What house in Ireland doesn’t have a Billy bookcase? Or a Malm chest of drawers or a Poang armchair? Since the arrival of the Swedish low-cost furniture giant back in 2009, Ikea has made its presence felt in homes across the country, with the flat-pack king reporting years of strong growth here.
It means that many of us may have items we now no longer need – so what to do with them?
Well, if you’re selling your clothes and shoes on Vinted, and your bikes back to Decathlon, why not offload some of the Ikea furniture that’s clogging up your house by selling it back to the Swedish giant?
You could make some money on the deal.
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Resale
In an effort to become “more people and planet positive and to transform into a circular company”, Ikea now offers Irish owners of its furniture and home accessories the opportunity to sell them back to the company.
It brought its Buy Back service to Ireland back in 2021, and the end goal is reducing landfill, by selling on your goods to another home. This means then, that it is really looking for products of a high quality, and all goods you’re looking to sell must be “complete, assembled and fully functional pieces of used Ikea furniture”.
So those spare doors you bought for a storage unit and never got around to using won’t qualify for the resale programme.
It also must be identifiable as Ikea furniture – which means that that hacked desk or storage unit which is now a kitchen island, won’t qualify unfortunately.
The Swedish chain will buy back some of its older stock – but not for cash. Instead, you will get an Ikea gift card, which doesn’t have an expiration date and can be used online and in-store – except for the restaurants and food market.
You can also use it against the cost of second-hand furniture sold in the store.
What can I sell?
The downside of Ikea’s new approach is that it is limited to certain stock it carries. For example, I had a kids’ kitchen, the Duktig, in decent condition, which I was looking to offload, but Ikea wouldn’t take it. The alternative? Offering it for free on Adverts.ie where it was promptly snapped up.
A spokeswoman for Ikea says the products it accepts “focuses on items that are most likely to be successfully resold and given a second life”.
Acceptable products include all dressers, office drawer cabinets, sideboards, as well as some other types of storage such as bookcases, dining tables and desks, small tables, chairs and stools, children’s products, and table and floor lights.
It doesn’t, however, accept mattresses and bed linen, sofas and armchairs, kitchens, wardrobes and appliances and other electrical items.
Products must be identifiable as Ikea, and should have an original Ikea product sticker or the Ikea logo.
What if you can’t remember the name of your item and Ikea no longer sells it?
Well, according to the spokeswoman, provided that the item is within an “eligible category” – such as storage units, for example – you can sell it back.
Just give it a good scrub before you go, then, and present the item in good condition.
Another option is to bring it back to Ikea – it will recycle the product for you or dispose of it, at no cost.
How much will I get?
Typically, the Swedish giant offers between about 25 per cent of the purchase price (for well-used) to about 45 per cent (for like-new) back on its products.
If you are a family member of Ikea (anyone can join), you will get an extra 15 per cent back, which means as much as 52 per cent of the purchase price back.
For example, on a Billy bookcase that retails for €65, you could get as much as €34 back, provided it is in “very good” condition.
And this is the key point: to get your refund card, you have to undergo a “physical inspection” of your goods by an Ikea worker. This means then, that if they don’t agree that your item is in “very good” condition, you may not get back as much as you had hoped.
And, as the company says, “the amount offered to you by the Ikea coworker is not open to negotiation”.
And you may have trekked all the way to Ballymun to find this out. According to the spokeswoman, the facility is limited to Ballymun, “owing to less space” in its other outlets.
Buy Ikea second-hand
If you’re selling back your furniture, you might decide to pick up a few new – to you – items.
At Ballymun’s Re-shop and Re-use area, you can buy a selection of second-hand furniture and items not fit to sell as new. You can also check out these options online.
For example, recent offers include a large chandelier, down from the retail price of €135 to €81, or an Arstid wall lamp. You can buy new for €25 in the store, or €15 at the second-hand area, for a version that has “slightly damaged packaging”.
What will Ikea give me for my old Ikea furniture?
Billy bookcase (80x40x202cm)
New €65
Second-hand (very good)
Ikea Family €34.21
Non family €29.75
Second-hand (well-used)
Ikea Family €24.44
Non-family €21.25
Brimnes dressing table, oak effect (70x42cm)
New €89
Second-hand (like new)
Ikea Family €36.23
Non-family €31.50
Kallax shelving unit, (77x147cm)
New €85
Second-hand (very good)
Ikea Family €26.16
Non-family €22.75
Piplarka children’s desk
New €79
Second-hand (well used)
Ikea Family €22.71
Non-family €19.75
Docksta dining table
New €179
Second-hand (very good)
Ikea Family €60.38
Non-Family €52.50
What can I buy second-hand?
Simrishamn chandelier
Retail €135
Second-hand €81
Arstid wall lamp
Retail €25
Second-hand €15 (slightly damaged packaging)
Racknas chest of drawers
Retail €75
Second-hand €50
