IKEA prices

vandee

Member
Nov 26, 2003
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I thought the prices for Ikea were standard. Turns out they aren't. And the country that pays the most relative to the size of the income of the people of the country is the Dominican Republic. A bed I saw in the US that sells for $249 sells in the DR for $412. Quite a difference and quite a rip off.
 
The prices are ridiculously high here and the stuff is crap!! If you live in a beach town or near the beach I would HIGHLY avoid getting IKEA furniture, my dresser last 3 months I think.

They still have a lot of good stuff, I like their plates and glasses etc... but won't go there here again.
 

SKY

Gold
Apr 11, 2004
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This is standard DR ripoff. Any large store that is famous in another part of the World and comes here has robbery prices. Not just IKEA.
 
Feb 7, 2007
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And their excuse would be that import duties are high, and that they have to pay ITBIS, etc. Like if they didn't have to pay VAT and import taxes in other countries...
 

bigbird

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May 1, 2005
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I thought the prices for Ikea were standard. Turns out they aren't. And the country that pays the most relative to the size of the income of the people of the country is the Dominican Republic. A bed I saw in the US that sells for $249 sells in the DR for $412. Quite a difference and quite a rip off.

Sticker Shock!

Same happened to me several months ago. Saw a real nice day bed in IKEA, New Jersey selling for a little under $300. I returned to Santo Domingo and the same bed was close to $700.

I built a wall unit using IKEA furniture. I bought the large pieces here and brought down from the states the drawers, knobs, etc. in my luggage. Even if I had to pay for extra luggage I still would have ended up saving money.

Sometimes you can catch items on sale at IKEA and the prices are reasonable. Also look in the scratched and dented section for some decent bargains.
 

Ducadista

Member
Nov 7, 2011
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Valeu Cara!
I have noticed elevated prices on some items and others just a small amount (which is expected). As far as quality goes, I have had my Ikea furniture for over 12 years, and have never had an issue.

My 2 cents.
 

Auryn

Well-known member
Apr 22, 2012
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I have an Ikea floor lamp that I paid $9.99 for in Canada. The exact same lamp at Ikea Santo Domingo is RD $1200 ($30 CDN) , which is well over double the price. I find that small stuff like clothes pins or plastic kitchen ware is cheap enough here but everything else is ridiculously expensive.
 

donP

Newbie
Dec 14, 2008
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IKEA Herrings

At IKEA we only buy marinated herrings in those small jars.
At about 160 RD$ they are expensive, but very good.

donP
 

Mauricio

Gold
Nov 18, 2002
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It's simple: in Europe (and U.S.) you go to ikea for cheap furniture with mediocre quality in DR you go to ikea because most furniture stores still only sell the ugly massive wooden rococo style furniture.

vines-on-parlor-chair-rococo-revival.jpg
 

Mauricio

Gold
Nov 18, 2002
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What ikea brought to SD is that other stores (e.g. Ilumel) lowered their prices and are bringing more contemporary stuff and (in Ilumel's case) slightly better quality.
 

dv8

Gold
Sep 27, 2006
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i have two sofas, a sofa bed, a set of armchairs and a coffee table from ikea. all was relatively cheap, modern and has lasted few years now with zero issues.
 
Aug 6, 2006
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I would say avoid stuff made of particle board if you live in any humid place. If you live in a dry climate, it can last a very long time. In a damp climate it tends to swell and turn into oatmeal.
The other problem is the traditional Dominican daily habit that some have flooding the floors and swabbing them down will cause particle board to disintegrate from the bottom.
Coasters are a must for table tops.
 

Mauricio

Gold
Nov 18, 2002
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I have a 'leather' couch from ikea that stayed like new (4 years old now), while the expensive real leather sofa I brought from Holland became very ugly and I had to remove the leather and cover it with fabric. So yes, there are exceptions. However, anything of pressed wood/carton doesn't stay well very long, especially if you have children or a maid that cleans with buckets of water around.

Lately they have some massive wood furniture that isn't that bad either.
 

dv8

Gold
Sep 27, 2006
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when we were picking the furniture i had a very specific idea of what will last.

for instance we bought this coffee table: https://www.ikea.com.do/santodoming.../&hfb=1001&ra=8004&pa=121&item=9072&id_src=15
it is metal and glass, the bottom part is particle board but i put only books and similar items there.

our sofa bed is this one:
https://www.ikea.com.do/santodoming...a/&hfb=1001&ra=11&pa=113&item=12531&id_src=15
here with the mattress ad cover: https://www.ikea.com.do/santodoming...a/&hfb=1001&ra=11&pa=113&item=99935&id_src=15
again,it is mainly metal with wood boards that are covered at all times.
 

windeguy

Platinum
Jul 10, 2004
42,211
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And their excuse would be that import duties are high, and that they have to pay ITBIS, etc. Like if they didn't have to pay VAT and import taxes in other countries...

I suspect it would be cheaper for an individual to order IKEA items from the US and have them sent here.
(With the exception of their crap high density fiberboard furniture which is worth nothing here any way.)
 

Africaida

Gold
Jun 19, 2009
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It's simple: in Europe (and U.S.) you go to ikea for cheap furniture with mediocre quality in DR you go to ikea because most furniture stores still only sell the ugly massive wooden rococo style furniture.

vines-on-parlor-chair-rococo-revival.jpg

Actually, if you european and like non massive furniture, we don't have much of a choice either in the US. There are several brands like Crate and Barrel which are US based but their much more expensive and not much better quality. Then you have European furniture which is imported but super expensive.

What a chair! :laugh:
 

ZC1

Member
Dec 8, 2013
179
6
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What ikea brought to SD is that other stores (e.g. Ilumel) lowered their prices and are bringing more contemporary stuff and (in Ilumel's case) slightly better quality.

I like Ilumel and feel that they are a good value.
 
Aug 21, 2007
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If you know where to shop in the US to get quality at bargain prices, it is always cheaper to ship here than to buy here. Having said that, I bought some things that were good quality at 40% off at Illumel last year, after Christmas. Just like shopping in your home country, it's all a game to go at the right time to get the best prices.

I have a desk from Ikea. Last week, I told my workers to never move it for risk of it falling completely to pieces. It's particle board.

~ Lindsey