How can you tell the age of an Ikea product?

[Marmablade]

Last month I bought a Billy bookcase from Ikea and I want to buy some more shelves. As it was secondhand I'm not sure how old it is and which shelves will fit. There's a label on the back but I can't decipher the code. Help!

Are you planning on taking it for a Xmas drink op??

Look at the shelves... Our newer ones have rounded shelf screws, the older ones are straight.

Billy's are either 40cm or 80 cm. They used to make 60cm ones but that was a long time ago.

The colours are not always available. There is always white but the other colours change according to what's in fashion. They usually come round again but not for years.

Ah good old Billy. Our very first piece of Ikea was called Timmerman, a hulking thing in 4 parts in yellow/orange pine purchased circa 1998. I miss it in a way.

So you don't think where it says 1999 that that's a reference to the year? I don't know shit these things but if you Google the item circa 1999 you'd find out pretty quick.

About. I don't know ABOUT these things. Ffs!

Why do you need to know how old it is to get shelves that fit? Just measure it.

Why do you need to know how old it is to get shelves that fit? Just measure it.

Presumably because the fittings may be different even if the shelf size remained the same.

(I don't know if the shelf size changed but it's very possible that the fittings did.)

It seems that they made a number of changes to the bookcase in 2014 and the Ikea page says on some of the current shelf pages: The shelf does not fit bookcases purchased in the spring of 2014 or earlier so the OP is right to be cautious.

sidles in
I am somehow an expert in IKEA. I have stuff from 1980s IKEA up to last week IKEA
If the shelves are 60cm wide they are old and will have cylindrical fittings with a small ridge in the middle. Imo these were the original and best Billys but they don't make them or the shelves any more. Newer ones have a prong and then a circular bit that the shelf rests on. If you post a pic of the fittings then that will tell roughly how old it is.

The holes the fittings go into are narrower in the newer models too - so if you had an old base new shelves would be too loose.

@TheLastBiscuitInTheJar that is exactly why!

It's 40cm wide. But I can't be 100% sure if the item is pre 2014 except I was hoping the sticker might tell me!

I also have a 60cm one but I have plenty of shelves for that.

@caoraich oh wise one put me out of my misery!

That’s the older kind

This is my 60cm one 🤔 Looks the same to my untrained eye.

But fwiw when I bought some new shelves for an older Billy Ikea were still able to provide the old shelf supports separately. Can’t remember if I did it by phone or email. It was 4-5 years ago but worth trying (the shelves are still the right size)

The 60cm ones are older, too. Much older. They were around when i bought my first bit of IKEA which was a cherrywood coloured Billy bookcase in about 1996. (Noticed cherry is making a bit of a resurgence, which is great since we bought an old cherry M&S sideboard off gumtree, recently)

I have 60 cm Billys and a Karlstad sofa

What colour is it? Birch? Do they still make that?

You can buy the old style shelf supports on eBay fairly cheaply.

I’ve got 2 60cm white ones, bought in 1988

(Also 2 60cm oak bought used more recently. It’s a really useful size, I was cross they stopped doing it)

Yes it's birch but white stained oak veneer is light enough to blend when covered with books I think.

I have a couple of 90cm Billy bookcases, bought in 1989 and still going strong through several house moves

I had to search for AGES to get a 60cm one because that's the gap I have and they'd started only selling the 80cm ones.