If you've got any unwanted IKEA furniture that's in relatively good condition, you're now able to sell it back to the home furnishings store and receive a refund card in return.
IKEA's long-awaited initiative, Buy Back, sees stores in the UK and Ireland buying back old and unwanted IKEA furniture from customers, which will then be resold in stores as second hand items. This will breathe new life to their products while creating easy and affordable solutions to help people live more sustainably.
The scheme was originally scheduled to launch last year but was delayed due to Covid and aims to make circular consumption more affordable and accessible.
What can I return?
Products that are eligible for Buy Back include: dressers, office drawer cabinets, small structures with drawers, display storage and sideboards; bookcases and shelf units; small tables; multimedia furniture; cabinets; dining tables and desks; chairs and stools without upholstery; chests of drawers; children’s products excluding baby items, and PAX accessories.
How much money will I get for my IKEA furniture?
You will receive money for your used furniture in the form of an IKEA voucher, which will have no expiry date to encourage customers to purchase items only when they're really needed.
The amount of the voucher depends on the condition of the furniture traded in. The voucher could be worth as much as 50 per cent of the original price:
- As good as new – no scratches: brought back for 50 per cent of the original price
- Very good – minor scratches: brought back for 40 per cent of original price
- Well-used – several scratches: brought back for 30 per cent of original price
For example, you could receive up to £250 for GALANT office cabinets, £249 for the MÖRBYLÅNGA table and £213 for the MOCKELBY table. Items will then be resold as second hand within their Circular Hubs (previously known as Bargain Corner). Anything that cannot be resold will be recycled.
How do I return back my old furniture?
If you're wanting to sell back your old IKEA furniture you should visit IKEA's website and submit items for consideration by filling out a simple online offer request.
The tool will automatically generate a preliminary offer and you will be invited to bring the fully assembled product and preliminary offer to the Returns & Exchanges desk of your nearest store. You will then receive an IKEA voucher to spend in store.
Buying second-hand IKEA furniture in store
IKEA is introducing 'Pre-Loved Labels' to its second hand items, allowing customers to learn about an item's past before giving it a new home. The Pre-Loved Labels service will initially be trialled across Glasgow, Greenwich, Tottenham and Warrington stores for a two-week period to determine whether it will then be rolled out nationally.
IKEA has also launched a nationwide collaboration with online re-commerce platform Gumtree to advertise and promote its recovered products online. Simply browse what products are available by entering #CircularHub into Gumtree’s search tool. Once you have spotted an item of interest, you can reserve it with a click, and then collect it from the associated IKEA store.
Peter Jelkeby, Country Retail Manager and Chief Sustainability Officer, explains: 'Through Buy Back we hope to make circular consumption mainstream; making it easier for customers to acquire, care for and pass on products in circular ways.
'As we move towards our goal of becoming fully circular and climate positive by 2030 we will continue to take bold steps ensuring that, by then, all IKEA products will be made from renewable, recyclable and/or recycled materials; and they will be designed to be re-used, refurbished, re-manufactured or recycled, following circular design principles.'
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