Does IKEA bait customers?

[hover41]

After numerous searches online I elected to purchase an IKEA mattress (Mordegal queen size, $319) for my camper van. I went online to check availability at my local IKEA store and there was no stock. But the IKEA website stated stock would be available on Sept. 5th. So, I go into that store Sept. 8th and now that stock is available, lo and behold the price also went up by $80 on Sept. 5th (now at $399). So, IKEA advertises on its website an item at a certain price which is not available, then ups the price by 25% once it is available. Coincidence??? I contacted IKEA by phone and all they could say was "Sorry...". 

[lubnaab]

Hej! Thank you for being part of our community. Kindly note that the COVID-19 pandemic has had a huge impact on access to raw materials, manufacturing, shipping, and transportation. This means that customer demand for IKEA products remains high, but also that the cost of manufacturing and transporting our products has gone up significantly. This is the same for all industries, not just IKEA.

Since the start of the pandemic, IKEA has managed to absorb the significant cost increases across the supply chain while keeping prices in the range as low as we possibly can. However, our ability to absorb these rising costs is limited. Due to these factors causing higher costs, it has become necessary to raise prices on many of our products.

We thank you for your understanding.

[hover41]

My post was NOT about IKEA having price increases. My post was about how IKEA advertised an unavailable item at a price then raised the price 25% the instant it became available. IKEA even sent me an email stating the item was NOW in stock without mentioning that it had raised the price 25%; in my book, that ressembles "baiting". After getting the email, I drove 60 km to my closest Ikea store to purchase the item and only then did I learn of the price increase. Even Amazon doesn't do that; when Amazon informs me an item that was previously not in stock becomes available, it clearly indicates the change in price. 

I find that many companies have used the pandemic as an excuse for raising prices unduly; since the pandemic began, careful analysis of the retail market indicates that many companies have seen substantial increases in profits, but that is besides the point...

[JoIkea]

Absolutely, hover41. The whole thing is a huge bait and switch. Customer service is inexistent. Once you commit to buying something, you can turn blue in the face and will never get help. For example, as I write this message, I'm still waiting on the phone to talk to someone about an issue. I'm on the phone because Chat is not available, nor there is an e-mail that you can send a question to; all communications come from "noreply" addresses... Although the site says "several options" placing a phone call is the ONLY option. It has been almost 2 hours! (yes, TWO HOURS of listening to the same tune and the message about hanging out with the Ikea community) So, after having heard that countless times, I decided to connect with the community and find out if I'm the only one who finds this level of customer service disrespectful and abusive.

[FJÄLLBO]

Hej,

We’re incredibly saddened to hear about your negative experience with us, and the difficulties faced while trying to get in touch. We’d like to make things right, and extend an invitation to message us on our official Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram accounts. We’ll be able to reply quickly to your inquiry, and you won’t need to wait on hold to speak to one of our coworkers over the phone.

We look forward to hearing back.

[JoIkea]

Hej,

I’m sorry, but if you are now offering customers an opportunity to communicate with you through “official” social media accounts, you should make that clear on your website and not give customers a phone number as the ONLY means to communicate.

Still, bad customer service…