Um... hello? People. You get what you pay for. The end.

At the same time, most furniture that has some sort of design theme to it is way too expensive.

My solution? When you buy Ikea furniture, spend an exrta buck or two at the hardware store and buy some extra screws/nails. That way when you're spending your Sunday afternoon putting that armoire together, you can throw some extra nails and screws into it for reinforcement. Doing that will ensure that it'll last much longer than it was going to.

I've got a bedframe, endtable, and coffeetable from IKEA and never had a problem with the quality. Papercutninja's right--it's inexpensive (and a good idea) to have backup hardware. And definitely budget enough time to put things together right.

BUT, their service is ridiculous. For the aforementioned bedframe, at no point was it indicated that I needed to buy a midbeam and slats separately. While I got them to comp the shipping, I slept for a month with my mattress within the frame on top of six unpacked boxes of books.

Long ago in days of yore
It all began with a god named Thor
There were Vikings and boats
And some plans for a furniture store
It's not a bodega, it's not a mall
And they sell things for apartments smaller than mine
As if there were apartments smaller than mine

Ikea: just some oak and some pine and a handful of Norsemen
Ikea: selling furniture for college kids and divorced men
Everyone has a home
But if you don't have a home you can buy one there

So rent a car or take the bus
Lay your cash down and put your trust
In the land where the furniture folds to a much smaller size
Billy the bookcase says hello
And so does a table whose name is Ingo
And the chair is a ladder-back birch but his friends call him Karl

Ikea: just some oak and some pine and a handful of Norsemen
Ikea: selling furniture for college kids and divorced men
Everyone has a home
But if you don't have a home you can buy one there

Ikea: plywood, brushed steel
Ikea: meatballs, tasty
Ikea: Allen wrenches
All of them for free
All of them for me

I'm sorry I said Ikea sucks
I just bought a table for 60 bucks
And a chair and a lamp
And a shelf and some candles for you
I was a doubter just like you
Till I saw the American dream come true
In New Jersey, they got a goddamned Swedish parade

Ikea: just some oak and some pine and a handful of Norsemen
Ikea: selling furniture for college kids and divorced men
Everyone has a home
But if you don't have a home you can buy one there

("Ikea", by Jonathan Coulton)

I had an interesting experience at one of their Ikea supercenters. I was buying a bed-frame too, and I found the entire process a bit hard to wrap my head around because you have to buy a veritable puzzle worth of parts to make the entire thing fit together.

That being said, despite being the lightest bed frame in the world (god i could probably lift it up with one arm and it slides all over my floor) its pretty damn sturdy. No extra parts required.

I agree with papercutninja, andrew w and mrscolex. I bought a kitchen table, and while the hardware was a little flimsy and needs some extra screws to reinforce, the table itself is solid wood so heavy I can hardly pick it up. It will last me years.

The couches I bought are not as solid, but hey, they look good, were super cheap, and with two small kids, I need something somewhat disposable. I'd cry if they spilled juice over my $2000 sofa, but not on a $300 one.

BUT buying the items was a different story. We had to wait 25 minutes for someone to show up to help us and then they didn't have them in stock, so we had to wait.

Really bad service. I guess it's because you don't pay for it (service or low prices, you choose, can't have both)