Better Home And Gardens 8 Cube Organizer Vs Kallax

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Saw this the other day at Walmart and it is exactly like the Expedit. I need more room so I'm buying one in a week or so. More color choices too and no need to travel all the way to Ikea.
https://www.walmart.com/ip/Better-Homes-and-Gardens-8-Cube-Organizer-Multiple-Colors/29741111
I got one a couple weeks ago. 4 cube in the weathered finish for $37. Great product.
I can attest that these are decent shelves. I've got 3 high gloss white ones; one 8 cube and two 4 cubes. They're perfect for vinyl.
Just got one of these in espresso, which looks like dark wood grain. Very solid (used wood glue on dowels), and looks a lot more upscale than the 68 bucks I paid for it. Highly recommended
Are they the exact dimensions as the Expedit?
Interesting; as a customer just here the other day said that he got one and as he was assembling it, the inserts kept breaking the cheap "particle wood" panels or stripping them out, resulting in no structure. He returned it as defective and not fit for purpose. He was still searching for a decent shelving or cube system for records. So my guess is that these are not the "same" as the Ikea Expedit, but just look similar. Not that the Expedit was an engineering benchmark, but this may be just another cheap copy of yet another popular product. I have no personal experience with it, but just this other guy's account of its quality.
-Bill
Muzyck Real inventor of the inverted firkin

The "Expedits" are still available at Ikea. They changed the outer dimensions a bit and renamed them "Kallax". Big Lots and Target also sell units with the same dimensions.
No claim that these are actual expedits. The ones I got work fine. I made sure to use glue when assembling them, otherwise, no problems. Maybe they're not being manufactured to the same standards. I'd use the Kallax, but have no desire to drive 2 hours round trip, navigate the Ikea rats maze, then find out they don't fit in my car. Ikea doesn't list dimensions of their packages, and their shipping charges are insane.

jriems and BrewCrew82 like this.
Yea, I'd love to check out an Ikea, just for grins. The nearest one to me is like 3+ hours away. I also have to drive that far for Crate & Barrel. I didn't, just happened to be in the same city, and the same mall where I stumbled into one.
I haven't seen this exact Wallymart unit, but my customer likes sturdy furniture and has lots, and lots of Lp's, so I am just assuming that if it doesn't meet with his approval, that many others might not be impressed either initially or a bit down the road after some wear occurs. As always, YMMV...
-Bill
Most of my 5 x 5 Expedits are really early ones which were constructed somewhat differently and are in theory stronger, but even I wouldn't attempt what this guy has done, I assume there is some structural reinforcement, if not he's a braver man than me, the second picture down is both beautiful and scary:
Crate Diggers: DVS1
I have all my LPs in a 2 x 4 Better Homes & Gardens shelf from Amazon. My receiver and table sit on top of it and it's been pretty rock solid. I screwed trim to the backs of the bays so the records stick out a little bit, making them easier to find, but that's about it. I have almost 400 records now and I still have about 1 1/3 open bays.
I have the 8 cube Expedit and in November I bought one of the 4 cube units at Walmart. The brand is Better Homes and Gardens and it has worked out well. Matches the Expedit well enough(since they aren't side by side). On top of it I have the Beatles Original Master Recordings and the Beatles Mono Vinyl box. The weight of these items doesn't seem to have any adverse effect. I needed a quick fix and this was it-satisfied so far.
Im far from an expert in assembling things like this. I didnt have any problems and cant imagine the inserts breaking without someone trying to break them.
Most Walmarts have some assembled units on display so you can inspect before you buy.
I have Expedits in one room, and several of the Home & Garden 4X4 units referred by the OP in another. They are not identical but are very similar.
I can't promise the Wal-Mart units won't have problems down the road but I have had them loaded with LPs for over a year and a half and I see no sign of anything wrong so far.
As long as you are careful putting it together it will be very stable once assembled. I put wheels and backs on mine.
why does everyone like the Expedit series. Is the Kallax that bad it looks exactly the same? What if you need replacement parts.
He desperately needs a taller ladder too
The Kallax is just fine, I actually like it better than Expedit. It's just as strong if used correctly.

AcidPunk15 and E.Baba like this.
You do know that provided you know the product number you can go straight to the loading bay,pick up the item pay for it, and drive home without having to go into the main store?
you mean build quality or as a piece of art
Yup, got it. Still a 2 hour round trip, plus no one seems to be able to tell me the dimensions of the carton I will have to load into my vehicle. Believe me, I've tried to find out. If I get there and the carton is X size and my cargo are is Y size I'm SOL.
These are the "flat pack" dimensions for the "four cube" kallax units in the U.K...Hope it helps!
Shelving unit KALLAX
Article no:
703.074.93
Package :
1
Length:
80 cm
Width:
40 cm
Height:
19 cm
Weight:
13.74 kg
Volume per package:
60.4 l
It's as long as the longest side. What configuration did you want? 2x2 or 2x4?
A 2x4 is approx. 58"x 16" if I recall correctly
The guy that was complaining/relating his experience with one to me indicated that the wood broke around the holes, not the dowels themselves. I have seen that a couple of times over the years when installing some locking cam type screws into knock-down shelves myself, but not with the dowel holes. Basically in the ones that I have worked with, the holes which were pre-drilled were not large enough or deep enough, etc (maybe even the cheap, screws were oversized, whatever) and that caused the "wood" boards to chip apart, crumble, etc around the hardware. Maybe that was the same issue here, I dunno. I am sure however, that I would never trust a few dowels, even when properly inserted and working as designed in these style shelves to hold fully loaded sections with records. I guess, if you only have a few hundred Lp's and you spread them out to have only 50 on a shelf or something, that it would be OK, but I'd reinforce the whole assembly. Using wood glue on the dowels would be mandatory IMO, and not nearly enough in itself. Once fully assembled, if you want the shelf to be stable under a load, you need to install a back or corner braces to keep it from racking at least. A full back will not only prevent this for the outside assembly, but also support the interior shelves. This is the only way that I would load one fully.
I have made a modular system for myself and I prefer that as it allows the collection to be moved, crates and all, and then reassembled elsewhere in the same fashion or in a different layout entirely, while still keeping the collection relatively alphabetized or with much less record shifting to accomplish that. When you get 1000+ records, you need to organize them or you'll never find anything. The individual cubes are also much stronger as they are designed to be fully loaded and since they are the same size, they can be stacked quite high and still retain that structural integrity. Another benefit is that it is also one of the most affordable ways to do it. You only buy or build a cube when you need more storage space. I would build about 4 at a time. I have expanded the collection like this and then at one point, I nearly doubled the capacity by making layers of cubes and boards to form a checkerboard pattern and so utilized the space between the cubes in that way. That requires carrying some records in boxes if you move, but it allowed the collection to grow significantly with only a fixed amount of cubes and then was still able to be moved and reassembled in other layouts rather easily. Here is my own design for those interested in a project that yields a sturdy solution to the problem of an expanding record collection:

Uptown Audio phono tools

-Bill

Gardo and wgb113 like this.
C'mon, both the assembled size and the flat pack sizes are on the bloody website for each module.