You may have heard of the Big Mac index — where The Economist magazine lists prices of McDonald's Big Macs in various countries to get a better handle on the actual value of currency value. Now Bloomberg is comparing IKEA's Billy Bookcase in 38 countries to show exchange rates. Can you guess which country has the cheapest Billy Bookcase?
The Billy Bookcase was cheapest in the United Arab Emirates at AED175 ($47.64) and most expensive in Israel ILS395 ($103.48). The U.S. ranked near the middle with a price of $59.99.
See the full table of bookcase prices in 38 countries on Bloomberg's website.
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an explanation as to why?
exchange rates and import tariffs.
I live in the UAE, so this is great news to me! Although Dubai used to be a shopping mecca, very few things are cheap here anymore. I'll spread the word...
Oh, goddamn, third-last. THANKS, NEW SOUTH WALES.
I would assume shipping plays a big part.
Actually, that Billy Bookcase with the dimensions mentioned in the article is $89.99 in the US. I just bought one last week. In which case the US is right up there amongst the most expensive.
I was just going to say that the US price is wrong as I bought a Billy bookcase for $89.99 last week. But I just realize that the white ones are a lot cheaper, wow.
49.98USD here! One of the many good things of living in Spain is having cheap ikea prices... for the most part
The range of prices for IKEA items is interesting. I know when I lived in Holland I paid far less for items than they were going for in the US (this was when the euro and the dollar were at par). I chalked it up to shipping costs, but I guess other factors could be at play as well.
So, when is AT organizing a group tour to the UAE? :-)
Australia? Third highest? Yet still relatively cheap compared to other furniture stores. Everything is expensive here methinks. Don't ask about our dentistry.
How is West and South Australia cheaper then the East Coast... unless they ship them via the Indian Ocean...hmm, now I am actually intrigued as to Ikea's shipping routes- what a strange day
Darn it!! I live in Israel. I knew our prices were high, but I didn't know they were world-topping high.
Two reasons I can think of: high value added tax (i.e. sales tax) on all items, plus a strong currency.
Also, there is only one Ikea in Israel, and it's always PACKED. So maybe the perception of Ikea here is that it's a bit more high-end, and so they get away with more. (Seriously, we sometimes have warped perceptions of classiness: they just opened a GAP in Jerusalem-- next to Gucci and Ralph Lauren-- and everyone's going nuts! They see GAP as better than department store clothes... it's very odd.)
@yiyehtov: I live in Turkey, where there are two Ikeas in Istanbul and one in Izmir (there are others elsewhere too). Ikea here isn't nearly as inexpensive as in the US, and I chalk it up to prestige pricing. The materials Ikea uses for items sold in Turkey are just as flimsy and just as ill-made as they are elsewhere, but people here, like in Israel perhaps, see Ikea as modern and hip and new and fun. Young people here think of Ikea as European and having some of their products in your home is very much a status symbol of not only middle-class wealth but of good taste.
Well, we also have only 2 stores, always packed too and I guess there’s the status symbol thing here as well. Still Portugal is between the cheapest.
I found it weird when my cousin from Canada kept saying ours was so cheaper but then…
p.s. and I think we still don't have any GAP
(unless there's a recent one in Lisbon that I didn't hear about)
@ yiyehtov: Yes!...I used to live in Paraguay, and things like Cover Girl makeup, United Colors of Benetton, and GAP, etc. were only in very high end malls (of which there were only 2 in the whole country). A lot of it was perception, but I think it's almost more to do with the exchange rate than the perception of it, as Paraguay's Guarani has always done very poor next to the dollar and Euro.