IKEA Makes Furniture Buy Back & Resell Program Permanent at 37 U.S. Stores

UPDATE, Thursday, March 31, 2022, 2:24 p.m.: IKEA is further expanding the IKEA Buy Back & Resell service program, and making it a permanent feature in a total of 37 stores across the U.S., a representative for the company tells Green Matters in an email. On April 1, the program will launch in the College Park, Md.; Carson, Calif.; Centennial, Colo.; and Brooklyn, N.Y. stores, and relaunch in the other 33 stores where it was piloted last year.

UPDATE, Monday, Nov. 1, 2021, 12:51 p.m.: IKEA has informed Green Matters that two months after launching a pilot program at one Pennsylvania store, the IKEA Buy Back & Resell service is launching at 33 U.S. IKEA locations. The program will run from Nov. 1, 2021 through Dec. 5, 2021, and you must sign up for IKEA's free Family member program to participate.

Click here for IKEA's guide to the eco-friendly resell program, and for a list of participating stores — and keep reading for all the details.

PREVIOUSLY: Shopping secondhand for what you need is a great way to lower the impact of your shopping routine — and IKEA is about to make doing so much easier. The furniture giant is finally testing the IKEA furniture buy back program in the U.S.

Programs like these are key in making businesses truly circular and keeping items out of landfills. Keep reading for all the details.

IKEA just announced that it is launching a U.S. pilot program of its Buy Back & Resell service. The program will kick off at the IKEA in Conshohocken, Penn., located in the suburbs of Philadelphia, where it will run from Aug. 30 to Sept. 19, 2021.

If the pilot goes well in Pennsylvania, IKEA U.S. plans to bring the Buy Back & Resell service to “additional select markets across the U.S., with the ultimate goal of making Buy Back & Resell a permanent service at all IKEA stores across the U.S. in the future,” according to press materials sent to Green Matters. Basically, if the program goes well in Pennsylvania, there’s a good chance that IKEA will make it permanent at many other IKEAs across the U.S.

Between Aug. 30 and Sept. 19, customers can bring in gently used and built IKEA furniture into the Conshohocken IKEA store, in exchange for IKEA store credit. Before coming in, fill out a form on IKEA’s website, so you can make sure your piece will be accepted, and to get a quote.

Once you're approved, simply drop the piece off, and IKEA will then put the furniture up for sale in the location’s AS-IS section, where it will be sold at a discount. And while you're there, make sure to browse the AS-IS section.

Not only will shopping the AS-IS section save you money compared to buying something new, but you will also save yourself the hassle of having to build it; additionally, your purchase will have a lower environmental impact, since you are rescuing items from the waste stream as opposed to buying something new.

Not everything will be accepted — items including chests of drawers, couches, armchairs, outdoor furniture, modular wardrobes, mattresses, and cribs, are not eligible for the Buy Back & Resell service, unfortunately. You can read the full list of exempt items on IKEA’s website.

“At IKEA, we are passionate about making sustainable living easy and affordable for the many, and want to be part of a future that’s better for both people and the planet,” Jennifer Keesson, Country Sustainability Manager, IKEA U.S., said in a statement sent to Green Matters. “We hope the Buy Back & Resell service inspires our customers to live a more sustainable life at home while giving their used furniture another life and a second home.”

IKEA has trialed or launched the same buy back scheme in several other countries, including the U.K., Australia, Canada, France, Japan, the Netherlands, Portugal, Spain, and Scotland. IKEA has a goal of running a fully circular and climate positive business by 2030, and programs like this are crucial in achieving those goals. That said, IKEA still has a long way to go, and we can’t wait to see what the business looks like nine years from now.

This article has been updated to include news on IKEA's expansion of the program.