Info on the IKEA Winter Sale:
I knew this, but figured many might not so here’s a letter from a IKEA employee who likes to read OHIKEA:
I wasn’t sure if the many people who will be flocking to IKEA for the Winter Sale are aware of this, so I thought I’d share. All of the items on sale are being discontinued. We do this twice a year to make room for new merchandise. If you see something you like on sale, do not wait to buy it. It will not be returning and there’s usually not much left of these items.
The exception would be anything in a high-profile area with lots of signage in each department. We call these opening offers or shop windows. If we are really highlighting it we have tons to get rid of. In this case it may pay to wait as we will reduce the price again (and again) to clear this merchandise out. In some cases we have gone from a product that retails at $20 and reduced it to 50 cents!!! There is absolutely nothing wrong with any of the discontinued items. The “thinker-elves” at IKEA of Sweden just come up with waaay too many nifty product ideas and we need to make room for them.
So there you go. Everything on the Winter Sale is really on closeout.
I learned this a couple years ago. My Jerker desk - that I got half off - was redesigned after the sale and came in other colors and my Ottenby dressers are no longer are sold at all… the only thing I’d keep in mind is if you are buying something to be part of a set (like a bookcase wall, or matching bedroom set) and are buying in batches is to make sure that the other pieces of the line will still be around, and in the color you want, later. If something not matching will annoy you get the charge card and just buy it all at once while you’re there.
I’ve seen more than few cases where a particular color of a line was being eliminated and one where the color was being redone (a new birch color).
But bargains galore are to be had end of this month! Don’t miss out! It all starts Dec 26 and usually runs for 2 weeks. Earlier you go, the better deals you’ll find. It’s why we have made IKEA a part of our Holiday travels, and pretty much why I look forward to christmas!
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Its amazing how this site talks about how great it is to shop at IKEA, but there isn’t any comments how great working for IKEA is. Maybe because they aren’t a great company to work for. Maybe its because their full-timers only need to work over 19 hours a week. Maybe it’s because their part time associates who work less than 19 hours have to pay their 2 week check for medical insurance. Its a good company to work for if you have a relative in a higher-up position.
As a former coworker myself i would have to agree. They made me work 40 hours a week to get their store ready to open but when the store finally opened and they made their millions I was reduced to less than 19 hours a week. Eventually, I quit and am making that money up selling stuff on ebay. The suck to work for.
Ok, I had to put my two cents in about working at IKEA. I am currently a part-time co-worker and I LOVE it! I’ve been there 2 years and won’t work anywhere else. I have a degree in education, but have decided to stay at IKEA instead. “Why????”, you ask. Because I have worked a wide variety of jobs (teaching, retail, factory, restaraunt, etc.) and this is by far the best company I have ever worked for. Most companies don’t even offer health insurance to part-time workers. IKEA also gives sick days, vacation, personal days, and flexible holidays to part-timers. I never have to scrape to pay bills if I call in sick and get to take a paid vacation every year! This is unheard of here in the States! I have over 40 hours worth of vacation time that I never loose…whatever I don’t use rolls over. My managers are terrific. They work around my scheduling conflicts for my kids’ soccer practice, my husbands Master’s classes, and anything else that comes along. I must say that many companies cut back employee hours after opening a new store as well. This is not an exclusive IKEA practice. At IKEA all you have to do to get more hours is be willing to work in other departments. You have to take control of your situation. That’s the IKEA way with everything; hours, raises, promotions, training. Because of that this job may not be for everyone. You have to be proactive. I will be moving to F/T in the fall when my last child goes to kindergarten. I have talked with HR and my managers to let them know I would like to move into management around that time. Because of that, they have been scheduling me for different classes and broadening my contacts within the company to help make that a reality. They’re even holding an upcoming management position open to allow me time to apply for it! What other company would do that??? So if you are the type of person who likes to take control of your career, or just love IKEA and want to help others enjoy the experience, this job is for you. If not, Wal-Mart is always hiring.
Would you like a tissue, cause your nose is a little brown?!!! That is the type of IKEA that I am talking about, instead of posting that position for a person that might be qualified now, they are holding it out for a brown-noser! OF COURSE, you think that is fair because it benefits you, but its definately not equal opportunity. Yes, you can roll over a portion of your vacation time but not all of it, read the handbook. UPS offers insurance to part time employees and you don’t have to forfeit a paycheck to pay for it. I think you are the type of person that IKEA prefers - the YES SIR type. READ your handbook before you make any insights to my posting.
Ok,let’s whip out the handbook, shall we? The handbook states, “…you can carry up to 1.75 times of your eligible vacation hours to the next year.” So let’s do the math. If you’re a full-time co-worker and you have 80 vacation hours for the year (which is the eligable hours for someone who’s been there up to 2 years) and don’t use them, they all roll over. Get your calculator out: 80 x 1.75= 140. You would have to accrue over 140 hours of vacation before you would stop being able to roll them over. For that to happen you would have to either: a) not ever take a vacation or b) have worked there over 5 years (they get up to 160 hours a year) and not take vacations. So, yes I was wrong. If you’re dumb enough to not take your vacations, you lose .25 of your eligible hours.
Also, I said they were *delaying* the posting. This does not mean they are giving me the job. They are simply waiting a month to post it to *everyone*. The position is still under development and doesn’t even exist yet. And no, I don’t have a hand in the development nor does anyone else I talk to on a regular basis at work. It may be that it never comes about. And this would be un-equal how?
As for needing a tissue–nice, real nice.
STOP.