IKEA To Record Collectors: Don’t Freak Out About The Death Of Expedit Shelves

The LP has survived the 8-track, the cassette tape, the CDs, the MP3, and streaming audio. But will all that vinyl have a place to live now that IKEA is killing off collectors’ beloved Expedit shelving units?

If you or someone you know has a substantial record collection, there’s a good chance you have encountered a few Expedits. The dimensions are ideal for storing and arranging LPs; the no-frills design is unassuming and can fit in just about anywhere, and the shelves are sturdy enough to handle the weight of thousands of records (at least when you follow the directions and don’t turn the units on their sides).

But after vinyl lovers got wind of the impending death of the Expedit, there was an outcry of analog outrage on social media, with one “save the Expedit” Facebook group already counting more than 18,000 members.

There are claims on the never-hyperbolic Twittersphere (a word I hate myself for typing) that there has been a run on Expedit shelves at IKEA stores. However, I just did a spot-check of availability at stores around the country and couldn’t find one where the shelves were listed as likely to be out of stock; not even in vinyl-loving Brooklyn, where I’ve seen tiny apartments made even tinier by floor-to-ceiling Expedits on multiple walls.

The retailer says it will continue to sell the Expedit until it runs out of stock, but hopes record collectors will be equally pleased with the Kallax shelves it plans to release on April 1.

The Kallax has rounded edges and the sides are slightly thinner than the Expedit, but IKEA is assuring customers (in German) that the interior dimensions of the shelves will remain the same LP-friendly dimensions and that the skinnier exterior walls will still provide adequate support for folks’ cherished vinyl library.

Ikea shelves send vinyl enthusiasts into panic [The Verge]

IKEA Discontinues Beloved Shelf, Prompts Internet Fury [HuffPo]

by Chris Morran via Consumerist