Ikea to pilot online buyback service for secondhand furniture

Ikea is to test an online version of its buy-back service where the retailer offers vouchers for unwanted secondhand furniture.

The service will be tested in Spain and Portugal before the end of December and will be launched in the UK if it proves successful. Ikea already offers buy-back in stores, including in the UK. The online version will extend it to a much wider audience, with Ikea predicting pre-owned goods are likely to grab 16% of the UK homewares market by next year

The new plan emerged as the world’s largest furniture retailer takes on Vinted and eBay with its own secondhand online marketplace which launches in the UK this week.

The platform, which is already online in other countries including Spain and Portugal with bestsellers including the Kallax shelving system and Malm chest of drawers, will enable shoppers signed up to the Swedish company’s membership scheme to connect directly to one another to buy and sell pre-owned Ikea items locally.

The UK service will be free initially, but a “buyer protection fee” of about 5% of an item’s price will be introduced in time. At launch, buyers and sellers will arrange collection or delivery directly with one another through the marketplace. Ikea said it is exploring ways to make delivery easier in future.

“The secondhand market is growing and growing. It is now really significant,” said Greg Lucas, sustainability manager at Ikea’s UK & Irish division. “Secondhand browsing and shopping is now mainstream.

“The way people furnish their homes has changed. Whether they are moving, redecorating or looking for a particular piece, more customers are considering pre-owned furniture alongside new and are actively searching for items that can help create a home that feels personal to them.”

The secondhand home products market is now worth more than £4.5bn in the UK and is growing at about 6.5% annually. Ikea said its products accounted for about 9% of furniture sold on secondhand marketplaces in the UK.

Ikea said it was making the sale of used versions of its products easier by providing pre-filled product descriptions and price suggestions. The company also offers sellers 15% extra on the price of the item sold if they agree to be paid in the form of an Ikea gift card.

The change is part of a revolution in retail, where shoppers of all ages are now prepared to consider secondhand items.

In 2025, 63% of UK consumers bought products through reselling platforms, up from 51% in 2024.

The trend has boosted sales at Vinted, which began as a clothing resale site but is now expanding into homewares and electronics, as well as at Facebook Marketplace, Gumtree and smaller, more upmarket sites such as Vinterior.

The US secondhand site eBay recently bought UK fashion seller Depop for $1.2bn (£900m). Preloved items now make up about a 10th of global fashion sales.

There is heavy competition for the secondhand market, with the electrical goods retailers Currys and AO, for example, both selling pre-owned items.

AO expanded its secondhand position after acquiring MusicMagpie, which sells refurbished electronics and secondhand video games, in 2024. It recently also bought camera specialist Jessops, which controls the Camera Jungle secondhand site.