If You're In the Market for a New Suitcase, You Might Do Especially Well at an Odd Outlet: IKEA

Are you aware that the famous Swedish furniture firm, IKEA, carried luggage? At remarkably low prices? And of good quality?

In a totally unexpected, impromptu stop at a nearby IKEA, I was stunned to find luggage selling at a fraction of the price you normally pay. And what I saw was of a stylish and modern design, form-molded so they retain a modish shape at all times, yet soft-sided so they can pop back from the typical bumps of travel that leave hard-sided luggage dented and scratched. They seem to be sturdily made, if not top quality -- another IKEA hallmark -- but it's the prices that really stand out.
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Compared with rates I later looked up at Travel Smith and Magellan's (offering travel products through mail order catalogues), the IKEA luggage seem 65% less on a $55 wheeled suitcase that can convert into a backpack (and comes with a zip-off daypack) to 85% less on a $5.50 foldable duffle bag that zips into its own pocket (handy to toss into your suitcase in case you acquire more souvenirs that will fit into one bag for the flight home).
 
There's also a more traditional carry-on rolling suitcase that comes with a separate laptop case for just $39.99 (typically, such a bag would run you $120 to $300, and that wouldn't include the matching laptop case), a hanging toiletries bag for $7.99 (these normally start at $25), and a soft, quilt-covered inflatable neck pillow for $3.99 (average cost elsewhere: $20 to $35).
 
Perhaps the most ingenious of the new items is a phenomenal backpack for $23.99 that has a novel feature: there's a zipper around the center that can separate it into two smaller daypacks. Broadly similar backpacks at standard prices start around $80.
 
Here's another way to look at the savings: purchase the IKEA carry-on suitcase/laptop briefcase combo, the backpack, the toiletries bag, the neck pillow, and the duffle and you'd spend $96.47 total. Purchase the same luggage set at another major outlet, and the cost would be, at a bare minimum, $280 -- probably much more.
 
A note on the prices above: IKEA has recently introduced a membership program, and since this program is free to join, I quoted the member prices for each item.
 
For some reason, these discounted member prices are not listed on the IKEA website (notoriously less useful than it could be; it also does not show every item available in stores), so if you double-check my quoted prices there you'll see slightly higher ones ($49.99 for the carry-on suitcase, $29.99 for the backpack, $69.99 for the wheeled bag, etc.). Even those prices are jaw-droppingly low -- but drop into any IKEA store and fill out a membership form, and the savings will be even greater.