Between July 9 - 12 there are 1000 items posted in Los Angeles. Even the designs have no longevity.

"Poorly Made in China: An Insider's Account of the Tactics Behind China's Production Game."

IKEA furniture is made of materials that are ill-suited to good furniture: pine and particle-board. Pine is a soft wood that's easily dinged and dented. Particle-board has poor strength that's quickly compromised by moisture. Both are lousy anchors for fasteners (screws and nails).

Fact is, IKEA furniture is designed well to be assembled ONCE. If you put your Billy or your Akkurat or your Dildo together, and leave in place, odds are your IKEA furniture will last for years.

But take it apart, move it to another room or another state, and try to reassemble it, and you'll expose the poor quality immediately. Pine and particle-board won't accept that screw again without stripping out. The whole piece will start racking and wobbling. I moved a set of mid-range IKEA kitchen cabinets three times, and each successive time they got harder to reassemble square and true. Finally I had to throw them out, and I couldn't even use them for firewood because they're mostly glue anyway.

Thank you donnabright! Well said.

I was raised by a person who lives to be cheap. She is a child of the Depression and cheap is hard wired into her. The problem with Mom's cheap side is that it is incredibly short-sighted. She thinks anything cheap is fine, whether it's crap or not. We didn't have Walmart when I was a kid and instead she did a lot of shopping at the Goodwill.

That said, I have to thank my mother for instilling in me the mindset that you simply do not have to pay the prices demanded by any retailer. The difference between her and me, however, is that I love getting good stuff cheaply. I won't buy crap regardless of the price. Consequently, I have a closet and dresser full of designer silk and wool work clothes, older furniture that isn't going to fall apart, and drive a used car with probably a quarter of a million miles on it and on which I plan to put many more.

I am shocked by the number of people who claim to be devout patriots who buy almost everything at Walmart. You buy these things that are clearly labeled "Made in China" and then wonder why jobs are sent out of the country and the economy is in the dumper. Pay attention to what you're getting: read some labels, be aware and be willing to sacrifice a few dollars' savings (short-term) for the good of the nation.

The last furniture item I bought new was a bed. A cute wrought iron affair from a small local company, from their warehouse. It cost me $425 for the frame, mattress, box spring and delivery.

Personally I wouldn't buy anything from Ikea because I think it is all some ugly shit.

In the early 80's Nike introduced its Lava Dome, the first modern era hiking shoe. Prior to the Lava Domes people hiked in the same style leather boot their grandfather used to wear. Needless to say, they were wildly popular and flew off the shelves. So what did Nike do? After a couple years they discontinued the Lava Dome so they could flog a new sooper-duper Lava Domish Deluxio at about double the price. So for the next decade another company called Hi Tec sewed up the market (in Canada) for good-quality low-cost hiking shoes... until NAFTA, that is. Now the same Hi Tec shoe, or rather the same Hi Tec shoe model, costs a bit less than it used to (inflation adjusted), but wears out much faster. A shoe that used to last through a year of severe use now wears out after 6 months of city sidewalks.

Levi jeans is the other example. Prior to NAFTA a pair of Levi jeans would last me for one year at least. Now the same model of jeans costs a bit less than it used to and wears out twice as fast.

For this we shipped all our factories to China? I would rather have the old Levis that were made in USA.

I used to live near and shop at a Wegman's in NY. I was more upset about having to leave Wegman's when I moved to California than saying goodbye to my family. Wegman's truly is the best grocery store I have ever shopped in and patronized. Not only do they carry just about every food product in the world, if they don't they will get if requested. I knew several employees and it's true about how well they are treated. I am looking forward to moving back east in a few years, however, if I found out that a Wegman's would be opening in my neck of the woods, I would seriously consider changing my mind. After all, the weather is better out here! Joan Donofrio

And faulting Ikea for providing what the consumer demands makes little sense, unless you're looking for a villain to help with book sales. Want to see the bad guy in this story? Look in a mirror. Preferably an old one, with polished tin behind a plate of glass. ;)

I've been buying used (vintage if you prefer) for over twenty-five years. Long before it was cool. Or profitable. I call my decorating style 'late twentieth century flea market'. Eclectic and wonderful.

And now it's back to the trusty Coffeemaster C30A and another cuppa.

Maybe I should write a book...

particle board is probably the greatest invention of the 20th century

it's like penicillin, or the integrated circuit.>>>

More like disposable diapers ;)

suddenly individual craftsmen in places like rural Vermont had more business than they could handle. But what's interesting about their toys is that, in contrast, to Wal-Mart they do not reinforce interest in cultural icons of the day such as Sponge Bob. This is where Chinese factories excel: a Ninja Turtle movie is a summer hit and "we can deliver as many Ninja turtle products as you can fit on the shelves before Christmas." Not to mention, Ninja halloween costumes.

My step-grandfather collected antique piggy banks. Every night each grandchild would select one to put a penny in. They really provided a sense of how machinery worked as the penny disappeared in different ways depending on the bank.