News on the Winter Sale!

The IKEA Winter Sale. It’s why Santa gives you cash.

For the initiated veteran, the IKEA Winter Sale is the event of the year. Deals Galore.

It’s when they close out discontinued products at huge markdowns. Sometimes even 50% off or more. You just never know what. Could be a entire line, just be one color, or just one model of a collection. Never know. What you do know is, if you see something marked down, don’t wait. Get it now. It might be thre when you come back. When they are gone they are gone, as usually they are things being removed, or already removed from the the product lineup. (This is the kind of sign you will see if it’s marked down to clear out forever, yellow with red price, just so you know what you are looking at when you see it.)

The key of course is getting there as early as you can into the sale for the best selection. Going later on might have even further markdowns, but you will have less choice, so I suggest get in there as fast as you can.

This has grown to be a yearly tradition for us. We drove to Shaumburg, IL every Christmas break for six years to go (usually the week after Christmas, if not the day after).  Sometime we would haul family members with us, lured along with promises of a fabulous Brazilian Churrascuria resturaunt near the store. (Last year when we went to Canton, MI. late in the sale and there wasn’t much to chose from.)

So, December 26th when you are bored of playing with your new Wii, load up the car and join me at IKEA. I’m sure I’ll be there somewhere!

Winter Sale! Yay!

Sale Runs 12/26 to 1/21

This is why Christmas cash is my favorite thing… the yearly IKEA Winter Sale. It's where you can get it cheaper than cheap before they discontinue it next season! The unbelievable deals are worth the trip before ours opens, trust me. The sooner you go the more there is to choose from. It can get pretty picked over by the end.

TIP: If you see something with a yellow sign and red price lettering it WILL NOT be in the next season's offerings/catalog. Buy what you need NOW or miss out forever, loser. Sometimes it's a single model, sometimes a whole line or just a color or pattern – whatever it is it's priced to move out. So if you go and you see those doors for your bookcases you wanted (but were waiting on buying till later) are in the sale… whip out that credit card. It's your last chance. Seriously, last chance.

Canton's store page has a small sampling of the kinds of prices to be had if you have never been.  It's wonderful. I'll be duking it out Jan 5.

And as a extra special something, here's a old old photo of what as to be one of the earliest IKEA delivery vans in Sweden… with the old old logo too!

The power of IKEA

In case you doubt the effect the eventual IKEA will have on the region – read this article from the paper in Clarksville, TN. She was in NW Ohio on family business and drove even more north into Michigan just to go to IKEA.

Imagine how many other people from Kentucky, Tennessee, Indiana, maybe even Missouri we could get to spend their money here! (if the store ever gets started that is…)

The Damage: $312 and change.

I am writing from lovely Dearborn, MI just a few miles from the IKEA store in Canton. Woo, my footsies hurt. We got there bright and early to try to lessen the pain of shopping on Winter Sale weekend. Without trying we spent more this year than last, there were some good sales.

Some things I noticed:

1: The layout of this store is one like we will have in Ohio, it’s a little, uhm… confusing. Ours will be a bit bigger so should invest in a GPS before gran opening I never did find the pets section.

2: They have cart corrals and actually let you take your purchases out the door to your car. No more “loading zone bingo”. (I hope they let us do this in West Chester’s Store.)

3: They bug you to stay in the cafe until 10am. Schaumburg lets you wander the top floor at least.

4: No matter how many times you ask the IKEA employees won’t sell you a logo lanyard like they wear their IDs on. Not even if you beg really bad and fake crying while waving a $5 bill.

5: It was so freaking busy I never had a chance to take pictures. I’m a bad blogger. Mea culpa, beg forgive and all that.

Report from Canton, MI

I got this from a friend who just hit the new IKEA in Michigan:

It’s 10:15 and the parking lot is already full and there’s no handicapped parking. They stand in a space down the aisle in order to save me a spot in the main lot. It’s far far away from the entrance.

So we did Ikea. My teenage made remarks constantly. I thought it was like being a rat in a maze. It doubles back on itself and round and round. I bought a folding chair; my son bought an art thing. We spent $20.12 and left in about an hour and 15 minutes. By and large I think the store at Schaumberg is better arranged. Of course if this one had several thousand fewer people, it might have been a better
experience. Maybe in the fall before the Christmas rush starts.

They carried a television news report yesterday saying restaurants in the area ran out of food over the weekend.

There’s alot of be said for following IKEA’s guide-line through the store. Having seen a floor plan it looks rather straightforeward to me, with several shortcuts cut through walls for those wanting to go quick, but if it’s crowded I could see how it could be more complicated.

But running out of food? Wow. Well bet the managers at those stores won’t let that happen again. IKEA on weekends will be this way for quite sometime, probably always this way when the out of towners invade. They need to get used to this now.

I’ll be heading myself the 24th just for a daytrip. It was to be a OHIKEA meetup for an article but I’ve talked to the reporter at the Columbus Dispatch to let him off the hook. No one has confirmed, let alone anyone from Central Ohio. I’m just going with family and a freind, just one full carload.

If you are going let me know, we can hook up.

IKEA Canton (MI) is open!

One paper has a blog on the progress.