Such a brilliant idea!
Following on from the successful roll-out in other countries, IKEA has also as of this week launched their ‘buy back’ service here in Ireland. What this means, is that you can now effectively sell your old IKEA furniture back to the store.
The new and innovative service encourages customers to sell back IKEA furniture that they no longer need and, in return, receive a voucher to spend at the store for use when they need something. The furniture will be resold by the retailer within their Circular Hubs (previously Bargain Corner), at even more affordable prices, thereby giving a second life to IKEA products, helping to prevent perfectly useable materials from entering landfills unnecessarily.
The ‘buy back’ project is part of IKEA’s commitment to becoming fully circular and climate positive by 2030.
“Households are connected to around 60 percent of global greenhouse gas emissions, consuming around a third of the energy and 10 percent of the water used globally,” says Peter Jelkeby, Country Retail Manager and Chief Sustainability Officer, IKEA UK & Ireland.
“Therefore, small actions taken within them can make a significant difference, and why IKEA is so committed to making sustainable living more affordable, attractive and accessible. As one of the biggest brands in the world, we recognise our unique opportunity to help lead that change. 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.”
How does the ‘buy back’ scheme work?
Products 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 and children’s products (excluding baby items).
The products eligible would have had to have been purchased in the last seven years.
Used products returned as good as new with no scratches will be bought for 50 percent of the original price, whilst items with minor scratches will be bought for 40 percent.
Furniture that is well used with several scratches will be bought for 30 percent.
What this means is that, for example, customers could receive up to €300 for the MÖRBYLÅNGA table and €275 for the popular STOCKHOLM table.
The service is the latest in a succession of initiatives from the Swedish retailer to help make sustainable living more accessible and affordable; encouraging customers to rethink their consumption habits and take positive action to help our planet.
Customers wanting to sell back their old IKEA furniture can visit IKEA.ie and submit items for consideration by filling out a simple online offer request.
The tool will automatically generate a preliminary offer and customers will then be invited to bring the fully assembled product and provisional quote to the Returns & Exchanges desk at the Ballymun store. Once the product is accepted, they will then receive an IKEA refund card to spend in-store. The refund card will have no expiry date to encourage customers to only purchase new items when they really need something.
To recognise IKEA’s on-going investment in promoting sustainable living, IKEA’s Dublin store was recently awarded the Green Retailer Award at the 2021 Green Awards which recognises the extraordinary contribution and commitment that companies now make towards growing a greener future in Irish business today.
