WTF?! My new Billy bookcases have bent!

[TressiliansStone]

What have you done, IKEA?! They're less than 2 years old and only hold small paperbacks – and the shelves have bowed! Like, really noticeably, visibly to the eye, sagged.

I've had Billys for decades because they're the one mass-produced, standard-sized bookcase that can actually support, you know, books. My old Billys have coped heroically with whopping dictionaries, double-stacked Penguins, boxes of maps... I'd happily pay a bit more than current price if they continued to meet this spec.

'Cos if I want something cheap to clog up a room while only tolerating a couple of photos and a vase, I can go buy flimsy crap from Argos.

I know it's not major in the scale of things, but . Everything I know is passing awaaaayyyy....

AIBU to say, "IKEA, give us back our real Billys!"

Tell Twitter. I'm sure their customer support team would be quicker to reply to you there, than here..?

Or at least give the name a decent burial.

Don't paste it on this inferior simulacrum, masquerading as an old, reliable friend.

Not on Twitter. But if anyone shares my Billy blues they're welcome to tweet.

This is in the service of book and Billy lovers up and down the land.

Mine is fine and is 2 years old. You might have a faulty one.

Interesting. IwishIhadaMargarita how wide are yours? And are they carrying a full width of books?

I've noticed that the quality of the materials that go into IKEA furniture has dropped noticeably in the last few years.

Every large ikea pic frame in my parent's holiday home has sagged. They literally hold a photograph but when hung on the wall, the wooden frame bows

I have several Billy bookshelves, that I would be glad to get rid of. They are about 22+ years old, no bending or buckling of shelves.

That’s shit, I have Billys from the time when IKEA had 2 UK stores, 25 + years ago and they are still holding firm to double stacked books.

Wow those Billy bookcases are indestructible or at least they were. Never heard of this happening before.

high humidity can do that.

Oh no!! 😱
I have had my Billy in the second bedroom for ages and was just looking to get new ones (lockdown resulted in plenty of new books with libraries being closed)
Please tell me you have an energetic toddler / or a big cat who uses it for climbing purposes! 😱 Not the Billy! 😔😔

Nope, no toddler or cat. They're in the study, which isn't much used, with humidity and temp lower than the Billys in my bedroom endured for many years.

As SisyphusDad says, the materials are noticeably different from the old Billy.

The shelves are no longer invertible, either: they have holes in the bottom for annoying little hooks which won't quite fit straight. At first I thought this was to stop accidents with shelves being pulled by children; now I think it's to stop the shelves sagging right off their little nibs.

Actually, maybe the shelves were never invertible but had little slots.

Anyway, they now have drilled holes for hooks.