Furniture

[Marisawright]

2 hours ago, MARYROSE02 said:

 IKEA in Australia just does not "taste" the same as in Britain!?

Did anyone say that?

[Guest AltyMatt]

2 hours ago, MARYROSE02 said:

IKEA in Australia just does not "taste" the same as in Britain!?

Is Bunnings a pale imitation of B & Q where even the sausage sizzles are pale imitations of "real" Pommie bangers?

I reckon IKEA is like McDonalds - the same worldwide.

Bunnings is pretty similar to B&Q, although I remember as a child B&Q had a panel of doorbells you could play with which Bunnings should copy.

[Ausvisitor]

2 hours ago, AltyMatt said:

I reckon IKEA is like McDonalds - the same worldwide.

Bunnings is pretty similar to B&Q, although I remember as a child B&Q had a panel of doorbells you could play with which Bunnings should copy.

I don't know if Bunnings is similar to B&Q never been in a Bunnings. However IKEA is exactly the same furniture in AUS as it is in Sweden and the UK (in fact anywhere)

As part of my past corporate life I did loads of work on logistics with IKEA, the reason they are so cheap is that they sell the same stuff in every country, the only difference is where it needs a plug and they have to put a local plug into the cord ...

[beketamun]

6 hours ago, Ausvisitor said:

I don't know if Bunnings is similar to B&Q never been in a Bunnings. However IKEA is exactly the same furniture in AUS as it is in Sweden and the UK (in fact anywhere)

As part of my past corporate life I did loads of work on logistics with IKEA, the reason they are so cheap is that they sell the same stuff in every country, the only difference is where it needs a plug and they have to put a local plug into the cord ...

Bunnings is more like Home Depot in America, you can drive trucks inside some huge stores and Australia is a massive DIY country, plus they do a lot of trade business whereas B&Q are more aimed at consumers.  My dad spent half his holiday here just wandering round looking at the products he didn't see in the UK anymore, but he was probably part of a dwindling skillset of fixers in the UK who want every possible product.  When Bunnings expanded into the UK they thought they would destroy B&Q on quality and choice, but they couldn't last...there just wasn't the interest in their products or DIY to make it viable, and they probably miscalculated just how many giant 6 burner BBQ's the British would actually see a need for !

I have a very good Swedish architect friend in Sydney who only uses IKEA Australia for food, insists it's not the same quality, with more high class items appearing in Sweden than in Australia.  They share about 10,000 products worldwide (like zigbee smart lights for instance using intra-compatible E27 or B22), but add on a "culture" setting for individual countries and potentially a few thousand different things....just compare the stores in Sweden and China for instance.   You can get some really high quality timber and furniture products in Europe that you can't get in Australia, which is really strange considering the different types of excellent native timber available in Australia, but maybe IKEA aren't interested in a small market or the unsustainablity of Australian wood clearing?  

What is different about Australia is that the last time they did a comparison, Australia's IKEA products were the most expensive in the world.  The Canberra store i think is the only one in the world that doesn't meet the IKEA standard of a minimum population density within a store radius, but they opened it anyway because of the larger amount of spending money that people have here, plus the massive apartment expansion sector going on right now.   Prices have dropped in recent years as the competition has tightened, but they still seemed aimed at fitting out apartments with short life expectancy and disposable products.....some of the rugs they sell you could do a better job of yourself.  

[beketamun]

On 09/05/2022 at 21:50, pob said:

Ah sorry, I we both got our wires crossed, here. My bad.

Yes we had Ikea stuff in the UK and wanted to use the move as an excuse to upgrade from our uncomfortable Ikea sofa and wanted to buy something more comfortable and longer lasting.

It seems a shame to replace a sofa every two years from Ikea when we could buy a quality item that will last longer.

if you're coming on PR and bringing a container, I would seriously consider getting some good European stuff and bringing it with you as it's a one off opportunity to import tax free as personal possessions, if you can be bothered.  Cars are a good option, Audi, BMW or Mercs are far more expensive here than Europe, you can make $30k.  Meile goods as well.  Good curtain material is hard to get here at a reasonable price too...it sticks with me haviing to pay high labour costs for people to use junk material they supply.   If you're only here for a short while it's not worth the hassle.

Ironically we brought an IKEA oak coffee table that's now about 30 yrs old, and some bespoke oversized sofa chairs we got specially made in the UK, some Brabantia kitchen stuff that costs a fortune here. 

[calNgary]

1 hour ago, beketamun said:

if you're coming on PR and bringing a container, I would seriously consider getting some good European stuff and bringing it with you as it's a one off opportunity to import tax free as personal possessions, if you can be bothered.  Cars are a good option, Audi, BMW or Mercs are far more expensive here than Europe, you can make $30k.  Meile goods as well.  Good curtain material is hard to get here at a reasonable price too...it sticks with me haviing to pay high labour costs for people to use junk material they supply.   If you're only here for a short while it's not worth the hassle.

Ironically we brought an IKEA oak coffee table that's now about 30 yrs old, and some bespoke oversized sofa chairs we got specially made in the UK, some Brabantia kitchen stuff that costs a fortune here. 

Oh jeez don't buy a car purely to ship and sell, you will be hammered for taxes, if you can get it on a ship even. Unless rules have changed you had to be the registered owner of the vehicle being shipped for a good few month (?maybe 12?) prior to shipping.  Also remember a UK vehicle is classed as a grey import once here, so re sale value is not as great as on a equal spec Aussie vehicle and insurance can be more with not all providers willing to insure Grey imports. It would also need converting to Aussie spec on arrival, costing you even more $$$. 

Totally agree how over priced the second hand vehicles are here, hubby was horrified back when we arrived and this last couple of years prices have risen again! There are still bargains to be had but it can take months of looking to find one.

    Cal x

[ramot]

4 hours ago, calNgary said:

 

Totally agree how over priced the second hand vehicles are here, hubby was horrified back when we arrived and this last couple of years prices have risen again! There are still bargains to be had but it can take months of looking to find one.

    Cal x

I bought my 2nd hand car almost 18  years ago!!! I admit to being a ‘careful lady driver’ and it’s only used mostly locally, with the odd treat of a drive to Brisbane, but it’s still in really good condition, so was well worth the price I paid. I’m going to get it detailed as a present on it’s 20th  birthday shortly

Edited May 17, 2022 by ramot

[Toots]

7 minutes ago, ramot said:

I bought my 2nd hand car almost 20 years ago!!! I admit to being a ‘careful lady driver’ and it’s only used mostly locally, with the odd treat of a drive to Brisbane, but it’s still in really good condition, so was well worth the price I paid. I’m going to get it detailed as a present on it’s birthday. 

I bought my Corolla from a 'careful lady driver' nearly 16 years ago.  Never had a thing go wrong with it.  My husband gives it an occasional 'service'.

Brings me in mind of a very good friend of Mums.  Her sight was going and she was advised to stop driving her beloved old car.  She invited Mum for afternoon tea and much to Mum's amusement they sat in the beloved old car to have their sandwiches and slices of Victoria sponge cake so it was still in use.   Mum's friend was always a wee bit eccentric.

[beketamun]

4 hours ago, calNgary said:

Oh jeez don't buy a car purely to ship and sell, you will be hammered for taxes, if you can get it on a ship even. Unless rules have changed you had to be the registered owner of the vehicle being shipped for a good few month (?maybe 12?) prior to shipping. 

I think on PR it's tax free, but you need to have owned it for 12 months.  Once you've got the headlight swap thing done they're virtually the same...i think Aus have adopted European iso standards now for baby seats, they used to make you render it less safe in order to comply with an inferior standard etc..

Edited May 17, 2022 by beketamun

[Tychen]

On 17/05/2022 at 08:43, beketamun said:

if you're coming on PR and bringing a container, I would seriously consider getting some good European stuff and bringing it with you as it's a one off opportunity to import tax free as personal possessions, if you can be bothered.  Cars are a good option, Audi, BMW or Mercs are far more expensive here than Europe, you can make $30k.  Meile goods as well.  Good curtain material is hard to get here at a reasonable price too...it sticks with me haviing to pay high labour costs for people to use junk material they supply.   If you're only here for a short while it's not worth the hassle.

Ironically we brought an IKEA oak coffee table that's now about 30 yrs old, and some bespoke oversized sofa chairs we got specially made in the UK, some Brabantia kitchen stuff that costs a fortune here. 

For furniture, definitely buy the best European furniture that you can afford and ship it. If you are shipping by container, the shipping cost won't be that much per piece. Furniture in Australia tends to be either bad quality or very very expensive. Expect to add a 30-50% mark-up for any European or American designer furniture. Plus, being at the end of the global distribution chain, it's hit and miss whether popular stock even makes it here on a particular shipment, and even if it does you often have to wait months.

[Tootsie]

On 09/05/2022 at 19:02, pob said:

What are the shops that have a similar build, quality and choice for home furnishings?

Hello

Loads of different stores to get quality furniture and furnishings from

You could buy antique or get bespoke handcarved

Harvey Norman has some good stuff, as does Myer, Fanuli, David Jones, Matt Blatt, Zjoosh, Temple & Webster, Peters of Kensington and Harris Scarfe

There is something wrong, if you cannot find something good at one of these places.