After conquering the world of furniture (and developing a near-perfect meatball), IKEA is taking on the online resale market.
The world’s biggest furniture retailer is launching Ikea Preowned, a peer-to-peer marketplace for buying and reselling used IKEA products. The online platform is part of IKEA’s effort to cut a big slice out of the growing US$34 billion second-hand furniture market.
The site is being piloted in Oslo and Madrid and will roll out globally by December. Listings are free for now, but the company says it could one day charge a “humble” fee.
Second-hand markets are gaining popularity as the cost of living soars. One survey found that furniture made up almost a third of used items bought by Canadians in 2021.
Just like eBay, Kijiji, or Facebook Marketplace, users upload pictures of a product and name their price. Buyers can then pick up the furniture directly from sellers, who are given a choice between cash or an IKEA credit for the amount plus a 15% bonus.
In an interview with the Financial Times, the company’s CEO estimated that it has a higher share of the second-hand market than new furniture sales. Offering IKEA credits could bring some of that resale cash right back into its stores.