or hide it used hints) is not as easy as full wood furniture - but it could be done.
If I had the money I maybe would invest in nice bookshelves, chairs and table - but I'd sooner make it myself than have the money to buy it.
It seems more difficult to get older furniture - but in city's together with Carsharing its even possible for students.
I would buy directly from people who sell - it's often cheaper.
In Norway even well paid archtitects have a bunch of IKEA furniture in their homes. Just gotta grab those that are of good quality.
The real Problem with IKEA furniture, in my eyes, is that they get unstabel if you disassembl them to much. My Mum moved with her IKEA shelfs 3 times now and they will not survive another move. However if you let them be they tend to be extremly stabele for the price tag. I try to buy my Furniture sacond Hand but buying big pices like a couche or a bedframe is a lot of work: renting a big car, Getting friends to help you carry it down from the Xfloor and in to your own home ec. its way easyer to just get it delivered so i understand why people choose this.
The thing is, most people overtighten, under-tighten them, because of how soft the material is, you need to be precise with tightening them in, preferably with a torque adjustable screwdriver which most people doesn't have access to. It's not just IKEA, but any furnitures made with that material has this problem.
I actually got one of these for free! From an ikea pop up shop in chicago
I started watching you when you had 25k subs
Also, coincidentally, the space between the Lack table legs is almost exactly 19.5", which is the standard width for server racks in datacenters, meaning many many nerds around the world have one or several Lack tables sitting next to our desks with old secondhand servers and network gear sitting on brackets in the legs (aka the "Lack Rack"). You can also 3d print custom brackets to stack multiple Lacks on top of each other for a full height rack.
I’ve had multiple Lack tables and I have to say, they last a long time. That said though, it’s 100% true that disassembling IKEA furniture is a pain in the butt and is likely on purpose. The cost, and ease of just hoping over to an IKEA and buying a new table instead of bothering moving your $10 Lack table is more likely.
Exaaacly, for $10, who's gonna form enough of an emotional attachment to move it to a new place? Unless they paint something cool on it, like a dragon or something... that'd be worth keeping. Thanks for tuning in !!😜
Moving from one state to another. You want the cheapest U haul possible. What do you toss out? You leave it on the side of the road so you don’t have to make another drive.
In my mind the disassembly of most ikea furniture is pretty easy. The only annoying thing are nails that hold the backboards of Billy shelves... the rest is literally unscrewing the metal locking mechanism screw and pulling it apart. Then take the screws etc out and u are done.. most of it is a piece of cake lol
@@FutureProofTV don't understand how you can say assembly is so easy it's a "participation ribbon," but simultaneously it is so hard to take apart that nobody would bother to figure out how to move with it and would instead buy a new one. Literally just unscrew the legs, I've done it multiple times with mine. Idk maybe the people you know just have a lot more money to throw around than the ones I do, because nobody I know would throw out a perfectly good table and buy another identical one because it's just too stressful to figure out how to reverse the 1 step building process. $0 < $10
I’m super interested to see what ikea does in the future with its sustainability because unlike the H&M’s of the world, Ikea is not a publicly traded company and therefore doesn’t have to answer to public shareholders the same way.
OooOo hadn't even thought of this! Very interesting indeed...
"Answer to public shareholders" hahahahahahahahahaha actually public companies don't care about anything but shareholder returns.
IKEA often leads the way in sustainability and as someone else commented it's because they DON'T have to answer to shareholders who would rather see an extra 20mil put into their dividends than developing sustainable products
@@travelwithdubs exactly!
@@tohagan12 exactly!
Great video and love your channel. As someone who has experience with IKEA, allow me to put my two cents.
You mention IKEA as a "King of Fast Furniture" and the need to have constant product turnover to maintain its position as the world’s largest furniture seller does not hold true to the vision and culture of IKEA.
There is never any intention on IKEA's part to create a product with a short life span to encourage people to replace it with a newer one when it is unusable.
“Throw-away” products are not IKEA's way. This is a testament laid on stone by Ingvar Kampard himself that vastly communicated and understood by IKEA designers and co-workers.
The fact is that LACK is created as a lower entry point for people searching for a side-table. It is targeted at students, graduates, younger people, or lower-income people. With the low price point, it has the potential to reach as many people as it can (to align with IKEA's vision: “To create a better everyday life for the many people.”). For the people with mid and high-income levels, IKEA created a different side-table with better looking and greater quality like Borgeby or Lisabo (with a better margin of course).
The mentality of IKEA designers is always to start with the price first and build the product accordingly. If at $9.90 price point, the designers manage to find material that can last for a hundred years, they are more than happy to go with it. Unfortunately, the material needed for a side-table to last for hundred years will force it to be priced multiple times and thus prevent it from reaching as many people.
Regarding sustainability, it is a challenge for the designers to find a better solution in order to reach the target by 2030. It is worth noting that sustainability has always been one of a pillar and part of the Democratic Design principle that IKEA designers and the company adhered to.
Id like to point out that in my country, ikea isnt considered cheap. Not the most expensive either but yeah. also Zara is considered fancy here. Its kinda crazy to see how people from other countries see it.
Fun Fact! This table has legs that are perfectly spaced out for 19" rackmount server hardware, so its used in the Homelab community as a cheap server rack for lighter equipment
Came looking for the Lack Rack comments! Some people have stacked them even.
Yeah that is literally why I have one - not because I needed it for that purpose but my friend did. He no longer needed it and was just going to throw it out so I took it to avoid it just going to landfill.
My facebook memories informed me that I bought my couch 13 years ago today. I got a new cover for it (via comfort works) about 3 years ago, as the old cover had faded/worn quite a bit (brown to a bit yellow), but it's otherwise in great shape. I took it apart to move it (and had to to replace the cover) and I don't think I'll get another disassemble/re-assemble out of it, as it's just a tiny bit wobblier now that it used to be. But as I don't plan on moving for a long time, I'm hopeful I'll get 15+ years out of this couch!
Glad to hear that couch has lasted you so long! It's crazy that people don't think to get a cover once their couch gets worn, it makes it last so much longer... Thanks for taking the time to comment + tune in 😜
@@FutureProofTV Ya I can def recommend re-covering couches. If you have one from a chain like Ikea, even if it's discontinued, there's store like Comfort Works that will sell covers for you couch & cushions. I've been super happy with the quality of my cover - I spilled red wine on it the other week and it was so easy to clean off my light grey couch.
My lack side tables went through about 12 years and 1 move with us. I found them to be unnecessary so I put them on the curb for someone else to take and enjoy (they were in great condition) Gone within 10 mins🙂 here our curb is 'free' and is only trash if we leave it out on the specific day and put a garbage sticker on it so just my effortless version of free facebook marketplace lol
The furniture is named after places in Sweden
Each country gives a very different perspective on Ikea. Here in Egypt, that table costs ~19USD with its bigger sister costing ~$65.
Not the most expensive in general but too expensive for what it is. I still know a couple who own it, but most people would rather pay a bit more and get high quality local furniture that would last for generations
Thrift stores can also have pretty cool furniture. I got my favorite table from one last year and it’s always not too hard to repaint or stain them
I am one of the few people who loves putting together complicated pieces of ikea furniture. There are lots of things that can be done with old ikea furniture. I bought a bunch of panels from their as is section and built a shelf out of them. I try and buy Form their as is or off marketplace.
Haha it's definitely fun if you aren't the easily-frustrated type. Glad to hear it!!
The way America works is so fascinating and so different, man. I'm from Russia, but I'm sure I can speak for most of the ex ussr countries. We rarely move, most of the ppl own theis places or rent for very long periods of time, so I have lived in this apartment for my entire life. So as the furniture. Soviet cabinets, different units of cabinets, shelves... The wardrobe was given to us by a family member, the beds has been here for A WHILE, man. A lot of the furniture are considered antics already, lol. They are usually given a fresh little new coat of paint every other decade and that's it.
To assemble Ikea furniture you read it like a comic book, to disassemble read it like a manga
Indeed 😄👍
i had a lack coffee table in my first apartment. We used it for 10 years and then it got ruined in a flood in the basement of our new home. At that point i had already been buying real furniture for our actual house, so i never looked back. BUT it did what i needed it to do (travel between apartments with me for 10 years). I wish it were a bit more sustainable and less hideous, but when you live a nomadic life where you go a few years in one apartment then leave for a better place for another 3 or so years, it's super handy and on my old adjunct wages it was CHEAP. I don't want ikea furniture anymore, i kind of associate it with my broke ass grad school years (as opposed to my broke ass non-profit working years lol) and i equate it with the ability to bug out at any moment and flee from your residence. So i'm much happier with my thrift store heavy mid-century furniture that i have now. I look like i have roots, but i'll always be grateful for the freedom that ikea once gave me. ...now if they could just stop filling up landfills. :/
Did he just say the Swedish language is ugly?
I saw the title/thumbnail of this video, looked across my room, saw this table in my living room, and immediately had to watch 😂
True that - I have accumulated 3 LACK tables all of which now scattered through my house.. here in German the table costs only 6€ so it feels even cheaper
Still there are plenty of ikea products around me and my family which are getting older but are still in use.. my grandma has a ikea kitchen since I was born and my parents billy shelf is still in use and hasn’t even aged badly - of course there are some pieces of furniture that are changed out more often but in my personal experience the ikea stuff is actually holding up some times.. but still I’d a knowledge ikea invites you to change up your home more easily through the low prices..
Eamon and Bec! 😂 That episode was hilarious
The table is cheap, flexible and custumizable. I coloured mine in different shades of gold, gave it an antique look and already used it for different purposes (it was a coffee table, a plant plateau, a desk, a dining table ...)
Another reason the LACK table, specifically, is so popular, is because it is the perfect size to accommodate a computer server. Some computer enthusiasts make "LACK Racks" for their server setups, using groups of the tables to mount server arrays. It's not the most structurally stable choice, but it's sturdy enough as long as you're not overloading it.
Ironically, I had a Billy bookshelf (probably called something different back then but white laminated MDF bookshelf) from my childhood, moved it to another state, then to my first apartment, and then to my first house! By the time it retired, it was over 30 years old and survived 4 moves. I didn't want to keep it because it didn't fit the aesthetic of the new house which had loads of built in bookshelves. Truthfully, the style and pace of US lifestyle tends to render the need for new furniture more often than the furniture actually wearing out. Everyone hops around jobs more frequently which leads to us moving around more. There is terminology in engineering called "edge of failure" that is important to understand. What that means in this case is that you want your engineered design to simply last the allotted time/conditions it was designed for. If people don't keep furniture longer than 10 years, then you want to design furniture with an edge of failure a little over a decade. What's worse than throwing away furniture every 10 years? Throwing away furniture that would last 100 years every 10 years. This altruism is applied to everything from packaging materials to electronics. They're all designed to spec factoring in a variety of conditions, and that's why we don't have a cast iron overbuilt cell phone like something from the industrial era (among other reasons) because the casing would outlast the very lifespan of the internal components inside.
I've bought a lot of stuff from Facebook marketplace because I didn't want to buy new furniture when I knew I wasn't going to live at my current place for that long. But it can take so long to find something I actually like. And when I do find something I like, 80% of the time it's already been sold. Also, I don't have a car, so that means I can only buy furniture from people willing to deliver it.
Re the buyback programme: Our local IKEA (in the UK) has a secondhand section, where you can browse and purchase the items from the buyback programme. Also agree with one of the comments above re moving with IKEA stuff - I've found they've been more likely to follow me when moving because they're easy to assemble/disassemble and pack flat, which was easier to put into storage etc when I wasn't sure where I'd be living next, + was easier to bring with me when moving once or twice a year while a student
I wouldn't say it's intended to be disposable, it's cost engineered to a fault. Mid to high end Ikea stuff is still cheap for furniture, but is fairly sturdy. I have an MCM chair similar to one other places sell for $600 that was $200 - They "cut corners" by using a less popular (but harder) hardwood for the decorative parts, and they eliminated some of the decorative structural wood on the back and used 2x4 instead. None of this makes it any less effective or durable as furniture. It's only a problem when they try to hit a price point that can't be hit without major cuts.
There's a place for the cheap-but-good furniture, I moved cross country right after college, and at least wanted a bed and a desk for my place. There are used options, but that's a lot less reliable especially in smaller cities - I could cross my fingers for cast off heirloom furniture I won't want to get rid of immediately, or I buy trusty MDF and veneer that I've kept for 2 moves, including cross country.
Honestly, I brought my Ikea furniture with me when I moved about 2,000 miles. I certainly not ever purchased it with the intent of getting rid of it. I have lately been shifting my home and Home furnishing to more for mid-century style so some of my furniture has been moved out of the more visible rooms, but I put them other places that they can serve pure utility. I've also wrapped one of my Ikea desks with wood grain contact paper to get it closer to the style without having to replace it because it's really the perfect size and shape and so on for where it is.
This is so funny, I have the entire set: the coffee table , the side table and the tv stand . I had moved in to my first 1 bedroom apartment and had a tight budget. They've been with me for 5+ years. The coffee table has suffered some scuffs but it's been fantastic. I also bought two bookshelves from them for a mere $25 each. If I have to move, they are definitely going to whoever wants them in the building. The furniture is very easy to take care of. I haven't had any problems. Ikea furniture often shows up in second hand listings as well. All my friends have some of the shelves (one bought theirs second hand) The furniture we got was very much worth it.
I have 11 lack tables(the 18x18) in my apartment. We use them as bedside tables, shelves, and coffee tables. We bought most of them in 2017/2018. I have only replaced one we used as a coffee table and we still use it elsewhere since it was only cosmetic. We love them because if they get scratched or damaged who cares they were only $5-10.
We stacked two and have it in a corner by a computer desk. Hides a garbage can on the floor, holds an all in one printer in the middle that is still usable, and a lamp on top. I have two of them side by side in my closet, and also as snack storage. Using as coffee tables is great because they’re very easy to move.
I don’t understand how people say IKEA is junk. Try buy a similar item for the same price from Walmart or target. I doubt it’ll hold up as well as IKEA when moved.
well... MFC boards (furniture board with like small wood chips) are actually party recyclable. They are crushed and reused in new board production.
Idk. If it’s our fault that that there is so much furniture is in dump. I feel like now days most people are throwing out their parents or grandparents stained and damaged couches. At least that is my take.
That's definitely a factor, too! Thanks for tuning in 👍👏
It is our fault. I live at an apartment complex with about 100 apartments, that has a recycling building. There is always furniture dumped in the burn bin. When ever people move out there are usually 4-10 pieces of furniture thrown out, mostly IKEA stuff.Lucky for me I haven't had to buy any furniture or house hold plastic in the 10 years I have lived there. Also haven't had to buy any electronic cords or light fixtures.
Just as with Fjallraven I grew up with IKEA since the early 60s. Yes, I am that old. Being Scandinavian I understand the IKEA names. They are often place names, or play on what they look like and work. Lack for instance, mean "Laquer". Look at it, makes sense. My bed is is called "Oslo". And it's the capital of Norway. The names may sound and look weird here in the US, but for me they make perfect sense and is often clever and funny! :)
The only lack I own was gifted to me by another roommate that was moving out as I was moving in. I still use it after 8 years after I moved
When you look at affordable furniture there is a wide variety of quality and design. More expensive doesn't mean higher quality, especially in the lower budget area. Sometimes it's just: "this colour is more in trend at the moment so we will charge you 15$ more for it". What ia sustainable and profitable to produce isn't decided by the consumer. It's decided by governments, destrebution possibilities, what materials get more or less taxed, what is supported by incentives etc.. the end consumer buys what they can afford. For now we can afford a 10$ table that will serve us a few years and look nice.
Making fun of another cultures language was unnecessary...
IKEA stuff are just so so good. Although they may not be the best for the price, they are certainly one of the most minimalistic and actually good looking furniture. 80% of my room is IKEA (bunk bed frame, matress, blanket, table, cupboard, I have two IKEA wall ledges, one KALLAX) and I'm still actively working to make that 100%!
Yup, I've got one. I think another component to IKEA is transportability. I drive a sedan, some people have no car at all, I'm single so it's often a pain to find someone to help me carry furniture. IKEA stuff is disassembled, so I can almost always get it in my car and into my house, perhaps using a dolly for the latter. I did however recently buy a classic dresser and table from a freind who's downsizing to move to Europe and owns a truck though. He drove it to me and helped me carry it into my place.
Levi, I'd love to see a video on Adidas. It seems like they are making an effort, I'd love to know how much of it is green washing and how much is real.
We may have a video that interests you in the works currently! 😉😅 Thanks for the suggestion + for tuning in!!
We bought two Hemnes bureaus as a temporary fix when we moved, and I swore we would upgrade when we got settled. Turns out, they’re actually quite nice. Very durable, nice black grain finish, decent drawer runners. They can scratch easily, so we added tempered glass on the tops. Years later, we still love them. IKEA doesn’t necessarily translate to disposable fast fashion.
i have the lack table with the undertable storage bit, it's cheap af but works well and im poor, it's cheaper and easier to get than Facebook marketplace stuff
You also have to take into account that people move much more frequently than they ever did in the 60's. The stats aren't entirely from flimsier furniture. That being said I've thrown away my fair share of ikea furniture 😅
It just does not compute that people would only keep a furniture item for a couple of years! You've confirmed my suspicions about IKEA's recyclability too, so I'll definitely be re-painting/purposing my items when they eventually wear out!
Imagine not only keeping the furniture for only two years, but then throwing it away after that instead of re-selling. Crazy crazy stuff!
I got two of these for free to use in my studio after finding them being thrown out. They were still in really good condition! Repainted both in a gloss black because the pink was too bright and didn't fit in with the monochrome decor. Now 1 of the tables is being used for a mini fridge which is the perfect height 😀
I'm not swedish. I'm a filipino but I noticed your lack of respect for swedish people's language. You called the names ugly. Really? And this is coming from an american. Hilarious.
It's so annoying. So proud of their lack of education.
Hey Levi, in regards to the items that they buyback (mentioned at 6:42), in that paragraph you're reading they mention their Circular Hub, which is located at the back of the material pick-up area near the cash in most stores. This area has a bunch of already-assembled IKEA furniture that was returned or sold back now available to customers for cheaper, as well as spare pieces that people returned if they didn't need. I really like this approach by IKEA and I think it at least takes a step in the right direction sustainability wise. I personally used the buyback program when they were offering 1.5x the value on a TV stand I wasn't going to use anymore and it was in good enough shape for another IKEA customer to use it.
Also, I was a Lack owner myself but funny enough my Lack came with a missing screw and I never bothered to go get an extra from IKEA so I just had a wobbly Lack. Served me well in my old apartment but when I moved it was the only piece of furniture I tossed. However I have reused all my other IKEA furniture since then - my Malm bed frame, my PAX wardrobe, and my Idasen desk. So the disassembling and reusability factor is there for sure.
In my experience after buying dinner chairs from The Brick, IKEA stuff is better designed for the price because they are making their products with customer assembly in mind, so their pieces have to be properly built/crafted, whereas my items from The Brick were warped and crookedly designed. Overall I am a huge fan of IKEA as a lower-budget consumer because they give people unique opportunities to build and layout their spaces in ways that suit them, which can even lend nicely to minimalist and space-saving consumers, which is part of the sustainability mindset. So even if it doesn't invoke sustainability for all, it does for many over equal-priced competitors.
Depends I have the lack since 2017 moved once and still looks new. My bookshelf from Ikea is 10+ years still works and my dad computer table is 20 years old lasted a few move. Yea more IKEA funturine might not last as well due to change to material but older IKEA funturine can last a long time
I was very grateful that when I found out IKEA wasn’t a sustainable company that I had never personally shopped at IKEA (What I first heard about IKEA is that they participated in the past in illegal logging). With that being said though, I have bought furniture in the past that I wish I had bought from a more sustainable company or second hand. But I’m continually trying to grow and be more conscious of my decisions, and I’m always grateful for videos like this
That's what it's all about! Thanks for the support, Kathryn!!
ikea's use of wood from illegal logging is not just a thing of the past unfortunately
😖😲😵Not me fainting because I stupidly thought all wood was recyclable...damn you fiber boards
I’m interested in why you left out the AS-IS department from this analysis. They resell used displays and returned items at a discount to customers.
i have three lack tables. one i put mosaics on in an art class when i was 7 and it got exhibited in a kids art exhibition so like my parents love it so they keep it in their room. then i painted another lack table at like 12 and it’s also treasured by my parents and they still have it somewhere in the living room. there’s a third one that i painted black that’s been in my room for over ten years and i write stuff i need to do with chalk. if anything i can resell them for more then ikea but i don’t see the need to because it’s being used in my house. also we moved houses like fiveish times with those tables and countries three times.
I've gotten too many of these types in both sizes for either $5 or free. I feel so called out. I do however try and buy second hand furniture (when it can be bought that way) when I can. Most of our living room is FB marketplace finds.
Dude when I move out my house will only have a mattes to sleep and furniture made of cardboard boxes. First stuff I make is a shoecase and a coffee table. I'll use boxes for storage space. My space will be very easy to clean. Hell yeah
When it comes to the construction/ deconstruction, download the manual and save it in the cloud. I tend to use the paper ones after construction to line the bottom of my bins to prevent bin soup leakage. The items themselves will move with people if they were bought with care as opposed to a temporary fix. I own expensive items (clothing, furniture etc) as well inexpensive ones, and I take care of them because they cost me money, my own hard earned money. Others might not be wired that way, but that isn’t always to do with a manufacturer wanting to make a profit. People like bargains, be it new things, or second hand. We just need to figure out how to mix new and second hand spending to keep the planet a liveable place. Another thing is that sometimes people will see an item they want, and compare second hand price to new price and with a small difference in price, choose the brand new one as opposed to the second hand. The psychology behind that needs to be explored as well to try and change people’s view of buying second hand as opposed to new. The inexpensive items from ikea however, with the variety of price ranges, tap into many individual considerations beyond price & budget.
Excellent video and great editing 👍 just subbed
Well, Ikea have a lot of good quality stuff as well, real hard wood furniture. The thing is they cost a lot. The flat pack make them really efficient to transport as well.
You might say, but Joel you're Swedish and bias and all and to that I say: yes, yes I am
Real hard wood furniture? They have some pine junk and some veneers glued on to chip board. IKEA hasn't had hard wood for more 10 years.
@@lindatisue733 well, you're wrong they do have furniture made out of real wood just not the cheap stuff. I was at IKEA s couple of weeks ago and saw a lot of furnitures put of real wood
We just thrift our furniture..... Sure it doesn't match, but it's fun and eclectic.
Absolutely love some of the discontinued Ikea furniture I've bought used. Some very well designed pieces and durable pieces have been offered over the years.
My favorite piece is the round NORDEN table - solid birch and I got it for 20€.
wow! really great video you have made here! you have jumped right into my heart!!!!!!!! :)
That reference to Eamon & Bec was lit 😆
That video was hilarious 🔥
I have one of these tables and it lasts and takes a beating. Totally worth it imo
It's stupid to blame IKEA for consumers wasting their furniture. People deciding something isn't worth transporting just because it costs so little to rebuy is not "planned obsolescence"; it's consumer laziness.
I think a large contributor to furniture waste is college. Students move into an apartment near campus and buy new furniture, then they move to another part of the country and don’t feel like bringing it all with them, so they just throw it away or give it away
Hehe, I was wondering when the "crown jewel" of Sweden would be the focus of this channel! Accually, worked at Ikea for a while! (Haha, like a real true Swede.)
I also realized we still have a Lack table (thought we had tossed it out a while ago - my partner was sick of it), but it is hidig under our printer! Thanks for helping me find it xD (Accually had to go and look for it in our small apartment). So our Lack is still in service! :D
Thanks for another great and needed episode.
Would love another ep about IKEA but maybe more focused on their production-chain and the lack of trasparency.
Why: I tried to find out where their linen (as in the fabric) comes from and how its produced... but they keep that information very far away of their potential costumers xD (got suspisious because their products cost often more then half of other linen-bedding...). Still havent got an answer on where its from and how their linen is produced... (did try to contact them).
Ps...Would be privileged to help with Swedish pronunciation "if" needed, but did enjoy watching you give it a go! 🤣
Happy you've enjoyed our content, we'll add that to our future videos ideas list! 🔥
Moving sucks...i mean seriously...
S-U-C-K-S!
Beds, sofas, and dressers...the absolute worst... especially if you've got stairs (or more horrid...stair-WELLS) to negotiate.
That said, super-lightweight items like these end-tables and coffee-tables... easy-peasy. Move them last...throw/jam them into the top/back of your U-Haul/SUV/Nissan Altima.
I personally own 2 of the end tables, as well as the coffee table...💓 them! 10+ years of usage, and so light to deploy when you want to re-arrange and give any room an inexpensive "new look".
Thanks for the video. 👍👍👍
Cheers!
JerBear
Charlotte USA
Hardwood furniture, though expensive, very expensive, could last for hundreds of years with very little maintenance. That is sustainable in my books.
By the way, one search on Google and I found we can recycle MDF now, and we need only build the first plants to do it. Which is kind of true of most waste we produce - it isn't recycled because there simply isn't a recycling plant within a reasonable distance that can handle it. Not to mention that all the people in the comments who apparently break their IKEA furniture are being pretty careless with it. It's absolutely tough enough to survive, if treated as you should treat furniture. I'd wager they also think you can't read a book without breaking the spine.
While I'm myself shopping for 2nd hand better quality furniture more instead when I can, this video was such a shallow take with no research. And you made fun of the Swedish language by calling the names ugly? That was cringe.
I have the Walmart equivalent. Basically the same thing, though at twice the cost. (Man, I feel like such a sucker now!) As you might guess, I bought it because it was cheap. I was pretty much dirt poor at the time and needed furniture. I find it absolutely hilarious that it's made of literal cardboard with some veneer on it. But there's something endearing about that for all the wrong reasons!
When I moved to the house I bought recently though, oh I kept it! It still features prominently in my living room. I had to buy rubber pads for the feet because it's too light to stay in place on the "wooden" floor, but my shitty cardboard coffee table was not getting tossed! Honestly, at some point I do want to get nicer furniture for my living room, but I do actually have a plan for it once that time comes.
And even if I didn't, I'd just put it on NextDoor for free and someone would get some use out of it. Though what happens when they're done with it would be unknown.
I bought this same table from Ikea but it was actually 50% off so it was only $5 lol
it's cheap and easy. For young adults needing furniture the first set is usually cheap until you can replace it. Seems fine to me.
Funny you say u throw out instantly I have 2 pieces of IKEA furniture moved 3 times and kept them intact and still using them for the office and bedroom
I don't own it and I don't know no one who does matter fact I don't know anyone who owns anything from IKEA if they do own anything from IKEA I don't know about it
I actually own one of these tables because it's coincidentally the perfect size for mounting server racks lol.
Best table ever! And they also have glossy versions of the small table. Too bad they don't offer a glossy coffee table.
b!tch i am poor, i am buying this coffee table in my early 20s and it will probably be the table on which they will place my casket at my funeral !
I found one two days ago at a waste bin, good as new. I don't know what to do with it now lol
Wait "as ugly as most IKEA names" and proceeds to butcher the Swedish language with their awful take on it. Spoiler, it's not the names that are ugly. 🤓
I got a Lack with the lower shelf out of a trash pile, and goodness, I love that table. Rock solid, totally free to me, and the perfect size for my intended use.