Ikea really has come up with a great way to attract and retain customers. --When you're in college and/or in your first apartment, you often can't afford great furniture, so you buy the cheap Ikea stuff that works, but isn't designed to last. A couple of years later, however, you have a bit more money and want to upgrade (or replace the broken furniture), and Ikea has higher quality options available that still don't break the bank, but look nicer and will last much longer.
My main issue with upgrading out of Ikea is that I have no idea where to go. Last time I walked into a "real" furniture store, I got a very sleazy feeling from all the salesmen in suits standing by the door ready to pounce.
I don't think I've ever seen (or at least noticed) any of Ikea's higher quality options. The price differences just seem like normal price variation between models to me. Is there any way to tell that a particular item is from their better line?
That said, I think I paid something like $150 for my Jerker desk and it's still going strong seven years and five moves later.
The price difference is the biggest differentiator, that and finding the stuff that looks more sturdy. If it looks like real wood and weighs like real wood, it most likely is real wood.
I just got back from a trip to Ikea to buy multiple computer desks, and got the really cheap particle board ones to save money, but there were definitely some nicer desks there that looked even better that felt like real wood.
