Dear IKEA,
We adore you. Your affordable, stylish pieces and the ritual of “some assembly required” make many of us loyal customers. Still, I need to register a small but sincere complaint about one of your products: the Kassett storage box.
Typically, assembling IKEA furniture is part of the experience. There’s a certain satisfaction in transforming a flat package into a finished item for the home. That sense of accomplishment is why many of us happily wrestle with allen wrenches and instruction diagrams. However, there is a limit. Asking customers to construct what is essentially a simple storage box feels excessive.
A cardboard or lightweight plastic box—something you can usually pick up fully assembled when buying shoes, toys, or pantry items—shouldn’t require extensive time or hardware. Yet the Kassett boxes come with multi-page instructions, dozens of fasteners and small parts, and enough perforations to make the whole process feel over-engineered. The result is that I spent almost an hour assembling four of these boxes and used 48 screws in the process. For context, that took longer than assembling the Expedit bookcase that now houses them.
To be fair, the finished product looks great. The Kassett boxes are attractive, practical, and reasonably priced at around six dollars each. Once assembled, they fit neatly and provide the organized look you want in shelving. My frustration doesn’t come from the final appearance but from the assembly burden for such a basic storage solution.
Some specifics: the packaging includes pre-perforated holes that still require manual punching. That extra step felt unnecessary and turned into a confetti-like mess when I removed the pieces by hand. If the holes had been left intact or fully removed at the factory, it would have been an obvious improvement. Instead, the half-finished perforations added time and annoyance to what should have been a quick setup.
I understand why IKEA ships products flat. Flat packing reduces costs and environmental impact, and it’s an important part of your business model. But shipping a thin storage box flat doesn’t save nearly as much room as a bed frame or a large bookshelf. The Kassett’s compact dimensions mean it might be worth offering a preassembled option for a small additional fee. I’d happily pay an extra dollar or two to avoid the time and frustration of assembly—especially when several boxes are needed to outfit an entire shelf.
In short, here’s my proposal: keep the flat-packed option for those who want it, but also consider making some simple items available preassembled or with fewer fasteners. For customers buying multiple units, a preassembled version would be a real time-saver and could reduce wasted plastic and tiny hardware pieces. A minimal upcharge could cover any additional shipping costs while preserving your overall affordability and commitment to sustainability.
Despite this gripe, I remain an IKEA fan. The Kassett boxes look great in the end; they hold their contents well and contribute to an organized, attractive shelf. My frustration lies only with the unnecessary steps required to get there. Help me help you: streamline the design or offer a preassembled alternative, and I’ll continue to shop happily at your store.
Sincerely, John Petersik
PS: Fortunately the top of the box arrived preassembled—one less thing to worry about. That small convenience made a noticeable difference and proved how much easier life could be with a little extra assembly help.