Ikea starts buy-back scheme offering vouchers for old furniture in the UK

IKEA has finally launched its buyback and re-sale scheme in an attempt to reduce the furniture waste in landfills.

This move is an essential part of the company’s march towards becoming “climate positive by 2030.”

The secondhand areas in Ikea stores will be called Circular Hubs.

In return of the furniture by the customers in good condition, they will get a free voucher to spend in-store on other new items.

IKEA has launched it officially after testing this idea out in several other cities.

“I’m not saying we have all the answers, but we learned enough from the pilots to tell us that this could be something of real value to us and our customers,” Hege Saebjornsen, an environmental and sustainability expert at Ikea

Different re-sale quotas have been set depending upon the condition of the used furniture. A furniture which is in new condition with no scratches will be taken back at 50% of the original price. An item with minor scratches will be at 40% and items that are heavily implemented with major scratches will sell at 30% of the original price.

Products that are included in this program are dressers, cabinets, bookcases and shelf units, small tables, dining tables and desks.

One of the major problems with this program is that the customer will have to deliver the furniture fully assembled which could make it problematic for people to transport the furniture when returning it.

“We still found people are taking us up on it [the scheme],” she said. “Ikea is working on how to improve the disassembly of products. Some are better than others. Products can get damaged when taken apart, so we can only really accept assembled products. It maintains the security and quality of the item,” she said.

“It’s really important to highlight that the voucher has no use-by date. They can be used to buy another second-hand item or food. The real consideration here is that it’s about how we make sustainable and healthy living easy, accessible and affordable, and really mainstream. Ikea is such a large company with massive potential to reach millions of customers. We are not saying that we have all the answers. But small actions can make a difference,” Ms. Saebjornsen said.

For people looking to sell their used furniture back, go to ikea.co.uk and fill out an online form. This form will generate an initial offering after which you can take the item to the store.

This program is in effect around every IKEA store in the UK except order and collection points in Tottenham Court Road, Norwich, and Aberdeen.

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