Some IKEA furniture is great, some of it is terrible. 10-15 years ago, it was where you'd go when you needed a great-looking nightstand or coffee table for a fair price and didn't overly care how long it would last. These days, you can expect to pay a premium for the "IKEA aesthetic" and shopping experience.

Personally, the main thing I can't stand is that you have only limited ability to "choose your own adventure" and just go straight to the thing you're there to buy. I don't want to spend 25 minutes wandering through their corporate-curated displays to get to the kitchen faucets.

I think they still have a good price on AA NiMH batteries, though.

Edit: I am speaking to the US stores, I have no idea what IKEA is like closer to their homeland.

Wrote it elsewhere: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=41397160

Nothing to do with the furniture itself and everything to do with their cockamamie order pickup system.

They probably noticed the material quality.