Ikea shelf "Billy" is causing problems again - customers are upset

Created: 12/26/2022, 2:14 p.m

By: Stella Henrich

Ikea bestseller Billy is once again not available.

In the past, there were always delivery bottlenecks for the popular shelf.

Munich/Cologne – Billy is apparently causing trouble again.

The popular Ikea shelf is again experiencing delivery bottlenecks.

This is reported by the online portal

.

Customers would have asked Ikea.

The furniture store then allegedly responded with a post on its Facebook page and apparently admitted problems.

So the customers are put off again.

This isn't the first time Ikea has had problems with Billy.

As early as April, a desperate customer asked on Facebook "What's wrong with Billy?" She's been trying to get a large white one in Kiel for three weeks.

The customer did not even find what she was looking for online.

But back to the present - to December.

According to the online portal, there are also complaints in Cologne Godorf and Koblenz.

Billy is said to have sold out within a day.

"I think it's a shame because I can't imagine that so many of these shelves were sold today," the customer is quoted as saying.

Because apparently Billy is still as popular as it was over 40 years ago.

At that time, the sales classic was included in the Ikea range.

According to the company, Billy has already been sold more than 120 million times during this time and is now considered a cult product by the Swedes.

So it could happen that a customer has to wait weeks for supplies.

Ikea branch in Cologne, there were also alleged problems with the delivery of the Billy shelf.

(Iconic image) © Christoph Hardt/imago

Billy shelf is causing trouble again - Ikea still has big plans for the bestseller and will focus on sustainability in materials in the future

The furniture store still has a lot planned for Billy.

The bestseller is to be made fit for the future.

From 2024 there will be a new version of the popular bookshelf in the branches in Germany.

In the future, most of the materials used for “Billy” will come from renewable sources.

Ikea is thus making further progress towards meeting the climate goals it has set itself by 2030.

But 2024 is still a few months away.

A look at the recent past shows that the scarcity of raw materials and material shortages in particular have led to the classic bookshelf, Billy, not being able to be delivered.

This is also the case in Augsburg, Mannheim and Sindelfingen, as

reported last year.

Global causes were cited as the reason.

But the increased demand for building materials such as wood is not without consequences for the Ikea group.

Hence the shortage of Billy in the branches.

During last year's pandemic, global ocean shipping capabilities have presented challenges for all companies that depend on ocean shipping, including Ikea, of course.

Ikea group press office at Business-Insider

Ikea responded to the shortage by chartering additional ships.

According to the company, this has already improved the situation.

If you believe the posts on social media, this statement - at least for the Billy shelf - is not yet true.

Customers will probably have to be patient a little longer.

As soon as the shelf is available again, they have no choice but to follow another customer's tip: "Right to the store opening in the morning" to snag a shelf.

At least he was lucky.