I am willing to buy it at the store. The website was telling me it is out of stock and Bolingbrook is almost another hour on my drive time to make a 2 hour drive one way.
How often do you buy an(other) Expedit, and how badly and/or urgently do you want one? For the convenience they give in organizing LPs, it might be worth the extra 2 hours (total) time tacked on, to get one.
I just got another approx. 300 LPs today, delivered to my door by my favorite bird-dogger (from whom I've previously had to go collect them).
Some really good, classic rock LPs I was missing, some dupes in near-mint condition for upgrades, plus some collectible rarities [e.g., original Lemon Kittens' "We Buy a Hammer for Daddy" in superb shape], old Columbias, etc...
The only problem is... my Expedits are stuffed... I'm wondering how best to fit these in while my wife is away this week... and thinking I may go tomorrow to get yet another Expedit (maybe trade up a smaller one for a larger one?) and re-arrange things... Sure hope they have what I want, in stock!
As for Ikea changing its stock, they DO change the stuff periodically, but some perennial best-sellers are kept in production for years. I think Expedits have already been very long-lived by their standards, but as long as they keep selling well, I suspect they'll keep making them. Any business likes a steady "cash cow." However, if sales start dropping off markedly, they'll stop production. More likely, they'll just change colors/finishes and keep these in production, for as long as they keep selling. I use the basic white ones: these are probably the ones least likely to go out of production, although they aren't the nicest-looking. I use them because they match the other shelves in the room I have most of my records in. I chose white because that room is relatively long-and-narrow, with a window only a the end. White makes it feel bigger and brighter.
It will be a very sad day for all record collectors if Ikea ever pulls the Expedit out of production entirely!
