By Louise Allingham For Daily Mail Australia
05:45 23 May 2023, updated 05:45 23 May 2023
- Woman quoted $1,099 IKEA delivery fee
- She was buying an $80 desk
A shopper was left shocked by the exorbitant shipping cost she was quoted for IKEA to deliver an $80 desk to her house.
The woman was hit with an ‘insane’ $1,099 delivery fee when she wanted to buy a desk from the Swedish retailer online.
She wanted to item sent to her home in Armidale in northern New South Wales, however her nearest IKEA store is in Logan on Brisbane’s outskirts more than 450km away.
The customer said her regional location has attracted high delivery fees in the past but none that were more than 13 times the price of what she was trying to buy.
She explained that driving to her closest IKEA to collect the table would cost just as much as the delivery fee so has resorted to finding an ‘uglier’ desk for a reasonable price at her local op shop.
The woman shared her frustrations at the hefty charge in a Reddit post leaving dozens reeling.
‘Seriously though that’s insane, it’d be cheaper to book a mini-holiday to go pick it up than get it delivered,’ one user responded.
‘Cheaper to fly to Sydney or something and buy it. Maybe it’s time for an IKEA holiday?’ a second agreed.
‘Pretty standard for IKEA. They honestly don’t want you buying online, they want you in their stores because they want you to buy more than just the items you’re getting online,’ a third speculated.
But not everyone had sympathy for the online shopper.
‘You live in the middle of nowhere, this can’t be the first time you’ve experienced higher shipping costs,’ one person pointed out.
‘It’s the first time I’ve experienced shipping costs this high. Last time I looked at something on IKEA shipping was $500 for a full size set of drawers,’ the Armidale woman replied.
She added rather than paying the $1000 fee, she would search her nearest ‘dump shop’ to find an ‘ugly but usable’ desk instead.
IKEA’s truck delivery services is advertised as ‘starting from $49’ and will increase based on the customer’s order size and address.
The website says the service is only offered in selected metro areas.
This isn’t the first time a shopper has been hit with a heft delivery charge.
Previously, a mum was left in disbelief after she was quoted a $91 shipping fee on a popular $139 Kmart toy.
The woman wanted to buy the soft play tunnel set which is only available on the Kmart website but was shocked when she saw the huge delivery fee.
Items over $65 are usually delivered for free, adding to her frustration.
‘Has anyone successfully bought the Soft Play Tunnel Set from Kmart? When I try it says it costs $91.38 shipping!’ the mum wrote in a post to the Markdown Addicts Australia Facebook page.
Shoppers were outraged by the hefty delivery charge and said they had been given even higher shipping fees.
‘Delivery for this to me is $138, a $1 less the the actual product, so frustrating,’ one woman said.
‘We tried to get a bike delivered and it wanted $100,’ another added.
‘At that price you may as well buy a better set from Catch of the Day. Slightly pricier but free delivery and more for the money,’ suggested a third.
‘$52.70 to Port Melbourne, maybe it’s based on how far I am from their warehouse,’ a fourth guessed.
Some pointed out bulky items can cost more to deliver and one said to try the Click and Collect if it’s available.
‘I had the same thing when purchasing their soft play mat, had to pay shipping despite it being part of a large order. To save money, try Click and Collect if there is a store close to you,’ she said.
‘I believe you can potentially also get it delivered for Click and Collect to a Target if there’s one close.’
One group member said she had only incurred a $10 delivery fee for the grey version of the tunnel set while another said she had found the individual pieces stocked at her nearest Kmart.
‘I wanted this set too but $52 delivery so I went to the store and got individual pieces but there weren’t any tunnel pieces,’ she explained.
‘Our local Kmart did have some stackable/squishy cushion type things that are for similar play/making cubbies etc. But I doubt it’d have a slide attached,’ another woman added.
‘They were sold in individual pieces and not bright colours. Might save the postage if you have a store nearby.’
The mum pointed out the individual pieces available in store are 10cm shorter than the ones in the set she wanted to ordered.
‘Stairs and triangle available in store are smaller at 21cm high, verse the set at 32cm high,’ she said.
The Daily Mail Australia has contacted Kmart for comment.
The Kmart website states large orders are subject to additional fees and bulky items are ineligible for free shipping as they cost carriers more to deliver.
‘A large order is approximately the size of a bookshelf or storage unit. If your order is over this size, we add a cost per volumetric kilogram to our standard delivery fee,’ the site reads.
‘This cost is based on your location and varies from state to state, in line with our carrier fees. Large items, like outdoor play equipment, furniture, prams and bikes will likely incur additional fees.’