There might not be any trade-off in your example. You're assuming that a solid wood piece of furniture is superior to the flatpack alternative and you can't really say that without knowing what the consumer needs.

I have a little Ikea Lack table that holds my printer. I paid less than $10 for the table and I don't even think it's wood (cardboard maybe?). It's getting close to 20 years old and is in great shape.

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tonymet 6 hours ago | parent [-]

"there's no aesthetic difference between this beautiful portrait and the contemporary pile of trash in the corner"

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criddell 6 hours ago | parent [-]

Not sure who you are quoting...

Of course there's an aesthetic difference.

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tonymet 6 hours ago | parent [-]

That’s one of the tradeoffs. And an undervalued one.

	▲	criddell 5 hours ago \| parent [-]
		Absolutely. And it’s a trade off that doesn’t necessarily go against Ikea. Frankly, I think it’s one of the top reasons people choose Ikea furniture. One of the genius things Ikea did was have little staged rooms in their store. They do a great job of these and lots of them look like rooms I’d want to spend time in. You see how that various pieces can be combined into something very inviting.