khunsanuk Posted February 7, 2012 Report Share Posted February 7, 2012 Hi, Last Sunday I went to Ikea with my wife and parents. My parents live very close to Ikea in Holland and wanted to see if this one was similar. My wife and I hadn't been yet either, so off we went. Getting there was pretty easy, skytrain to Udomsuk and then a taxi (there's a shuttle bus as well, but we weren't sure where it would pick people up). The place itself is quite large and it is suggested you follow the arrows through the store. We picked up a catalogue on the way in along with a big plastic bag "in case we want to buy something" (I brought a Thai girl, no prizes for guessing whether or not we bought something ). One of the first things my Mom noticed was how expensive the shop was, several items were *more* expensive here than in Holland, sometimes quite a bit so. One prime example was a fruit bowl. My Mom had bought this for my sister 2 months ago for 4 Euro (~160 Baht), the exact same bowl was 490 Baht here. So, contrary to what I had come to believe Ikea in Thailand is not cheap. At certain places in the shop they have 'built' entire condos, to show how you can furnish a small condo in a nice way. These were quite nice and I was surprised that a 2 bedroom 59 sq.m. (I think it was) condo could still look that 'spacious'. The 30 sq.m. studio on the other hand looked very cramped. Anyway, I enjoyed these condo displays. After going through the top floor we finally ended up at the restaurant. I had been looking forward to this, especially since it was 1pm by then and I hadn't eaten anything all day. Unfortunately, it was extremely busy with a queue that looked like it would take at least 30 min to get some food. So, we moved downstairs and continued 'window'-shopping. While the top floor was mostly big furniture, the bottom floor was mostly smaller stuff (pillows, vases, photo frames, etc). Got through this and ended up at the counter. My wife had bought some small stuff and went to pay. My Mom has an 'Ikea Family' card from Holland and whips that out for a discount only to be told that it is invalid. You can only use cards from Thailand. I thought that was moronic as did Mom & Dad. Been here long enough though to know it is utterly pointless debating this with some kid behind a counter. Next a guard comes running up to us and grabs our catalog, saying you cannot have these. If you want one, get it from the customer service desk. Eh? Come again? There is a stack of catalogs at the entrance to the shop and you are invited to take one, yet you have to drop it off at the counter again only to go pick up another copy at the customer service desk? Makes no fucking point. Pissed off my wife and she told the guard "Fuck it, I don't want one anymore." Left the shop and figured we'd wait for the shuttle bus as there were no taxis around. Didn't take too long for it to arrive. Looked really nice, until we got inside The driver was really crap, btw, driving around 50km/hr on the BangNa-Trad road getting overtaken by trucks and swerving all over the place. I have no doubt he was either drunk, tired or high on something. So, all in all, I very seriously doubt I'll be back here again. I was not impressed by the prices, not impressed by the service and while there was some nice furniture it just wasn't worth it to me. Sanuk! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mekong Posted February 7, 2012 Report Share Posted February 7, 2012 Index Shopping Mall it is then! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The_Munchmaster Posted February 7, 2012 Report Share Posted February 7, 2012 Ikea furniture is cheap (although obviously not in Thailand) crap. They are however excellent for lighting, bed linen and various other bits and bobs. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Julian2 Posted February 8, 2012 Report Share Posted February 8, 2012 There appears to be only one shop in Bangkok but if it was nearby I'd go and have a look. I badly need new shelving for my books and DVDs and the local offerings are a bit ordinary. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kamui Posted February 8, 2012 Report Share Posted February 8, 2012 Ikea furniture is cheap (although obviously not in Thailand) crap. They are however excellent for lighting, bed linen and various other bits and bobs. Not everything crap, neither is it that cheap anymore. It looks cheap in the beginning, when you put together your own kitchen or wardrobe, the parts are adding up and then your GF buy some additional stuff and soon you have an 1.000-2.000 USD invoice... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lozz17 Posted February 9, 2012 Report Share Posted February 9, 2012 There was a story in the news here in aus recently how ikea was much more expensive here than europe ! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jon46 Posted February 13, 2012 Report Share Posted February 13, 2012 There was a story in the news here in aus recently how ikea was much more expensive here than europe ! Here in the states, there are 4 IKEA stores in the NY area, one in Brooklyn, another on Long Island and two in New Jersey. There are free shutter buses to the one in Brooklyn (or at least when it first opened). Prices are reasonable. I brought a small lamp for $7 on sale. IKEA has nice/inexpensive designer kitchen cabinets if you were thinking to remodel your kitchen as well as sinks/stoves/refrigators/faucets for kitchens and bathrooms plus other furniture/wall cabinets. As a matter of fact, I have a friend in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia who remodeled her kitchen with IKEA cabinetry and it was very nice. My friend told me the cost and it was a fraction of what it is to do a kitchen remodel here in the states! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sayjann Posted February 13, 2012 Report Share Posted February 13, 2012 Here in the states, there are 4 IKEA stores in the NY area, one in Brooklyn, another on Long Island and two in New Jersey. There are free shutter buses to the one in Brooklyn (or at least when it first opened). Prices are reasonable. I brought a small lamp for $7 on sale. IKEA has nice/inexpensive designer kitchen cabinets if you were thinking to remodel your kitchen as well as sinks/stoves/refrigators/faucets for kitchens and bathrooms plus other furniture/wall cabinets. As a matter of fact, I have a friend in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia who remodeled her kitchen with IKEA cabinetry and it was very nice. My friend told me the cost and it was a fraction of what it is to do a kitchen remodel here in the states! in the UK we have IKEA but also a cheaper alternative called MFI. MFI is mainly flat packed and you have to assemble it yourself. is this the same with IKEA products?. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kamui Posted February 13, 2012 Report Share Posted February 13, 2012 in the UK we have IKEA but also a cheaper alternative called MFI. MFI is mainly flat packed and you have to assemble it yourself. is this the same with IKEA products?. Yep, you'll have to assemble all furniture yourself. Or you could pay Ikea to do it for you at your home. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The_Munchmaster Posted February 13, 2012 Report Share Posted February 13, 2012 in the UK we have IKEA but also a cheaper alternative called MFI. MFI is mainly flat packed and you have to assemble it yourself. is this the same with IKEA products?. Sayjann, different people go to MFI than Ikea. Do you even know what MFI stands for? No? Let me tell you, MFI stands for "Made for Fucking Idiots". Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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