Shopping at Ikea for us is kind of like a love/hate relationship. We love the look of many of their products. Clever design and contemporary looks make many of their products worthwhile. But we have gone to the store a number of times to buy items we'd seen in their catalogue only to find out the prices were way more than we thought. Shopping using their catalogue can be somewhat misleading if you don't have some experience with the way they advertise. There have been many times we've gone to Ikea to buy something out of their catalogue only to find out that the deal wasn't what we thought it was. If you know what to look for you can avoid disappointment at the store.
Read the Fine Print Very Carefully
The Ikea catalogue will often have prices next to pictures which are somewhat misleading. You need to very carefully read the small print next to the pictures. We once went to buy a shelving unit that was advertised for a very good price. There were two pictures in the catalogue - one had deep shelving, and the other picture looked deep as well and was advertised for a price we couldn't refuse. It wasn't until we got to the store that we realized the price was for narrow shelf units, not the deep shelves we were looking for. The picture was taken so that it was impossible to tell what the shelf depth was.
Not Included
Read carefully for ‘not included' labels. Great deals are not such great deals if the price does not include half the things you need. You might see a unit you love only to find out when you get to the store that the price doesn't include the handles, built in lights or extra shelving that the picture shows.
Measure, Measure, Measure
The images in the catalogue will often look much larger than they are in real life. Carefully look at the measurements given. Take a tape measure and draw out the measurements in order to get an idea of the real size of the item. This will help you avoid disappointment when you get to the store.
Case it Point: Kitchens
We find the kitchen advertisements in the Ikea catalogue are the most misleading of all. Often there will be a picture of a beautiful kitchen with a very reasonable price tag next to it. But if you read carefully, you'll find that the price is for a ten foot by ten foot kitchen, not the beautiful elaborate setup pictured in the ad. Even our own tiny kitchen is larger than ten feet squared.
Not only is the square footage different than shown, the price doesn't include any of the handles, countertops, extras features shown, delivery or installation. The costs for these items are considerable.
Even at Ikea you get what you pay for
There have been some smoking hot deals in the catalogue and home delivered flyers that we've rushed over to the store to buy. One item was a group of pictures for the wall that were only $7 each for large 10 inch by 14 inch or larger pictures. "Wow" we thought. Seven dollars each!! What a deal!! We needed large pictures for our walls and these looked great for the price in the flyer ad we were sent in the mail.
Once we got to the store, however, it was obvious why the price was so low. The pictures were made of paper mounted around a flimsy wooden frame. One false move and the picture would be punctured and wrecked. I wouldn't be surprised if half the pictures don't even make it to a person's home without wrecking on the trip.
So if a deal seems too good to be true, it usually is. They are smart advertisers, though. Since we are already at the store, we usually end up buying something else for considerably more money.
Don't get us wrong - we aren't saying to stay away from Ikea. We personally still shop there quite often. They do have good prices on uniquely designed items that you can't find anywhere else. What we are saying is to be educated buyers. If you know what to look for in the catalogue and flyers you can still shop there without being disappointed.
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