What is something really stupid you purchased that turned out far better than expected?
I bought a piece of 1.5 inch stiff foam to try to fix a sag in a bed. It didn't work but having that thick piece of solid foam around has been a life saver.
Need something flat to put a laptop on? Throw it on the foam. Going to be doing something that requires you to be on your knees for a while? Get the foam!
It went from stupid purchase to something I'd gladly replace if it broke.
A cheap little green alien soft dog toy. My dog has destroyed every soft toy we've ever given her except that one. The head ripped a little at the seam, but we just re-sewed it. She hasn't made a big hole to pull out the stuffing somehow. And she loves it.
I wanted to get a backup, but the company doesn't make that toy anymore. I got an alternative from them and it got torn apart within a few days. I guess it was too good of a dog toy.
Compared to other particle board furniture I've had, I'd say IKEA produces affordable furniture rather than cheap. I don't go for the bottom tier stuff (which tbf does look cheap), but the IKEA furniture I've used has lasted well so far, including through a move (some disassembled, some moved as is). It's all still solid while I had an expectation that it would end up flimsier after a move.
I have a similar thing going on with a Barbapapa soft toy. Though we didn't buy it, my dog found it when out on a walk. Initially I put it on an electric cabinet in case someone came back for it, but a week later he found it again under a bench and I figured we gave it a shot so we brought it home.
Thing is shockingly resilient. It has a few perforations, which I fixed, but all the dog toys we've had break one way or another and are almost impossible to mend. Even ones specifically advertised as sturdy. This one just keeps going. It doesn't have a squeaker either!
My large dogs will tear up even the most 'durable' dog toys in a matter of minutes. Nylon? Kevlar? Doesn't matter. But if I give them toys meant for really small dogs, they don't tear them up at all. Go figure.