Ikea UK prices compared to Europe - RIP-OFF

Ems*Honie

Well if it is cheaper then its a great excuse for a holiday,, I love Ikea Seem to be able to spend hours there without buying anything in particular

taxiphil

deanos wrote:

Just done a snaphot survey on the Belgium and UK site

Kilby bookcase £19.99 €24.95
Plastis 99p €1.50
MOTTO bowl 39p €0.39
POÄNG chair £69 €89
KLUBBO table £29 €39
BASISK light £13.99 €19.99
ELLY teatowel £1.29 €1.49

Good idea. I've also compared the two websites and most things seem to average 15-20% dearer in the UK, but I also found stacks of items where £1 appears to equal €1 in the weird and wonderful world of Ikea's foreign exchange rate:

LEKSVIK Bed Storage Box (2 Pack) £49.90 / €49.00
SOVA 90x200cm Fitted Sheet £4.99 / €4.99
SULTAN FORSEN 200x90cm Mattress £40 / €39
LILLHOLMEN Wall Lamp £8.99 / €8.99
KANIST Vase £3.99 / €3.99
PYRA Wok £4.99 / €4.99
TROFÉ Mug 39p / €0.39
365+ Plate £2.99 / €2.99
MOTTO Plate 39p / €0.39
TECKEN Mug £2.59 / €2.50
PLASTIS Ice Cube Tray 99p / €1
CHARM Bottle Opener 79p / €0.75
REKO Glass (6 Pack) 99p / €1
NACKTEN 40x60cm Towel 49p / €0.50
SAXAN 50x100cm Towel £1.99 / €1.99
SAXAN 70x140cm Towel £3.99 / €3.99
NIVA Floor Lining (15 metre roll) £14.99 / €14.95
BASTIS Pet Food Bowl 50p / €0.50
SKYDD 500ml Wood Treatment Oil £2.99 / €2.99
SOMMAR Drink Stirrer (4 Pack) 99p / €1
SOMMAR Fly Swatter (2 Pack) 99p / €1
SVEPA Glass (12 Pack) £2.59 / €2.50
POKAL Glass 49p / €0.50

For my own amusement purposes I'll be e-mailing Ikea about this, and look forward to them telling me it's all to do with complex differences in socio-economic trading conditions between the two countries.

Ali_UK

Sadly it's been a fact of life for quite some time now that there are many countries in Europe where things are just cheaper full stop!

We were in Spain last week and went looking for some snorkelling equipment. Whilst we were in the store (Decathlon - there are two in the south east but I've never been to them as I know I would be ill at their prices!) my other half nearly fainted.......he bought some diving fins for £49 which were in the store priced at €29! He swore....he couldn't get over it for days!

It is certainly true though, as already mentioned, that you have to consider what the average wages are in the country you are visiting, they are often (but not always) less than in the UK....having said that I still think we get totally ripped off!

KizzyK_2

Would it be worth driving over to France for a big Ikea shop (if thats where I was getting my stuff) do you think?

Davidboy

But could you get through checkout without there being a mile long queue in Belguim????


D

Steel_eye

3 weeks ago I drove a hired van to the Lille store (3 hours round trip), bought several pieces of furniture (which cost roughly the same as in the UK). One had been wrongly machined and would not assemble. I drove back to Lille on my way to the ferry (another extra 2 hours) to find they did not open Sunday (my fault I should have checked) so the half assembled drawer unit came back to the UK. I don't want my money back I just want an exchange.

When I rang the Wembley store they told me that as I had bought from IKEA France they could not help me. So I e-mailed as detailed a complaint as the 500 character comments field would allow. Next day I had an automated acknowledgement. A week later nothing more so I replied to the acknowledgement asking when I might get a considered response. Next day the response came, I could return the item and proof of purchase to obtain a refund. Not wanting to make a fruitless journey (2 hour round trip) I replied that the item was bought in France and asked for confirmation that I could return it as I had previously been told that I could not.

Unsurprisingly the reply told me that "we do not accept back any goods bought from an overseas store." and "Sorry we cannot be of any further assistance in this matter."

Well I think that they can do more, the item is in both catalogues, it is presumably from the same supplier, surely defective items are returnd to the supplier.

I could just buy one in the UK, remove it from the packaging and return the French one to Wembley with the UK reciept, but that is not good enough. IKEA are a large international company, they make a big deal about business ethics in their catalogue, yet they seem to be opting out here. Don't they value their reputation ?

I intend to continue to complain. This time I will cc everyone I know, admitedly not a lot of people, and if IKEA fail to resolve the issue ask each of those people to let IKEA know what they feel whilst cc'ing everyone that they know.

At the moment I only have a customer services e-mail address. If you know the address of the CEO or similar it would be most useful. If you would be prepared to have me include you in my cc list, then please PM me.

By the way IKEA Lille was almost empty on a Friday afternoon, not at all like the scrum that is Wembley on any day of the week.