Ikea launches second-hand marketplace for its own furniture in the UK and Ireland
Ikea Family members can now resell used Ikea furniture directly via the retailer's website, on average 60 per cent cheaper than new. The move pits Ikea against eBay and Vinted.
Symbolic image · Photo: John Evans / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 2.0 (cropped and resized)
Ikea has launched an online marketplace in the UK and Ireland for pre-owned furniture and homeware from its own range, it was announced on 7 October. Only members of the Ikea Family loyalty scheme can list items; mattresses, appliances and food are excluded. Ikea says prices are on average 60 per cent below the cost of new products.
Sellers scan their item and the platform suggests a price based on the original cost and condition, adding photos, measurements, a description and assembly instructions. Proceeds can be taken as cash or as an Ikea gift card with a 15 per cent top-up. Buyers can order spare parts such as wall brackets free of charge, and the buyer protection fee is waived at launch.
"The way people furnish their homes has changed," said Greg Lucas, sustainability manager at Ikea UK and Ireland. The marketplace builds on the Buy Back scheme launched in 2021, which Ikea will trial integrating into the platform in Spain and Portugal from late December. It competes with Vinted, which has expanded well beyond fashion into homeware.