Good Idea Bad Idea

The week after we moved in I headed down to IKEA.  It's about 20 minutes away and my sister is always raving about the deals she swipes in the "As Is" department.  I parked in the delightful "Family Parking" area that has ultra big spaces and wider aisles, stopped for a cinnamon roll at the snack stand and went straight to "As Is."  It's a little cluttered.  I assume because there are a bajillion stay-at-home moms/interior decorators (or just Swedes) that rummage through it every day all day.  Some of it was obviously going to stay in the "As Is" department for quite a while.  I don't know why someone would want a pepper mill shaped like a porcupine.  They get you went they mark it down to fifty cents.  Then you HAVE to buy it, right?
I scored a poster of penguins for Koley's room and a bright blue frame to hang them in.  They hang on his wall by the closet.  They are looking at the dogs all day.  I figured for $5 I made out.   Then I saw a how stack of lamps.  Floor lamps.  For $1.99!!  I picked up a box.  Heavy.  How could you not buy a lamp that was only $1.99.  I thought about where it could go in our new place.  Living room was full.... bedroom? well-furnished... Koley's room? Already has one.  I shook my head and all the reason came out of it as I placed my floor lamp in my cart.  I was beaming.  And I knew I would find a place for it. 
2 weeks have passed and the only place I have put it is in the closet (still in the box) in K-Bear's room.  Youch.  But I still held my head high.  $1.99!  It would get used one day.
Yesterday, I was going down to Julie's house and figured, what the hay.  I'll give it to her.  If she doesn't like it she can do a give away on her blog.  She's big on those.  So I hauled it south.  She was thrilled.  After lunch we opened it up to decide whether she would keep it or whether she would give it away.  We started unpacking.  The base.  The stick thing.  The top?  The top was flat.  Really heavy but flat.  Where's the light part?  We both looked in the box again.  Empty.  And looked at the directions.  Which were just illustrations of people putting a lamp together.  I was so confused.  Jules suggested looking it up on the IKEA website.  The box said "BLOMSTER."
Julie typed that in and started laughing.
"Blomster means candlestick.  It's a candlestick!"
I laughed too and we immediately figured out how to assemble it.
It stood on her counter.  Taller than both of us.
I felt really dumb.  It was like 3 feet tall!  And really heavy!  I thought I had problems when I didn't know where to put a floor lamp!  Where would you put one, three foot tall, white candlestick?!

It apparently comes in a set of three.  I bought the tallest one for $1.99.  I felt really ripped off.
Sure a lamp is a good deal at $1.99.  But a candlestick?
Nej.