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Without QUESTION, Paramus.

But, wait... do I want EVERYBODY to know that?!?! ;)

HUGE CAVEAT: Paramus is closed on Sundays.

I predict poll results of 100-to-zero.

I guess I got used to the Elizabeth one, and I like the idea of the Port Authority shuttle bus that goes there, but I also didn't like the layout of the Paramus one the only time I went there.

Pittsburgh! Oh, wait, that's not an option. :) All I can say is I was thrilled down here when Ikea opened College Park because it was hellish getting to Woodbridge.

The one in Hicksville LI is pretty good too.

Paramus is great. Yes, closed on Sundays unfortunately, but I think it is open late on Saturday night to compensate. Hicksville is also good, especially on weekdays. I say - anything but Elizabeth!!

The IKEA website lists Brooklyn as a store location now (with a 'Coming Soon' tag).. Does anyone know when the Brooklyn IKEA is slated to open?

Easy. Paramus. That puts you close to Paramus Park Mall. And Paramus Park Mall has a Chick-fil-A (which is also not open Sunday).

Paramus is certainly a significantly nicer store and location, but given that it's ultimately the same product, I have to vote for Elizabeth for these mainly economic reasons:

- free shuttle bus
- open on Sundays (nothing in Paramus is open on Sundays, it's the law)
- special tax zoning in Elizabeth that reduces sales tax by several percentage points (because it's such a crap area).

If you're looking to get the best bang for your buck, Elizabeth is the way to go. If you're looking for a pleasant shopping experience, you're probably better off in Paramus.

Amen, Christine! Even the thought of going down to Woodbridge gives me hives...I think that stretch of I-95 is actually part of one of the levels of hell (purgatorio?), just unmarked as such.

Which is a problem, b/c I've been trying to get an Ikea KOLSVIK coffee table forever, and they've been out of it at College Park forever. But Woodbridge has it. College Park will be out of it, get 6 more in, then be out of stock in a matter of hours. Again and again. Does everyone in the DC area own that table?? If not, hopefully soon they will, so they can stop buying them all up and I can finally get one at College Park.

OK, sorry. Back to Paramus v. Elizabeth.

LilybethDC, :) Levels of hell is about right. I actually have a friend who lives down that way and I see her once maybe twice a year. I might as well drive to Richmond once I've gone through the mixing bowl (when I actually make it through without ending up in some area of springfield, I consider it a good day!) Good luck with the table search!

Sorry guys, back to NJ.

Thanks everyone! I live in Jersey City now (17 more days!) and love the 3% sales tax at the JC Target (like the Elizabeth Ikea). But I'm not planning on buying any big-ticket items (famous last words...), so I think Paramus is it for me. Plus, I had no idea that there were Chik-Fil-A's anymore! Do they still put pickles on the chicken sandwiches?

Lilybeth---I remember seeing something like the Kolsvik yesterday on Craigslist (have been looking for a coffee table myself)--do a search for coffee table and see what pops up...you might get a deal!

Well, LJ, you certainly have not been down south much lately! I remember being amazed that Chick Fil A's came freestanding. It's my favorite place (well, okay, for a fast food chain). If you go to Atlanta, they're everywhere.

Thanks Christine - it's funny, I actually saw (I think) the same $25 table on Craigslist yesterday - I've been looking on Craigslist constantly, search term "coffee" - and emailed almost immediately after it was posted, and was STILL beaten to it!

I think I'm going to just suck it up and buy the rectangular Soho coffee table from Crate & Barrel. $499. Well, maybe I'll look a few more days on Craigslist.

Or maybe I'll find myself in Paramus or Elizabeth.

Everyone knows that "Ikea" is Swedish for "out of stock," right?

I vacillate between the two. I like the 3% tax of Elizabeth, but think Paramus is the better store, and is generally less of a zoo.

The trick to doing Elizabeth is to be on one of the first shuttles on Saturday or Sunday morning, before the hordes arrive, and have your shopping list ready ahead of time. It can be a breeze, if you're efficient, and I find the early morning busride kind of refreshing.

Paramus is the way to go if you have access to a car or are procuring anything big. Elizabeth's the place to go if you want to get accessories.

Has there ever been an AT IKEA fieldtrip?

Maybe first I'll go to the Paramus Container Store and then stuff whatever I buy at Ikea into whatever I bought at CS. Hmm.

When I was a kid, my mom and I ate Chick-Fil-A at a mall in Woodbridge -- NJ, not VA, but see how things come full circle? Spooky...

Oh yeah, the pickle is still on the Chick. A materpiece of minimalism.

I always feared the pickle and went for the nuggets.

Ikea Parmus customer service SUCKS! Ever wait 45 minutes on a line to return /exchange something or to get information, only to be treated like a piece of crap and threatened by "customer service rep" behind the counter? I have at Ikea Paramus. 3 TIMES! One time the piece of garbage said "I dont work for you! I work for Ikea!!" hmmm.... customer is always right.....nahh, never hear dof that one.....customer should be treated with respect....nah, never heard that one.....oh yeah! IKEA CUSTOMER DISSERVICE DEPARTMENT, where the customer sucks and can go F^^% themselves! THATS IKEA PARAMUS!

Oh, wait- left messages for the store manager 3 different days- It's 6 months later and do you think they ever had the COURTESY to call? Oh wait!!! COURTESY AND IKEA DON"T GO TOGETHER

Had to resort to buying my kitchen cabs at paramus and exchanging/returning to Elizabeth where the customer servcie department was pleasant and professional.

We wont step foot in any ikea ever again- they can take their pressed wood wand stick it

paramus is a much calmer organized experience but i have to say that i never bought large furniture pieces there, just all the other smaller accessories, lighting etc. never crowded in the weekday evenings, my friend in nj says its because the nj people are in no mood to shop after commuting home!!
only on saturdays there is bus service bus from port authority to paramus, nj transit bus lines 171,751,755 i think but check the website.

I P S--
You bitching about that one location, or Ikea in general?

I've had excellent luck with returns at Paramus.

But, um, if you want a TOTALLY stress-free Ikea experience, GO DURING THE WEEKDAY.

And, um, the crowd is part of why THE PRICES ARE SO LOW.

People who bitch about "Ikea being crowded on Saturdays" are of the same school as those who say "The lines at the Post Office/bank at lunch are SOO Long." Um, yes. Yes they are. SO DON'T GO THEN. But if you have to, then be prepared to wait. oy.

And no, I don't work for at or even near an Ikea.

P(too)...well said. So much in life is about managing expectations. When I go to return something at Ikea, I expect it to be chaos. Plus, that trial then makes me much more cautious about purchasing items I don't need later!

Although I am firmly in the Paramus camp - getting your stuff to the car in Elizabeth is a NIGHTMARE, as compared to the lovely enclosed parking garage in Paramus - I will say I had excellent help from the kitchen planning staff in Elizabeth. Elizabeth also does seem to have more stuff available than Paramus since I think it is larger? The one thing that is consistent is that I have never waited less than 20 minutes to pay at any Ikea, even on a weekday night at 9:30 PM.

And for NYers, joining up for Zipcar will free you from that dreaded shuttle bus forever. Even if you're not likely to use it much, definitely sign up for at least a year if you're moving or doing any kind of remodel. During the week, you can easily pick up a car at 7PM and be home with hex wrenches and a belly full of swedish meatballs by 11PM (depending on where you live).

I prefer Paramus as a store, however you get the 3% tax in Elizabeth. Plus if you live downtown or in Brooklyn, it is much easier to get to.

what about IKEA in New Haven? I am going for the first time this weekend. Very excited.

LilybethDC, KOLSVIK is available online. Why not buy it there?
http://tinyurl.com/hn8mo

College Park has the Beech in stock and not the black-brown (let me guess, you want the black-brown?).

Woodbridge has the same, yes on Beech, no on Black-brown.

It says to call though, because they're doing some remodeling???

If it's really the one you want, order it online, have it magically appear at your front door, and enjoy it!

Oh, I'm just reading this now. Thanks, Andree, for that - yes, I did consider buying it online, but shipping was going to be like $100 - crazy! I ended up getting the Soho rectangular coffee table from Crate & Barrel. It was just delivered a week or so ago and is really nice.

I was told by NJ Transit that the bus to the Paramus IKEA left from GW terminal NOT Port Authority. If true that is a drag. Has anyone taken the 171,751 or 755 from the Port Authority?

The Zipcar suggestion is great IF you drive. As a born and bred NYer I am stuck on the shuttle or asking friends for favors.

New Haven IKEA is a splendid and probably often missed opportunity for New Yorkers, especially without cars (since Metro North takes you about a mile--a short cab ride--from the store). It's a cheap fare and an hour-and-45-minute ride. Also, the store is a pleasant, less crowded IKEA than the Paramus or Elizabeth version, and pretty easy to navigate (I've never had a problem parking there). And when you're there, you can see the still-remaining half--the nice half--of the Marcel Breuer building that IKEA didn't tear down when it put in its big blue and yellow box.

IKEA is what happens when you get when you have no IDEA. Cluelessness incarnate.

* No idea about merchandising
* No idea about inventory management...zippo (hey, here's a thought...looky looky over at that monster WalMart...no better shining example of logistics any imperialist would drool over!
* No idea about quality...come on people, have you really ever put one of these flat-pack pieces of garbage together? doesn't look as sexy as the catalog photos now does it?
* Can anyone please explain to me the logic of their catalog and SKU numbering system? I'd rather mask IP subnets than hunt down a matching FARTFUKGRUVENSKEETSKEET dinner napkin. (No idea about naming, either) Stock # 634.234.332 - plenty in stock (you betcha) They must have gotten an IT guy who got p-r-e-t-t-y enchanted with IP subnet masking if you ask me.
* No idea about catalog design
* No idea about customer experience, service, satisfaction, behavior, etc...zippo
No idea about personnel, hiring, training, managing...zippo
No idea about store layout
need i go on?

When I stumble through Ikea ... any ikea ...east coast, west coast or anywherez inbetween...like a maze-trapped rat on industrial-grade thorazine, suffer verbal abuse by their ignorant, INS-dodging "customer service" pulse-arresting droids, I feel like I've teleported into the ass-end of 1971. GEMCO, White Front and Akrons individually did more for retail back then by comparison than Ikea does or likely will do anytime before a WalMart buyout.

Come on Ikea, wake the f up will ya for X sake?

I put this to ikea directly: assuming you have 1/scintillith the brains to learn what the world thinks of you. All you are to me is a waste of all-too valuable real estate. You should be taxed to hell and beyond.

wow...now for my rant...

Dont be cheap on yourself people. Put your hard-earned time and dollar to work where some quality matters.

Respect yourself.