Trip to IKEA

B

BuilderBob

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Hi there,

I'm thinking (Well the love of my life and I !!) are thinking of taking a trip to the UK and doing a serious shop in IKEA.
We've heard that there are serious savings to be made.

Anyone got any advice?

Many thanks
 
I'm doing the same thing to get a new kitchen, Bob.

The IKEA website has all of the prices listed so check out that before you go. Just do your research - some of their stuff is cheap and other stuff not so much!
​
 
A friend of mine did this recently and said it was well worth the trip. He furnished his new house from top to bottom.
 
There are other threads dealing with ordering from/visiting IKEA in the UK that might be of interest and which can be found using the search.
 
Small example of savings: I bought four (lovely) storage jars in IKEA about six weeks ago. Total for 4: approx €8 (£5). 1 approximately the same, but not as lovely, storage jar in Atlantic HC, €8. Unfortunately, I was restricted by miniscule baggage allowances and willingness to drag lots of 'stuff' around London.

Edinburgh IKEA have a delivery service to RoI, but it may be cheaper to get a largish vehicle yourself. £190 to deliver two trollies.
 
AFAIK, it's actually Ikea Glasgow who deliver to Ireland. Ikea Edinburgh have an online ordering facility for small businesses which delivers to Ireland, but as far as I know they don't deliver household stuff...

Off to Ikea Glasgow to equip the house this Friday! I'll let you know how we get on.

One tip would be to order a catalogue in the post - and you can only do this by sending them a sterling cheque or postal order - no euros or credit cards accepted... So I got a friend living across the water to send the £2 for me. A strange policy! But well worth working around to have the catalogue - and much more useful for bringing to the store with you, methinks.
 
SIMP - I ordered all my household stuff from IKEA Edinburgh, they are the only IKEA store that offer the service. Others deliver but you have to go over yourself and pick out the stuff, pay for it and then get it delivered by the courier company. With IKEA Edinburgh I picked out what I wanted off the website, they organised it all and delivered it about 2/3 weeks later.
 
I enquired about delivery to Ireland (Cork specifically) and this is what I received back:

Thank you for your enquiry, you can order almost anything, mirrors and glass are sent only at the customers own risk. If you would like to e-mail your order to me i will send you a free no obligation quote including freight for you to look over, just as a rough guide, we ship our goods on pallets a long pallet costs £225 and can hold approx £1000 worth of kitchen flat-pack goods. If you need any further information please do not hesitate to contact me.

​
The email address to send your quotes to is: b2b.Edinburgh@memo.IKEA.com
 
I received a slightly different reply when I enquired - which might be worth sharing...
We shopped in the Glasgow Ikea the Sunday before last, and the goods arrived yesterday! Well worth the trip - it is good to see these things before buying, as not everything is of a similar standard. But we'll be sure to use the Edinburgh service for all the stuff we couldn't fit on the trolleys.
 
We went to Ikea in Glasgow last week and are now patiently waiting for our huge delivery...we got three trolleys of stuff. Its an exhausting day but very easy and its much better to see the stuff in person. We had picked out a dining table and chairs from the catalogue before we went but it looked awful when you saw it in person. The trip worked out really well, we got a really big dining table for £125, there is no way that you would get anything for that here. Glasgow is a great city too, its worth it to stay over a night or two.

Its really shocking to think that you can fly to another country and get stuff shipped back and its still cheaper than buying furniture here.
 
Hey Peanut

Sounds good! How much did it cost you to ship your stuff over?

Do you have any recommendations for hotels near Ikea in Glasgow?

Cheers
 
We stayed in this city centre guest house called Adelaides:-
http://www.adelaides.co.uk/
It's a converted church, really clean, nice people, only £50 per night for a double. We found it in the lonely planet online - more options here:-
http://www.lonelyplanet.com/worldguide/destinations/europe/scotland/glasgow/sleep


In case anyone's not driving to the Ikea store... You take a bus to Brae Head Retail Park from either the main bus station or Renfield Street, adjacent to Central Station. The busses are as follows:-

Ariba:- 21, 23A, 101, 517, 522
1st Glasgow:- 22, 55
Gibson:- 21A, 68

We found the 1st Glasgow the most efficient - a 25 minute journey from Renfield Street to the Retail Park, while Ariba are much slower, with a longer route. But they all get you there in the end. Busses are infrequent on Sundays, so be sure to check the timetables. Also, Ariba's exact change only, while 1st Glasgow gives change.

Once you get to the retail park terminus, it's a short walk to the Ikea store.

I agree with Peanut that it's much better to see the stuff in person, and Glasgow's a good place for a weekend break - it's a little rough around the edges, but the people are really friendly and there's lots to do and see.
 
Simp said... "The busses are as follows:-

Ariba:- 21, 23A, 101, 517, 522
1st Glasgow:- 22, 55
Gibson:- 21A, 68

We found the 1st Glasgow the most efficient - a 25 minute journey from Renfield Street to the Retail Park, while Ariba are much slower, with a longer route. But they all get you there in the end. Busses are infrequent on Sundays, so be sure to check the timetables. Also, Ariba's exact change only, while 1st Glasgow gives change."

No! We didn't! (I know - I was there with Simp). We found Ariba the most efficient, and 1st Glasgow had the circuitous routes and the no change.

Let's face it though, we'll be the only people on the planet who don't rent a car.
 
We got the cheapo Ryanair flights and it cost us £190 to ship the stuff over. We had three trolleys of stuff and the website does state that its £190 for the first trolley and £80 for subsequent trolleys but we were only charged for one when we went to organise it.

I should add that Ikea called me yesterday to say that I can expect my delivery tomorrow, (thursday), which is exactly a week after we were there....and....this is the best bit....they will call me about an hour before they arrive at my house!!! Imagine, I can leave the house and not have to be freaked out that I've missed the delivery and have to wait another 3 months!!! The wonders of modern technology, I wonder when Irish delivery people will get mobile phones.
 
Can I also add that we got a taxi from the city centre to the store at Brae head and it cost about £10 during the day, (more traffic), and £6 back. Its really not that far outside the city.
 
We stayed in the Belhaven Hotel in the West End, near the University. It's lovely around there, lots of bars and restaurants and right beside the Botanic Gardens.
 
If you're in Dublin, it may be closer to go to Ikea Warrington. If you are further south, you could look into other branches (I think Cardiff has one). The ferries have seriously hiked up their prices recently, so delivery may be the best bet. The only problem with this is, you may want to see items first, as they can look so much nicer in the catalogue. Maybe a flight over to pick out what you like, then get delivery arranged.

We often travel to the Warrington one (near Manchester). It would be advisable to go during the week if possible, as the weekends are a nightmare and all the good stock is sold out. They have good opening hours all week, some open until midnight. Sunday opening hours are much shorter.
 
Does anyone know which is the biggest IKEA out of those mentioned (Warrington, Glasgow, Edinburgh)? I asked Anna on the IKEA website, but she was of little use!! I ask obviously to increase my chances of getting what I want on the day that I'm there.
 
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