Yeah, dude. Well said.

Brilliant work as always Scott :) perfect link to send to ppl who ask what IKEA is

What about the meat balls. Yum. It is what supermarket owners would like to do, but can't. Never ending isles of food and lollies.

Brilliant! Love the insight in panel 4. I think the other key is that all of their stores are in coastal cities near sea ports. Trucking inventory inland costs too much.

Edit: I guess my long-standing biases were misunderstandings. There are plenty of inland IKEAs. I've been misled!

Classic. But you forgot to mention the meatballs! And the lingonberries!

As a resident of the republic of IKEA (formerly known as Sweden) I will make sure the King hear of this!
Our state secrets shouldn't be revealed in such a blatent manner.
Well I guess the skills to drive a stickshift and correctly assemble furniture will still be safe within our borders. Americans are clearly incapable of mastering either.

Bloody Vikings!

Oh, we're just as stupid as everyone else. It's just that the "scandinavian" model includes universal health care and education with supplementary state economic support. For free.
I guess we're just the lucky ones because we got the best parts of socialism to work :) But thanks for the compliment though :D

"you've been ikea-ed" is what we say when we see someone in the carpark clutching an astonishingly well-priced chest of drawers/floor lamp/1000 tea light candles, and who's just remembered they drive a 3-door hatch with a baby seat in the back. why yes, ikea do charge for delivery. lavishly. damn those brilliant bastards!

Eeeeh eh eh eh
I have to say though - the ONLY thing that you possibly don't have to assemble are sofas...

Except they have stores in Chicago and Minneapolis, pretty much as inland as it gets.

I have never meet anyone who bought a couch. The way I get a couch is by waiting for someone to drag one to the crub. The same way everyone else does.

Cool comic, which of course reminded me of the song "Ikea" by Jonathan Coulton: http://www.jonathancoulton.com/songdetails/Ikea

Here is a great explanation of IKEA in song
http://www.jonathancoulton.com/songdetails/Ikea

Classic! I wonder if IKEA will follow the Air Force's example and be contacting you soon... hmmm

I've always been scared of stepping into an IKEA. I've heard it really is like a KÖRN maze. Hehe! How do you assemble a couch? Do you have to upholster it yourself??

so THAT'S how you spell umlaut.

As a home owner and idiot, I've kept every stupid tool that comes with my IKEA purchases, "just in case". Seriously, I have useless wrenches all over my garage.

[...] Basic Instructions by Scott Meyer: Your all-inclusive guide to a life well-lived. "Like a corn maze with end tables?" (tags: comix popular-culture know-it-all-and-know-thyself) [...]

Would be great if your picture and or comic would hang framed in the demo rooms!!!

[...] 14, 2009 at 9:16 f m (Kultur: Serier) (Serier) Scott Meyer, som gör Basic Instructions har kommit IKEA:s hemliga affärsmodell på [...]

excellent advice as always. was wondering is there a "how to lose your virginity" comic? awkward sex is always funny. and basic instructions are always helpful. i would call it win...

[...] full strip also makes a creepy point about used sofas. Click the pic, or this link for the full [...]

[...] panel from Basic Instructions cracked me up as part of the strip, “How to Make a Recommendation“. And it reminds me that I might need a trip to IKEA in the near future–a thought that [...]