My review in The American Interest of the book "Cheap: The High Cost of Discount Culture" by Ellen Ruppel Shell. I especially liked the way Shell doesn't bother with the fish-in-the-barrel target that is Wal-mart, but instead goes after IKEA. Excerpt:
Though cultural sophisticates may look down their noses at proles piloting their land barges into vast Wal-Mart asphalt lagoons and trundling off in search of cut-rate merchandise, they fail to see how they too are co-opted by clever image-making. Shell slaps them hard in a devastating chapter demolishing the myth of IKEA. She could have just as easily taken a whack at Wal-Mart, every progressive's favorite discount whipping boy. Instead, she smartly goes after the Swedish furniture and housewares giant, which has none of the image problems of Sam Walton's stodgy, middle-American retail empire.IKEA has positioned itself as a hip, green, stylish Euro-discounter, the kind of bargain barn that people who find bargain barns tacky can patronize with pleasure. Shell demonstrates pretty effectively (all the more so because her tone is so even) that the Swedes are conducting a brilliant sleight-of-hand on their customers. Worse, perhaps, than its environmental record--which is not nearly as pristine as the company would have its customers believe--IKEA sells the idea that furniture should be disposable, that we shouldn't expect anything more from it than a few years' use. The IKEA miracle is convincing people that there's something virtuous about paying for attractive but shoddy Scandinavian furniture that customers have to assemble themselves. This is part of a troubling but long-standing trend in which our valorization of low prices over value is driving out an appreciation for quality and craftsmanship. We have become so used to choosing low cost over quality that we are creating conditions in which we one day soon won't have the choice at all.
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It isn't always apparent just how the equation of "dollars per time" work out for 'cheap' vs "quality". In my years as a mechanic, I bought thousands of dollars worth of Snap-On tools. The lesser ones were a waste of my time and money and would let me down at the worst possible moments.
But not ALL of my tools were from Snap-On. Some were Sears, some were Harbor Freight cheapies from China. The trick was and is know what is your best use of your resources. I shop a lot at WalMart, because certain commodities of known quality are cheaper there than elsewhere, and money is important. Like Karth, I've been where the rice, beans, flour, sugar, the canned stuff in the pantry, and all the stuff in the fridge were... gone. And the balance in the bank account had the - sign in front of it. Many times, in fact. But it doesn't mean I buy everything there. Some things cost more, but are far better deals.
I haven't bought a vehicle for my own use over $5000 in almost 20 years. The last 5 I bought, including my business use, were all under $1K. I've gotten as much as 50,000 miles out of something I paid less than 1K for, including purchase and repairs. But, it happens that my mechanical background makes that easy for me - mostly in picking the right buy in the first place.
I think many of you are missing the point. IKEA has created an image and a lot of marketing mumbo-jumbo that people aren't seeing through. I'll buy my particle board furniture at WalMart if I need it, or it's appropriate. But not spend more to get the same junk with a better marketed brand on it.
It is not evil to seek the best deal for your money. In fact, as stewards of what God's given us, it's a requirement. However, wisdom, as opposed to politics or social pressure, should guide our actions.
polistra, you said:
"When you only care about minimizing the price, you aren't going to get quality performance even in the areas where government is basic and necessary, like roads and armies. (Think of Rumsfeld's "transformation" of the army.)"
Hear, hear, polistra. Exactly. Under Republican leadership of the two Houses of Congress and the Presidency, we got expensive government (the exploding deficit) and yet the important things, like the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, were done "on the cheap" - someone was profiting from those wars but it sure wasn't the civilian population of either country or the American people or our brave military men and women.
I have to laugh in disbelief when the same people who dropped the ball so badly in Afghanistan criticize the Obama Administration for taking its time to determine the proper strategy going forward (which I believe should involve sending more troops, BTW). A few years ago, Hamid Karzai was begging for more help from the U.S.
If we had given it then, we might be in much better shape in Afghanistan today. Too bad Cheney and Rumsfeld put their military contractor pals ahead of everyone's interests. To try to bring this back to topic, instead of blaming the public for wanting to buy cheaply, perhaps we should look at who is profiting?
Make sure that what you buy at IKEA is real wood, not particle board. When it comes to pine desks and bookshelves and TV stands, they produce some good items for a better price than elsewhere (though I'd prefer hardwood - pine dents); believe me, I looked around A LOT (including online) before choosing IKEA.
One word about IKEA. When IKEA first opened in Southern California many years ago (either late '80's or early '90's, I believe) it had a brilliant ad campaign which built a sense of suspense about the source. Imagine my disappointment when this brilliant marketing campaign turned out to be for a furniture store.
All that glitters is not gold.
In defense of IKEA, I bought a bed from IKEA in Jersey City almost 20 years ago. It has moved with me four or five times and now acts as a guest room bed. It's perfectly fine, solid and remains a pretty handsome piece of furniture (if a bit minimalist in appearance).
An architect friend of mine re-did his bathroom a couple of years ago and found great vanity and cabinet pieces at IKEA (frosted glass, silver metal finishes, blondish wood tones). His boyfriend built an enormous IKEA entertainment system in his bedrom. Both rooms look incredibly sharp.
I can't comment on IKEA's environmental record, it's never been a reason to shop there for anyone I know. Any business that acts as a purveyor of plastic and wood (and ships them globally) -- whether that's IKEA or Wal*Mart, is not a "green" enterprise.
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