Rosemary

It is always good to see a business start from scratch and become global. I have never been to any branch but people at work were very polarised, they either loved it or hated it. We were lucky in having a lot of small furniture manufacturers close by us in the UK so did not need to do the 100 mile round trip to the nearest Ikea.
Different prices are a fact of life even within the same company,Tescos on the south coast were considerably more expensive than Tescos in Sheffield or they certainly used to be.
Do not complain Mitzy, if you have to queue that is what your Kindle is for.

Graham

jimenato

Yup - just like MacDonald's.

noelrosie

Me neither ... UK size 12/14 in Marks and Spencers = doomed in Zara. Our 'local' in Portal de las Marinas, Ondara is usually sold out of anything size M (medium) or above ... which makes me think the expat Brits, Germans, Dutch etc. in the area have more disposable income than the local Spanish ...

jimenato

My experience of Ikea is that there's some good stuff at good prices but it just ain't worth shopping there because the quite awful* shopping experience takes years off your life. I mean that market thing you can wander around is just a glorified Chinese bazaar but with inflated prices and much less choice.

*I mean seriously stressful, dreadful, quite appalling, to be avoided at all costs. I'd rather have a root canal job with no anaesthetic than set foot in one of those blue torture chambers ever again. I cannot imagine why anyone would want to subject themselves to such a nasty experience.

And the names of the products "Jerker" desk, "Fukta" plant spray and "Fartfull" workbench - jeez -

Mitzyboy

On several occasions I have had to go back because of missing parts. Waiting in the returns department takes just as long

The only thing I was really pleased with was the Billy bookcases

lovingthesun

but that's the fun part surely

scampicat

Most of my furniture is from IKEA. Easily transportable and cheap. Our house looks like an IKEA showroom.

Or as my friends call it, 'Swedish Modern'.

I would not like having expensive furniture that I worried about whether it got marks on. My husband got paint all over a coffee table (£8), so he just sanded down the top and it was as good as new.

tonrob

Ikea hate you and want you dead. Never forget that.

Even after you describe the horrors you experienced, try getting home after a 3 hour drive and finding the thing you bought doesn't have all the bits. Their customer service centre doesn't give a shit - get back in your car and drive again if you want any chance of satisfaction.

Crunts.

GrapeEater

I haven't had a moan on here for a while... I bought some bedroom furniture (wardrobes, bed, cabinets) about €900's worth. Before I paid I asked about delivery "yeah no problem but you have to pick the goods (BIG STRUGGLE, they weigh a ton!) then pay... afterwards go to service desk and arrange delivery.

So I did that ... with my massive laden trolley. Service desk said delivery would be €45 and NEXT DAY! - a little on the pricey side but great, next day, I was thinking UNTIL he said they charge €30 a day for storage !!!!

After a MASSIVE ARGUMENT along the lines of "I just took this bloodly lot off a shelf and you want me to pay you to put a back on the shelf again FOR 1 DAY !!"

... the guy, probably through being scared for his life, caved in and didn't charge me.

Rosemary

Why don´t you say whether you like IKEA or not instead of sitting on the fence.

Graham

angiescarr

I think this is fairly easy to answer!
Ikea is a Swedish brand, so has always calculated prices in Euros. So at one time the prices were on a par with the pound hovering around1.50 to the euro prices in thye UK were bound to be 'smaller numbers'. When the pound fell catastrophically many european companies were forced to take the loss of continuing to supply at the same prices in pounds rather than to put the goods up so dramatically and risk losing their customers long term.
the fact is that the companies will still be struggling with that drop and you shouldn't think of it as a rip off in Spain. More as a bargain in England!
Maybe, with the high delivery charges here as well, someone should get a group of friends, a shopping list and a van together and pop over to pick up a few bargains!

Mitzyboy

Fair enough ....... and I'd just like to say that I hold nothing against the multi millionaire owner who spends all his days playing golf whilst some of his stores clearly have a few issues that they haven't addressed yet

I also ought to add that the wife has been piling on the pressure to go to Ikea Murcia now for years, and I just cant pluck up the courage

Chiclanagir

If we ran a straw poll, I bet that the women would go for a day at Ikea whereas the men would run in the opposite direction!

scampicat

When we are in the UK, myself and my husband frequently go for our breakfast at IKEA (99p and unlimited drinks, with a Family card) as our house is not too far from the Wednesbury store.

We see other regulars there too.

Sad, isn't it.

Edited to add: We can use our British Family card in Spain too (or get a Spanish Familia one), but the Malaga store is too far away to go frequently and the breakfasts are not as nice.

angiescarr

My husband agrees with you. He only goes on sufferance and because 'design' is very difficult to get in this area of Spain and is very expensive.